The DeKalb County High School Tigers Football team have been working through the heat and humidity the past couple of weeks in preparation of the upcoming high school football season. The team is now donning full pads and conditioning themselves for Friday night lights.
Head Coach Steve Trapp talked to the Smithville Review during the team’s media day, saying his team is ready to get on the field.
“We’re excited about these guys getting out there,” Coach Trapp said. “They’ve got the opportunity to be a quality football team.”
With COVID restrictions hampering practices during last year’s season, Coach Trapp said things are going a lot smoother this year. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work. It’s a lot more normal this year than it was last year. We’ve got a lot of guys coming back with a lot of experience, and we’ve got some guys that it will be their first opportunity to make a name for themselves in this program. We have a lot of confidence and faith that they’ll do that.”
As with any season, the team will see some new faces on the field, with some veterans taking active roles. “We have a lot of juniors and seniors out there on the field,” Trapp explained. “I think we have one sophomore that will be a starter. You know, last year we had a freshman, but it’s about who can get out there and produce. We’ve got a lot of quality guys this year for sure.”
The team roster isn’t the only thing changing this season. There will be at least one new face on the sidelines for the team. “We’ve got a new assistant coach. Coach Cagle is now an assistant principal, taking David Gash’s spot. Our new coach is Dalton Stallings. He’s coming in working with the running backs and the safeties.”
“He got hired in to lead our new ISS program here in the school system,” Trapp continued. “We’re excited to have him on board. He’s been a great addition. He fits in well with our culture and coaching staff. He’s just a good kid and works really hard for us.”
After coming back from the two-week TSSAA dead period, the team is now working their way into their full gear, getting acclimated to the weather. “We’re in our second week back in at practice after our two-week dead period,” Trapp said. “Our first week back was a helmet only week, but this week has been heat acclimation. We had to do two days in helmets, then three days in helmets and shoulder pads.”
“We had a sleep over on Friday night, then had a practice Saturday morning. At Saturday practice we covered everything we needed to cover. From that point on it’s been about making it better, and tweaking it for whoever we’re playing that week.”
Coach Trapp said that the team is gearing up for some real competition. “This week, we’ll go full pads. We’ll have a scrimmage next Friday against Gordonsville at Gordonsville. The following week we’ll have a scrimmage at home versus Friendship Christian. The scrimmages typically start at 6:00 p.m. The week after that, we’ll have a jamboree on a Saturday, August 14, back in Smith County, playing Clay County for two quarters.”
As for the schedule, Coach Trapp said that the team will mainly see the same teams it faced last year. Goodpasture will replace Grundy County, but as for the region, the Upperman Bees will be joining DeKalb County and the other four teams that make up Class 4A, Region 4.
“We have been in a region with them before but now they are moving up from Class 3A to 4A, so they will be in the Region with us, Livingston Academy, Macon County, Cumberland County, and Stone Memorial. The addition of Upperman is the only change in the makeup of Region 4. We like challenges and this gives us a chance to step up even more,” said Coach Trapp.
The Tigers’ season starts Friday, August 20, at Warren County, at 7:00 p.m.
