Randallstown assistant football coach Anthony Knox was named to the Rams' top job yesterday by school principal Eric Calton.

Knox, 35, replaces Bruce Strunk, who on Tuesday accepted the football coaching position at Eastern Tech. There, Strunk replaced Nick Arminio, who left to become coach at Toms River High in his native New Jersey.

Knox's 12 years of coaching experience include nine years at Edmondson assisting Pete Pompey -- for whom Knox played in the early 1980s -- and James James. He went to Randallstown in 1997.

Knox was defensive coordinator of last fall's state semifinalist Rams, who had five shutouts and allowed fewer than seven points a game. Randallstown was 11-1 and third-ranked.

"I'm very excited about the opportunity to coaching Randallstown," said Knox, a former quarterback at Edmondson. "It was a good experience coaching the defense, but in my heart, I'm an offensive man."

Strunk, who became the Rams' sixth coach in five seasons when he took over, strongly recommended Knox for the vacancy.

Calton acted swiftly, hoping to maintain the stability which helped to turn a 2-8 team three years ago into one that went 8-3 and reached the state quarterfinals two seasons ago, before reaching last fall's semifinals.

Strunk's Eastern Tech team will enter next fall as two-time defending Baltimore County Class 3A-4A champs.

Randallstown, last fall's Class 1A-2A champ, has been reclassified 3A, meaning the Rams and Eastern Tech will compete both for the league title and a state playoff berth.

The teams are scheduled to play Oct. 2 at Randallstown.

Pub Date: 3/05/99