After 11 seasons leading the Ray football program, Craig Charlton will retire from his post in December, the coach confirmed Thursday.
Charlton amassed a record of 40-74 leading the Texans including three playoff berths, a bi-district win in 2018. He finished his 33rd season as a football coach mostly with Ray, Austin High and Round Rock Westwood.
Charlton was the third-longest tenured coach in Texans football history behind Allen McCord and Bill Stages, who started the program and won a state championship in 1959. He replaced Cody Simper in 2015 when Simper left Ray to become the head coach at Veterans Memorial.
Charlton said rebuilding the staff at Ray was a challenge as most departed for Vets, but he had interest from across the state to come coach with him. The Texans went 2-8 in his first season, which he said was a challenge, but the team went to work in the offseason and churned out a 7-3 season in his second campaign.
After an injury-plagued 2017 that saw Ray go 5-5, Charlton’s high-water mark with the Texans came in 2018 when they went 7-5 and won the school’s first playoff game since 2012, behind All-South Texas MVP Brad Breckenridge.
“I’ve been blessed in every program I’ve been a part of,” Charlton said. “At Round Rock Westwood we won first district championship ever in school history and were ranked in Top 25. At Austin High we were ranked in Top 25 after third year. Ray was ranked in Top 25 after our fourth year. Every program had gone up, but then COVID hit and that was hard.
“Ray was the first program we really rebuilt twice.”
Corpus Christi senior director of athletics Kevin Hendrickson praised the work Charlton did on and off the field at the school.
“With Craig, he has done a good job in the community at Ray High School,” Hendrickson said. “Engagement with the high school and booster participation, and money they’ve raised. They saw a lot of improvement this year and went from 2-9 to 5-6. He overcame a lot. He took over the program after Veterans Memorial opened with much of the staff leaving. He’s done a good job with what he’s had, especially with a lot of coaching movement.”
This is the second consecutive season a CCISD program has been open. Austin Menner just completed his first season leading the King football team.
Hendrickson said the district has not posted the Ray head football coach/athletic coordinator position yet, and a timeline to hire Charlton’s replacement is still in the works.
“Ray is going to be good next year, but it was time for me to step aside and focus on my family,” Charlton said.
Charlton did not rule out a return to the sidelines at some point in his future and said he and his family plan to stay in Corpus Christi.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Ray football coach Craig Charlton announces retirement after 11 seasons
Reporting by Quinton Martinez, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
