At Lake Brantley, it is possible that the era of the triple option has come to an unexpected end.
Skip Clayton, who had been coaching the football team at Lake Brantley for three years, has been fired by the school. The move was acknowledged by Clayton through a text message sent on Wednesday evening. The message read, “The principal [Brian Blazewitz] says he wants to go in a different direction.”
Additionally, athletic director Eric Entrekin confirmed the departure through a text message, bringing an end to a relationship with the Clayton family and the school that had the potential to last for nearly four decades.
After serving as an assistant coach under his father, George Clayton, who had been the head coach of Lake Brantley for 19 seasons before retiring and making room for Dave Delfiacco, a former Patriots player who had retired from coaching in 2022 before Skip took over, Clayton became the head coach of the team in 2022.
It was in May of the previous year that George Clayton, who had a record of 153-66 at Lake Brantley, passed away at the age of 74.
Following his graduation from Lake Brantley in 1996, Skip Clayton had a record of 9-22 over the course of his three seasons, including a record of 3-7 this season.
It was during the Clayton period at Lake Brantley that the triple-option offense was implemented. The older Clayton was the one who took over as head coach in 1996, and it was during this time that the offense became popular.
From 2003 to 2022, Skip worked as an assistant to his father, Delfiacco, who was the head coach for the 2016–21 season. He also worked as an assistant to Delfiacco.
A number of outstanding running backs were developed by the institution throughout that time period, in addition to four players who went on to play in the National Football League: Pat DiMarco (2012-19 in the league), Dee Brown (2002-06), Tion Green (2017), and Jared Bernhardt (2022).