WEST POINT, Ala. – All of our local teams are getting ready to kick off the upcoming football season and at West Point High School, the Warriors are gearing up for the first season under Head Coach Kevin McCravy. This will be McCravy’s first head coaching job but after many years serving as an assistant and an offensive coordinator, he feels prepared to take the reins at West Point.
“For me at the end of the day it’s not a lot different. My philosophy is that my job is to set these kids up to be successful. As a head coach now, my job is to set up my assistants to be successful as well, that would probably be the biggest difference,” McCravy said. “There’s a little more paperwork and all that but I’m very fortunate to have worked for John Ritter and Jere Adcock and Joey Burch who were all really good with that kind of stuff. I latched onto them to see how they did things, and they all did it the same, so it hasn’t been a big learning curve or anything like that.”
McCravy was pleased with the work his players put in this offseason and was happy to see the older guys step up into leadership roles and start to take ownership of the team.
“You could tell a lot about their character because of how quickly you could see them step into those roles. They brought up a lot of the younger players with them, there’s been a lot of buying in and we’ve probably had 90-95% of the team there for most if not all our workouts,” McCravy said. “So, these older guys have done a great job of understanding what I’m preaching when I talk about being committed and showing character. So, they’ve done a great job of embracing those roles and bringing the younger guys along with them.”
The Warriors will be looking for players to step up in skill positions on offense and linebacker spots on defense during fall camp but McCravy and his staff like the experience they have returning in the offensive backfield and both sides of the line of scrimmage.
“I feel really good about our offensive and defensive lines. I feel good about quarterback play and running back play and we feel good about the secondary,” McCravy said. “We’ll probably have some competition at a few linebacker spots and a couple receiver spots but I’ve been the most pleased with our offensive and defensive lines for sure.”
Returning quarterback Hunter Hensley wants to see the team improve each week throughout this season. One of his goals is to help the Warriors get back to the playoffs and do what he can to execute every play.
“One of the goals that I have for myself for this season is mainly just to be successful and help the team win. I want to do everything I can to help us execute each play. As far as team goals that I have for us this season I want us to make the playoffs again and go on a better run,” Hensley said. “I feel like getting off the field on third downs is big defensively and mainly on the offensive side we want to score at least three or four times a game. The main thing will just be to compete and have everyone doing their job because if everyone does their job we’ll be in pretty good shape in each game.”
McCravy spent many nights in the stands at West Point games when he was younger and with all the support he’s received since arriving as the head coach earlier this year, he’s even more excited for his first night on the sidelines.
“I’m excited. This place has a special meaning to me because my whole family went to school here. Even my grandmother went to school at West Point so I can remember going to games back in the 80s and into the 90s until I started playing high school ball myself,” McCravy said. “It’s kind of like a homecoming so I’m super excited. The community has been very supportive, the parents have been very supportive, the QB Club has been very supportive, the administration has been very supportive, and everyone has been excited so far. So, I’m ready to hit the ground running.”
2024 West Point Warriors Football Schedule
Aug. 23 – vs. Haleyville
Aug. 30 – vs. Good Hope
Sept. 6 – @ Fairview*
Sept. 13 – vs. Lawrence County*
Sept. 27 – @ Hayden
Oct. 4 – vs. Priceville*
Oct. 11 – @ East Limestone*
Oct. 18 – vs. Russellville*
Oct. 25 – @ Ardmore*
Nov. 1 – @ Brewer
*region game
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