MIAASports.net has confirmed that Loyola Blakefield assistant coach Blake Henry has been named the new head football coach at Mount St. Joseph High School. He replaces Chip Armstrong who stepped down at the end of last season.
Henry was introduced to his new team on Friday morning.
“I have enjoyed my time as a teacher and a coach at Loyola over the past five years. Loyola is a great school with a promising future both on and off the football field,” said Henry. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of being the head football coach at Mount St. Joe and leading the Gaels to the MIAA A Conference championship.”
Henry is a 1998 graduate of Loyola where he was a high school All-American at offensive guard. Initially, he accepted a football scholarship to Northwestern but eventually transferred to Wake Forest where he went on to earn first-team All-ACC honors as a senior.
Out of college, Henry signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons, but he did not stick in the NFL. In 2003 he returned to Loyola as a teacher and assistant football coach and eventually took over the roles of offensive line coach and defensive coordinator.
During his tenure with Loyola head coach Brian Abbott, the Dons have won or shared four MIAA A Conference titles. Loyola also ran off 19 straight victories from the end of the 2006 season through the midway point of last season, including a perfect 11-0 record in 2008. That run was part of streak which produced 37 wins in 39 games dating back to 2005.
Henry also was an excellent basketball player at Loyola and has served as the school’s freshman basketball coach over the last few years. He will join the faculty at Mount St. Joseph and be on staff full time.
Henry was hired from a strong list of candidates which included several top high school and college assistants from both Baltimore and Washington.
