CCedar Shoals High School fans sit in the home bleachers in Water-Wilkins Stadium on Aug. 19, 2023 for the 57th Classic City Championship against Clarke Central High School. Rusty Charpia was announced as the newly-hired CSHS varsity football head coach on Feb. 20, replacing former head coach Leroy Ryals. “Coach Charpia will get in the halls and get the kids to come out and play football. He will empower leaders in his program that will have a big impact on the school,” L’Dreco Thomas, CSHS Athletic Director said in a Feb. 20 CCSD press release. Photo by Wyatt Meyer
A veteran coach with a history of rebuilding programs takes the helm at Cedar Shoals.
In a Feb. 20 press release, the Clarke County School District announced Rusty Charpia as the new Cedar Shoals High School head varsity football coach. The hiring comes after the Jaguars cut ties with Leroy Ryals on Dec. 17, 2024 after a winless 2024-25 season.
From 2011-2024, Charpia led Brookland-Cayce High School’s football team in Cayce, South Carolina, where he transformed the struggling program into a contender. Before his first playoff win in 2015, his teams had a record of 22-32. The next season BCHS went 12-2, winning an AAA Region 5 championship. His leadership brought continued success, the team earning four more region titles and making three South Carolina High School League AAA Final Four appearances.
Former Cedar Shoals High School head varsity football coach LeRoy Ryals talks to his players at Water-Wilkins Stadium on Aug. 19, 2023 during the 57th Classic City Championship versus Clarke Central High School. Ryals coached at CSHS for nine years but was replaced by Rusty Charpia on Feb. 20. “(Charpia) is one of my best friends,” CCHS head varsity football coach David Perno said. “It’s a great hire for Cedar.”
“Coach Charpia separated himself from the rest (of applicants) with his football resume, his energy, and his passion for coaching kids,” CSHS athletic director L’Dreco Thomas said in a Feb. 20 Clarke County School District press release.
At BCHS, Charpia became the football program’s all-time winningest coach and sent more than 60 players to college football programs. Now, he is looking to bring that same level of success to CSHS.
“I know of the rich football history from my former teammates at Clemson (University) who played here. I can’t wait to get started toward making Jaguar football a championship program,” Charpia stated in the press release.
The Jaguars aren’t just hiring Charpia for his football experience,but also to rebuild a culture and community that transcends beyond the field.
“(He) brings the energy and fire we need to reconnect our community with Jag football. We believe he is committed to developing not just great athletes, but great young men,” CSHS principal Makeba Clark said in the press release.
““I know of the rich football history from my former teammates at Clemson (University) who played here. I can’t wait to get started toward making Jaguar football a championship program.”
— Rusty Charpia,
new CSHS varsity head football coach
For crosstown rival Clarke Central High School head varsity football coach David Perno, Charpia is a welcome addition to Athens.
“I’m going to do everything I can to help him,” Perno said. “We both need to step up our game (to) make this whole community better.”
