Shaw leaves Elkins for Watson Chapel Junior High

Thurman Shaw has stepped down as head football coach at Elkins and accepted a position at Watson Chapel Junior High.
Thurman Shaw has stepped down as head football coach at Elkins and accepted a position at Watson Chapel Junior High.

Thurman Shaw has stepped down as head football coach at Elkins and accepted a position at Watson Chapel Junior High.

Shaw, who was 15-18 in three seasons at Elkins with three playoff appearances, cited a desire to return home. His mother lives in Pine Bluff, where Shaw graduated from high school.

"I love it up here in Northwest Arkansas, and I hate to leave these kids," Shaw said. "But my mother is going to be 89 years old this year, and I've been thinking about this for a while.

"I've been gone for 45 years, and I only get back down there about three times a year. So it's a selfish move on my part, but when you're not near your family, it's tough. And I'm grateful to Watson Chapel for the opportunity."

Elkins athletic director Aaron Clark said the school hopes to have a new coach in place by May 1.

"We want someone who is currently a high school head coach," Clark said. "Or someone who is a coordinator. So that takes out some of the other assistants, but we should have a good group of applicants."

Shaw played offensive and defensive line at Arkansas from 1977-81. Prior to his head coach stint at Elkins, he was an assistant with the Elks for 10 seasons and spent four years as an assistant at Prairie Grove.

Sports on 04/14/2016

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