Three new head coaches picked to lead the Vikings

Two assistant coaches and a brand new but very familiar face will fill head coaching vacancies next year at Cook County High School.

Longtime assistant football coach Bryan Carpenter will take over as the Vikings’ head football coach in the fall. He will replace Mitch Dorr who, after 20 years as a Viking assistant and head football coach, moved from teaching into administration.

After 37 years as the Vikings’ head volleyball coach, Pam Taylor is retiring. Filling her very large shoes will be Marlene Wester, who like Carpenter, moves up from an assistant volleyball coaching position to take over the top job.

The new boys’ basketball coach is very familiar to Viking fans. Not too many years ago Colin Everson could be seen on the basketball court using his speed and strength to get by defensive players and get a basket when the Vikings absolutely needed a score. Colin originally went to Morris to play basketball (and to get his education) but the Morris football coach convinced him to try out for the football team as a freshman, and Colin stayed and played four years, setting a record for sacking quarterbacks from his defensive end position. In addition to coaching, Colin will teach middle school math at I.S.D. 166.

Everson, like Carpenter, will fill the head coaching duties left by Dorr, who spent many years as the girls’ head basketball coach before moving over to coach the boys. Coach Dorr, in fact, was Colin’s head coach in both basketball and football.