NEWPORT NEWS, VA (WTKR)- Danny Dodson has built Woodside football into a force to be reckoned with on the Peninsula. Now he's turning over the keys to somebody else.
Dodson informed his team on Tuesday that he's stepping down as the Wolverines' head coach after 24 seasons. The high school's Facebook post announcing his retirement said that he's looking to refocus and spend more time with his family.
Since 1999, Dodson has patrolled the Woodside sideline, only suffering five losing seasons in his 24 years. The Wolverines have made the playoffs in each of the last nine full football schedules and 14 of the last 15. 2011 saw the team post a perfect 10-0 regular season before falling to Bayside in the opening round of the playoffs in overtime. That included a 14-9 win over Phoebus, snapping the Phantoms' 52-game winning streak.
The longtime head coach walks away with 158 wins pacing the Wolverines and led the program to the region title game on three separate occasions.
Dodson pulled Woodside up shortly after the school was established. The Wolverines went 2-8 during his first season in 1999 and followed that up with a winless campaign. By 2002, they had put together an 8-2 record, signifying the start of the impressive turnaround.
Woodside now searches for a new head coach for the first time in nearly a quarter-century. The position is currently posted on the school system's website.
