Coach Clod resigns at Benton High

BENTON — After nine seasons as the head football coach at Benton Consolidated High School, Jeremy Clodfelder is moving to central Illinois.
Clodfelder submitted his resignation to the District 103 Board of Education, which was accepted on Thursday night.
Clodfelder has accepted a similar position at Paris High School, according to the Benton High School football website.
Clodfelder was 39-46 during his nine seasons at Benton. His teams in 2011 and 2012 qualified for the postseason playoffs with records of 8-3 and 9-2, respectively. In the last three seasons, the Rangers were 9-18, including a disappointing 2-7 mark this past campaign.
The season started off with high hopes after a big overtime victory over playoff bound Carterville. However, the team was hit with the injury bug and lost two or three games by less than one touchdown.  Toward the end of the season, the team had lost its momentum and any chance of making the playoffs.
According to a Facebook posting by Clodfelder to Ranger Nation, the coach stated, "We can assure you that deciding to leave here has been much more difficult than our decision to come here. The reason for this has been because of so many people.
"I have often repeated that people make a place, and the people with whom we have connected with here will be lifelong friends and certainly hard to leave behind."
Clodfelder used the space to thank school officials, friends and coaches he and his family were acquainted with while in Benton.
He also thanked Ranger Nation for "your support for us and the program will always make our time here special."
He said the hardest part of the decision to leave are the present players.
"Continue the work that you have already invested in and things will certainly work out for you," he challenged.
The Board voted to post the head football job and approved Sean Docherty as a volunteer wrestling coach and Josh Kinsman as a volunteer assistant football coach through the remainder of the 2015-16 school year.
The board also accepting a letter of retirement from Jerry Vaughn as a bus driver, effective Friday; and approved posting the vacancy for the remainder of the school year.