For the second time in less than a month the high school football community of Central Virginia is mourning the loss of another legendary coach... Coach Gary Chilcoat.

Coach Chilcoat left this earth far too soon and will be missed by many.

This past summer, it came to light that Coach Chilcoat had brain cancer. This illness took Coach Chilcoat from the sidelines he loved where he most recently was defensive coordinator at Mills Godwin.

Over the months that followed his family led by his wife, friends and colleagues rallied around Coach Chilcoat in what was called #TeamChilcoat. A group of those who not only prayed for Coach but helped however they could whether it was getting him to doctor visits, bringing them dinner or helping out around the home to make him as comfortable as possible. We watched over the last few months the positivity that beamed from the Chilcoat family and #TeamChilcoat through this trying time. They never lost hope, they never let Coach Chilcoat be sad as he battled this terrible disease.

Yet here we all are sad over the loss of a legend in the region after losing his battle.

I knew of Coach Chilcoat from my four years at Varina as a student but it was not until the early 2000's that I truly got to know Coach. I admit, I was a true fantatic back then and one night after a Varina loss I got on the VirginiaPreps messageboard and ripped Chilcoat and the Blue Devils.

Coach Chilcoat reached out to me after seeing my post and invited me to visit one afternoon to talk and see firsthand the work that is put in for one night of football. So I took him up on his offer and went to Varina one afternoon, I watched the Blue Devils practice and afterward Chilcoat invited me into the locker room where I met several of his assistants.

Chilcoat could have laid into me and called me out as a fan but he did not want to do that. He wanted to educate me. We sat down and talked for a good hour about football, the Varina program and the work the coaches and players put in.

That day changed my perception of Coach Chilcoat. He showed me more than just the coach he is but the man he was as well.,

That was in essence a turning point for me as a fan. From that point forward I had a better appreciation for Coach Chilcoat and the program. It also led me to be a more objective fan which ultimately set me on a course to be where I am today with VirginiaPreps.

Even after Chilcoat's time at Varina was done, when I would see him at a football game we would speak and I always valued his opinions. He would even reach out in later years on facebook to share news and insight with me and ask my opinion on matters. I recall seeing him at the Meadowbrook-Hermitage 2007 Division 6 Central Region Final and asked him who he liked in the matchup and without blinking, he said Hermitage. The man knew his football.

He will be missed.

Coach Chilcoat graduated from Old Dominion in 1976 after serving in the Navy. He earned his Bachelors degree at ODU in Physical Education and Health. Three years later he had his first crack at head coaching... at Oscar Smith!

Long before the Tigers became who we know them to be, they were Chilcoat's first stop as a head coach. His two seasons at the helm of the Tigers were not as successful as his next foray into head coaching, just 6-13-1. After his time at Oscar Smith he was at Deep Creek as an assistant before becoming Athletic Director at Caroline in 1989 and was there for two years.

Chilcoat first arrived to Varina as AD in 1991. For four years he was AD before becoming the defensive coordinator for the Blue Devils in 1995. That is when Varina football truly became a dominant force in the region with great defensive play. That first season as DC the Blue Devils won their second region title only to lose to CD Hylton in the state semifinals.

From 1995-1998 the Blue Devils were 41-10 and the Blue Devils gave up no more 202 points in a season and those 202 points came in 1995, his first season as DC. In those four seasons as DC the Blue Devils won 3 region titles and reached the Division 6 State Final in 1998 falling to CD Hylton.

Buheller stepped down following the 1998 season and Coach Chilcoat was chosen to carry on the program. The Blue Devils did not miss a beat finishing the regular season undefeated, scoring the most points in the history of the program and their best defensive season in a decade! The Blue Devils reached the state title game again and fell by just 1 point to none other than CD Hylton!

In 2000 the Blue Devils again reached the state semifinals and with Michael Robinson at QB were again favored to be playing on that final Saturday in December but on a wet, dreary day at Centreville, the Blue Devils fell by a touchdown!

From 2001 to 2007 the Blue Devils won just one more Central Region title but had three undefeated regular seasons in that time.

In 2001 the Blue Devils fell to Thomas Dale in overtime of the Central Region Final.

The seasons of 2002-2004 were ended by playoff nemesis LC Bird.

The Blue Devils lost just one game in 2005 and that was to Highland Springs in overtime, Chilcoats first district loss as head coach. The Blue Devils bounced back in 2006 to win their third region title under Chilcoat only to fall to Chantilly in the state semifinals.

The 2007 season much like the 2005 season came to an end against Highland Springs in a game the Blue Devils had to win in order to make the playoffs. That game proved to be the last of Coach Chilcoat's as a head coach within the region as he would step down in the weeks that followed.

In 8 seasons as head coach, the Blue Devils were 91-14 and an impressive 53-2 in district play with those only two losses being to Highland Springs to keep them out of the playoffs in 2005 and 2007.

The trademark of Varina teams back then was size and conditioning. The Blue Devils had a program that was unmatched in the region as far as the conditioning and weight room. That is something Coach Chilcoat took great pride in and led to much of their success.

In his time as head coach of the Blue Devils, Varina continued to be a perennial contender and a program others in the region aspired to be. Coach Chilcoat also coached some of the best to come through, Varina, players such as; Michael Robinson, Alan-Michael Cash, Davon Morgan, Jonathan and Kevin Lewis, Andre Branch, Bud Tribbey and Brandon Minor to name a few.

He also coached with many, the likes of current coach Stu Brown, former Deep Run Coach Lenny Pritchard, former Lee-Davis Coach Zac Hayden, current LC Bird Coach Troy Taylor and of course, Coach Blanda Wolfe who is now on the staff at UVA.

Coach Chilcoat touched many at Varina be it those he coached, coached alongside or those who came to respect what he did with the program.

Blue Devil fans were shocked in 2008 when they saw Coach Chilcoat on the Springers sidelines the following fall. At Highland Springs he was an assistant on the staff and did so at Henrico as well. From 2008 to 2016 you could find him on the sidelines of these respective programs.

In 2017 Coach Strine of Mills Godwin reached out to Chilcoat on being the defensive coordinator for the Mills Godwin Eagles. In 2017 the Eagles posted their best defensive season since 2012.

2018 would have been his second season as DC at Mills Godwin and although he still held the title, he never truly was on the sidelines as he fought the good fight against brain cancer. That said, what he instilled in 2017 carried over into 2018 with their best defensive season since 2011.

With Coach Chilcoat battling brain cancer, just this past January the Touchdown Club of Richmond honored Coach Chilcoat with the honor "Outstanding Service Award" for his time, energy and heart he put into the game, the players, the coaches.

Coach Chilcoat has never been forgotten at Varina and he surely won't be forgotten within the region. His reach was far and wide and those who got to know him as more than a coach are better people for it and I am glad I had my chance.

Farewell Coach Chilocat, may you rest in peace and you hurt no more.