Dustin Kinard approved as new Head Football Coach at Mannford

After thirteen season at Sand Springs, Dustin Kinard has a new home. The Mannford Board of Education approved the hiring of Kinard as Head Football Coach at their Monday meeting.

Kinard was the second-longest tenured coach in Sand Springs history, guiding the Sandites to a 65-75 record from 2007 to 2019. He was fired following a 2-8 season and third-straight losing record. He is also currently the assistant principal at Northwoods Fine Arts Academy, and an assistant wrestling coach.

During Kinard’s historic run he guided the Sandites to six winning seasons and seven post-season appearances, including a school-record six consecutive playoff years from 2012 to 2017. His best season came in 2015, when the Sandites went 7-5 for a 6A-II State Runner-Up appearance. They were actually 9-3 on the field, but forfeited two blowout wins due to an ineligible player. Their third non-district game was cancelled mid-game due to excessive lightning delays, while the Sandites were up 18-7.

In 2014 they won their first playoff game since 1997, and they repeated the feat for three-straight years. That success began to run out in 2017 when they went 5-6 and were eliminated in the first round. In 2018 Kinard was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and the team went 3-7. He has been cancer free since before the 2019 season, in which the Sandites went 2-8 and suffered a 75-0 loss to Bixby. That was the program’s worst outing since 1924.

Following Kinard’s ouster, Sand Springs hired Owasso Defensive Coordinator Bobby Klinck, who helped the Rams to two 6A-I State Championships in the past three years.

Mannford is the third-largest school in Class 3A and is coming off consecutive 3-7 seasons under Joshua Coleman. Their last winning record was 6-4 in 2013, and their best season since then was 5-6 in 2017. The Pirates are 29-72 over the past decade, playing in a district that currently includes Kingfisher, Blackwell, Bridge Creek, John Marshall, Mount St. Mary, Perkins-Tryon, and Heritage Hall.