South Jersey football: Lina resigns as Haddon Heights coach

Chris Lina has submitted his resignation after one season as Haddon Heights High School's football coach.

Lina led the Garnets to a 6-4 record and a berth in the South Jersey Group 1 tournament this season.

"It was a great year," Lina said Sunday night. "The kids bought in, we had some good wins. To go from 3-7 (last year) to 6-4 was a pretty good accomplishment."

Lina said he decided to resign because of the demands of his job as the school district's technology coordinator.

"There really isn't time," Lina said.

Lina had not planned to coach this season. He was an assistant under former coach Ralph Schiavo in 2015 and wasn't planning to continue as an assistant on the staff after Schiavo resigned following last season.

"There really wasn't enough time to be an assistant," Lina said.

Lina stepped up and took the job as head coach in May after former Willingboro coach Reggie Lawrence, who was hired as the Garnets' coach in March, was forced to resign because of legal issues.

"I said at the time that I would do it for one year," Lina said. "I knew the kids were in a tough spot."

Haddon Heights started the season with a 6-2 record with victories over playoff teams Penns Grove and New Eygpt.

The Garnets lost to Salem in the first round of the playoffs and dropped a decision to rival Haddonfield in the final game of the season on Thanksgiving Day.

-- Contact Phil Anastasia at panastasia@phillynews.com

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