Millbrook football coach headed to Heritage

WINCHESTER — Reed Prosser will leave his position as Millbrook’s head football coach to fill the same role at Heritage (Leesburg) High School.

Heritage High School athletic director Ron Petrella said Prosser’s hiring was approved at Tuesday night’s School Board meeting for Loudoun County Public Schools.

Prosser spent seven years as Millbrook’s head football coach, posting a record of 40-36 overall and 18-19 in the Northwestern District. His teams made the Region II playoffs five times, including this year, when the Pioneers went 6-5 and lost to Tuscarora in the Region II, Division 4 quarterfinals.

Heritage — a member of the Dulles District — is coming off a 2-8 season, but went 7-4 and made the Region II playoffs in 2011. Like Millbrook, Heritage will be part of the Group 4A North Region for the 2013-14 school year.

Prosser did not discuss the details of his decision to take the Heritage job Tuesday.

But in a press release issued by Heritage, Prosser expressed how much he appreciated Millbrook while also expressing how enthused he was about his new opportunity.

“It has been an honor and a pleasure to coach at Millbrook High School,” Prosser said. “It is truly a special place. We are proud of our accomplishments both on and off the field. We are particularly proud of how much the program and the school has grown in the last seven years. The relationships with the students, my staff, the faculty and the community will hold a special place in my heart. I’m thankful and humbled to have had the opportunity to share the experience with so many people.”

“Heritage High School is a great opportunity both professionally and for my family. We are excited to develop a culture of success on and off the field. I would like to thank [Principal Jeff] Adam and Mr. Petrella for their support. Our goal is to become champions in the classroom and on the gridiron; yet more importantly, make our athletes better people and allow them avenues to achieve success throughout their lives.”

Petrella said Prosser’s desires to enrich more than just his players’ athletic careers is a big part of why he was hired.

“He’s interested in not just making his players better athletes, but also better students and better people,” Petrella said. “We think he has a strong body of work, and we’re excited about everything that he brings. We think he’s going to be a quality leader.”

In 2007, Prosser led Millbrook to the school’s only playoff win in its 10 years of existence, a Region II, Division 3 semifinal victory over Briar Woods. The Pioneers finished 9-3 that season, its first-ever winning campaign.

Under Prosser in 2010, Millbrook won the Barr-Lindon Crimson Apple, awarded each year by The Winchester Star to the team that fares best between the Winchester-Frederick County schools. It’s the only year in the 10 years of the award’s existence that it did not go to Sherando or Handley. Prosser was named the Northwestern District Coach of the Year and The Winchester Star Coach of the Year that season.

Prosser arrived at Millbrook in 2006 after spending three years as head coach at Broadway, where he went 20-12. Millbrook went 8-22 in its first three years of football.

Prior to arriving at Broadway, Prosser, a 1991 Handley graduate, spent three years as Shenandoah University’s defensive coordinator and three years as Handley’s freshman football coach.

— Contact Robert Niedzwiecki at  rniedzwiecki@winchesterstar.comFollow on Twitter @WinStarSports1