Sports

RICHMOND, VA — Former Oneida High School quarterback Phillip Perry “Sparky” Woods has been named head football coach at Virginia Military Institute, it was announced earlier this month.

VMI Athletic Director Donny White made the announcement at a Feb. 15 press conference. He replaces Jim Reid, who resigned in January to accept a coaching position with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

The Keydets, who posted a 3-19 mark over the past two seasons under Reid, are a member of the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA).

Going with Sparky Woods to VMI will be brother Don Woods, who has accepted an assistant coaching position on his brother’s staff.

The two brothers have nearly seven decades of coaching experience between them — Sparky at the collegiate level and Don at the high school level.

Sparky Woods, who graduated from Oneida in 1972, was a member of the first Indians’ football team to advance to the TSSAA playoffs, in 1969. His stellar play at the signal caller position earned him a scholarship at Carson-Newman.

Following his career at C-N, Woods joined the University of Tennessee football program as a graduate assistant coach.

Woods grabbed his first head coaching job at Appalachian State in 1984. In five years at Appy State, he led the Mountaineers to back-to-back Southern Conference championships and won three consecutive conference Coach of the Year awards. In 1986, he was named the Kodak Region II Coach of the Year.

In 1989, Woods got a shot at the D-I level when he was hired by South Carolina to replace Joe Morrison, who died of a heart attack after playing racquetball before spring practice began.

Woods guided the South Carolina program as it transitioned from the ACC to the SEC. One of his highlights there was a 1992 victory over Tennessee at Williams-Brice Stadium.

That game, which was the third consecutive loss for Tennessee and ultimately led to UT head coach Johnny Majors being forced out, is remembered for a sterling fourth quarter touchdown run by Tennessee’s Mose Phillips with less than two minutes remaining, only to see Woods’ defense rise up to stop Tennessee’s two-point conversion attempt as the Vols went for the win. South Carolina won the game 24-23.

Woods was fired at South Carolina following the 1993 season. He has since served as an assistant coach, including with the NFL’s New York Jets. Most recently, he served as runningbacks coach at Alabama, but was not rehired when Nick Saban took over the Crimson Tide program last year.

Woods, who said he was “excited” about the opportunity and looking forward to “keep VMI football moving ahead in the years to come,” said that being a head coach again had been his goal.

Don Woods graduated from Oneida in 1965. He did not play football for the Indians, but still holds individual records in basketball.

A highly successful coach at the prep ranks, Woods was hired at Morristown West in 1997 following a stint in Hartselle Alabama, where he served as head coach for 17 years.

At Morristown West, Woods led the Trojans to 11 consecutive playoff appearances, and an appearance in the state title game in 2003. This decade, only one team — Morristown West — has defeated Maryville. Woods’ squad has twice defeated the Rebels.

Don and Sparky Woods are the sons of Christine and the late Onis Woods of Oneida.