by Rusty Ellis
The Macon County Tigers were in the middle of the Region 4-4A championship picture in 2022, but finished in third-place after a set of tiebreakers decided the region.
That didn’t diminish the season the Tigers had however, as they finished the season 8-3 overall in one of the best regions in the state, regardless of classification according to head coach Kyle Shoulders.
“From top-to-bottom, our region was extremely tough,” Shoulders said. “I was really proud of how our guys continued to battle any adversity, not just throughout the season, but in each game…I feel like the resiliency out of our team was what surprised me. We were a young team, especially in the skill positions. For them to play with the maturity they did, I was really impressed.”
The Tigers have a pair of dynamic playmakers returning for them this season, one being Class 4A Mr. Football finalist Gabe Borders, and the other being his brother Zach, who battled injuries all last season.
“Both are really special players, and I love to talk about them as young men and how they’re phenomenal people,” Shoulders said. “They’re great leaders for our football teams, and they never really showboat anything they do…it’s nice to have both of them back as juniors, and they still have some growing to do, but I feel like both of them have worked hard in the weight room to improve their stature. They’ve done a lot to improve their craft.”
The quarterback spot will look a little different for Shoulders this season, as junior Luke Gammon takes over the signal-caller spot. While he might not have a ton of live reps to this point, Shoulders sees a young player that’s ready to surprise some people this season.
“He was in a quarterback competition last summer and he split time in 7-on-7 reps,” Shoulders said. “He’s only a junior so he’s got some experience and he’s green at the same time…he’s probably the most knowledgeable player I’ve worked with regarding our offense. He knows what everyone’s responsibilities are and where everyone is supposed to be lined up. That speaks volumes for him.”
Other players around Gammon and the Borders include Tyler Gregory, Cole Stephens and Braden Warren.
“Tyler has started for the last couple of years, and has just played a ton of snaps for our offense,” Shoulders said. “Cole Stephens is going to be carrying the football a lot for us, and Braden Warren at fullback is another key piece to our offense. Then you talk about the offensive line, we’ve got some new faces there, but they’ve come a long way since spring ball.”
The offensive line is anchored by the return of a four-year starter in Austin Barton, as well as Brody Frye and Riley Bolton.
Austin’s going to be at offensive tackle for us, so he’ll play a big role within our offense,” Shoulders said. “Brody Frye will be playing guard, he had a great season at defensive end for us last year. We’ll have Riley Bolton back who’s played a lot for us, but then we’ve got some new faces. We’ve got a new center in Gavin Johnson, who’ll be our center, and another sophomore in Dawson Whittemore, who we feel is pound-for-pound one of our strongest players,”
One look at this year’s region shows that it’s just as tough as it was a year ago, and it’s even tougher when you add White County into the mix. When asked what he thinks about it, Shoulders says there’s two teams that he feels everyone will likely be chasing.
“Anytime you talk about this region, you’ve got to talk about Upperman, they’ve been the class of this region in recent years,” Shoulders said. “Stone won the region last year, and under Coach (Derik) Samber, they’ve done extremely well. They’re a battling football team, and they were able to knock off Upperman last year. When you talk about this region, you’ve got to talk about those two, and that’s how it’ll be until someone knocks them off.”
Shoulders isn’t one for lofty goals, as he says his main goal is constant growth. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t expect to compete for the region title though.
“I hate to put a number of wins on a season for it to be successful,” Shoulders said. “You could have a great team and play in this region and go 5-5…we could play in a much softer region or a much easier non-region schedule and run off at least eight wins, but I think success lies on us reaching our highest potential. You’d like to do that sooner rather than later, but you want to reach that point before the playoffs get here. I feel like we’ve got a group that’s willing to empty the tank for their teammates. I think that’s the mark of a successful program.”
Macon County kicks off their season this Saturday, when they hit the road to take on Westmoreland.