C-M’s Spencer resigns post

Spencer Patterson

Thursday, Nov. 30, 2000 | 10:54 a.m.

Saying simply that the time has come to move on, Cimarron-Memorial head football coach Greg Spencer has announced his resignation after 10 years at the high school.

"I think it's just time to step down and let someone else do it," Spencer said. "The tough part is resigning from a program that's well established and leaving a good bunch of kids, supportive parents and a great coaching staff. But all good things come to an end."

The 44-year-old Spencer, the school's head coach since it opened in the fall of 1991, leaves with a 75-30 record, including a 12-4 postseason mark. The Spartans appeared in three straight 4A state title games from 1997-99, capturing back-to-back state championships in 1998 and '99.

This past season, Cimarron finished unbeaten in the regular season for the first time in school history, winding up 10-1 after falling to Bishop Gorman in the Sunset Region semifinals.

"It will be big shoes to fill for whoever takes the job," Cimarron athletic director Faron Springer said. "You've got a team that three years in a row played for the state championship and won two of those. And how many schools in town would love to be 10-1 this year and nationally ranked?"

Spencer said he plans to pursue other coaching opportunities in town and indicated that he will consider the prospect of being on the sideline for another school by next season.

"I'm resigning from here, but that doesn't mean I won't try to coach somewhere else," he said. "I'll have to wait and see what's available."

Besides Cimarron, Cheyenne, Rancho and Boulder City are currently without head coaches, with several other area schools and coaches still weighing their options. Also, two new 4A schools are slated to open next year, one in Henderson and another in the southwest part of town.

Desert Shields coach George Perry announced his resignation after 10 seasons during the regional playoffs. Rams coach John Engel has turned in his resignation after two years at the helm at Rancho. And Eagles coach Dan Cahill recently stepped down after six years at Boulder City.

Spencer, who came to Cimarron after serving as an assistant coach at Chaparral and Valley, played collegiately at UNLV and has lived in Southern Nevada since 1975. Under his watch, more than a dozen Spartan players have gone on to play college football, including current standouts Vernon Fox (Fresno State) and Arnold Parker (Utah).

"I don't think there's another coach like him in Las Vegas," said Cimarron senior Kyler Rushton, a three-year varsity starter. "The whole program basically centered around him. He really cared about the kids. He wanted to see us turn into men."

Spencer's son, Chase, was a senior on this year's Cimarron team, serving as two-year starter on defense and a part-time contributor on offense.

"I wouldn't have resigned before he was done," said Spencer, who will continue to teach weight training at Cimarron for the remainder of the school year.

Springer said the school will begin a coaching search immediately, and that principal Ken Bedrosian has already "sent feelers out" to Spencer's assistant coaches.

"There are some people on campus who could handle it, but it's still real preliminary to say whether it will be someone here already or someone outside," Springer said.

Whoever does take over the job will inherit a squad that loses a large corps of senior starters, but returns leading rusher Kellen Marshall and quarterback Danny Phee, among others.

"The program is still intact," Spencer said. "We never placed wins and losses as a means of measuring. It started with good kids and old-fashioned work ethic. The reason I coached and the assistants put all the time in is seeing kids get better, and as long as kids get better, you'll win football games."