Archer looking for good things from Tigers
By Jim Mayhall
Sports Editor
ARLEY – Lance Archer says he is excited and
looking forward to leading Meek High School onto the gridiron for the
first time this fall. The Attalla native will be starting his third
season as a coach for the Tigers, but it is his first stint as a head
football coach.
“I’ve been around football all my
life and I was an assistant at Walker, but it wasn’t something I
was looking for,” he said last week. “It sort of fell into
my lap, but I do have some head coaching experience, so I’m
excited about being here and I want to do my very best to make this a
positive season for these kids.”
Archer was officially hired earlier this summer
after the resignation of Gary O’Gwin, who had served three years
as head football coach.
“When we went into the spring, Coach
O’Gwin had just resigned and we didn’t know if there were
going to be any teacher units open in order to hire another
coach,” added Archer. “I think a lot of the players were
down and there were about four or five of our better athletes who
didn’t come out in the spring.
“We went over to the spring jamboree and
lost all three games. We only had about 13 true varsity-age players,
but the ones that played – they played their hearts
out.”
Since then, the athletes who opted not to
participate in the spring, have joined the squad, which will definitely
help the Tigers when they start the regular season.
The coach says he anticipates having around 22
varsity age players, along with a promising group on the junior varsity
squad.
The Tigers’ coaching staff this fall will
be made up of school personnel and volunteers. Lamar Frith, who
previously served five years as head coach (2000-2004) at Meek is
coming back on board as offensive coordinator. Jamie Edwards will be
the defensive coordinator and Archer will work with the wide receivers
and defensive backs.
Devin Guthrie will handle the junior varsity
offense with Tony Williams leading the defense. Rounding out the
coaching staff this fall are John Mitchell, Mike Keene and Dr. Richard
Welch, pastor of Meek Baptist Church, who played at UNA.
“We’ve got a large staff with a lot
of experience. I think the players will get a lot of fundamentals
taught to them,” Archer said. “Obviously, Meek had been
down for a few years, but we’re hoping to get things turned
around. We have a lot of experience on the staff, so that is a positive
thing.
“As far as depth goes, we’re kind of
few in number, so we’re hoping to avoid any serious injuries.
Barring any injuries, I think we could have a better than .500 record
this year.”
Archer played baseball and football at 5A Etowah
High School. He was a sophomore member of the Blue Devil football squad
which was the first in school history to go 10-0 in the regular season.
The team finished 13-1 after losing in the semifinals. He was center
fielder on the baseball team which won a state championship his junior
year.
Archer got his college degree at Auburn
University and UAB, and is currently working on completing his Masters
degree at the University of Alabama. He also has an undergraduate
degree in math and is certified in physical education as well. Prior to
coming to Meek, Archer was a teacher and coach six years at Walker High
School.
He and his wife Lauren are the parents of two
children.