BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
FOR THE OBSERVER
AUBURN — Through the first 10 games of the 2024 season, the Auburn High School football team was poised to finish the year with the best season in school history.
They had gone undefeated in arguably Alabama’s most difficult division. Their average margin of victory was 32.4 points per game. For most of the season, they were also one of the top-ranked teams in the entire nation.
Despite that success, Thompson High School, winners of five of the last six 7A state championships, brutally ended the Tigers’ dream of laying claim to the school’s first-ever title in the second round of the playoffs at Duck Samford Stadium.
Although it was a heartbreaking end to an otherwise historic year, head coach Keith Etheredge now looks back and counts his blessings. His team now has 41 seniors, a far cry from the 33 the team featured last season. Underclassmen received invaluable experience in the second halves of blowout victories. A plethora of starters return on both sides of the ball.
With all of those factors in mind, it isn’t hard to see why AHS enters the 2025 season ranked 85th in the preseason High School Football America 300. But don’t tell that to Etheredge, who only cares about one ranking: the one that comes after winning a state championship.
“I want to be ranked [number] one at the end. That’s the goal. You know, it’s great to be ranked top 100 nationally, I think that’s unbelievable,” Etheredge said. “But really, those national rankings and state rankings and stuff, they don’t mean anything until the end of the year. But it’s good. It gives your guys something to strive for. It gives them something to hang their hat on. It lets people around this area and the nation know that Auburn’s got a good football program.”
To reach that promised land, the Tigers must again navigate a grueling schedule that features matchups against region opponents Opelika High School, Central High School and Carver High School, which all also feature in the preseason HSFA 300. Outings against Enterprise High School and Booker (Florida) High School will pose challenges as well.
While every game on the schedule is important according to the players Etheredge made available for preseason interviews, the crosstown rivalry against the Bulldogs perhaps looms larger than ever before. When toe meets leather on Sept. 4, it will be the 100th iteration of a rivalry that stretches back to the Roaring Twenties.
According to senior linebacker Greg Williams, having such an intense game early in the season will ensure the Tigers are battle-tested going into the heart of region play in October and give them extra motivation to power through grueling summer workouts.
“That’s the game everybody wants to come out and see, and all your friends are on the other team. It’s a lot of fun. That’s the best game. That’s the game I’m ready for,” Williams said. “I want to win a state championship. We come to practice every day. We work hard, we grind. Like yesterday, we had a marine workout. I saw BJ [McGee], he was helping others out. I saw Aiden [Parker]. He was helping others out. All these guys are helping others out.”
At the same time, the Tigers must press forward with two new coordinators: offensive coordinator William Wagnon and defensive coordinator Michael Goolsby. Despite the challenges of replacing both coordinators simultaneously, Etheredge praised his right-hand men for their mentality and effectiveness as coaches and leaders of young men.
“Both of those guys are great men, good Christian men who do things the right way. They’re going to work the kids hard, but they’re going to love them hard. I think that those kids respond to those guys. And they’re really good football coaches. They know the X’s and O’s, and they get the most out of their guys,” Etheredge said.
Even with a bevy of returning starters at their disposal, Wagnon and Goolsby have had to hit the ground running as they determine how to best replace several massive departures from last year’s team.
Offense preview
In 2025, the most pressing issue the Tigers’ offense faces is replacing star running back Omar Mabson, who reclassified and signed with Auburn University this past winter after receiving 7A first-team all-state honors.
That is much easier said than done after Mabson recorded rushed for 1,515 yards and 29 touchdowns on 184 carries en route to breaking the school record for most rushing touchdowns in a season last year as a junior.
The Tigers must also replace quarterback Jackson Kilgore, who threw for 2,535 yards and 24 TDs, and leading wide receiver Peyton Plott, who signed with Georgia Southern University after catching 48 passes for 972 yards and five TDs.
At running back, the picture is muddled after five of the top six leading rushers either graduated or reclassified. The first player in line to fill Mabson’s shoes is Smiths Station High School transfer Jaylen Huff, a 5-foot-10, 195-pound junior who already has an offer from the University of Alabama-Birmingham.
Behind center, juniors Cason Myers and Cross Land are currently locked in a fierce yet friendly competition to take the reins from Kilgore.
While Etheredge has not yet made a final decision, it appears Myers, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound junior who transferred from Pike Road High School this offseason, has the upper hand. Myers currently holds offers from 11 Football Bowl subdivision schools, including Auburn University.
