Miller County has all the necessary parts in place to have a breakout campaign in 2016. Veteran head coach Brent Miller took over the team in 2015, leading the Pirates to a 5-5 record (3-2 region 1-A) just one season after going 2-8. And if the improvement of posting a .500 record wasn’t enough, the Pirates went out and beat archrival Seminole County 14-13 to claim a year’s worth of bragging rights over the nearby school.
This year Miller County will return a whopping 18 starters, nine on both sides of the ball, in what could turn out to be a memorable season. Leading rusher JJ George, who carried the ball 262 times for 1,078 yards in 2015, leads the list of returning talent for head coach Brent Miller and company, while starting quarterback Dylan Johnson will also be back. His favorite target a season ago just happened to be George, who was also the team’s leading receiver with 11 receptions for 208 yards.
The turnaround of Miller County from 2014 to 2015 was nothing short of remarkable.
“We are one of the smallest single A schools in the state playing football,” Miller said of his team. “Thus, we are very dependent on our fans and community, who have been instrumental in doubling the size of our team, raising money for equipment for new players coming out, and supporting our team in every way needed. We went from the bottom of the region to playing for the region championship in one year and we could not have accomplished this without our outstanding fan and community support.”
Miller went on to say that he defines a winning season as “winning the games that we should and upsetting a couple of teams that are physically better than us.”
“The most important thing is that our kids have learned how to become winners in life and will be able to take these skills with them and use them throughout life,” Miller continued.
The Pirates are a year older and a year more experienced. With a veteran head coach and seemingly a world of momentum, expect Miller County to make some noise in 2016.
Miller County Pirates
Breakthrough Campaign Expected For Pirates
Written by Jacob Dennis
Photo by Miller County High School
