BANGOR, Maine — A longtime football friendship has led to a coaching collaboration on the sidelines at John Bapst Memorial High School.
Haggie Pratt, the veteran head coach at Dexter, Nokomis of Newport and, for the last four years, at Mount View of Thorndike, has stepped down from the latter position to become associate head football coach under Dan O’Connell at John Bapst.
O’Connell, who recently was promoted to athletic director at the Bangor school, is remaining head football coach for the Crusaders and said Pratt’s experience will prove beneficial as he juggles both responsibilities this fall.
“When this all came about and I was going to move into the athletic director’s chair, the thought was that I would need to delegate and really lean on my staff as needed to get through the (football) season and that there may be some times when I might be pulled away,” said O’Connell.
“Haggie and I have developed a good friendship and we’ve been talking about (coaching together) for years, so I took a stab in the dark and shot him a text a couple of weeks ago and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got an opening for an offensive coordinator if you’re interested,’ figuring he would laugh it off like he has before. But this time he wrote back asking if I was serious.”
Pratt, a 1974 graduate of Dexter Regional High School, served as head coach at his alma mater from 1994 to 2005 and later was an assistant coach at Nokomis for two seasons before becoming the Warriors’ head coach from 2008 through 2012.
Pratt then moved to Mount View, where was named the LTC’s coach of the year in 2015 after guiding the Mustangs to their first playoff berth since 2011. Mount View finished third in the final Class D North regular-season standings and concluded the year with a 7-3 record after making its first trip to the LTC semifinals.
The Mustangs had another winning season under Pratt last fall, finishing 5-4 and ranked fifth in Class D North, just missing the LTC’s four-team playoffs.
“It just feels like the right time to make a change,” said Pratt, who was leading the summer football program at Mount View before joining John Bapst’s workouts this week. “I love the kids over at Mount View, that’s not it. There’s not a reason in the world that I’d want to leave Mount View other than this seems like a little bit of a better opportunity for me. We play every home game at Husson on a turf field, they have great facilities, and every game is on Friday night this year which makes it better for family.”
Mount View is expected to be among the upper-tier teams in the LTC again this fall.
“There was great support from everybody at Mount View, and the kids are awesome,” said Pratt. “If we did not win a championship it was not because the kids were not putting in the effort.”
Pratt’s move leaves a coaching vacancy at Mount View.
“We’re going to be accepting applications,” said Chris Moreau, the school’s athletic administrator, “and are looking forward to a full applicant pool.”
While Pratt won’t be the head coach at John Bapst, he is looking forward to his roles with the Crusaders, including as the team’s offensive coordinator.
“Dan’s given me a lot of freedom to call the offense the way I want and have input on anything I’d like to speak to,” said Pratt. “I have head coaching experience and that’s what he needs because there are going to be times when his athletic director responsibilities are going to come over football responsibilities. Now he’s got me with 30 years of experience to step in whenever he needs me.”
John Bapst hopes to rebound from back-to-back 1-7 seasons in Class C North, or the Big 10 Conference. The Crusaders are scheduled to open their regular season on Sept. 1 at home against Mattanawcook Academy of Lincoln at the Winkin Complex on the Husson campus.
“I told Haggie about the situation I was in and how I could really use someone who has been a head coach and that my other assistants are on board and think the world of him,” said O’Connell. “As we talked, everything I asked he had an answer for and ultimately he said, ‘I’m in.’
“I’m just elated.”
