Gulf to interview 3 for football job

Posted Sep 1, 2010 by Eddie Daniels

Updated Sep 1, 2010 at 12:57 PM

Gulf High School has received several applications for the job left vacant after head coach Jay Fulmer resigned last week following an investigation into recruiting.

The local candidates are Tim Boggess, Kenneth Hollar and Tom Carter.

Hollar, a Gulf assistant, who along with Brandon Rusche are handling the Buccaneers’ offense and defense, respectively. Boggess is another Bucs assistant coach. Meanwhile, Carter is a longtime football assistant, which coached at Land O’ Lakes.

According to an e-mail from Gulf principal Steve Knobl: “We are only interviewing these three applicants at this time. We have other applicants outside the district and state, but due to the urgency and timing, we have chosen to interview internal applicants only at this time. The interviews will be tomorrow and we hope to make an official announcement by Friday.”

Following five years leading the Gulf football program, Fulmer, 43, resigned after an investigation by county athletic director Phil Bell into alleged illegal recruiting violations in the Buccaneers football program. The Gulf program recently came under scrutiny for the transfers of Ty’Shon Peters and Kris Aratchiysky from Anclote High to Gulf. The program has also been investigated for improper player contact.

During Fulmer’s tenure, the Buccaneers went 31-22, earning the program’s first playoff berth in just his second season. His team fell one game shy of a playoff appearance during his first season at the helm.

The team’s best season came in 2008 when the Bucs went to the Class 3A region semifinals. That year, they went 10-2, the school’s only 10-win season.

Fulmer, a native of Kentucky, coached at Louisville Seneca High from 1994-98 and Louisville Moore from 1999-2003.

During those seasons, Fulmer went 45-61, earning four state playoff berths and two state rankings. In his second season at Seneca, he led the program to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 19 seasons.

At Moore, Fulmer led a program that had gone 5-55 over the previous six seasons to a 7-3 record his first year. The next season, the team went 7-4 and reached the state playoffs. He resigned in 2003 following an 0-4 start.