New football coach announced for Saxony Lutheran High School

JACKSON, Mo. (KBSI) – Saxony Lutheran High School leaders announced the new football coach for the school’s new football team.

O.J. Turner will be the new head coach.

Turner will lead the Crusaders in their first year of football in just a matter of months, and he said Saxony Lutheran is the perfect fit for him. 

“I’m a big family guy. Spiritually, those things are really really important for me so being able to be at a school that’s putting that first, and then ultimately, being able to bring a football program, it matched really really well,” he said.

And school principal Mark Ruark said Turner checks all the boxes for someone who is going to be the face of the football program. 

“With the experiences that he’s had, he’s had a child graduate from here, so he knows what our school is all about, and his enthusiasm and knowledge, for him to be the building block of our football program is very exciting,” Ruark said.

Turner was a linebacker for four years at SEMO after graduating from Cape Central High School.

He said he is excited to serve as a role model to the young athletes he will coach, much like the coaches he had.

“I was very blessed to have a lot of examples in my life, so being able to give that back is super important to me,” Turner said.

And he can’t wait to get started. 

“I’m pretty stoked,” Turner said with a smile.

Saxony will play a road JV schedule in Fall 2024 before adding a varsity team in 2025.

Related story: Saxony Lutheran High School to add football for 2024-25 school year