The winningest coach in Lord Botetourt football history is moving on. After 14 years and 134 wins, Jamie Harless is leaving Daleville to take the job as football coach at Union High School in Big Stone Gap.
Harless’ final record at LB is 134-17 and puts him among the top 110 high school coaches in Virginia High School League history. All the wins have come at LB, and a good first year at Union would move Harless into the top 100.
The Cavaliers have established themselves as one of the top football schools in Virginia during Harless’ tenure. Lord Botetourt has never had a losing season since Jamie took the job in 2012 and last year he coached his 40th playoff game for the school, posting a 26-14 post-season record. Botetourt hadn’t had a winning season in 11 years before Harless was hired as head coach, and in the 52 seasons prior to Harless’ arrival Lord Botetourt had played in a total of eight playoff games and won just once, in 1984.
“As I prepare to step away from Lord Botetourt High School and accept the head football coaching position at Union High School, my heart feels heavy yet overflowing with gratitude for the extraordinary 14-year chapter we’ve written together,” he said in a media release. “When I first arrived, this program was struggling, averaging fewer than four wins a season with little hope on the horizon. Doubters were everywhere, and honestly the challenges felt overwhelming at times.
“But we refused to accept that fate. Together, with unshakeable belief, relentless hard work, tears shed in quiet moments of doubt and an unbreakable family bond we turned the impossible into reality.”
Harless led the Cavaliers to three state championship games in Class 3. In 2015 LB lost to Magna Vista in the final; in 2019 the Cavs fell to Hopewell; and in the 2021 spring COVID season, they lost to Lafayette in the championship game.
“Over these 14 seasons, we’ve amassed 134 wins, built a legacy of excellence with multiple deep playoff runs, region championships, historic state championship appearances in 2015, 2019 and 2021 and unforgettable moments like ending Riverheads’ 52-game winning streak, one of the longest in the nation at the time. We’ve seen powerhouse opponents, streaks snapped under our lights and, most profoundly, we’ve sent dozens of young men on to play college football, many earning hard-fought scholarships that changed their lives forever.”
Harless was quick to spread the credit for his success in Daleville.
“None of this happened because of one person,” he said. “It happened because an entire community dared to believe we could rise above. You believed when the scoreboard said otherwise. You believed through injuries, tough losses, and long practices. You believed in these boys, not just as players, but as young men capable of greatness. That belief carried us, lifted us, and made every triumph feel like a shared miracle.
“Thank you from the depths of my soul for your steadfast leadership and for fostering an environment where dreams like ours could take root and flourish. To Andy Dewease, Janet Womack, Jon Russ, Chuck Pound, Stacey Jones, Tim Fulton, Tim McClung, Beth Mast, Sarah Quesenberry, Ryan Boitnott, Travis Jones, the Craft family, John Alderson and family and especially Charlotte Toliver for her extraordinary special help and unwavering dedication through every season, as well as a special thanks to Traci Clark. Your guidance, patience, encouragement and friendship have meant more than words can express. And to the ones who were my biggest fans, my wife and children who lived every moment with me the last 14 years. I love you all dearly.
Photos by Brian Hoffman
“To every assistant coach who stood beside me on the sidelines, in the film room, and in the weight room: your passion, sacrifice and love for these kids built this program brick by brick. I am forever in your debt.
“To my players past, present and those I’ll carry in my heart forever; you are the beating heart of this story. I’ve watched you grow from uncertain teenagers into confident leaders, overcome heartbreak and adversity, and achieve things many said couldn’t be done. The pride I feel watching you chase your dreams, on the field and beyond, brings tears to my eyes even now. You’ve given me purpose, joy and lessons I’ll never forget. Thank you for trusting me, for fighting for each other, and for making me a better man and coach every single day.
“To the parents, boosters, fans, and this incredible Lord Botetourt community, your cheers echoing through the stands on Friday nights, your support through every up and down, your belief when others wavered, it fueled us. You packed the stands, fed the kids, raised the funds and loved these boys like your own. Your faith turned ordinary moments into legends, and every victory felt like ours together.”
A graduate of Abingdon High School and a former Division III All-American at Emory & Henry, Jamie is heading back to where it all started. His son, Jackson, was a standout player at LB and is now on the Emory & Henry team, and Jamie can be closer to home as his mother has had health issues. It was a tough decision for him, but a great place to land.
“This move takes me closer to my roots and to prioritize my family,” he said. “It’s one I make with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Leaving Lord Botetourt isn’t just leaving a job, it’s leaving a home, a family, a lifetime of memories. The roar of the crowd after a comeback win, the quiet huddles where dreams were born, the hugs after state semifinal heartbreak, the laughter in the locker room, the sight of young men realizing their potential… these moments are etched in my soul. They will travel with me always.”
While Jamie is leaving a winning program, he’s heading to a team that has had a lot of success as well. The Bears were 13-1 last year, and undefeated until losing to Glenvar in the Class 2 state semifinal game. Glenvar won by a point when they stuffed a two-point try that would have won the game for Union with just seconds remaining.
Like LB, Union has had 14 straight winning seasons. Appalachia and Powell Valley, both with a long history of football success, combined to make Union High in 2011. Union has a 140-44 record in football since the school opened and the folks in Southwest Virginia are crazy about their football. Having grown up in that area, Harless knows exactly how much the game means to the people in Big Stone Gap.
Jamie will replace Travis Turner, who had been the only coach for the Bears since the school opened. Turner’s father, Tom, coached at Appalachia High for 26 years and won multiple state championships.
The job at Union opened when Travis Turner went missing during last fall’s high school playoffs. Turner disappeared on Nov. 20 and is wanted on five counts of possession of child pornography and five counts of using a computer to solicit a minor. Turner has yet to be found or declared deceased and the criminal investigation remains ongoing.
Harless will be stepping into a “win now” situation, but he’s excited for the challenge while having mixed emotions about leaving Lord Botetourt.
“Thank you, Lord Botetourt, for believing we could accomplish what we did when so few did,” he wrote in closing his media release. “You’ve given me more love, more purpose, more joy than I could ever repay…with the deepest emotion and endless gratitude.”
