Sean Pender will be the next head coach at North Hall.
North Hall athletic director Sam Borg confirmed the hiring of the school's 16th head football coach Friday morning.
"The football tradition here at North Hall is special," Borg said. "There’s nothing like The Brickyard at Lynn Cottrell Stadium on a Friday night. After a national search and reviewing over 150 qualified applicants, we are proud to announce Sean Pender as our new head football coach. Coach Pender spent the past 9 seasons leading his troops at Brunswick (2017-2021) and Pierce County (2011-2017) to 7 Sweet 16s and 2 Elite 8s. When you read his bio, you get excited, but then when you get to know the man, you really know it’s the right fit."
Pender replaces long-time assistant and head coach David Bishop, who stepped down after 21 seasons, eight as head coach, in December. Bishop coached under Bob Christmas for most of his career at North Hall. He led the program for eight seasons, making the playoffs seven of those eight seasons.
“We will have a championship mindset," Pender said. "The Trojans will believe. We will have faith in what we are doing and what we are about to do. Our passion will shine and our enthusiasm will be contagious. We will teach leadership and teamwork daily. We will represent the North Hall community with high character and integrity. All members of our program will care and love each other."
Pender started at Brantley County in 2002 and spent eight seasons, going 35-46 with one playoff appearance. He left for Pierce County in 2009, where he had his most successful run, including coaching Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett. He was 54-18 in six seasons, with six straight playoff berths, including two second rounds and two quarterfinals.
After Pierce County, he moved to Brunswick in 2017, leading the Pirates to four playoff trips. The Pirates won the school's first Region 2-6A title since 2009, in 2021, with a perfect 6-0 record. They made it to the second round of the playoffs, losing to Dacula 29-21, finishing with the team's most wins (11-1) since 1999.
Pender is a spread offense guy but has produced balanced offenses. Last season, the Pirates used a dual-quarterback system for 1,613 yards passing. The rushing attack yielded one 1,000-yard rusher and 2,613 total yards on the ground. The offense averaged 36.8 points per game, while the defense gave up just under 14 ppg.
Story to be updated.
