The school board of Middlebury Community Schools approved the hiring of Luke Amstutz as Northridge High School’s new head football coach on Tuesday night.
Amstutz is currently East Noble’s activities director after stepping down from his head coaching position in February of 2024. He will serve as a physical education teacher at Northridge High School
Amstutz led the Knights for a dozen seasons beginning in 2012, with just a single losing season (2022) over that time. East Noble won a pair of sectional championships under Amstutz, with a trip to the Class 4A state title game in 2019 a program highlight.
“My family and I are extremely excited for the opportunity to lead the Northridge football program and become a part of a great community,” said Amstutz in a release. “Our years at East Noble were some of the best years of our lives, and we are proud to have been a part of developing a strong tradition of excellence.
“We will clearly miss the relationships we have built with so many friends, colleagues and hard-working student-athletes. The time has come for a change for our family, and we are looking forward to our future in green and gold. Go Raiders!”
Amstutz went 98-37 at East Noble, with his winning percentage of .725 the second-highest in program history, surpassed only by current coach Alex Stewart’s .888 . Combined with his four years leading the Angola program from 2008-11, Amstutz holds an overall coaching record of 124-52 (.704).
Northridge had been in the market for a new coach ever since Chad Eppley resigned from the head job in November. In his first season in 2021, Eppley led the Raiders to their first-ever state finals appearance, falling to Mt. Vernon (Fortville) 45-14. However, Northridge finished with just three victories in each of the last two seasons.
In a wild coincidence, Northridge will open the season next fall in Kendallville against the Knights on Aug. 21.
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