Karp named Gateway football coach

Mike Karp, a former football player at Gateway and an assistant coach there the last seven years, has been named the school's new head football coach.

A 1998 graduate of Gateway, where he was a two-way lineman, the 29-year-old Karp replaced Mark Deal, who resigned earlier this year. Karp was Gateway's defensive coordinator the last three seasons.

"It's obviously an honor and privilege to be named head coach," Karp said yesterday. "Coaches always think of being a head coach where they played in high school, and I'm very excited and enthusiastic."

One of Karp's top priorities is to generate more interest in the program. He said by the end of the year there were 29 players combined on the varsity and junior varsity teams, and there wasn't a freshman team.

"The numbers are a big issue and the No. 1 thing to deal with," said Karp, a special education teacher at the school. "I hope to generate more excitement and enthusiasm in the school and sending district."

Gateway was 4-6 last season, and the Gators overachieved with what was a relatively inexperienced team with little depth.

Under Deal, the Gators' best seasons were in 2002 and 2006. They went 6-4 both years. As a head coach at Maple Shade, Audubon and Gateway, Deal was known for getting the most out of his personnel.

"Any success I have is due to what I learned from Mark Deal," Karp said. "He has been a friend and mentor, and he has taught me not just how to be successful but how to be successful the right way, and I am indebted to all he has given me."