North Myrtle Beach hires Gaffney's Woolbright as football coach

Former Gaffney assistant coach Perry Woolbright has been picked as the next head football coach at North Myrtle Beach, the school announced Tuesday.

Woolbright, who played quarterback at Appalachian State, has spent most of his time coaching offense. He spent the last two seasons as the passing game coordinator and quarterback coach for the Indians, who went 10-4 last season and reached the Class AAAA Div. I semifinals. Prior to his stint at Gaffney, Woolbright was offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Chowan University, and he also spent a season as offensive coordinator at Fort Dorchester. But that doesn't mean he doesn't know defense.

"If you are going to be a good offensive coordinator, you'd better know something about defense," Woolbright said. He said as an offensive-minded coach, he would rather run a defensive scheme that would be hard for him to crack. He said he wants the Chiefs to be up-tempo and intense on both sides of the ball.

Woolbright had applied at other schools, but really enjoyed his visit to the area for his interview, when he checked out the area from Barefoot Landing to the state line, he said. "The people down there that I've talked to were great. The community seems like a place that is hungry to have a successful athletic program and that usually starts off with football," Woolbright said. "It's a place that wants to win, that wants to be successful."

Woolbright will teach physical education and weightlifting, and expects to be ready to go well before spring practice begins.

Woolbright replaces Denver Cromer, who resigned in January. Cromer led the Chiefs to a region championship in 2006 and had a 24-32 record at the school, including going 4-7 in 2009 and earning a spot in the playoffs.