Westminster overcomes Pace in a matchup of notable new coaches

The end of the night had arrived at Pace Academy’s Walsh Field. A light rain had begun to fall upon the school’s lavish athletics campus.

And while the Knights had lost to Buckhead rival Westminster 17-7, their new coach could still poke fun at himself. Friday night’s loss had evened his and the team’s record at 1-1 after a win over Chamblee High the week before.

“Shoot, if I could have, I would have retired after that first one, right?” former Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I’d be 100%.”

Minutes earlier, the night’s winning coach, also in his first season at his school, had addressed his team on the field. While declaring his pride in his team, he also exhorted his players to not be satisfied with defeating their Buckhead neighbors.

“No, it’s about us getting better,” said a raspy-voiced Nelson Stewart, a few moments before a passing freight train drowned him out and brought a premature conclusion to his postgame message.

Those who follow high school football closely either in Louisiana or in his new state of residence know Stewart just as well as Falcons fans can identify Weatherspoon, who played six seasons for the team after being selected in the first round of the 2010 draft.

Stewart might be best known as the prep coach of University of Texas quarterback Arch Manning and star NFL wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. at New Orleans’ Isidore Newman, also the alma mater of Manning’s famous uncles, Peyton and Eli Manning. Peyton Manning and Stewart were Isidore Newman teammates, in fact.

The meeting of two of the most recognizable first-year coaches in the state lent a degree of panache to the Week 2 matchup between elite private schools. Critical Pace turnovers and Westminster’s finishing power shaped the outcome as the Wildcats rallied from a 7-0 deficit by scoring all of their 17 points in the final quarter to improve to 2-0.

“The end of the game, you’ve got to knuckle down, and you’ve got to get stops,” Weatherspoon said. “They were able to run the ball in the fourth quarter, end of the third.”

Weatherspoon was in the gym business (partnering with former Falcons Mohamed Sanu and Christian Blake in Legacy Sports Complex) when the Pace job opened last December with the resignation of Nick Bach after three seasons. After coaching young football players in 7-on-7 and one-on-one training, the coaching bug had bitten Weatherspoon.

“I’m like, ‘I want more, I want more,’” he said.

Weatherspoon was familiar with Pace through Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who had four children attend the school and has been a major donor. Years ago, he helped coach the Pace team in a scrimmage. Weatherspoon said his 5-year-old daughter, Cori, was in the admissions process when the job opened last December.

Former Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, who was announced as Pace Academy's football coach in February, was familiar with Pace through Falcons owner Arthur Blank. (Courtesy of Pace Academy)

“It just kind of made sense,” he said. “I could not ask for a better group of guys, a better place to be, a place to go to work, at the Castle (the school’s original building). It’s awesome.”

His knowledge of the game is unquestioned, but he has had to learn the other facets of the job on the fly — such as managing logistics and delegating responsibility.

“Scheduling with our trainers, scheduling with campus,” he said. “Just seeing what building is open when it’s raining. Where do we go when it’s lightning?”

Growing the roster is another challenge. The Knights had about 35 players in uniform Friday. Weatherspoon has had to rely on a number of two-way players, including workhorse running back/linebacker Jalen Smith.

A physical education teacher, Weatherspoon is continually recruiting the hallways and, even after the start of the season, has more students joining the team. He has also involved parents more and built a team culture, Pace athletic director Chad Wabrek said. It’s symbolic of the leadership he showed as a Falcon, when he was named a captain in just his third season.

“That has been the thing that’s been, for me as the athletic director, just phenomenal, to watch him lead these men to be better,” Wabrek told the AJC. “That part’s just been impressive from the jump.”

Pace’s enrollment count is just under 500, and the school elects to compete three classifications up in Class AAAA, which includes schools with triple the number of students.

“We pretty much had our whole program right on the sideline,” he said. “But, hey, we’re Pace Academy. We get it. We get it. We’ve got to do more, we’ve got to give more.”

Weatherspoon had to do a little bit of everything Friday night. He was telling players to back up from the sideline, called for ballboys and exhorted the crowd before a critical down. Head high-school football coach is more difficult than he expected.

“Definitely,” he said. “It’s a lot to manage. But, hey, I signed up for it. I signed up for it. I’m going to trust the process, stick with it.”

Stewart came to Westminster under different circumstances, having been head coach at Isidore Newman for 19 seasons and compiling a record of 162-54 with seven district titles. His hire followed the retirement of Gerry Romberg after 33 seasons and seven region titles and a state title.

“I’ve been fortunate to coach some great players, great teams, but there’s a reason this opportunity comes open once every 33 years,” Stewart said. “That’s how I look at it.”

As he stayed at Isidore Newman through graduation, Stewart connected with Westminster players via videoconference. It’s not every team that learns its new offense by watching videos of it being executed by a Manning.