SEARCY — For Searcy football coach Mark Kelley, he knew surrounding himself with good assistant coaches was the way to go.
Kelley recently completed his third year as head coach and fifth year at the school. The Lions went 10-3, advancing to the Class 6A state semifinals. For his part, Kelley is the 2017 Three Rivers Edition Coach of the Year.
“It is a lot easier job when you have good assistant coaches and people that you really respect and do a good job,” Kelley said. “Without those assistant coaches who have helped me through stuff and other coaches who I could lean on and guide me, it would definitely be overwhelming. For the most part, since I have great assistant coaches who have helped me with so much through the process, it makes it a fun transition. We were able to put our own stamp on everything.”
The process Kelley is referring to is being promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach when Jeromy Poole got out of coaching following the 2014 season.
Kelley’s first squad in 2015 finished 6-5, losing to El Dorado in the first round of the playoffs. A year ago, the Lions finished 7-5, beating Lake Hamilton, then losing to Pine Bluff. This year, the Lions finished third in the 6A-East standings with a 5-2 mark. Their two losses were to Pine Bluff and West Memphis.
During the 2016 playoffs, the Lions beat Lake Hamilton 35-22 and El Dorado 38-21 before falling to Pine Bluff 34-14 in the semifinals.
Kelley said the improvement each year has been consistent with the approach his team had each year.
“This past season, just being a fun year, is a testament to the hard work and excitement that all those young guys had,” he said. “The camaraderie that they build through the offseason is the culmination of that. When you buy into things and you work hard, good things sometimes happen. We had a lot of really good players who made a lot of really good breaks for us.”
One of those players is senior quarterback Mason Schucker, who transferred to Searcy before his junior season.
“When I first moved here, [Coach Kelley] made me fell welcomed,” Schucker said. “He made me feel like I had been there all along. I was just getting there. He taught me their plays and sat me down and went over them to make sure I knew what I was supposed to do out there, the concepts for each play.”
Kelley said his players were excited about the season they had in 2017.
“It was one of those years that really goes fast because a lot of guys really enjoy being around each other,” he said. “It’s a lot of guys who like to work hard and get better. It was a fun one.”
Kelley grew up in Russellville but played high school football for the Morrilton Devil Dogs. His father, Ed Kelley, was a coach and took a job working for Jimmy “Red” Parker at Fordyce prior to Mark Kelley’s senior season, which was the 2004 season. Kelley is a 2005 graduate of Fordyce High School.
He then played football at Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee.
“It was an awesome experience,” Kelley said. “I got to learn a lot of football, and some coaches gave me some opportunities to go different places.”
Kelley then became a graduate assistant at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, where he coached wide receivers and tight ends for two seasons.
Kelley then got his break into high school coaching at Crossett, where he was offensive coordinator in 2011, then head coach in 2012 before coming to Searcy.
“I had known Coach Poole,” Kelley said. “He was the linebackers coach at Fordyce. We had known him through our experience down there.”
Staff writer Mark Buffalo can be reached at (501) 399-3676 or mbuffalo@arkansasonline.com.