#HSFT17: Stop No. 51 – Caledonia Confederates

CALEDONIA, Miss. (WCBI) — A former head football coach returns to Caledonia.

“We lost three of our coaches from last year,” head coach Richard Kendrick said.

“We lost our defensive coordinator, our head football coach, and one of our other assistants, and it didn’t leave anybody out here with the kids for workouts. They asked me to come do the workouts and take it on an interim basis. About three weeks later, they said the interim basis was up. They wanted me to do it, so I’m excited about it. Looking forward to it.”

After being out of coaching for three years, Kendrick returns to the sideline where he was the head man from 2010-2012.

Caledonia will look to replace 27 seniors, and starts the fall with just two returning starters.

“We’ve got a great group of kids,” Kendrick said. “We did lose 27 players, which is a huge fit for any football team. Really big for us. We’ve got a long way to go, but I think our administration felt that some consistency me being here knowing the kids it would help them end this transition period.”

What’s lacking in experience is being made up with enthusiasm.

“This is my last year to play this game,” senior guard Jonathan Rowe said, “I really just want to go out and have the best year that I can. We got a new coach and mostly a new coaching staff, and we are all looking forward to going out and winning some games.”

“We got a lot of young kids out here who’ve been working real hard. Probably be their first time playing in a varsity game,” adds teammate Graham Weseli.

Caledonia rolls into a new division in Region 2-4A with new divisional opponents.

The team has seen some of these opponents before in Shannon and Mooreville, so it will be nothing new for them.

“I think the division we are in now is going to be better suited for us with our personal and stuff like that,” Rowe said. “Obviously we aren’t as talented as we’ve been in the past, but with this new division I think it will work out just fine for us.”

“We are familiar with most of those guys,” Kendrick adds. “We think we’ve got a good chance to participate and compete in that league. We’ll see when it starts.”

Caledonia has made the playoffs two out of the last three seasons. Coach Kendrick says that if his team stays healthy and plays to their potential, another playoff run is possible.

“Anybody can get into the playoffs,” Kendrick said. “We want to. we feel competitive. we don’t have any false misconceptions of who we are and what we need to do. we are going to have to work hard. we are going to have good things happen for us along the way.”

Caledonia opens its season on August 18th when they travel to West Lowndes.