All Gary Meadows wanted when he played football at Meigs County High School was to be thought of as a team player. Instead, his statistics left many thinking he was a team.

One at a time on Fridays this season, the Times Free Press is taking a look at the careers and current activities of the prep football record holders in the city and surrounding area. Meadows, who played from 1990 through ’93, is the area’s career scoring leader with 464 points.

He also is recognized by the Tennessee Football Coaches Association as the state’s single-season leader in all-purpose yards with 3,630 in 1993. He’s second in the career category with 7,995.

Stan Eller was coach throughout Meadows’ career with the Tigers. This season he has returned to lead the program.

“He probably had the best hips and movement for a 200-pounder that I’ve ever seen,” Eller said. “His senior year he led the state in scoring, and he scored so many different ways. It irritates me that back then Mr. Football always came from Middle or West Tennessee. Given his status as a kickoff returner, a punt returner, his yards rushing and scoring this many points, he was phenomenal.”

Meadows played football for two more years at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. He was a fullback for the Mocs, but so was Marrio Grier, a 1996 draft pick of the New England Patriots.

Meadows now lives in Cleveland and works at a chemical company in Charleston. He met his wife, Crystal, at Meigs County High.

They have two sons, 5-year-old William and 3-year-old Ethan, who are mostly into baseball right now. Meadows noted there is a football in the house.

Meadows has high praise for his coaches at Meigs County and emphasized that he couldn’t have done anything without the help of good teammates. He said he tries to get back for a game or two each year.

“Every generation in high school is four years,” Meadows said. “It doesn’t take long to be forgotten.”

Regardless of his modesty, legacies like his do live on, especially in football-hungry towns like Decatur.

Meadows likes to kid with the coaches that he’s still good for two plays per quarter, if they need him. That’s probably not enough playing time to create some of the astronomical numbers he used to produce, but how the team fares has always been his only concern anyway.

After seasons of 3-7 and 2-8, the Tigers were a combined 18-6 in Meadows’ junior and senior seasons. They followed that with an 11-1 year and in 1995 were unbeaten until losing in the Class 2A state final.

“Meigs County is supposed to be good every year,” Meadows said. “For a couple of years they were down, and that’s when we came in and started Meigs County back toward where they’re supposed to be. That’s probably what I’m proud of the most.”

Comments