Today’s interviewee is Berrien coach Tim Alligood, whose team defeated Dodge County 35-29 last week to clinch the Rebels’ first winning season since 1995. Alligood is in his fifth season. He’s a former Lowndes player and an assistant coach at Lowndes, Fitzgerald, Coffee, Thomasville and Tift County. He was on Berrien’s staff from 2013 to 2015 under coach Ed Pilcher.
1. Our Improvement Tracker has Berrien as the fifth-most improved team in Class 2A. What has made your team better this season? “There have been several factors involved in us having the season we’ve had. Our seniors are one factor. Most of them had to start as sophomores, and they took it on the chin in 2020. We were very competitive last year, and this year they have improved some more. Another factor has been our coaching staff. William Davis, Ken Eldridge, Doug Nix, Brian Carter, Fred Edwards, Wayne Jones, Austin Rowan and Matt Futch have done a phenomenal job, and I’m lucky to have them as a staff. I have a very supportive principal in Angie Lovein, and our booster club has been awesome this year, as well, giving us the support we need.”
2. What’s been the difference in Berrien over the long haul, since you took the job? “You hear coaches talk about ‘the process,’ and it becomes a cliché sometimes. I would have to use that term for our situation, though. It’s my fifth year as the head coach here, and before me I think they had like nine or 10 head coaches in the last 20 years. This situation needed some stability, and we have provided that. For years the facilities have been outdated, and I was fortunate to be here my first year when they finished the new fieldhouse and stadium. They built us a new practice field at the high school with lights that is directly behind our fieldhouse, and we’ll have a new middle school practice field and fieldhouse by the end of this year. Facilities aren’t the sole factor in having success, but they were holding some things back here that were needed on a day-to-day basis to just give ourselves a chance.”
3. Josiah Davis has had a remarkable season with 1,465 all-purpose yards, 18 touchdowns scored four ways (plus one touchdown thrown) and 49 solo tackles. What would you want people to know about him? “Josiah is an awesome kid personally. He always has a smile on his face and is very well-spoken. He comes from a great family here in Berrien County, and they have done an awesome job raising him. Josiah has athlete dripping out of his shoes. He’s about 6-3 and can run like a deer. He has natural instincts as a skill player that you can’t coach; he just does them. I think because he is a multi-sport athlete – he is a standout basketball player as well – it helps him see things on the field. He’s one kickoff return for a TD away from tying the national record of eight. I am still amazed at that. There have been years where I haven’t seen a kickoff returned for a TD period, much less seven in one season.”
4. You played or coached under a long list of successful coaches. What were the most important things you learned from some of them? “I’ve learned and stole a ton from the guys I’ve worked for. I’ll try to sum up each in a few words. Milt Miller: Relationships with folks matter. It took him four years to win his first region game at Lowndes, but because of how people respected him they gave him time. Randy McPherson: Lethal simplicity. He brought simple, physical football to the highest level. Richie Marsh: Live out what you preach. The best example I’ve ever seen of a Christian leader who lived it. Jay Walls: Organization and special teams matter. Jason Strickland: Keep coaches around you that you can trust. Ed Pilcher: Don’t be too big to do the little things. He still cut grass, painted fields and did laundry as head coach at Berrien. Robby Pruitt: Be willing to adjust. He made his mark in the wing-T but went to a multiple shotgun offense at Coffee because that’s what fit his players.”
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