Reis Wright is returning back to his Platte County roots to take over the North Platte football program.
Wright, a 2001 Platte County graduate and member of the 1999 and 2000 Class 3A state championship-winning teams, went on to play football at William Jewell. He takes over for Josh Rodriguez, who spent three years at the helm of the program, compiling a 9-23 record at the school, including a Class 1 District 7 Championship Game appearance in 2015. The Panthers finished with five wins that year with a memorable upset of top seeded Wellington-Napoleon in the semifinals and a rare 2-0 win against Gallatin to start the year.
“I was looking to get back in the area,” Wright said. “I was literally blown away by the opportunity. It’s a great place to be. When I was a young kid in high school they won state in 1998. I’ve always been proud of them and when I saw the opening I knew I needed to jump at it. I can’t wait to work with the kids, administration and community.”
Wright comes to North Platte after compiling an 11-29 record after two year stints in Cass Midway (4-16) and Carrolton (7-13), marked improvements for the coach who helped build Richmond from an 0-10 team to a state championship winning team in a seven-year stent with the Spartans.
“I’ve won a state championship as a player and an assistant, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wanted to win one as a head coach,” Wright said. “There are other objectives too. I want to create young people with a love of the game and community. Football is a great sport with numerous lessons learned. I have learned a lot from the game and I want to give back to the game what I can.”
Wright will bring a simple game plan and disciplined play to Dearborn, in a similar mindset to what Rodriguez instilled in the team.
“We want to field a competitive team,” Wright said. “The KCI conference is tough. I’m not coming from one that is easy, but we want to be as competitive as possible with good line play. We will know what we are doing. We will not have a million things going on. We want to be great at as many things as we can and not good or average at a bunch of things.”
Wright comes back to Platte county with wife Cassie and son Willis, 3.
“I saw the job and a chance to relocate back home and felt it was fate,” Wright said. “I’m going to be there a long time and impact a lot of lives. A lot of lives will impact me as well.”