Hickory Ridge football coach to leave for S.C. job

Hickory Ridge High football coach Jason Seidel told the Observer he’s resigning to take a similar job in South Carolina.

Seidel will become head football coach Blythewood High. Blythewood is about a 25-minute drive from Columbia.

Seidel coached two seasons at Hickory Ridge. In 2016, his Ragin’ Bulls were 12-3 and lost to Weddington in the N.C. 3AA Western Regional championship game. In 2017, Hickory Ridge moved up to the 4A class and joined the Southwestern 4A, made up of primarily Charlotte-Mecklenburg teams. The Southwestern 4A is annually considered one of the state’s top conferences and has produced 10 state championships in the past 17 seasons.

Hickory Ridge finished 11-3 overall, going 5-2 in league play. The Ragin’ Bulls lost to Vance in the third round of the N.C. 4A playoffs.

At Blythewood, Seidel takes over a team that was 3-7 last season.

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 12:15 PM with the headline "Hickory Ridge football coach to leave for S.C. job."