STARKVILLE — Chase Nicholson has seen the Starkville Academy football program at its worst and at its best.

Fortunately for Nicholson, the best times have happened recently.

Now it’s his job to make sure that trend continues.

Fresh off an appearance in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II state championship game. Nicholson was announced Tuesday as the school’s new football coach. He replaces Jeff Terrill, who recently retired after five seasons at Starkville Academy and 35 seasons as a coach.

“It will be a smooth transition,” said Nicholson, who was offensive coordinator for Terrill. “I don’t think any change goes perfectly. However, this will be close to perfect. I told the kids at the first meeting, we will be setting the bar high. I already know the kids, and I know what they are capable of doing. It’s a huge advantage in that we can hit the ground running like that.”

Nicholson, 31, has spent the past six seasons as an assistant coach at Starkville Academy. He said he has learned a lot from Terrill, a long-time coach in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges, including Itawamba Community College in Fulton.

“The main thing is preparation,” Nicholson said. “He was the most prepared coach I have even been around. I learned how to treat people. I learned how to motivate players and to respect them. He has coached the game so long and he would always say you will know what to do or maybe even what not to do based on some of the things I have done.”

In 2009, Starkville Academy finished 0-10. Terrill retired from a lengthy stint in the MACJC ranks that same season and took over Starkville Academy’s football program a couple of months later.

Starkville Academy won three games in 2010. The next season, it advanced to the state championship game for the first time in six seasons. Terrill led the Volunteers to three playoff appearances and two state championship game appearances.

“Going 0-10 in my first season here, I can truthfully say I have seen Starkville Academy football at rock bottom,” Nicholson said. “It was as bad as it gets for this program. Two years later, you are competing for a state championship. Some days, we went up, others down. Sometimes we went backwards and sideways, but we eventually got back to the state championship game.

“I watched the program grow and develop, piece by piece, step by step. It will be easy for us to build our program here because of the familiarity. I saw it at the very bottom and then I saw it at the top. Hard work and sacrifice got us there. Knowing so many of these kids — watching (quarterback) Houston Clark grow from a seventh-grader to a senior next year. That has been exciting. We have grown together.”

Starkville Academy had 17 seniors on its 33-player roster this season. However, Nicholson feels the cupboard isn’t bare and that staff and player continuity will help the team surprise people in 2015.

“Most of the assistants have been here two or three years together,” Nicholson said. “We know what it takes to succeed at this level. The machine will keep clicking.”

However, the machine will click against some new opposition. The MAIS will shift to four classifications next school year. Starkville Academy will compete against Heritage Academy, Winston Academy, and Leake Academy in Class AAA, District 2.

“It’s going to be different,” Nicholson said. “There is a lot more on the (rivalry game) with Winston now. We had played the same set of schools for so long, so this will be a new and unique challenge. We like our district and look forward to getting started.”

Nicholson will have nine months to prepare for his head coaching debut. A former standout at Newton Academy, Nicholson graduated from Mississippi State’s Meridian campus. His coaching career included four seasons at Newton Academy before the past six seasons at Starkville Academy.

He and his wife, Molly, welcomed their first child, Maggie Sky, into the world earlier this season.

“Starkville has been home for six years now, and I really didn’t want to leave,” Nicholson said. “Special thanks to (athletic director) coach (Glenn) Schmidt and (head of school) Mr. (Jeremy) Nicholas for giving me this opportunity. They put a great deal of trust in me and gave me a great opportunity. I feel like I am the right man for the job.”

Follow Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott

Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.