Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Three former coaches to be recognized at community event
REARDAN-This fall, Reardan's head football coach won't be Eric Nikkola, Dan Graham or Gene Smith. It'll be the first time that's happened since 1968.
In light of Nikkola's retirement and the fact that the school has had just three head men running the football program for the past 53 seasons, the school district is planning to host a "50 Years of Football" banquet recognizing Nikkola, Graham and Smith Saturday, April 23 in the school gym.
The idea for the event came from Nikkola himself.
"We wanted to celebrate Coach Nik and his retirement, but it was his idea to make it more about celebrating the program," Reardan superintendent Eric Sobotta said. "He's a humble guy, but he definitely deserves to be celebrated."
Smith coached 24 seasons from 1969-1992. He was followed by Graham, who coached 11 seasons from 1993-2003. Nikkola was the coach for the last 18 seasons from 2004-2021.
The banquet won't be explicitly open to the public, but it will be open to anyone associated with the Reardan football program in the last 50-plus years. That could include current and former players, staff and boosters.
"If you've played for Reardan at any point, you can come in celebration of over 50 years of Reardan football," Nikkola said.
"We're going to be limited to people we can fit in the gym," Sobotta added. "When there's 50 years to cover, we think there's going to be a lot of interest from people wanting to attend."
Nikkola is hopeful that the event can also be a welcoming of the incoming football coach, which has yet to be announced.
"Ideally, we will have dinner catered and sell tickets for admission," Nikkola said.
The event will be emceed by SWX sports director Dennis Patchin and will likely include speeches from all three coaches and a player from each coach's tenure.
"We're tentatively planning on Ian Wagner for Eric, since he was his first quarterback," Sobotta said.
The district also plans to sell sweatshirts at the event with the event's logo, each coach's win-loss record and the years of their state championships displayed.
A time for the April 23 event has not been decided by the district yet.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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