James Rigdon

First-year head coach James Rigdon, an Augusta, Georgia native, got a late start this summer taking over the Samnorwood football program, but he promises to hit the ground running.

Rigdon, who arrives at Samnorwood after serving as defensive coordinator at Goodwell, Okla., and a stint as the defensive line coach at Northwestern Oklahoma State, is confident the Eagles will improve after struggling to a 1-5 overall record last season.

“The first thing we have to do is work on conditioning,” Rigdon said. “We may change some things a little bit. We’ll run a spread on offense but we may try to slow it down and take advantage of our power on offense. On defense, we have to apply pressure any way we can.”

The Eagles return six lettermen, including the lone senior, running back/defensive back Trey Granados, who had 18 touchdowns and 1,500 yards rushing last season. Sophomore Junior Gonzalez had 600 yards rushing and five touchdowns last season at running back.

Team Stats

2008 Record: 1-5 overall; 0-4 in Six-Man Division II, District 1.

Returning Experience: Six lettermen, three offensive and three defensive starters.

Players to Watch: Trey Granados RB-DB; Junior Gonzalez WR-DB.

Promising Newcomers: Tommy Wright WR-DB; Trey Wright OL-DL.

Basic Offense: Spread.

Basic Defense: 2-3-1.

Keys To Success: The Eagles do not have much time to adapt to a new coach and a new offense and defense. However, after a one-win season last year, Samnorwood has nowhere to go but up.

High School Enrollment: 35.

JV record: None.

Playoff history: 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998 (quarterfinals), 1999, 2005, 2006 (quarterfinals).