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Skyline coach Justin Thompson is leaving his alma mater after two seasons for an opportunity to coach at West, where his wife currently teaches, and where his children will eventually attend for their education.

"There's a lot of things about coaching and teaching at West that are exciting. It's a real good school, ton of athletic talent if you can keep it in the neighborhood," Thompson said. "My wife is a teacher there, my kids will go to school there eventually. That's a really unique thing. I don't know how many parents have the chance to work with their wife and teach their kids."

Thompson inherits a program that finished 0-9 in 2015. The Panthers were outscored 343-78. Keith Lopati was 11-28 in four seasons coaching West, which is one of the most success programs in state history, with the second most wins of any program and seven state championships — the last one in 1992.

"Football tradition at West is a lot like the tradition at Skyline. Lot of winning and championships," Thompson said. "The chance to get in there and try to build something really, really positive is an exciting challenge. It's something that caught my imagination."

Thompson mentioned the challenge is keeping homegrown talent from West neighborhoods from traveling elsewhere to play. He said restoring the pride back in the program is the first step. "We've got to have programs that are so good that kids don't want to leave," Thompson explained.

Thompson played at Skyline in the 90s under Roger DuPaix. He was 12-12 as the coach of the Eagles, including a 5-7 mark this season.

"My family is a Skyline family. My mom and uncle both graduated from Skyline," Thompson said. "I had three great years of playing football here. It's always going to be a real, real special place for me. It's bittersweet to move onto a new chapter because I do love this place so much."

One of the more controversial decisions in the state was to cancel the East-West rivalry in 2012. The game is the oldest rivalry in the state, with the two schools playing 111 times since 1914. Thompson said he has already communicated with East coach Brandon Matich about the possibilities of reinstating the annual game.

"We have some ideas. Nothing has been finalized yet," Thompson said. "I'm certainly excited about the chance to compete with those guys when it's going to work for both of our programs."

— Trevor Phibbs

Twitter: @trevorphibbs