Two coaches who have led their teams to perfect 3-0 starts in the 2006 high school football season have been selected as the week three NFL High School Coach of the Week award winners for the state of Washington.

Ron Lepper of Mt. Baker High School led his Mountaineers to a 45-20 victory over Sehome High School on September 15. The victory improved Mt. Baker’s season record to 3-0. Lepper is in his 11th year at the school.

First-year head coach Jim Sharkey has the Ferris High School Saxons off to a surprising 3-0 start and sitting atop the Greater Spokane League standings. The Saxons have defeated North Central, East Valley and in week three, cross-town rival Lewis & Clark High School.

The NFL High School Coach of the Week award winners in Washington State are selected by members of the Washington State Football Coaches Association. Recipients of the award receive a $500 donation for their football program from the Seattle Seahawks and a $100 savings bond from Sterling Savings Bank. At the conclusion of the high school football season, one coach will be selected as the NFL High School Coach of the Year for the state of Washington. The NFL High School Coach of the Year receives a $2,000 grant.

Ferris picks football coach from Battle Ground

Vince Grippi
Staff writer
April 22, 2006

Ferris High has chosen Battle Ground coach Jim Sharkey as its new football coach, contingent on approval by the Spokane School District board. The board is expected to act on the appointment Wednesday.

"It probably came down to his successful years as a head football coach," said Ferris principal Erik Ohlund when asked why Sharkey was selected. "We also heard from everyone we talked with that he drew kids into the program and kept them in the program."

Sharkey replaces Clarence Hough, who resigned after the 2005 season.

"We love the school, love the city and I really feel strongly it's an opportunity to go to the next level."

Sharkey, 39, and wife Kelly have two children, son Drew, 12, and daughter Hayley, 9.

Sharkey graduated from Washington State University in 1988 and started his high school head-coaching career at Waitsburg, where he twice took the Cardinals to the State B-11 playoffs, including their first playoff appearance in 1997. He moved to Woodland, a 2A school north of Vancouver, in 1999, before taking over at Battle Ground in 2003. The Tigers lost state play-in games that year and last season.

In 10 years as a head coach, Sharkey has 58-40 overall record.