After coaching for 29 years, Roark is retiring and going into to private sector. He plans on spending much more time with his wife, Kelly, and two daughters.

“My dad coached for 37 years, so I grew up in high school football from birth,” he said. “Now I have the ability to retire, make my own schedule at my new company and pay back my family for all the sacrifices they’ve made for me. It’s emotional. I’m sad and happy. I’m really excited to move onto the next chapter of my life.”

The timing was spot-on as the Wildcats reached the state semis in December, before falling to Manvel.

“This was a special year,” he said. “It was so fun because every kid got to play meaningful minutes and made a difference. The camaraderie and chemistry was off the charts and the winning became contagious. You don’t have those kind of years very often.”

The reason was that Angleton had an historic year, putting up 55 points per game while just giving up 3.5 points and going 13-1.

“The stars just lined up, but I’m going to miss it terribly,” he said. “The thing I will miss the most is the relationships you build with your staff. They become like brother. The Friday Night Lights experience was amazing and the day-to-day interaction with the kids is tough to walk away from. Seeing young boys develop into young men is what it’s all about.”

While no decision has been made, the likely replacement would be defensive coordinator Jason Brittain.