COLUMBIA, S.C. — A.C. Flora head football coach Collin Drafts is leaving the team after two seasons.
Draft announced Friday that he would step down to move down to Florida. Around the same time, Nease High School in Ponte Verde, FL, just south of Jacksonville, said on Twitter that he would be the new coach for their football team.
"I met some amazing people--players, fellow coaches, students, colleagues, and now friends that I know will last a lifetime," he said in a post on social media. "It's bitter sweet for me to say now that I have decided to not return next season as the head football coach at AC Flora so I can pursue another opportunity closer to my children in the state of Florida."
Drafts was winless in 2017 in his first year with the Falcons. But in 2018, the team dramatically improved, finishing 9-3 and winning their region.
"Although it was very tough to start, I wouldn't change the struggles we endured in the beginning for anything as I know it made us better in the end," he said "This past season was by far the most rewarding season I have ever had as a coach to see our guys battle back from adversity and learn the importance of grit and perseverance in life."
Drafts was a four-year starter at Charleston Southern University, and after a few years in arena league football, went into high school coaching.