MEET GERARD JOHNSON

Our New Caroline Cavaliers Coach

He was a four-year letter-winner at Meadowbrook High School and the Central District Offensive Player of the Year as a senior. He passed for 1,592 yards and 27 touchdowns and rushed for another 1,204 yards that season.
He earned a full scholarship offer from Old Dominion University where he played running back and played side by side with teammate of the Washington Football Team quarterback Taylor Heinicke.
In two years at ODU, he rushed for 865 yards and six touchdowns and recorded 1,135 all-purpose yards. He was the Monarchs’ second-leading rusher as a sophomore in 2014. He had 137 rushing yards against Hampton and a career-high 143 against North Carolina, including an 81-yard sprint.
After two seasons at ODU, Johnson transferred to Norfolk State University where he made 15 starts. As a senior in 2016, he was the Spartans’ leading rusher among running backs (419 yards) and was tied for second on the team with 27 receptions.
He continued his career professionally overseas in Italy, Finland and Sweden.
Most recently, he served as an assistant coach at Owen J Roberts High School in Pottstown, Pa. He was also an assistant basketball coach at Pottstown High.
Johnson is taking over a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2008. He’ll become the Cavaliers’ sixth head coach since then. The Cavaliers are currently on a 21-game losing streak dating back to 2019.
Johnson said that lack of success wasn’t a deterrent and he believes the previous coaching staff left a solid foundation in place.
“The program reminds me of how I came up in football, always with a chip on my shoulder, always feeling I had to prove myself,” Johnson said. “So I feel this is the perfect fit for me … I felt like it was a no-brainer. Once I did my first interview I knew I wanted to be at Caroline.”
Johnson, a Petersburg native, will begin teaching special education at Caroline High.
He and his fiancée are looking to move to Caroline and get involved in the community. He said he plans to visit churches, barbershops and attend as many athletic events as possible to make his presence known.

District Coach of the YEAR 2022

Coach Gerard Johnson = District Coach of the Year! In his first year as a head coach, Johnson was voted unanimously by his peers for this distinction. He humbly gives much of the credit to his family and his coaching staff. Congratulations Coach Johnson! We are so proud of you!

Name: Gerard Johnson

Coaching Position: Head Coach

Hometown: Petersburg, VA

Occupation: Behavior Specialist Coordinator at Caroline High School

Football “roots” and experience: Coach Johnson returns to CHS after an exciting first season that culminated in a two-game playoff run. The Cavs had not won a playoff game in nearly 30 years until he came to town! He is a 2013 graduate of Meadowbrook High School. He attended Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University and completed his B.A. in Communication in 2017. While at ODU/NSU, Coach Johnson started at running back as a freshman. To this day, he holds the record at ODU for the longest run in school history. Coach Johnson began his coaching career at Lloyd C. Bird High School for the 2018-2021 seasons. In his 4 years of coaching, he has been a Quarterbacks, Running Backs, Defensive Backs and Strength & Conditioning coach.

Name: Jacob Lichtenberger

Coaching Position: Defensive Coordinator

Hometown: Pilot Mountain, NC

Occupation: Freshman Seminar_

Football “roots” and experience: Coach Lichtenberger (aka Coach JT) is returning to Caroline for his third year of coaching, after serving as the JV Head Coach. Prior to CHS, he was the Running Backs Coach at South Stokes HS in Walnut Cove, NC. He is a 2015 graduate of East Surry HS. He attended NC Wesleyan College and completed his B.S. in Accounting in 2018. While at NC Wesleyan, Coach JT started at linebacker. He returns as our Defensive Coordinator, and currently resides in Richmond.

Name: Terry Alexander

Coaching Position: JV Head Coach & Runningbacks Coach

Hometown: Homerville, GA

Occupation: Strength & Conditioning Coach at CHS

Football “roots” and experience: Coach Alexander earned a full scholarship to West Virginia University. His time there was short due to joining the US Marine Corps to support his family. It was a pivotal moment in his life. Upon joining the Marines, he was blessed with another opportunity to play football with the Semi-Professional Marine Corps team. He was excited to play again and started as a running back for six years! After suffering a few injuries, it led him to a new role as a coach for the semi-pro team. For two years, Coach A imparted his knowledge and love of football to the next generation of military athletes. After retiring from the Marine Corps, he couldn’t step away from football. He continued to coach at the middle and high school levels, mentoring young athletes. He also devoted time to coaching his own daughter’s basketball team at Chancellor High School. Never one to rest, he pursued higher education and earned a bachelor’s degree from Liberty University, and later worked toward a master’s degree in Sports Management.

