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Central High School is seeking a new football coach. Rod Sturdivant will vacate that position so that he may
assume his new role as Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central's
director of schools. Sturdivant's good fortune is
football's loss.
Sturdivant lifted the Tigers from mediocrity to
astronomical heights. Under Sturdivant's tutelage,
Central captured the Class A state title in 1989,
returned to the finals again in 1991 and then again in
1995.
He had four Mr. Football winners: Joe Longmire (1995),
James Hartsfield (1996), Adrian Jamison (2001) and
Patrick Willis (2002).
Under Sturdivant's watch, his Tigers were perennial
visitors to the post season and frequently ventured far
into November. Sure his teams had ups and downs against
rivals like Lake Co., Huntingdon, Dresden and USJ, his
teams were always in the hunt.
What was even more astounding was that the Tigers never
lost two games in a row in Sturdivant's era...until this
past season.
And this past season was an aberration. The Tigers had a
lot of spirited players, but only fielded five seniors
and faced schedule full of teams who had the best
seasons they ever had. West Carroll, Halls and
Huntingdon come to mind. Camden was a pretty solid team
this season as well.
The Tigers never quit and ended the season on a positive
result with a victory at Gleason.
Central takes its football seriously. Need proof? Just
check out the surface at Herndon Stadium. More proof?
Run up the hill to the practice facility. The turf there
is better than most high schools' playing fields.
Sturdivant may not be coaching, but he won't be far from
the program and will have a big hand in choosing his
successor. Whoever comes in to fill that position will
take over a tradition-rich program and will have a
tremendous resource down the hall.
We wish the former coach good luck in his new endeavor.
He certainly raised the bar for Tiger football.
Rebels looking better
McKenzie finished up its spring football work with a
scrimmage against Crockett County and looked much
improved from its bout with Humboldt.
The Rebels were more aggressive, more physical and had a
better grasp of the offense. Sure there is much work to
do, but McKenzie took a step in the right direction.
With 10 seniors departing, there will be an opportunity
for some young kids to step up and make big
contributions this season. Head coach Wade Comer was
pleased that his team showed the potential for depth and
competition for playing time this summer.
The off-season work will be crucial. Improvement occurs
in the off-season, not during the regular season.
But the work ethic is there. That has become part of the
Rebel legacy. This team isn't ready right now, but it
will be.
Getting their kicks
McKenzie begins its initial foray into high school
soccer this week. The Rebels traveled to Milan Tuesday
for a 5:30 match and will host Trinity Christian 4:30
Thursday at Bethel College's soccer field.
Twenty-one players, including two girls, make up the
McKenzie side and they all have some exposure to soccer.
Will the Rebels win the state title this year? Perhaps
not, but they've been working hard and will provide
their fans a lot of excitement this season. |
