By WESLEY HALLMAN / Sports Editor

Vince DiLorenzo, head coach of defending Alabama Independent Schools Association Class 1A football champion Coosa Valley Academy, has resigned to take the head coaching position at Woodland High School in Stockbridge, Ga., said Coosa Valley secretary Diane McMillan.

Coosa Valley head baseball coach Bobby Hughes was named the school’s new head football coach following DiLorenzo’s Feb. 11 resignation. Hughes will coach both baseball and football at the school.

DiLorenzo, who spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Coosa Valley before taking over as head coach prior to the 2009 season, led the Rebels to a 20-6 mark in his two seasons at the helm with the Rebels. DiLorenzo led Coosa Valley to an 11-2 record and an AISA Class 1A region championship in addition to the school’s first state title since 1984 last season.

DiLorenzo, who won Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 5A championships in 1986 and 1991 at Gadsden, spent four seasons as the head coach at Spain Park before taking taking an assistant coaching position at Coosa Valley. DiLorenzo graduated from West Rome High School in Rome, Ga.

DiLorenzo said the opening at Woodland allowed him to return closer to his Georgia roots.

“It’s a chance to get back close to family,” DiLorenzo said.

DiLorenzo, who called Coosa Valley’s AISA Class 1A championship a highlight of his coaching career, said he was thankful for the support he received from school faculty and members of the Harpersville community. DiLorenzo especially praised Coosa Valley headmaster Pam Lovelady.

“I couldn’t have done anything without her support and involvement,” DiLorenzo said. “Every time she became involved in something, she made it better.”

Hughes, who spent the past two seasons as an assistant football coach under DiLorenzo, led the Rebels to an AISA Class 1A baseball championship last spring. DiLorenzo, who recruited Hughes to Coosa Valley from South Montgomery County Academy, said the football program is in good shape under the leadership his former assistant.

“I know his teams are always well-coached and fundamentally sound,” DiLorenzo said. “He may be even more disciplined and tougher than I am. He became one of my best friends. He was an equal part in the state championship.”