Inside The Huddle with the Collinsville Panthers

Inside The Huddle with the Collinsville Panthers

By Marla Jones, Sports Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

COLLINSVILLE, Ala. — In DeKalb and Jackson Counties, we know football fans are anticipating the upcoming football season as much as we are. Football is a way of life for us, even our weddings are planned around games. 

Each week until the season starts, Southern Torch will visit a local team and give you the inside scoop. 

On my first stop of Inside The Huddle, our crew made the trek to southern DeKalb County to check out what’s going on with the Collinsville Panthers! Collinsville finished their 2018 season with a 10-2 record and lost in the second round of the state playoffs to Aliceville, 20-9. 

Preparation:As I pulled up to the Collinsville Panthers’ football field, I looked at my thermometer and it was 95 degrees. The heat did not stop the Panthers as they ran sprint after sprint. The Collinsville Panthers will boast one of the most physically fit teams in the county this year.

The team ran for 30 minutes, did physical conditioning for 45 minutes and then put on their helmets for practice for another hour. They also attended two football camps during the same week with heat indexes over 100 degrees.

The team is anchored by 11 seniors and nine juniors. The Panthers have nine returning on offense and nine returning on defense.

Coaching Staff: Head Coach James “Ernie” Willingham, Coach Riley Edwards (Defensive Coordinator/Line, Offensive Line), Coach Jon Tidmore (Junior High), Coach Shane Stewart (Receivers), Coach Chris Conde (Offensive Line), Coach Jeff Stanley (Offensive Line/Defensive Line), Coach Mike McElrath (Running Backs), Coach Teddy Helms (Special Teams), Coach Chuck Dutton (Linebackers), and John Morgan (Stats).

I look forward to seeing the Collinsville Panthers in action this fall and expect them to go deep into the playoffs, again in the 2019 season!