Woodbridge High football coach resigns

Longtime Prince William County football coach Keith King, on administrative leave since Sept. 28, has resigned as head coach at Woodbridge High School.

King, who was in his ninth season with the Vikings, has taken a physical education teaching position at Fred M. Lynn Middle School due to personal and family reasons, according to Prince William County schools spokesman Ken Blackstone.

His new position is effective immediately. Assistant coach Kevin Smith will remain the interim head football coach at Woodbridge for the remainder of this season. Smith is a 1995 Gar-Field graduate and in his second year as the Vikings’ offensive coordinator.

Blackstone would not comment on whether King’s departure was a forced resignation, stating in an e-mail the issue was a “personnel matter.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, King was still listed on vikingsathletics.org team’s head coach. A call made to the King residence was unreturned as of 4:30 p.m. King was also unable to be reached at Fred Lynn at approximately 3 p.m.

King was placed on administrative leave for what was described by Blackstone as a “personnel issue.”

Woodbridge principal David Huckestein met with the varsity team following practice Tuesday to inform the players and coaching staff of the situation.

“[Huckestein] told me earlier today that he wanted to meet with the team after practice,” said Smith, in his fourth year with the program. “He didn’t say what it was about, but you could put two and two together.”

Smith said Huckestein “choked up” at times during the announcement. Smith added that the players did not know before Tuesday that King would not be returning.

“Coach [King] said this is a family issue, so we want to respect that,” Smith said. “He’s done so much for the program, with five straight playoff appearances. This is a tough day for Woodbridge football.”

The team gathered together after Huckestein finished and executed its traditional huddle break with helmets held overhead before hustling off the practice field to the locker room.

“Our break was maybe not as enthusiastic [as usual],” Smith said of the team’s mood.

“As far as the questions from the media, the public and inside the school, it’s done. We can move on,” he added. “In that sense, it’s a good thing to have a decision. But it’s not good to lose someone like coach King.”

Including the first three games of this season, King led the Vikings to a 56-37 mark, including a state final berth in 2007 and an unbeaten regular season in 2008. Woodbridge is 6-0 and No. 7 in the Associated Press Group AAA poll this season.

Before his stint with the Vikings, King coached Potomac High School in 1999 and 2000, going 16-6. That includes an 11-1 mark in 2000 when the Panthers won the Cardinal District and snapped Hylton’s 39-game winning streak, which was one win short of the Virginia record.

In his first 10 years, he went to the playoffs six times, once with Potomac and five with Woodbridge (2004-2008). With three wins this season at the helm, King has a career 72-43 overall record.

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-878-8062. Staff writer Joe Conroy contributed to this report.