It didn't take long for Greg Cartrette to assume responsibility in his new hometown.
In November, he bought a house in Hancock, and in March, he was named Hancock's new head coach for high school football.
"I saw the position, and I was like, 'You know what, I'm new to Hancock, let me see if I can help out,'" said Cartrette, who works as the Washington County director of permits and inspections
Cartrette, 55, is the Panthers' 14th head coach since their football program started in 1957. He takes over for Ron Hare, who coached the Panthers for four seasons.
Cartrette played high school football in Tabor City, North Carolina, and then was a slot back, safety and punt returner at Division II Wingate University.
He's had two previous head-coaching jobs, at Southern Garrett High School from 2003-07 and with the Western Maryland Cougars semi-pro team from 2007-08.
He said he had the itch to get back into it.
"If you've ever been a coach and then you kind of walk away, that itch never goes away," he said. "I just saw the opportunity and thought this would be a way for me to come into Hancock and help out and see if I can make a difference and maybe grow a program over time."
Hancock, the smallest public high school in the state, had a 3-6 record last year, winning three games for the first time since 2018. The Panthers' last winning season was in 2015, when they went 6-4.
"With everything, you're going to have challenges," Cartrette said. "My biggest thing is, 'Can I help? And can I make a difference?'"
He said it's too early to give an outlook or set any goals for his new team.
"I'm a little behind because of just being brought on, but I have a game plan moving forward," he said. "I've got to evaluate the players. We'll be starting that in summer camp whenever we're allowed to have our 12 days. Basically, I have to evaluate what we've got and see what we have with the younger kids and who's coming back and see where we are."
