Virginia High School Football Team Names New Head Coach

A Virginia high school football team will be under the direction of a new head coach when the 2026 season gets underway in the fall.

Lord Botetourt High School announced Nick Leftwich as the school's new head football coach for the Cavaliers. He replaces Jamie Harless, who left to take the same position at Union High School in Appalachia.

Leftwich served as the head football coach at William Fleming High School for three seasons, going 27-12 overall during that time. He led the Colonels to an 8-04 record and a Blue Ridge district title (5-0 in district play) in 2025 and two appearances in the Region 5C finals during that three-year run. After a 2-3 start last season, Leftwich guided his team to six straight wins before being eliminated from the postseason by Highland Springs.

Nick Leftwich Has Found Success At His Previous Stops Coaching High School Football

Prior to his run at William Fleming, Leftwch was the head coach at Cave Spring High School for two seasons, leading them to a playoff appearances and six wins in 2022. He is a former Salem high School quarterback who played college football at the University of Virginia-Wise.

Leftwich’s most recent team at William Fleming had several players sign with four-year programs to continue playing football, including three who are headed to West Virginia State University and others who have signed with Bluefield University and Tennessee Tech.

This past season, Lord Botetourt finished with a 9-4 record, falling in the playoffs to Magna Vista, 65-34. They had picked up postseason wins over Cave Spring and William Byrd before the season-ending loss.

Virginia High School Will Need To Replace Several Key Football Players In 2026

Leftwich will need to replace quarterback Angel Rigney, who threw for nearly 700 yards and ran for almost 1,000 more for Lord Botetourt in 2025, along with the team's second-leading rusher Quinten Jones, who carried the ball for 719 yards on the ground.

Aaron Lyle, a junior, ran for 162 yards and a touchdown in six combined games is back. He did record a 100-yard rushing performance during that span.

Lord Botetourt High School was established in 1959 and has an enrollment of around 1,000 students. The Cavaliers compete in the Blue Ridge District Region III and are the alma mater to Zach Horton of the Detroit Lions in the NFL and Zack Kelly, a member of the Boston Red Sox of the MLB.