1982-
The Lipscomb Football Chronicles
In late 1981 or early 1982 Richard Jones, then the David Lipscomb Campus
Director drove to West Tennessee to meet with Coach Glenn McCadams who was
then the head coach at Trenton Peabody High School where his teams posted
over a three year period a record of 31-12 and three bowl game victories. Glenn, a west
Tennessee native who grew up and attended Huntingdon High School and later
was on the staff at Milan High School, was courted by Jones to
consider the Private school in Nashville. The moving force for Glenn
to consider the Lipscomb job came from his wife, Alacia. With two
small kids, the opportunity of attending a school like David Lipscomb
was at least worth looking into for the McCadams Family.
Glenn was somewhat skeptical about leaving a job where he and his teams were
experiencing success in their own rites. However, after working out
some specific details with the school, Glenn McCadams accepted the job and
moved into the basement of the old Burton Gym.The 1982 season began the McCadams era at David Lipscomb High School. During the same year construction began on the Football stadium and related facilities. With the help of the Booster Club, Nile Yearwood, Charles Youree and others work began on the stadium that bears the name of Reese Smith, another benefactor of the school. The Stadium had been promised in the mid-1970's. It would be a tough early going for Glenn McCadams and the teams of the early to mid-1980's. The seniors had been thru several head coaches, the current talent level at the time did not measure up to the schedule. While there were some exceptional players during those early years, there were just not enough of them. Another pot hole appeared for the program, The enrollment of the school was at a point which caused a change of the playing level to Class AA (only 3 classifications at that time). Now the teams were playing programs like Brentwood Academy once again, Tullahoma, Springfield and other larger notable programs.
One of the conditions of Coach Mac coming to the Nashville campus was the establishment of having a freshmen football team and schedule. The Problem with that in 1982, there may have been only 4 freshman coming out for the team. The result though not popular with the middle school principal and some parents was the elimination of the Middle school team for that year. The 8th graders were pulled up and filled out the rest of the roster of the freshmen team. Those early freshman teams faced the likes of programs as Gallatin, and the directional schools of Clarksville and other larger programs in the Middle Tennessee area.
Coach Mac's Road Map of Creating a Solid Football Program at Lipscomb.
The Lipscomb program had success during a span of several years in the mid-1970's. Coach Buck Doziers' squads captured 5 N.I.L. Class A Championships and appeared in several Bowl games. However, after Dozier's departure, the program could not sustain itself. Coach Mac referenced the following points of creating and maintaining a solid and successful program at David Lipscomb High School:
1. The Creation of a 7th period during the regular school day. Which allowed athletes to be able to work out during the entire year.
2. The Creation of a Freshmen Football team and having its own schedule. This allowed the introduction of players to the varsity system without having to take the physical punishment that may have been placed on them while practicing and playing with the older and more physically developed players.
3. The enhancement of the coaching staff. In the early days, Coach Mac wanted talented and full-time assistant coaches. The administration was very supportive of the development of the football team. They made it possible for Glenn to be able to hire quality assistant coaches over the years. He was able to find a quality coach on campus with Mark Pugh that first year. Coach Tim Taylor, and Coach David Morris are quality men who have been with the program for many years. Newer additions included Lee Edwards and Scott Tillman both have given a number of years to the program. (Lee Edwards left the program after the 2004 school year and will coach in the Metro Nashville System along with another former Mustang and coach, Jay Gore.)
After the Freshmen team was established, the formation of the Junior Varsity team became a reality somewhere around 1986-87. This was another step which provided additional playing experience for future varsity players and starters. At David Lipscomb, the formal football program now included grades 7 and 8 for the Middle School, A Freshmen Team, A Junior Varsity Team and finally the Varsity. The early JV teams would schedule 3-4 games a season and usually against other larger programs who had enough players to field a team. Today the JV teams, comprised of sophomore and junior non-starters, generally schedule 7 games during the year plus being able to pick up some additional playing time on Friday nights.
By 1988, and six years into the "Road Map", the Mustangs were becoming more competitive and now reached a level of consistent play. The loss of one particular player in past years could have sent the team into a tailspin, but now that case would be considered very rare as there are more players with experience to choose from. While in more recent times, the schedules may seem tough in some seasons, it was nothing like what was found prior to 1988--an overloaded schedule and having to play it against teams with superior numbers and talent.
In 1993, The TSSAA instituted five different Classifications. Based on the enrollment figures, the Mustangs remained in Class 2A. In 1994, the Mustangs went undefeated and won its first Football State Championship at Vanderbilt's Dudley Field in poor weather conditions. The Mustangs easily defeated a team from East Tennessee, Harriman in front of nearly 10,000 spectators. Since that first Championship, The Mustangs have been back to the Championship Game 3 additional times. 1998 produced a State Runnerup trophy after losing to Milan at the Vanderbilt site. 2002 proved to be an interesting season as this years squad picked up the school's second state football championship by easily defeating Memphis Mitchell High School in the BlueCross/Blue Shield Bowl at MTSU>. The 2002 Team ended up as the State's top rated defensive team regardless of classification. The 2003 Mustangs tried to defend its 2002 title by finishing the regular season undefeated and eventually losing in the Championship game in Murfreesboro to Coach Mac's Alma Mater, Huntingdon High School.
The 2005 Season will again bring on new changes for the Mustang Football program, as David Lipscomb based on enrollment numbers will move up and compete on the 3A level. Change in the classification could also be on the horizon by 2009 as the Mustangs could even be forced to move up to class 4A. Coach Mac indicated that the decision on playing either Divsion II or Division I (non-scholarship) and what classification is determined by the school's administration. Playing Division I football has a lesser impact on the school and its finances. Coach Mac also stated that the school policy on classification is to play where the TSSAA has the team penciled in while some other schools such as Goodpasture and others choose to play up out of their normal enrollment classification.
I asked Coach Mac who would win the game: A Lipscomb Team coached by the 1982 version of Coach Mac or the 2004 Coach Mac. Hands down: The experienced Glenn McCadams of 04 would win over the "Fire Filled: Coach Mac of 82. I also asked him to name his best team ever and he was reluctant to do so. "Situations are different" I had a Class A Team with a tough schedule that would fall into the mix and I have had some Class 2A teams with lighter schedules and won big. Hard to say." But we did compile a list of
The TOP/BEST GAMES OF THE McCADAMS ERA:
1. (a Tie) The 2002 Playoff Game at Tyner: "The Mud Bowl" A shutout victory that propelled the Mustangs into the Semi-final game with Sweetwater and went on to win the State Championship.
1. The 1982 Regular Season Game with Goodpasture: A decided underdog Mustang Team knocked off the heavily favored Cougars. A game where the Mustangs played above their true abilities. This victory gave Coach Mac, the Staff, and the team legitmacy.
3. A 1988 Playoff win over Springfield. It was a comeback win in the final minutes for the Mustangs and it came over a well-recognized Football Power with a former Legendary Coach Boyce Smith.
4. A Great Comeback win in 1994 over Milan.
5. A Exciting Overtime victory in 1998 over White House.
Coach Mac may have lost the fire of a young coach, he's not the Joe Paterno of Tennessee High School Football...lets say he's got some Bobby Bowden, with some David Cutcliffe wishing he had Lou Holtz money. He says he's not ready to quit coaching. His wife has given him permission to go on for another year --so I guess the McCadams Era is still a work in progress.
We are hopeful to get some McCadamisms (Like Yogi Berra stuff) to be added to this column. We invite your comments to this column and invite you to share them on our message board.