Seems like most of the football teams in the Columbus Valley area have one thing in common—it’s a rebuilding year. Many programs lost valuable seniors who provided both talent and leadership in 2015.
Few teams in the region lost as many seniors to graduation as Northside High School has. The Patriots will begin their 2016 season mindful of the 20 graduates who no longer can be counted on to contribute. Sixteen of those seniors were starters. That’s a lot of challenges to overcome and sometimes a coach can get overwhelmed in a rebuilding year.
If you know him, you can almost picture Northside’s athletic director and head football coach shrugging his shoulder about the situation. Morgan Ingram is in his fourth season as head coach for the Patriots (22-29) and he just seems to take every situation and year in stride.
“Players change year in, year out, therefore, coaches must also,” says Ingram.
Northside is the newest high school in the Muscogee County School District. It was founded in 2002 and fielded its first football team in 2004. Last year was a very productive year for Ingram’s football program. Highlights include a 7-4 record (6-1 region) and a trip to the Class 5A playoffs. The Patriots also were the region’s runner-up, losing to Carver High School, the region winner, by three points. Six football athletes signed letters of intent to play collegiate football.
The team will miss the efforts of their leading rusher from 2015, Kalan Watts, who had 211 carries for a total of 1059 yards. Watts was also the leading scorer for touchdowns last season with 14. They will, however, still have the talents of WR Cordale Scott, who was their leading receiver last fall with 23 receptions for a total of 305 years and two touchdowns. Scott is considered a college prospect as are returning starters David Apaig (ATH), Nathan Robertson (K/P), Shamar Brown (WR) and Ryan Harstad (OL), who missed last season due to injury.
Other returning starters are Bailee Turpin (WR), Denarius Butler (OL), Dayshun Johnson (DE), Talon Gamble (DT) and Caleb Johnson (DE).
Ingram says replacing the 20 athletes, especially the 16 starters, who helped Northside finish as the region runner-up will be a big factor in this season’s success. The program has 95 athletes to help with that search.
At the end of the school year, the Patriots were also involved with a search to replace one of the team’s coaches, Paul Cates, who retired. Cates wasn’t just any coach, though. He had been head football coach prior to Ingram taking over the role. Cates stayed on with the program and Ingram says he will be sorely missed.
Going into the season ahead Ingram is optimistic and isn’t revamping his coaching strategies to any extreme to accommodate the team’s inexperience. In fact, Ingram adopts the practical approach of continuing to utilize the athletes he has been given in order to maximize the outcome.
He feels the players on his roster are most motivated by winning. The less experienced in his program are learning quickly the amount of work necessary to win games.
For Ingram, a winning season isn’t just about a winning record. His version of winning is to accomplish three goals: play with sportsmanship, character, also play as a true team and represent Northside well.
He feels a deep responsibility to helping his athletes be prepared in other areas of their lives.
“I constantly monitor our players’ grades and behavior. I ensure we do our part as coaches to help these kids be the best STUDENT-athletes they can be,” says Ingram.
Northside’s first game will be against Kendrick on August 18, at Kinnett Stadium.
Northside Patriots
It’s A Rebuilding Year For The Patriots
Written by Beth Welch
Photo by George McDuffie
