Baxter comes full circle at Eastern Randolph

By Stephen Schramm
Burlington Times-News

RAMSEUR - Seth Baxter has a few foggy memories from his early childhood spent around the Eastern Randolph football program.

The son of then-head coach Donnie Baxter, Seth remembers Friday nights spent surrounded by legions of vocal Wildcats fans and the jubilant chaos on the field after the team's 1983 Class 3-A championship game victory.

"I've known the Eastern Randolph community all my life," Seth Baxter said.

After taking the job as football and boys' basketball coach, Baxter will have a chance to create more memories at Eastern Randolph.

"That school had always been special to me growing up there," Baxter said. "I just thought it was an excellent opportunity at Eastern Randolph."

The move came with some mixed emotions. Baxter, 30, spent the past six years as boys' basketball coach and assistant football coach at his alma mater, Southwestern Randolph.

"It was very tough," Baxter said. "I was very successful with my kids and I had made a lot of close ties. It was bittersweet. ... I grew up a Cougar, but I've always had a fond place for the Wildcats."

Baxter replaces Burton Cates, who ended his 25-year tenure as the Wildcats' head coach in March when he took the reins at Lee County. During his time as Eastern Randolph's head coach, Cates racked up more than 225 victories and won the Class 3-A title in 2006.

Cates was a defensive coordinator on Donnie Baxter's staff, taking over in 1984 when the elder Baxter resigned to pursue a career in school administration.

The Wildcats went 3-8 last season, missing the playoffs for the first time since 1996.

With the opening of nearby Providence Grove High School, the school's enrollment decreased. That, combined with a drop to Class 2-A and a new conference due to realignment, will result in a shifting landscape for the Wildcats.

In those changes, Baxter sees opportunity.

"We're pretty much starting anew," Baxter said. "There's a great foundation that's been laid down and some great athletes that are here. We're just ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work."