LANCASTER — Tom Waranavage has resigned his post as Cedar Crest’s head varsity football coach.
The Falcons went 2-5 in L-L League Section 1 and 3-7 overall this past season, and 11-39 in five seasons under Waranavage’s watch.
“It’s time to step back and for someone else to step in and move the program forward,” Waranavage told PennLive.
Waranavage is the second L-L football coach to step down since the end of the regular season; Solanco’s Joe Pearson resigned his post after the Golden Mules’ season finale.
Before coming to Cedar Crest, Waranavage previously served as head coach for Biglerville and Susquehannock and he was an assistant coach for South Western and Gettysburg College.
In five seasons at Susquehannock, Waranavage guided the Warriors to York/Adams Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 2 titles in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
He was the head coach at Biglersville for six seasons before taking over at Susquehannock, which went 35-13 under his watch.
Waranavage, who succeeded Mike Robinson as the Falcons' coach, tendered his resignation on Tuesday, informed the team of his intentions to step down on Wednesday, and Cedar Crest’s school board will vote to approve his resignation next week.
Waranavage, a Tamaqua native and Muhlenberg College grad, said he was proud of his time as the Falcons’ head coach, and pointed to several areas where he saw growth over the last five years.
Like the Falcons’ youth program; like his players getting involved with community service; like sending players to college to play football; like sending players into the military to serve the county; like the addition of a first-period weight room class for athletes to workout in the morning; and like increased numbers in the program — 67 kids came out for this year’s team back in August.
Cedar Crest had victories against rival Lebanon, Warwick and McCaskey this season, averaging 25 points and 322 yards per game this fall.
“I’m very, very proud of the kids,” Waranavage said. “They kept coming back out and they kept working hard. They never packed their tents. They never quit.”
Waranavage and his wife each teach in the Cedar Crest district; he’s a ninth-grade social studies teacher and said the only coaching he’ll be doing in the immediate future is helping out with his son’s little league baseball team for the second year in a row in the spring.
Waranavage said he hopes to coach football again — but he's going to step aside for a little while and catch his breath.