PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON

West Charlotte High football coach Daren Hart is trying to build on the Lions’ playoff-producing run of 2014.

West Charlotte High football coach Daren Hart isn’t trying to remake the Lions.

His goal is building trust within a program that’s been through four coaches in 10 months. The first test resulted in a 42-20 season opening loss to Southeast Guilford, but West Charlotte was within 27-20 in the fourth quarter before the Falcons pulled away.

“They fought hard but there’s a little bit of a trust issue,” Hart said. “The players have got to trust the coaches a little bit and the coaches have got to trust the players. That’s going to take time because these kids have had like four (head) coaches in four years, so trusting someone is kind of difficult sometimes, but we’re going to keep rolling.”

It’s been a tumultuous 10 months for West Charlotte. When first-year head coach Mo Collins died in October, interim coach Drew Hackett took the Lions into the playoffs. Andrew Jordan, a West Charlotte graduate, was hired in January but quit shortly thereafter. Hart, whose first coaching job was at West Charlotte in 1998, was hired to pick up the pieces.

“Unfortunately, because you’re coming into the season, you can’t restart,” he said. “You try to just continue what they’ve learned from the previous season. I’m just trying to get these kids to play together, play as a team and play with discipline.”

The Lions showed potential against Southeast Guilford when they took a 6-0 lead on Jaerkoya Patton’s 54-yard run, but couldn’t control the Falcons’ rushing attack, which piled up 427 yards. Steven Baldwin for 296 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries for the Falcons, who wore West Charlotte down with size and depth.

“I knew coming in this is one of the better wing-T teams in the state,” Hart said. “I knew it was going to be tough and they kind of leaned on us a little bit with their size.

But the guys came out and executed and we had a chance to win in the fourth quarter.”

Hart wants the Lions to take another step forward starting with Friday’s game against West Mecklenburg.  Nothing would build trust like winning.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” he said, “but as long as we’re getting better each week, we’re going to be a tough out later on this season.”

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