On the opposite end of those passes, the Tigers will look to a pair of returning playmakers. Senior wide receivers Joshua Askew, who recorded 600 yards and five TDs, and Antonio Welch, who recorded 482 yards and six TDs, return as the most apparent targets.
Up front, AHS must replace three starters, including Aidan Platt, who signed with UAB this past winter. This year, 6-foot-6, 280-pound senior tackle Trinton Pritchett, a Troy University commit, returns alongside senior center Wyatt Edmondson to anchor what should be another solid unit.
Defense preview
On the defensive side of the ball, proven returning players and incoming transfers give Etheredge and his staff a much clearer picture of what to expect when toe meets leather on Aug. 28.
Despite losing star defensive end Caleb Pitts and his eight sacks to Appalachian State University, the defensive line is shaping up to be the strength of the team this year.
While senior defensive tackle and Arkansas University commit Carnell Jackson will most certainly be the focal point, he is not the only prospective college recruit with his hand in the dirt.
Senior defensive end Aiden Parker, a three-star recruit who transferred from Dutchtown High School in Hampton, Georgia, and Cameron Creighton both bring an immediate presence off the edge that softens the blow of Pitts’ departure.
Along with Pitts, the Tigers must also find a replacement in their linebacking corps after last year’s leading tackler, Jackson Lovvorn, graduated. Fortunately, AHS has built-in replacements as senior linebackers Greg Williams and Alex Gamston will patrol the second level and look to build on their 84 total tackles and three interceptions, respectively.
The secondary also looks to have a plethora of homegrown replacements to take over for Myke Gunn, who signed with Liberty University this past winter. Senior cornerback BJ McGhee, who tied to lead the team with three INTs last season, returns with senior safety Isaac Benford and senior cornerback Landon Raughton.
Special teams
If there is a unit where there are few, if any, obvious questions for the Tigers this year, it is special teams, as senior kicker and punter Joseph Daniel continues to handle all kicking duties for AHS.
Last season, Daniel connected on seven of nine field goals, including one from 46 yards out, recorded 61 touchbacks on 82 kickoffs and averaged 39 yards per punt. Fellow senior Oliver Harmon is also an excellent backup who would start at most other high schools.
At returner, Plott’s production – 728 combined kick return yards on 22 total returns – will certainly be missed. The most likely point man to recapture that open field magic will be senior wide receiver Antonio Welch, who finished second on the team with six kickoff returns for 127 yards.
Final analysis
The biggest question mark remains the offensive backfield. It will not be easy replacing arguably the best running back in school history and one of its best quarterbacks in the same offseason.
Even though the Tigers must replace several star players from one of the best teams in school history, this remains a supremely talented high school football team with one of the state’s best rosters.
They boast experience and excellent size on both sides of the line of scrimmage. As the third-largest high school in the state, there will always be a steady stream of talent across the board, even if it is yet to be proven. A championship-calibre coaching staff still leads the helm.
The biggest challenges this year’s schedule poses are a trip to crosstown rivals Opelika High School on Sept. 4 and an Oct. 3 home showdown with Central High School. If the Tigers successfully navigate those two obstacles, they will be in pole position for a second straight regional championship and a prime spot in the 2025 AHSAA 7A playoffs.
Despite some uncertainties, expect this team to be fully in the hunt for a state championship come the start of November.
2024 Record (10-1, 7-0)
Aug. 23 vs. North Miami Beach (Fla.) W 49-0
Aug. 30 vs. Vestavia Hills W 52-17
Sept. 6 vs. Opelika* W 28-21
Sept. 13 at Enterprise* W 53-22
Sept. 20 vs. Johnson Abernathy Graetz* W 47-0
Oct. 4 at Central (Phenix City)* W 38-33
Oct. 11 vs. Smiths Station* W 70-6
Oct. 18 at Carver (Montgomery)* W 29-14
Oct. 25 vs. Dothan* W 42-7
Nov. 8 vs. Bob Jones** W 63-27
Nov. 15 vs. Thompson** L 34-21
2025 Schedule
Aug. 22 vs. Booker (Fla.) High School
Aug. 28 at Vestavia Hills
Sept. 4 at Opelika*
Sept. 12 vs. Enterprise*
Sept. 19 at Johnson Abernathy Graetz*
Sept. 26 vs. Moody
Oct. 3 vs. Central (Phenix City)*
Oct. 10 at Smiths Station*
Oct. 17 vs. Carver (Montgomery)*
Oct. 24 at Dothan*
- – 7A Region 2 game
** – Playoff game
