Rick Prinz, the
Paradise (Calif.) football coach who helped the town rebound after the devastating 2018 Camp Fire, announced his retirement Thursday after 22 seasons according to media reports.
His 191 wins are fourth-best in Northern Section history and Prinz led six teams to section titles.
Prinz, who had dreams of playing football before injuries sidelined his career, found his way into teaching and coaching almost by accident. He leaves after creating one of the longest-running dynasties in the Northern Section. The Bobcats were 191-70 in his tenure, which spanned 1999-2021.
"It is with deep emotion that I have decided to retire as Paradise's head
football coach. I am forever grateful to the players that I have had
the privilege of coaching ... and to the coaches who gave so much. I
can't put into words how much you mean to me," he told MaxPreps on Thursday.
His .732 win percentage is good for seventh in section history with 100 games coached, but it was the impact football had on the town following the Camp Fire that showed the power of Prinz's program.
On Nov. 8, 2018, a fast-moving fire west of Paradise exploded in the early morning hours, blitzing through the tiny mountain town near Chico. Within hours, the majority of the town laid waste as 85 people died and more than 153,000 acres were touched.
The Bobcats, a No. 3 seed that season, were forced to forfeit as Prinz, his coaches and the overwhelming majority of his players all lost their homes.
"A lot of kids lost their home and a lot of them are scattered around right now, but we've heard from everybody," Prinz told MaxPreps in 2018. "I know three of my coaches lost their homes and I know whole neighborhoods burned. I'm assuming I lost my home.
"I've talked with our administration and our athletic director to see what we can do but honestly I spent the whole night wondering where my mother was, not thinking about football."
Less than a year later, however, Prinz led the Bobcats back on to Om Wraith Field - one of the few places spared by the deadly blaze - for a 42-0 win over Williams in front of more than 5,000 fans and a national news presence.
Paradise would enter the 2019 Northern Section Division III finals against Sutter unbeaten. However, on a rainy night against the Huskies, the Bobcats' Hollywood ending fell flat in a 20-7 loss to their longtime rival.
"In a lot of ways this was bigger than football and bigger than what happened tonight on this field," Rick Prinz said about the Bobcats even being in the title game. "This was for our town and helping rebuild it. They were a key role in that. ... They're special guys."
The story of the Bobcats 2019 and its rise from the ashes was chronicled in "Paradise Found," a book by L.A. Times sports columnist Bill Plaschke.
Paradise coach Rick Prinz, center, announced his retirement Thursday after 22 seasons leading the Bobcats.
File photo by Anthony Brunsman
