by Tom Coombe
A roundabout journey has come full circle for Terrence Isaac.
Just after a quarter-century after Isaac came to Ely for the first time and started what turned out to be a storied football career at Vermilion Commuity College, he has returned as the program’s head coach.
Earlier this week, Isaac and his staff welcomed about 55 Vermilion players to campus as practices began in preparation for an Aug. 28 season-opener against perennial powerhouse Rochester.
It also was a homecoming of sorts for the Cleveland native, who moved north from Louisiana, where he was coaching high school football, for the chance to lead the Ironmen.
“When this opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t pass it up,” Isaac said Tuesday.
Those who followed Vermilion during the 1990s, when the program captured three state titles and a slew of playoff berths, are likely to remember Isaac, a star wide receiver on state championship teams in both 1995 and 1996.