HUNTER COOKSTON
Writer
Owen Kilgore has an impressive resume with a student assistant job at Tennessee before going to Jacksonville State where he would get hired as a cornerbacks coach. For the last two seasons, he has been on the Tigers staff as a defensive coordinator. This season will be something new for him as he takes over the head coaching job of his alma mater.
“I mean I have always been proud to be from Whitwell and have always had lots of pride for Whitwell. Coming back, my sense of pride is even stronger. It’s almost like I am stepping back in time a little bit coming back home. It’s been really good, the community has been really supportive,” he said when talking about how special it is to be head coach for his hometown.
The Tigers will look to build off of an 8-4 season. The offseason will show a coach what to expect from their team. First-year head coach Owen Kilgore said everyone is still learning, whether it be players learning more about his coaching style or him learning more about his players.
“They are learning a lot about me and I am still learning a lot about them. I think the biggest improvement that I have noticed is that their commitment levels have been increasing each day.”
Whitwell comes into the year returning all skill position players but one. For the offensive line that is not the case. The Tigers look to find four replacements for the O-line. Connor Staley is the only starter from last year’s team. Kilgore knows he can count on Staley’s leadership, as well as senior linemen Garrett Miller and Kannan Smith who have not played on the line in their first three seasons. Even though the inexperience of not playing on the line in previous years is there, the overall football knowledge and leadership make up for it.
“There’s not a selfish bone in that group. It’s a very smart group and they take a lot of pride with playing on the line. We got some other guys who may not have played a whole lot of O-line, but they are very football smart, they have picked up on it really quick. They’ve bonded really well, they are all great leaders and people to have.”
Defensively, all of the leaders are returning. Seniors Bennett McDougal, Wyatt Davis, Brandon Easterly, Kannan Smith, Landon Smith, Garrett Miller, and Jacob Garcia look to lead their team on the defensive side of the ball for one last year. The defense will serve as the side of the ball with the most positional experiment.
Playing on the road is a daunting task in itself, for Whitwell, they will play the first four weeks away from home. Starting week one at Huntland, followed by Greenback, Jo Byrns, and Lookout Valley. Whitwell is going to be tested mentally early on. Depending on how well they play on the road, it could be a proving point or a breaking point. The man in charge of this Tigers squad believes his team is ready for the challenge.
“I think it is exciting to be able to go somewhere that we are not particularly known about and show them what all we can do. I think it is going to create a little bit of a chip on our shoulders. We can’t make any excuses, we have to go out there and get it done.”
This year’s team is poised to make some major noise in 1A. The end goal for the Tigers is to make it to Finley Stadium to compete for the gold ball. Head coach Owen Kilgore has no doubt they can reach the mountain top but stresses to make it very far they have to stay away from the injury bug and get better every week. Whitwell has all the tools necessary starting with key contributors coming back, skill, and knowledge. The Whitwell Tigers look to become just the second team in school history to win a State Championship.
*This is a three-part series previewing the upcoming high school football season. Marion and South Pittsburg will be in upcoming editions prior to the first games on August 23.
The Marion Tribune – August 1, 2024
