Ray Lions is hungry.
Hungry to start the new chapter of his coaching career as a first-time head football coach. And hungry to continue to build on the recent success at Hudson’s Bay High School.
Good thing, too, his new players share that same hunger.
“They’re not satisfied where they’re at,” Lions said.
Lions, 36, is the Eagles’ new football coach, the school announced Friday. He comes to Bay after working as a counselor and assistant football coach at Ridgefield High School since 2012. Lions was the Spudders’ defensive coordinator the past five years under two different head coaches.
Bay athletic director Kevin Bryant said more than 20 applicants applied for the coaching vacancy left by Mark Oliverio, who resigned in the winter after two seasons.
Bryant not only praised Lions’ prior work as a defensive coordinator, but also his background as a successful high school and collegiate athlete. Lions was a two-sport athlete at NCAA Div. III Linfield College, where in football, he was an All-American safety in 2002. In track, he was a two-time All-American decathlete.
More importantly, Bryant said, Lions left a big impression with his passion for character development and achievement.
“The quality of the person is something we take very seriously,” Bryant said, “and Ray is definitely one of those people.”
Lions will also work as a counselor at Hudson’s Bay.
Lions replaces Oliverio, who stepped down in January after two seasons as the Eagles coach when a work promotion required him to relocate to Ohio.
Oliverio led the Eagles to a 5-4 season last fall, the Eagles’ first winning season since 2002. Bay missed advancing to the postseason after falling in a league tiebreaker.
Lions, who also will be the Eagles’ defensive coordinator, called Bay the perfect place for him, and already is impressed with the player personnel he inherits. Offensively, Bay returns top rusher Marco Cadiz (970 yards, 11 touchdowns in 2016). Lions ran a 4-2 defense at Ridgefield, and called his defensive mentality as playing “fast and physical.”
“I’m pretty excited about all sides of the ball,” he said.
A good start to continue to build on what’s been established.
“I truly believe that Hudson’s Bay is starting to make some noise in regards to Southwest Washington,” Lions said. … “We’re not willing to wait on those who want to build this thing; we want to start now and want to make an impact now and that starts with the hard work we do from the start.”
