BY JEFF FALK

It certainly was a wild ride, characterized by ebbs and flows and ups and downs. There were plenty of good times, and just as many bad.

You never quite knew what you were going to get from the Northern Lebanon football program. Not unlike its controversial head coach.

Recently, the Northern Lebanon school district opened up Roy Wall’s head football coaching position. While Wall has not been excluded from re-applying for the position, the move signals Northern Lebanon’s intention to see exactly who might be interested in the job.

Wall did not immediately respond to a request to be interviewed for this piece. Throughout his 11 years as the Vikings’ head man, Walls enjoyed a somewhat tumultuous relationship with the local media.

“Just about every team we’ve played has a winning record,” Wall told Lebanon Sports Buzz, following a home loss to Elco in October of 2020. “Our schedule is tough. Some teams didn’t get to play because of COVID. We played some tough teams and we’ve gotten better.

“We try to focus on the positives,” continued Wall. “It’s taken awhile to get things going. We’re not horrible. We’re better than we were last year. Defensively, we start one senior. We focus on what we do well and what we can do better, and try to build on that.”

No one ever questioned Wall’s passion for the game, and his knowledge of it.

Under Wall’s guidance, the Vikings enjoyed unprecedented success, capturing Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three championships in 2014, 2015 and 2017, while earning District Three playoff berths in each of those seasons. But Northern Lebanon went 0-8 in 2020, and the Vikings compiled an overall mark of 2-28 in the last 30 games Wall coached.

During the down times, Wall’s teams suffered from low numbers, porous defenses and inconsistent line play.

Wall came to Fredericksburg in 2010, and during his 11 seasons, Northern Lebanon amassed an overall record of 46-65. He had coached at Millersburg in the Tri-Valley League for nine seasons, where his teams went a combined 57-47.

Wall teaches social studies at Northern Lebanon High School.