BATON ROUGE - On Tuesday, Lester Ricard resigned as the head coach at Scotlandville Magnet High. Ricard spent the past 3 seasons as the Hornets' head coach.

Ricard shared the following statement with WBRZ on Wednesday.

"It’s time for a new start for me and my family! I wish them nothing but the best. I’m grateful for the opportunity I’ve had being the Head Football Coach at Scotlandville.  I’m extremely proud of what we accomplished. Sending 22 Student Athletes to college in 2 years is a blessing.  As I move into my new chapter of my coaching career, I’m extremely excited and optimistic for what God has on the horizon for me and my family!  I’m forever grateful for the teachers, students, faculty, fans, administrators that made my time at Scotlandville filled with memories."

This past season, Ricard guided the Hornets to a 6-4 record, making the Quarterfinals of the Division I playoffs. 

Scotlandville Principal Paul Jackson released the following open letter. 

"Scotlandville Family,

I would like to share that I have made the decision to move in a new direction with our football program. The Scotlandville Magnet High Football Program has parted ways with Coach Lester Ricard Jr. We would like to thank Coach Ricard for his work and dedication, he brought much-needed stabilization of our program during a time of tremendous transition and we wish him well in his future endeavors.

Today, we will begin our search for a new coach with the goal of bringing in a leader who will maximize the ability of a talented and deep pool of student athletes. We will not rush the search in order to ensure that we are able to secure the best candidate for our team.

As always, we are SCOTLAND proud VILLE strong!"