New Era For Livingston Football Begins With Blue And White Game

By Josh Scott:

When Coach Matthan Houser took over as the Livingston Academy football coach in December, he knew the road “back” for the Wildcats wouldn’t be easy. After all, the Wildcats are in the middle of a twenty two game losing streak that dates back all the way back to 2020, when they defeated the Macon County Tigers at home to get into the 2020 TSSAA playoffs.

However, with the completion of spring practice, Coach Houser and his staff have been very pleased with the 2023 edition of the Wildcats on and off the field. “This particular group is 0-0. It’s easy to fall into the thought that the expectations from before are the same the next year. We haven’t lost to anyone, we haven’t been beaten by anyone. This is the start of something new.”’

“That’s been something that I feel like is huge,” Houser explained, “every time we check on them there’s been accountability. They want to be good. They want to work. We tell them all the time that good teams are coach led, but great teams are player led. And they have really taken off with that.”

If you ask anyone who has seen the Wildcats compete this spring, they’ll tell you that Livingston has talent that could  compete in Region 4/AAA in the fall. Additions from other sports include Rocco Carwile, Daniel Bilbrey, Dawson Ledbetter, and more help add to an already athletic roster of playmakers that contributed in 2022 such as Brodey Coffee, Adrian Jenkins, Will Brown, Carson Parrott, Seth Smith, Kaiden Weitzel, and Jake Hughes just to name a few.

Adding guys with a lot of athleticism has been great, but the guys who have been here have really matured. They’ve really grown and with the addition, if nothing else, it gives us more depth. It develops the mindset of what it’s like to compete. It’s very different when it’s the same kind of athlete across from you that you are competing with. Adding more kids at all the positions this spring, there’s been so many more opportunities this spring to grow, compete, and get better in the fifteen days we were allowed to work.”

One of the biggest things about a new regime is the buy-in from everyone within the program, and when taking over a team who hasn’t had on field success in two seasons, the challenge can be just that: challenging. However, Coach Houser and his staff have wasted no time in changing the culture and belief within the program to bring back the tradition of Livingston Academy football. “I felt like when we first started working with the guys, the number one thing you could tell is that they had to learn how to compete and overcome adversity. So, we split them up into teams so they could compete for the offseason. That’s created different scenarios for competition, whether it be in the weight room, classroom, or on the field.”

And although just a work day, Livingston was able to host the Gordonsville Tigers a week ago on a night that both teams got better and a night that maybe the Tigers weren’t expecting. The new look Wildcats seemed to control much of the work day at the line of scrimmage and at the skill positions, something not expected from a team in such a drought. “The day before, our challenge was to go and compete with Gordonsville. We know how well they play and are coached. They do a tremendous job down there.”

“In a game situation, there’s probably a lot of things both teams would do differently,” Houser said afterwards, “I knew working with them would be great because of how good a job Coach Jackson does with those guys and it was great for our program and taking steps forward to getting better. We definitely needed a team like Gordonsville to compete with and give us someone new to compete other than ourselves. We were able to get in some great work on both sides of the ball and at every position.”

With the culmination of spring practice, the Wildcats took to the field on Friday night to compete in the Blue and White game at the now fully functional Tom Davis Memorial Stadium. “They know it’s the last time they get to hit somebody until the fall,” Houser chuckled, “but it’s going to be an event as well. We are going to have an alumni flag football game at half-time, a chance for fans to call plays, and overall it’s an opportunity for the community to come out and really see the work our guys have put in since January to represent Livingston Academy football the right way. Coach Mac (Jeremy McDonald) always asks them ‘how do you spell fun? W-I-N’ and this is a big chance for fun.

Now with the fifteen days of spring over, it’s back into the weight room for the Wildcats as they prepare further for the season opener against Trousdale County at Livingston on August 18th. It’ll be game one that Coach Houser looks to break the losing streak and get back to winning ways in Hog-Eye Country. “Everyone is so excited to get to that point. Everyone has been so excited to get into the weight room and the guys have seen the way they have transitioned in the weight room. There’s been no complacency from our guys and you can’t ask for much more.”

“There’s an expectation in our program that they are going to compete now. Coach Mac has told them they can’t beat Trousdale County in the spring, but they can surely lose to Trousdale County in the spring. They have really bought into that and it has shown every single day we have had the opportunity.”