Culpeper football assistant Greg Martz will coach the Blue Devils next season, a source told The Free Lance-Star yesterday.

Martz has reportedly been given the job on a one-year interim basis and his status will be re-evaluated after next season.

Culpeper athletic director Billy Thornhill refused to comment, but said the school would probably make an announcement on the vacant position today.

Martz, 30, is a 1997 graduate of Old Dominion University and has been an assistant at Culpeper for the past six years. He graduated from Madison County in 1993 and played offensive line under the legendary Eddie Dean.

Martz reportedly met with next year's team for the first time yesterday.

Martz was one of 18 candidates who reportedly applied for the job that became vacant when Randy Bove (11-21) stepped down after three seasons. The Devils were 2-8 and 3-7 in the last two years.

Martz began his Culpeper career as a junior varsity coach, and last season coached offensive linemen and linebackers.

Martz, The Free Lance-Star was told, was offered the job on Monday after Carroll County head coach Tom Hale turned down an offer Saturday. Hale reportedly cited the high cost of living in the Culpeper area as his primary reason for not taking the job.

Other candidates reportedly included former Gretna head coach Robert Senseney, who landed the head job at North Stafford, and former Culpeper assistant Greg Hatfield, who was hired to replace Tom Farrell at Fauquier.