NEWKIRK -- Longtime Tonkawa football coach Mike Kirtley will be the head coach at Newkirk, Newkirk schools announced late last week.Kirtley has been head coach at Tonkawa for the past 22 years and has a glittering resume at that position.His football teams have won state championships and were state runners up on two different occasions. The Buccaneers won a gold ball under Kirtley’s direction in 2005, 2009 and 2018. They were runners-up in 2003 and 2004. The 2004 state championship game was played in Ponca City with Kirtley’s team losing to Pawnee.Kirtley also has two track state championships at Tonkawa in his resume. The 2007 and 2009 teams won state titles while the 1996, 2006 and 2010 track teams were runners-up.In changing his allegiance to Newkirk, he will be taking on coaching at Tonkawa’s bitterest rival. The two Kay County schools have one of the longest-standing rivalries in Oklahoma.“With over 22 years of coaching experience, Coach Kirtley brings leadership, passion and commitment to excellence to Tiger Football,” the Newkirk announcement about Kirtley’s hiring reads.
