Damascus Football Program Hires New Coach

GERMANTOWN, MD — Damascus High School has a new varsity football coach.

Josh Klotz, who coached Richard Montgomery's football team for seven years, takes over the Hornets' prominent program, which has won three straight state finals.

Congratulations to coach Josh Klotz @RMRocketsFB on the new gig. I knew you were a great coach when we coached together at QO in 2007 and I know you will do a great job at DHS. I wish you all the best.
— SwarminHornets (@DmassFootball) February 20, 2020

The program also made national headlines and rocked the local community in 2018 for a locker room hazing incident.

On Oct. 31, 2018, four junior varsity football players turned off the lights in the boys' locker room, pushed or pinning down four of their teammates, and raped them with a broomstick in a hazing ritual called "brooming," authorities said.

Shortly after the incident, all four teens were charged as adults. Their cases were later transferred back to juvenile court where they pleaded guilty to being involved in the assaults, The Washington Post reported.

The school faced a mass staff upheaval following the locker room hazing incident.

Vincent Colbert, the junior varsity football coach, was let go in mid-2019. So was Damascus High School athletic director Joe Doody.

In June, the school announced it had hired Clifford Elgin, formerly the assistant athletic director at Clarksburg High School. Elgin is Doody's replacement.

At the beginning of this year, Eric Wallich resigned as head coach of the varsity football team, citing family reasons.

Klotz takes over for Wallich.