PREP FOOTBALL: Scott: I'm totally focused on being a dad

With Region-II playoff berths the last two seasons, there’s no doubt the Fauquier High School football team is on the right track, but Falcons’ head coach Mark Scott had a startling message for his players last week: He’s stepping down.

“Obviously, it’s a real tough decision, but it’s something that’s been on my mind,” Scott said by phone Wednesday. “The decision wasn’t based on the outcome of this season or any other season, it’s based on what’s best for my daughters.”

Scott, 33, has 5-year-old and 3-year-old daughters at home, and he said not spending enough time with them is what is making him step away from the program he has helped transform into a Region-II contender.

“I realized the amount of time I was spending as a head coach was taking away from the time I was spending as a dad,” Scott said. “I don’t want to be the guy who looks back 20 years from now and wonders where his daughters went.”

Scott said he informed his players of his decision last Tuesday and consulted Fauquier Athletic Director Allen Creasy about a week before his resignation was officially announced last Wednesday.

“When he first told me I asked him to take some time, talk to his wife and make sure this was the right decision,” Creasy said Thursday. “He has made his decision, and we stand behind it.”

“Mark’s character and leadership ability is a big part of why I believe we’ve built a successful program here,” Creasy continued.

Scott joined the staff at Fauquier in 2005 as an offensive assistant under current Eastern View High School head coach Greg Hatfield. The duo installed their high-powered spread offense and engineered a turnaround, going 3-7 in 2006 before making their first playoff appearance in 2007.

“That’s the hardest thing about stepping away, knowing that we’re heading in the right direction and missing working with the guys,” Scott said. “But I’m totally focused on being a dad right now.”

Scott took over as head coach in 2008 after Hatfield took the Eastern View job. He went 25-17 in four years as the Falcons’ head coach.

Scott didn’t rule out eventually rejoining the team as an assistant, but as he put it, “I’m not anticipating coaching next year.” He will, however, continue to teach Algebra and be an assistant on the track team.

Creasy declined to give a timeline as to when a new coach would be named, saying only that the process generally takes at least four to five weeks.