Severn's Kirchenheiter named Ravens Coach of the Week
Severn first-year football coach Chris Kirchenheiter was named the Ravens High School Coach of the Week Tuesday after leading the Admirals to a 42-7 victory over Friends that ensured the program its first winning season in five years.
Kirchenheiter, a former Severna Park assistant coach, has the Admirals off to a 6-1 start -- a considerable improvement over last year's 0-10 finish.
"We came in and had 11 seniors and they said, 'We want to change. We want to do something different,'" Kirchenheiter said in a news release. "So we put it on the 11 seniors to take charge. As a coaching staff, we put things in place to help them, but it was up to the 11 seniors to make it happen and that's exactly what they've done."
In Saturday's win over Friends, running back Jared Ryan scored two second-quarter touchdowns for a 14-0 halftime lead. Quarterback Ben Priddy threw for two touchdowns and kicked all seven extra points.
The Admirals are in first place in the MIAA C Conference with a 4-0 record and one opponent, Lutheran, left to play. If they beat the Saints (5-3, 2-1 conference), the Admirals will amass as many wins this fall as they have the last four years combined.
Kirchenheiter has coached on the youth level with the Green Hornets, on the high school level with Severna Park and Lake Braddock as well as on the college level at the North Carolina, but this is his first stint as a head coach.
"It's a great opportunity to coach at Severn," he said. "It's a dream come true. I'm in my hometown and in my neighborhood. I coached many of these young men in youth football and now in high school. It's been an exciting opportunity for me."
The Ravens will make a $2,000 donation to the Admirals football program in Kirchenheiter's name and he will join previous season winners at the Ravens-Browns game on Dec. 24 at M&T Bank Stadium where the Ravens will announce their High School Coach of the Year.
Previous winners this season: Catonsville's Rich Hambor, Glenelg's Butch Schaffer, New Town's Joe Holland and Reginald F. Lewis' Donte' Foster.
