Written by PNJ Reporter: Thyrie Bland

Escambia High School's head football coach and an assistant coach are under investigation by School District officials and the Escambia County Sheriff's Office.
Head coch Scott Anderson and assistant coach Timothy Jansky both are on paid administrative leave while the Sheriff's Office probes allegations they tried to intimidate a football player into not pursing criminal charges against another player.
One player has accused the other of punching him in the head, the Sheriff's Office said.
Anderson could not be reached Friday for comment. Jansky would not comment when he was reached.
No charges have been filed against the coaches.
The investigation is ongoing, Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Mike Ward said Friday afternoon.
The team's defensive coordinator, Kerry McDowell, coached the Gators on Friday night against Milton High School. Milton won the game, 14-6.
Athletic director Roger Mayo said decisions on the team's future would be made on a "day-to-day basis."
Escambia High Principal Mike Sherrill asked some school staff members who are former football coaches to be on the sideline Friday night to support the team.
Sherrill talked to the team after school Friday and explained the situation to the players.
"We want our kids to have the best opportunity, obviously, in what's a difficult situation," he said.
The player accused of throwing the punch has been suspended from school and can't participate in extracurricular activities, Deputy Superintendent Norm Ross said. The other student was not suspended and is in school.
The parents of the student who was punched pursued a criminal charge against the suspect. The parents allege that a coach approached their son and tried to coerce him into dropping the charge, the Sheriff's Office said.
The Sheriff's Office sought a warrant from a judge charging the player with battery.
As of Friday afternoon, there was not an active warrant for the student, Ward said.
The School District's investigator is conducting an internal investigation into the incident. "The allegation is there was an incident that occurred with two student-athletes and perhaps there were things said that should not have been said, obviously," Ross said. "The two coaches, perhaps, did not handle some things correctly."
Ross said he also could not talk specifically about what led to the decision to put the coaches on leave.
"The allegations are serious enough from what we've heard from the investigator," he said. "In order to make sure you have a wholesome investigation, you remove those two principal individuals from the scene."

Written by PNJ reporter Brady Aymond

Q. Where are you from originally? High School/College?

A. I'm originally from Byfield, Massachusetts. I went to a private school named Governor Dummer Academy there and went to college at Georgia Tech.

Q. Why did you decide to get into coaching?

A. As a walk-on at Georgia Tech, I had some medical issues, and (Georgia Tech coach) Pepper Rogers and his staff offered me a chance to be a student coach. About the time I was getting ready to graduate, I decided to stay in coaching. My degree is in Aerospace Engineering, graduated with honors. I'm pulling down the average salary of Georgia Tech Aerospace Engineering grads.

Q. Who has been your biggest influence on your coaching style?

A. I think there's bits and pieces I've taken from a lot of different people. The most recent major influence was Tom Fallaw of Cairo, Georgia. He and his staff are the most recent influences. Some of the things in terms of how we teach the kids I got from Bob Wylie (current Oakland Raiders offensive line coach). In terms of some of the things we do in the passing game I got from my days at Duke, right after coach (Steve) Spurrier was there. Some of the spread stuff we do comes from Kevin Wilson. I've tried to learn from everybody I've worked with and for over the years. A guy that had a major influence on my career as far as how I prepare is Ray Dorr, who I coached with at Southern Illinois. I've had a lot of positive influences, tried to take the best from each.

Q. What was your favorite football team growing up?

A. I guess it was probably the Boston Patriots, to show you how old I am. I'm old enough to remember when they played in Harvard Stadium. To a certain extent, I'm still a Patriots fan. I really like coach (Bill) Belicheck and the way he coaches and prepares.

Q. If you could visit any stadium for any matchup, what stadium and what matchup would it be?

A. Honestly, I'd want to be playing a team from the south in the Citrus Bowl in December for the Class 6A state championship.

Q. Who is the best player you've coached against?