Keene coach resigns

It appears Keene High School will complete the season without head coach Linwood Patnode.

Patnode did not coach in last weekend’s 21-14 victory over Goffstown, and Keene assistant coach Chris Lohnes confirmed Wednesday that Patnode stepped down two days before that game.

According to Lohnes,  Shawn DeCost, the team’s defensive coordinator under Patnode, has taken over the team as interim head coach.

A story in the Keene Sentinel said Patnode resigned for health reasons.

“The way I do it, and I don’t know if it’s the smart way to do it, but it’s a lot of wear and tear,” Patnode told the Sentinel. “I love coaching. But I knew I shouldn’t coach another year the last two years.”

Patnode, 67, was hired as Keene’s head coach in 2019. He was an assistant coach with the Keene program from 2006-08, then served as Monadnock’s head coach for eight seasons. He guided the Huskies to a state championship in 2012.

The Blackbirds (4-3 overall, 3-3 in Division I) play at Alvirne on Friday night and will play Bedford in Keene on Nov. 1. A victory in either game will likely earn Keene a berth in the 13-team playoff field.

Efforts to reach Patnode Wednesday were unsuccessful.

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