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Shane Elkin no longer football coach at Milford

Shane Elkin out as football coach at Milford High School

Scott Springer
sspringer@communitypress.com
Elkin

MILFORD — Milford High School and football coach Shane Elkin have had a parting of the ways on the gridiron.  Head coach at Milford since 2010, the Eagles were 20-50 in that time.  Their best season during his tenure was 2014 when they were 5-5 and kept defending Division II champion Loveland out of the playoffs with a 20-17 victory on Halloween night.

Elkin addressed the team Monday in the presence of Athletic Director Mark Trout and Principal Josh Kauffman.

"The district just decided to go a different route," Elkin said. "We feel we did some really good things as a program, but we had some issues this year with some injuries. We felt like we should've gone 8-2 and we went 2-8.  It's a shame for the kids because they played their tails off. The community wants wins and I completely understand that."

Milford went through four quarterbacks during the course of the season and eventually the job went to senior Chase Witte who led the Eastern Cincinnati Conference in rushing with 1,099 yards.  Senior teammate Dawson Slone was third in the league with 822 yards.

"Everyone knew with our quarterback situation, they had to crowd the box," Elkin said. "We weren't doing a good job throwing the ball with so many injuries. Those two guys (Witte and Slone) really ran the ball great behind a great effort by the offensive line."

Elkin says he had a good working relationship with AD Trout and Principal Kauffman. He plans on coaching again somewhere in some capacity and has already had inquiries.

"I'm not going to stop coaching because of this; it's part of the job," Elkin said. "You just pick up and go on. I'm going to keep my options open. I love the game too much. I've been doing it for 23 years and I'm not going to stop now."

Elkin has had coaching stops at Simon Kenton, Thomas More College, Winton Woods and McNicholas in addition to Milford. He continues as a math teacher at the Milford Junior High School.  While a search for a new coach begins, assistant Shane Bartholomew has been named as interim head coach.

"I'm going to miss those kids is what it boils down to," Elkin said. "I'm going to miss those kids every day. But look, it's part of this job. You have to have thick enough skin to realize there's going to be half the people that love you and half the people that hate you. And, each day the half changes. It's part of the profession and I don't have any negative feelings toward Milford."

In an emailed statement, Milford AD Trout thanked Elkin for his hard work, dedication and investment to the program.  The job is now officially open.

"We are committed to finding the best possible subsequent head coach to lead our teams/athletes to success, both on and off the football field. We have a lot of positive investment in our football program here at Milford! The district will get feedback from multiple sources in the coming weeks and there will be both an administrative review committee as well as an input committee with parent/community representation to help in the decision."