ARP, Texas — Arp High School head football coach decides to retire this summer.
Dale Irwin, has the longest tenured and is the winningest coach in Arp Tigers history.
In 2000, Irwin came to Arp as an assistant coach and served as defensive coordinator for three seasons, before becoming the head football coach and athletic director in 2003.
Prior to that, he was the head coach for one season at Colmesneil in 1999, when his Bulldogs went 5-5. In addition, Irwin served stints as an assistant coach at Garrison and Alto.
As the longest tenured head football coach in East Texas, Irwin has influence many lives of young athletes and coaches who have been part of his staff over the years.
As Head coach for 19 seasons, Irwin won 141 games, won three district championships (2008, 2009, 2012), and took the Tigers to the playoffs 14 times.
In his career, he took his team to five consecutive trips three rounds deep. Those were part of an entire decade of reaching at minimum the second round of the postseason.
That ten year span was bookended by a trip to the UIL state quarterfinals in 2007 and a state semifinal appearance in 2016, which were classics.
Arp fell in the 2007 December showdown with Elysian Fields 19-13 on a last second Hail Mary touchdown pass by the Yellow Jackets, who ultimately reached the 2A Division 2 state final.
Then in 2016, the Tigers lost a slugfest to Boling by one point, 19-18.
Irwin and the Tigers are coming off a tremendous turnaround in 2021, when they reached the playoffs for the first time since 2017, and had their first winning season since 2016 as they finished second in District 9-3A Div. 2.
As athletic director, Irwin has also made an impact with Arp Tiger sports programs as now they are know as a force in East Texas and beyond.
Under his guidance, Arp boys basketball, and boys track won UIL state championships in 2006 and 2008.
Among the many young men that Irwin helped mold, he sent more than 15 to play college football.
The 53-year old coach made the decision to retire at this time in order to spend more time with his family.
"My family and I are extremely grateful to be blessed to be allowed to be a part of the Arp community for 22 years," Irwin said. "We would not change a single solitary thing over those years. We appreciate everyone that took our family, especially our son Brett, into their open arms and made us feel very welcome."
Irwin expects Arp athletics to continue to be strong going forward. He plans to oversee the transition to a new A.D. until his last day at the end of June.
The process of finding Irwin's replacement is ongoing.