Tarka takes over at Hinsdale Central

Updated: March 24, 2011 3:04PM

Rich Tarka, a former head football coach at Crete-Monee and Rich South, has been hired as Hinsdale Central's new coach.

Tarka, who will join Central's math department, replaces Mike DiMatteo, who resigned last November after a 4-5 season. DiMatteo was 35-20 in five years.

The 49-year-old Tarka has first-hand familiarity with the Red Devils from having helped DiMatteo's offensive coordinator Jamie Pass with pass receivers in the 2010 season.

"We'll run the spread formation again," Tarka said. "It's tough to defend and we have some good receivers coming back."

He also has sophomores and freshmen prospects coming up from their 7-2 seasons.

Tarka will be under scrutiny from the tightly knit Hinsdale Central Football Club of parents and other supporters who describe themselves as "the team behind the team."

"I'm up for any kind of challenge," Tarka said. "I enjoyed meeting them. They made it an interesting (interview) process. We have the same goals for our players and teams. The opportunities will be there for everyone."

Tarka has more than 20 years of coaching experience at the high-school level, including six at Rich South. He was a Richards lineman for famed coach Gary Korhonen, and played a season at Western Illinois.

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