(La Porte, IN) - La Porte High School has a new head football coach.  David Ortiz was hired last night by the school board.  He replaces Jeremy Lowery who left after two seasons for a head coaching job downstate to be close to his family.  Ortiz has been as assistant football coach for the Slicers the past few seasons.

Our very own voice of the Slicers, Chip Jones, likes the decision to hire from within the program considering the changes in the head coaching position the past several years.  “You know, this senior group, this will be their third head coach in four years so to have an assistant coach you get a little bit of continuity,” he said.

The Slicers, after a rough start, were noticeably better during the second half of this past season.  Chip says the tools are there in the form of a talented underclass for the new coach to keep things on the upswing.  The Slicers defeated Michigan City in the first rounds of the sectionals but lost the sectional championship to a very strong Valparaiso team in what turned out to be a competitive game.

La Porte Schools Superintendent Mark Francesconi said Ortiz has years of past coaching experience at other schools.  “We’re happy to have somebody of his caliber in the system that can help up get to the next level of building a program,” he said.