North Pike High School announced the official hiring of Paul Anderson to be the next head coach of its football program. This followed the Board of Trustees' approval at a special meeting Thursday.
Anderson is well-known in the region, as he most recently worked as an offensive coordinator at Parklane Academy.
With the Pioneers and Jaguars annually squaring off for the past couple years, Anderson is very familiar with the North Pike program.
"Everytime we've played North Pike, it's always been a war," Anderson said. "They had some of the best athletes we played each year, so I'm just really pumped to roll my sleeves up and get into the trenches with these guys."
During the 2024 season, Anderson coached one of the most prolific offenses in the MAIS, which was exemplified by the Pioneers' 70-point outing in their state-title win over Leake Academy in November.
"We are excited about bringing in someone who has not only been a successful head coach and coordinator at a high level throughout the state, but also a man who is highly respected and comes well-recommended by everyone we talked to," Athletic Director Kevin Martin said.
Anderson has also worked as an offensive coordinator at Clinton High School and was head coach at Terry High School and Richland High School in the past.
"There's great school support from the administration all the way down, and it's really a family atmosphere," Anderson explained. "So it's one of those deals where I just look forward to going in and taking some of the stuff I've learned at each prior stop and applying it all."
He takes over a Jaguar program that enjoyed great success at the 4A level prior to 2023. But upon making the jump to 5A, North Pike combined to go 5-15 over the past two seasons under former coach Matt Mock.
The Jaguars will return some key pieces such as star linebacker Jakobe Barnes, but Anderson will be tasked with revitalizing an offense that scored over 20 points just twice last year.
"I'd love to play simple but fast," Anderson said regarding his offensive philosophy. "The quicker we can get a play off, the better. The athletic ability is there, so I would like to spread the ball around and get plenty of kids involved."
