Forest Hills football coach John Lowery retires

Longtime Forest Hills High football coach John Lowery has retired.

Lowery has worked at the school since 1978, when he began as an assistant football and head baseball coach. From 1978-98 as the Yellow Jackets baseball coach, Lowery won 250 games and the 1997 N.C. High School Athletic Association 3A state title.

After serving as an assistant with the football team for seven years, including in 1984 -- when Forest Hills won a state title -- Lowery took over the head job in 1986. His high school football teams won 16 conference championships and 266 games. Lowery’s teams missed the playoffs one time.

As a golf coach from 1998-2003, Lowery’s teams won three conference championships.

“It is a rarity that you come across a man who has devoted his entire adult life to an institution as John Lowery has,” said Forest Hills athletics director Warren Taylor. “The names John Lowery and Forest Hills High School are almost synonymous. We certainly are saddened that this day has come and wish coach nothing but the best in the next phase of his life. John Lowery has given so much of himself to his athletes, coaches, Forest Hills High School, Union County Public Schools, and the NCHSAA over his 37 year career.”

This story was originally published November 17, 2015 at 8:20 PM with the headline "Forest Hills football coach John Lowery retires."