Jim Kremer elevated to head football coach at Sonoraville High School

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

CALHOUN, Ga. - For the great majority of his 27 years of coaching high school football, Jim Kremer has known nothing but success. Sonoraville High School is counting on that trend to continue after naming him Tuesday as the Phoenix's third head coach.

Kremer's teams have a combined 247-99 record, including a 28-15 mark in his three seasons as head coach at Adairsville. He served last season as the defensive coordinator under Roger Gentry at Sonoraville, and even though the team did not have a winning record, the Phoenix made it to their first postseason. Kremer hopes to carry over that momentum.

"Getting to go through that whole process was important for the guys," he said. "We had to play [perennial state power] Buford, and they were outstanding and beat us pretty good, but the thing that really stuck out to me was the kids didn't back down at all. We were just extremely young, but that youth is part of why we're very excited."

The playoff berth was a big factor in Kremer's ascension to the top spot, according to Sonoraville athletic director Brent Mashburn.

"He's built good relationships with our kids, and after helping lead the team to the playoffs last year, the kids are excited about this," Mashburn said. "We are very pleased about the direction of the program and especially where it's headed with him as head coach."

Gentry resigned earlier this month to take the offensive coordinator's position at Stephens County, and even though several strong candidates applied for the position, Kremer's background made him the logical front-runner for the job. Among his stops as an assistant coach was a sterling seven-year run at Calhoun, where Kremer's defenses were a big part of six region championships and a state-runner-up finish.

The coach hopes to use some of the same principles that helped make the Yellow Jackets a state power.

"We've got great numbers here -- about 150 are expected for spring practice -- and want to keep them all involved," Kremer said. "I want to avoid having guys play both ways all the time, and we want to promote competition at every position."

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6296.

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