MEADVILLE &045; Anthony Hart has resigned as head football coach at Franklin County to take the same position at Class 4A Lafayette County.

Hart, who finished his third season with the Bulldogs in December by taking the team to the South State championship, accepted the Lafayette County School Board’s offer Monday and told his players at the Meadville school Wednesday of his decision.

Hart finished with an overall record of 29-8 at Franklin County, including a 12-2 campaign this past fall.

&uot;There were a few things football-wise that made me listen to them when they talked to me,&uot; said Hart, the 2004 All-Metro Coach of the Year. &uot;They’re going to build a new stadium and do some things, but that really wasn’t the main thing in the decision. We just had to look at our future as a family and me as an individual. My wife (Traci) is from North Alabama, and that was a factor.&uot;

The job is another step up the classification ladder for Hart, who spent two seasons at Class 2A Loyd Star before arriving at 3A Franklin County. The school board interviewed Hart for the position two weeks ago, and he became a finalist after officials there received nearly 40 applications.

Hart takes over the position of Scott Samsel, who resigned in December after six seasons there. The Commodores finished 12-2 and reached the Class 4A North State championship before falling to Clarksdale.

&uot;We’re glad to have him,&uot; Lafayette County athletic director Jeff Nelson said. &uot;He was one of the first two we went after, and we’re proud to get him. He’s a good guy that covered all the bases we wanted him to cover during our interview process. He was one of the ones that stood out.&uot;

Hart, who is also Franklin County’s athletic director and is coaching the boys’ soccer team in its current playoff run, will finish out his duties at Franklin County before officially taking over the job at Lafayette County. There his duties will not include athletic director.

But the decision to leave the school where he had significant success was hard for Hart, who led the Bulldogs to the playoffs in each of his three seasons at the helm. Lafayette County has a tradition in football as well, finishing 29-9 over the last three seasons.

&uot;Football-wise, it’s not going to be any better than Franklin County,&uot; Hart said. &uot;Franklin County is a great place. The kids are wonderful &045; not just as football players but as young men. It was a real hard decision. I’m really going to miss those guys.&uot;

The decision was a surprise of sorts after the Bulldogs had their best season since a South State appearance in 1995 with a number of players returning. The Bulldogs were led this past season by senior quarterback Jasper O’Quinn, but the team had a number of underclassmen who contributed, including juniors Marcus Tillman and D.J. Shaw and freshman defensive lineman Bo Tillman.

&uot;They were good football players coming back at Franklin County, and they’ll be good football players whether I’m there or not,&uot; Hart said. &uot;We’re really excited about it, but right now my heart is heavy. I had to tell the players today, and that was hard.&uot;

Hart took over the position when Michael Goff resigned to become the school’s athletic director, and in his first season the Bulldogs finished second in Region 7-3A and lost to Newton County in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.

In 2003 the Bulldogs were 7-3A champs but lost in the first round of the playoffs.

&uot;When I came in, Coach Goff and our superintendent did a good job of giving me an opportunity to build some things,&uot; Hart said. &uot;That was important. A lot of people with the Touchdown Club made it work. Franklin County is a great place. It’s a hard place to leave. It’s really been a hard decision. The people of Franklin County have been wonderful to us.&uot;

James O. Covington contributed to this report.