Lyle Laffoon received a jarring wake-up call Wednesday morning.

On the other end of the phone, Southwest Livingston superintendent John Locker presented him with an unusual and desperate plea — coach the Wildcats football team at practice that very afternoon.

“It was quite a shock,” Laffoon said.

The 57-year-old veteran, who led the team for eight seasons, will serve as Southwest’s coach for tonight’s jamboree on an interim basis after the previous coach, Ben Humphries, resigned unexpectedly. Humphries, a history teacher with no previous football experience, announced his decision to Locker at the beginning of the week.

“He came in with an attitude that he could learn as he went,” Locker said. “It got a little overwhelming, and it was way too much for him.”

With no other alternative, Locker led the team through a few conditioning drills Tuesday before he thought Laffoon might be able to help.

Laffoon, who teaches down the road at Stet, agreed to take over the team on a temporary basis with a football team he hasn’t coached since 2001. His status as a full-time coach, however, remains up in the air.

“I’m kind of in limbo,” Laffoon said. “I’m just trying to help the kids as best I can.”

Locker said the school will convene a board meeting, tentatively schedule for Monday, in hopes of locating another qualified candidate to take over for Laffoon, who stepped away from his basketball coaching duties at Stet after last year.

For now, he is simply thankful Laffoon has served as a more-than-capable stopgap.

“I’m glad he’s doing it because it’s so hard going into the game unprepared,” Locker said. “But they’ll get through.”

Sports reporter Andy Meyer can be reached at andymeyer@npgco.com