Washington man named new head football coach for Columbia Falls

The way football is played at Columbia Falls High School will see some significant changes this fall. The School District 6 Board of Trustees last week approved the hiring of Jackson Schweikert as head football coach. He replaces Bill Coleman, who resigned earlier this year after three years at the helm.

Schweikert, 45, said he’ll bring a spread, no-huddle offensive scheme to the program, where every player wears a wristband. With that system, players learn individual routes and moves rather than an entire play book, he explained.

For example, a play may call for a receiver to run a 10-yard button hook. The receiver can look at the wristband with the color code and run the route, rather than having to know the entire play.

Schweikert admits it takes a while to get used to the scheme, but he says it works. He coached the Mount Vernon, Wash., football team to the second round of the playoffs last season, and the team led Washington in most offensive categories, averaging 530 offensive yards a game.

“Our goal (with the Wildcats) is to get 80 offensive snaps in a game,” he said during an interview last week.

Schweikert has been coaching for 25 years. He played defensive end for Idaho State University, where he graduated in 1991. He’ll also teach physical education at Columbia Falls High School.

Regarding the move to the Flathead, he said his wife, Suzy, grew up in Kalispell, and they decided to try to find a smaller school. Mount Vernon High School has about 2,200 students. The Columbia Falls job will also allow them to be closer to family.

Schweikert said he’s coached several high school football programs.

“That’s been my thing — rebuilding programs,” he said.

He’s planning on holding a football camp at the end of the month, though the times haven’t been set yet. Schweikert moved to Columbia Falls over the weekend.

Schweikert’s son Ike will be a sophomore. He plays football and baseball and wrestles. Schweikert also has two daughters, K.J., an eighth-grader, Hannah, a fourth-grader, and a younger son Cody, a second-grader.