Now in his third season, head coach Jimmy Nave has led the young Whitesburg Christian football program to ever-improving results. Nave became the school’s second coach in its second year of competition and the Warriors improved from a 2-8 debut season to a 3-7 finish.

Last year, Whitesburg broke even at 5-5 in Class 2A Region 7, a region that featured North Alabama’s two state playoff semifinalists in Pisgah and eventual champ Fyffe.

Not too shabby for a team that, in Nave’s description: “We only have six or seven kids that have driver’s licenses. The rest are getting to practice with mama.

“I just believe if we can play a little better defense this year, we will win some of those games we lost last year. We had a lot of kids who played last year so we may officially only have 12 returning starters, but we’ve got a lot of experience coming back this year,” he said.

Nave is starting his 17th season as a head coach. He carries an 88-82 career mark into the season with eight years at Tanner and six at Hazel Green.

The Warriors have three seniors on the squad headed into their opener at Woodville, the first of four straight road games.

The Whitesburg defense surrendered 29.8 points a game last season, but leaders on that side of the ball said they feel they have made improvement in the weight room that could make a difference.

“I’ve been in the weight room putting on weight and muscle getting stronger and getting in shape where I can play on both sides of the ball without having to come out from being tired,” junior linebacker Ryan Kratz said. “Last year, I feel like I could have worked out more to be in better shape, but this year I’m working as hard as I can to be in the best shape as possible to be a dominant player on that field.”

Kratz, who is 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, also handles the punting duties for Nave.

Senior Brayden Teller, at 6-3, 300, is the strongest Warrior headed into the season.

Last season the Whitesburg offense averaged 26.7 points a game. Junior Kaleb Robinson returns as the starting quarterback after throwing for 1,858 yards and 27 touchdowns. The 5-9, 160-pounder also ran for 576 yards and five TDs.

“I’ve worked on having a better pocket presence so I can know when to tuck and run and get 5 or 10 yards when nothing is open downfield,” said Robinson, who also plays baseball and basketball for the Huntsville private school. “I love watching (NFL MVP and two-time Super Bowl champion QB for the Kansas City Chiefs) Patrick Mahomes and how he throws the ball. He has a baseball background like me and when I make a play in practice, I’m like, ‘There’s Patty Mahomes.’”

The Warriors lost second-team All-State receiver Thomas Harmon to graduation, but Robinson will look to players like junior Andrew Bolton – the fastest Warriors receiver – to fill the gap on offense.