There is nowhere to go but up for the Ethel football team following an 0-11 campaign in 2017, but first year Head Coach Dave McCrory sees better times ahead.
“I’m glad to be here,” McCrory said. “I want to turn it around.”
Changing the culture around the program is his number one objective. “Holding each other accountable would be number two,” McCory said.
“One thing I have told (the players) over and over again, is that this is your team. We’re only going to do what you allow us to do.
“The kids want to do better and that’s a big step—they’re committed.”
McCrory saw evidence of that commitment during the off-season weight lifting program. Participation varied, but McCrory said that on an average day more than 20 players showed up to train.
Last year, a number of the football players left the team mid-season.
“I’m trying to make sure every kid who starts the season finishes the season,” McCrory said.
Ethel is his first head coaching job, but McCrory has been an assistant in Mississippi for 11 years. His first stop was in Kosciusko, in 2007. His path then led to stops at Charleston, Bay Springs and Northeast Jones, where for the last two seasons he was the offensive line coach.
McCrory said that he learned much at each stop, but singled out Northeast Jones Head Coach Keith Braddock as a particularly strong influence.
“I’m going to try to mirror a lot of what we did at Northeast Jones,” he said.
Offensively, the Tigers will primarily run out of a single-running-back set out of a shotgun formation. McCrory is fond of occupying an additional defender with a quarterback who is a threat to run.
The Tigers will challenge opposing offenses with multiple defensive sets.
“One week we may be in a 4-3 look, and the next week we may be in a 5-2 look,” McCrory said. “(It will) just depend on what teams are trying to do.”
The Tigers will participate in a jamboree held in Coffeeville on Friday, Aug. 10, where they will face the host team and Holly Springs. The official season begins Aug. 17, at McAdams.
In last year’s opener, the Tigers lost to 1A playoff-bound McAdams 44-0.
“I hate opening with McAdams,” McCrory said. “I wish that was the last game of the season. “Coach (Jim) Risen does a good job. I’ve been messing with him. Every time I see him I tell him they are going to compete for a division title. They are going to be really, really good. They have a lot of seniors.”
McCrory is hoping for some strong support from the community.
This summer, McCrory has furnished the weight room walls with motivating messages, and hung photos of Tiger legends Brian Rone and Kelsey Dotson along the hall leading to the Black and Gold locker room.
“There are a lot of good things going on at Ethel High School. I want people at games, getting involved, seeing these young men play.”
The Ethel High School home opener is Aug. 24, when the Tigers will meet Winona Christian.
Ethel will compete against eight other teams in Region 3-1A. Its first region game is Sept. 7 at Sebastopol.
