Behind interim superintendent and former Canadian Wildcat head football coach Kyle Lynch on top of an aggressive school board, Wildorado ISD is catching major attention in a positive way since Saturday.
Lynch, a two-time state champion head football coach and longtime superintendent at Canadian, was brought in to work with the school board to get things going in the right direction and that’s exactly what they’ve done.
On Saturday, the Wildorado school board named Eric Gomez as the new superintendent and on Tuesday, it was announced that DJ Howell will serve as the new athletic director/ head football coach.
The rest of this story is only for subscribers.
“From what I’ve seen in just a short time, Wildorado has massive potential,” Lynch said. “The school board knows that and they want to see a new culture form and that couldn’t get any better than Eric Gomez taking over as superintendent. Nobody can build a culture like Eric and his has a vision of excellence. I think DJ (Howell) is a program builder from the conversations we’ve had, and he’s a winner. He’s won everywhere he’s been and he does what is best to make kids better.”
Gomez has spent 21 years in education with a reputation of student success. The last four years, Gomez has been a part of a strong staff that has West Plains going in a direction he wants Wildorado to go in.
“It was a very difficult decision,” Gomez said. “Dr. Darryl Flusche (Canyon ISD superintendent) hired me to do a job and get West Plains off the ground, but I couldn’t do it alone. We had great administration, amazing teachers and an outstanding coaching staff that made West Plains what it has become. I never thought I’d be superintendent. But, when coach (Kyle) Lynch reached out, and the school board said they’d only had six graduating classes, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go grow this school.”
Howell, who has been coaching in the high school ranks for 25 years, is no stranger to the Texas Panhandle.
Howell is best known in these parts for leading the Miami Warriors on a run to the UIL Class 1A Division I state semifinals in 2023. Outside of Miami, Howell has been successful leading football programs across Oklahoma and Texas which recently included Fort Stockton.
“After after speaking to Mr. Lynch and Mr. Gomez I see a vision that they have for the school district and for the athletics program in the district and I want to be a part of something special,” Howell said. “I know that with a lot of hard work and commitment we can accomplish great things at Wildorado. I also know that the fit for my family and my two children still that are in high school.
I know that there is a lot of work to be done, but with the vision of Mr. Gomez and the school board, I know that we can compete at the highest levels in the goal is to compete for championships. What we have to do is focus on the process and commit to becoming better daily. We need to find ways every day to improve on the things that we control if we do that the winning will take care of itself.”