Auburn High football holds high hopes for fall season
Spring football is just around the corner for the Tigers of Auburn High School. With practice starting May 1, the Tigers set their eyes to preparation for the fall season.
Auburn has seen great success recently within their program; appearing in two out of the last three Alabama high school state championships. Unfortunately for the Tigers, those two appearances were stifled by the Thompson Warriors.
Second year head coach Keith Etheredge, who will coach his third season this fall, said that this helps fuel the team.
“These guys want to get back there, and I think they want to right a wrong," he said.
Auburn fell in the 2022 7A state championship game to Alabama power Thompson, 49-24, at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Nov. 30. Etheredge said he doesn’t believe his team played to their ability against Thompson — something that is now a motivating factor.
A powerhouse is on the horizon for Auburn high. Etheredge is creating a winning mindset and a winning culture.
“The more you win, the easier winning is,” he said.
But winning in 7A Region 2 isn’t a walk in the park. Every game is a challenge, but this just helps the Tigers get battle tested.
This spring is going to be a challenge for the Tigers, but not an unfamiliar one. They graduated 41 players from last year’s championship team. While this number seems large, they graduated 42 the year before that and still managed to make it to the championship game.
Coach says they have “probably six guys” returning on offense and “about five guys” coming back for the defense. Replacing over half of the roster on both phases is a tall task but Etheredge is confident in this team’s ability.
“The only question we got right now is quarterback,” he said.
Quarterback Clyde Pittman, who tallied 51 total TDs, over 3750 passing yards, and went 22-5 as a starter, graduates this spring. Backup quarterback Davis Harsin, who split time with Pittman, transferred to another school in Idaho. This leaves the quarterback competition open for the taking in spring ball.
As for now, Etheredge is building his team’s strength in the weight room and speed through agility work. They are getting to work out with their ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth graders all together which totals to around 170 kids. They will have plenty of talent to choose from when the time comes.
As spring football rolls around, gaps are trying to be filled and questions are attempting to be answered. The confidence level throughout the program is at an all-time high. Etheredge and his staff are manning a force to be reckoned with.
— Reed Hughes, The Auburn Advance