Blair Armstrong, athletic director and football coach of the Banks County Leopards, is leaving the school to accept the football coach position at North Forsyth. Armstrong, who led the Leopards athletic program the last four seasons, notified school officials of his decision at the beginning of the week. His resignation is effective Mar. 10.

Banks County principal Art Wheaton will serve as interim athletic director while the school searches to fill both vacancies. Wheaton said the school will set up a committee, screen applications and conduct an interview process before taking their candidate to school superintendent Chris Erwin.

Banks County has advertised the athletic director and football coach jobs on its website as a package deal, and so far Wheaton said the school has received more than 30 applications. Of those 30 applicants, none are on the current Banks County coaching staff.

However, Wheaton said Armstrong may take some assistants with him to North Forsyth, depending on positions open at that school.

Wheaton hopes to have a replacement named by March. The Georgia High School Association allows football teams to hold spring practice from Feb. 1 to the end of the school year.

Armstrong leaves behind a Leopards team that finished with an overall record of 7-3 and 4-1 in Region 8A-AA, missing the state playoffs after a loss in the region play-in game. The seven wins were the most by a Leopards team since 1997, when they finished 8-3. In 2008, Armstrong led Banks County to its only state playoff appearance since 1997.

Armstrong came to Banks County in 2007, the year after he coached Peachtree Ridge to a split Class AAAAA state championship — the title game against Roswell ended in a 14-14 tie. He also coached Johnson from 2002-04 before taking the Peachtree Ridge job, going 21-12 with the Knights and taking them to the playoffs all three years.

North Forsyth is a 6-AAAAA school that went 5-6 last year under Jared Zito, who left to take the football coaching job at Dacula. Zito was also the school’s athletic director.