Entering his 2nd year as Head Coach with the Vernon High School Yellow Jackets, Willie Spears knows it will be a challenge to repeat last year’s success. They won their district, went 7- 0 at home and defeated rival Chipley High for the first time in 5 years. With only 6 returners from last year squad, Spears and his coaching staff will have to do a lot of coaching of younger players to prepare them for the season.
A bright spot for the Yellow Jackets is returning Quarterback Kody Hagens. A lot of leadership responsibility will fall on this young man’s shoulders. But Kody will have the support of his teammates and the community of Vernon who wholeheartedly backs this team. There is a family approach with this team and they all support each other.
Expectations are set for Vernon to return to the playoffs and Coach Spears feels with his team’s depth they will. The challenge will be developing the younger players that can answer the bell. “Optimistically this team is ready to compete and I like how they battled adversity and overcame it” muses Spears. One can expect some interesting games in District 2 this year.
Vernon Yellow Jackets
Written by Arnold Gamber
