Former Parkersburg South head coach Nate Tanner holds a preseason practice (Kerry Patrick/Parkersburg News and Sentinel)
Princeton – The Mercer County Board of Education approved former Summers County and Parkersburg South Head Coach Nate Tanner as the new head football coach at Princeton High School Monday evening in a meeting at the MCTEC Seminar Center.
Tanner will replace Keith Taylor who stepped down in February to tend to personal matters after a 24-3 record in his two years at the helm.
Tanner, a graduate of Concord University, has found success at all of his previous stops as a head coach, leading Summers County to the playoffs three times in four years, stepping down following the 2016 season.
In 2019 Tanner took over at South, immediately leading South to the state semifinals. His crowning achievement came in 2022 when he led the Patriots to the Class AAA state title game.
During his time at South Tanner produced numerous all-state players headlined by Kennedy Award finalist Brandon Penn in 2019 and 2022 Moss Award winner Cyrus Traugh.
He’ll take over as the head coach of Princeton team in the midst of the most successful run in program history. The Tigers finished state runners-up in 2023 and advanced to the Class AAA semifinals last season.
They’ll return a core of players featuring first team all-staters Chance Barker, Brad Mossor, Daniel Jennings and Kalum Kiser.
