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Joyce Mungari has an ambitious dream -- she wants to coach college football, preferably at a Division I school.
To prepare for that, Mungari, 39, is working as an assistant coach at Hilton Head (S.C.) Prep School.
Hilton Head Prep, a private school, plays in the South Carolina Independent Schools Association Athletic Conference. HHP, which is 6-2, plays Colleton Prep (Walterboro) on Friday.
HHP head coach Ron Perduzzi is a Mungari backer. "She's as passionate about the game as anybody in America," he said.
Said center-defensive end Chris Stuckart, a senior co-captain: "Coach Joyce should be judged on her coaching ability."
If Mungari makes it as a college coach, she would be part of a select group. Todd Bell of the American Football Coaches Association said he was aware of no female coaches in Division I. Carol White is thought to be the first female assistant -- as a kicking coach for Georgia Tech from 1985-88.
Mungari attended Monterey Peninsula and Contra Costa junior colleges in California, playing in 17games with Contra Costa in two seasons (1995, '96) as a linebacker and special teams player.
"Football can have a positive effect on young people. Success on the field is predicated on the ability to adapt and overcome," said Mungari, who supplements her coaching income with 30 hours a week working at a local grocery chain and 18 hours in HHP's lunchroom and as a tutor. "I hopefully can continue to break down barriers."
State title games moved: Louisiana's high school football championships, traditionally held at the Superdome in New Orleans, have been moved to Independence Stadium in Shreveport.
The Superdome, used as an evacuation shelter during Hurricane Katrina, sustained heavy damage that forced its regular tenants, the New Orleans Saints and Tulane's football team, to play elsewhere this season.
All five championship high school games will be played in Shreveport on Dec. 8-10. They have been played at the Superdome every year since 1981.
Games I'd pay to see: Friday, Centennial (Pueblo, Colo.) at Pueblo Central at 9 p.m. ET. The series dates to 1892.
Nickname of the week: Punxsutawney (Pa.) Chucks. The town is home to Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog (or woodchuck), who is the star of Groundhog Day (Feb.2).
This week in history: Oct. 13, 2001, Brendan Cameron of Maine South (Park Ridge, Ill.) tied a national record when he recovered six fumbles in a game against Waukegan. According to the 2005 National High School Sports Record Book, Cameron tied Clyde Peterson of Centennial (Pueblo, Colo.), who set the mark in 1958.
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