This week has been an interesting week in the world of Pike County athletics. The various recreation leagues are in somewhat of a hiatus until tournaments begin, but the action is just beginning off the field.

It seemed like Goshen would hire a new head football coach to replace Joe Thornton Monday evening at the Pike County Board of Education meeting, but there were a good number of concerned Goshen citizens who thought that was a bad idea.

Twelve Goshen residents alleged that Pike County Schools Superintendent Mark Bazzell and Goshen Principal Al Griffin had acted outside of open meeting laws and met secretly with the board members and Mike McCombs to talk about the possibility of McCombs becoming the head football coach and athletic director at Goshen.

These same citizens took their issues to the Pike County court and obtained a temporary injunction that halted the hiring of a head football coach.

If Bazzell and Griffin did break what are known as the Sunshine Laws then that is not good and they should be held accountable for their actions, but Bazzell and Griffin filed a motion of their own Wednesday stating that all the accusations against them are false.

So it looks like this matter will be decided in court and this should be an interesting battle because the concerned citizens want one of their own to be the head coach and if Robin Snyder is not named the next head coach of the Goshen Eagles the board will have to start the search all over again.

Bazzell said Wednesday he believes McCombs is not interested in the job anymore and who could blame him. If there was this much public outcry about your hiring, why would you want to stick it out through the legal proceedings?

Another thought to ponder if you are a Goshen resident is what will happen if Snyder is not named the head coach? This made the news all across the Wiregrass and Goshen is going to have to search far to find someone who is going to want to come into the county and coach the team.

The main thing to remember through this entire situation is the best candidate needs to be hired for the job. And that candidate needs to make sure to keep the student athletes first in his mind.

Everyone involved in this fiasco needs to make sure they are keeping the most important people in this in mind. The young minds that will be molded by whoever the coach is should always be at the top of the list.

Matt Nascone is the sports editor for The Messenger. He can be reached at 670-6315 or online at matt.nascone@troymessenger.com.