STEENS — Football is football.
It sounds simple, but that”s how Greg Watkins has approached his transition from Hebron Christian to Immanuel Christian.
The veteran coach has spent the past two weeks working his new players into form. On Friday, he and the Rams will take the field for the first time when they face Manchester Academy in a scrimmage at Winona Christian.
Not only is Watkins adjusting to a new school and to new players, but he also is stepping with the Rams into a new classification. The Mississippi Association of Independent Schools reclassified Immanuel Christian from Class A to District 2AA with Canton Academy, Leake Academy, Manchester Academy, Oak Hill Academy, and Winston Academy.
Watkins replaces Shawn Gates, who resigned in March after leading the Rams to a 6-6 record and a history-making season. The program not only advanced to the MAIS 11-man playoffs for the first time, but it also beat Houlka 14-13 on Oct. 1 for its first victory against an 11-man team.
“You”re going to try to build on that even though you”re going up into AA with some of the powerhouses in our district,” Watkins said about last season. “The enthusiasm is there, and we have some really good athletes. We”re working hard to compete in our district, and we think we can compete there we can compete at the state level.”
Watkins coached at Winona Christian and at East Holmes Christian before moving to Hebron Christian. He spent the past two seasons as football coach at Hebron Christian, which is in Pheba, and guided the team to a 5-15 record.
Rob Barron, the school”s new baseball coach, will join Watkins on the football staff as an assistant coach.
Watkins is excited about bringing the offense he used, the triple option, to Immanuel Christian. He feels the return of senior running backs Norris Harris and Michael Tate and the addition of Jason Davis, a transfer from Columbus High, gives the offense the potential to break a touchdown from multiple looks.
“I am real excited about our offense because it is more of a speed-type offense, and we have some kids who can run pretty good,” Watkins said. “It didn”t take long to sell them on the offense because I have coached against and ran this type of offense without the speed we have here. These kids said they dreaded playing against that offense because it was so confusing ad they didn”t know who had the ball because there were so many fakes.”
Harris, who transferred from Caledonia High, and Tate were workhorses last season. Davis also will see time in the backfield as the Rams try to find a replacement for Ross Moore, who quarterbacked the team last season. Moore, a senior, won”t play this season after having shoulder surgery. Sophomore Darius Jones will be in the mix to replace Moore at quarterback.
Still, Harris and Tate said they have made an easy move to a new offense that is geared toward their strengths.
“I think we will have plenty of speed and you need speed to run this offense,” Harris said.
Said Tate, “It is going to be a lot different because we are running this one offense. Last year, we had four or five different formations we would run.”
Harris and Tate said Watkins has made the switch to a new offense and to a new coaching staff easy. They said Watkins has introduced a lot things and brought a lively and energetic atmosphere to the program.
“He gets around and he plays with us and messes around, but he still is serious when it comes to hitting,” Tate said. “It”s going to be good.”
Said Harris, “He is real experienced and he knows what he is talking about. He will get us to work.”
Immanuel Christian also will play in a four- to five-team jamboree Thursday at Strider Academy. It will play host to Winona Christian at 7 p.m. Aug. 19 in its season opener.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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