Name: Ron Goff

Coaching Position: Team Support & Audio Visual Coordinator

Coach Ron works hard to support the team. He spends countless hours at workouts, practices, games, fundraisers, and other team events. His duties stretch far beyond mentoring players. He’s even spent time at the laundromat, ensuring uniforms were properly cared for. He has become our designated trailer driver, hauling equipment to away games, and setting up, long before the team arrives. He even added field enhancement expert to his repertoire this year. You will not often see him being still. He is usually running here and there, checking equipment, making sure we get adequate film, repairing helmets, shoulder pads, players. You name it, Coach Ron is your guy! He would never tell you how valuable he is to this program. He just wants to be known as Ryan’s dad.

Name: Aengus Channon

Coaching Position: Special Teams Coach

Coach Aengus Channon is the Special Teams Coach for Caroline. This is his fourth year of coaching. Coach Channon played for Bishop Ireton High School in Alexandria, Virginia and Davidson College. He is a 7th grade English teacher for Caroline Middle School.

Name: Erik Murphy

Coaching Position: WR/DB Coach

Football “roots” and experience: Coach Murphy is excited to join the Caroline HS coaching staff. He coached professional and collegiate athletes for seven years, specializing in sports-specific speed and strength development. Prior to that, he played football for more than fifteen years. Coach Murphy attended L.C. Bird High School, and then attended Millersville University on a football scholarship. He finished his playing career in the Indoor Football League. Coach Murphy received his Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science and Human Performance from Bridgewater College. He and his lovely wife Brittany reside in Richmond, with their dog Bella.

Name: Moe Bassfield

Coaching Position: OL / DL Coach

Home Town: Chesterfield, Virginia

Football “roots” and experience: Coach Moe graduated from Meadowbrook High School in 2006 and was the varsity starting Center all 4 years. He earned a D5 AAA State Championship title his junior year, and made it to the second round of the D6 AAA playoffs his senior year. Coach Moe went on to play that following season at North Carolina Wesleyan College as defensive end, then transferred. He later took on the role of JV O line coach at Meadowbrook. He then attended Fayetteville State University where he gained his BA in Criminal Justice in 2012. After graduation, Coach Moe served in the Army Reserves as a 12C Engineer. He’s been married for 10 years and has 2 children.

Name: Steven Tyler

Coaching Position: Offensive Analyst

Home Town: Richmond, Virginia

Football “roots” and experience: Coach Tyler is in his second year of coaching at Caroline High School. He is a 2013 graduate of Westminster Academy. He is attending Brightpoint Community College, where he is receiving his degree in education with plans on becoming a history teacher. Prior to coming to Caroline High School, Coach Tyler also coached varsity basketball and varsity baseball at his high school alma mater. Coach Tyler is excited to be a part of the coaching staff of the JV and Varsity Football Teams. He has high hopes and expectations for this season and the future seasons.

Coach Mrs.Johnson’s first year at Caroline High School as the Biomechanics Specialist and Strength & Conditioning Coach for the Cavalier Football team. Coach Johnson received her B.S in Exercise Sports Science from Coastal Carolina University and her M.S in Computer Science from Virginia State University. She currently works as a Systems Engineer for the US.Navy. She is from Richmond, Va where she received All-state track and field honors while at Meadowbrook High School and then went on to help her team win the 2014 NAIA T&F national championship while competing at Indiana tech. Johnson competed her next three years of Track & Field at Coastal Carolina University where she received all conference honors and helped her team win the 2015 Big South Conference Championship. Coach Mrs.Johnson brings two years of previous Head T&F Coaching experience at Meadowbrook High School, and two years of sprints, jumps, and hurdles coaching at Trinity Episcopal School to Caroline County.