New coach excited to lead the pack at his alma mater

Tommy Gilleran would not have left Fountain Lake High School for just any job.

But after serving 14 years as head football coach for the Cobras, Gilleran left to accept the same position at Lake Hamilton High School, his alma mater.

“This was a chance to come back home,” said Gilleran, who graduated from Lake Hamilton in 1988. “It is a huge deal. Even prior to this year, I have wanted to come back here and be the head coach.

“It has been a dream of mine since I graduated college to come back here and coach.”

Gilleran said it was tough to leave Fountain Lake, where he served for 16 years.

“I had built so many relationships over a 16-year period,” he said. “It was hard to do. There was only one school I would have left Fountain Lake for, and it was here.”

Gilleran replaces Jeremy Reed, who coached at Lake Hamilton for one season. Reed led the Wolves to a 6-5 record and a playoff berth but left after accepting the head-coach position at Yukon High School in Oklahoma.

“Main thing that we have done so far is installed our weight program,” Gilleran said.

Gilleran said Lake Hamilton spent the offseason doing Olympic lifts, such as bench, squat and power clean.

“Will Burgess, our senior offensive lineman, benches 395 and inclines 315,” the coach said. “So we have seen kids just like him who have blossomed in the weight room.”

Burgess has already received offers to play football from five schools, including Missouri State University in Springfield and the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

“Arkansas was looking at him hard, but he broke his foot in the spring, so they kind of backed off,” Gilleran said.

Burgess had surgery at the beginning of the summer and spent the entire break doing upper-body stuff, and the coach said Burgess is now able to walk on the foot.

Lake Hamilton will move to a Wing-T offense after running out of the Flex Bone last year. The team will also use a 4-2-5 defense instead of the 3-4.

“The Flex Bone is more of a run-type offense, so they didn’t get any throwing,” Gilleran said. “So that is one of things we are behind on — our passing game.”

Gilleran has a couple of options at quarterback, including seniors Utah Aitken and Jackson Davis, who will be under center for Lake Hamilton.

“Utah has played the position before, so he has some experience,” the coach said. “Jackson is new at it, so he is trying to learn a little bit.”

Junior Cayden Napier and sophomore Zach Bradley might also get some snaps at the position.

At running back, senior Jack Johnson returns after rushing for 140 yards on 23 carries with a touchdown.

Defensively, senior Jacob Nichols leads the defense at linebacker and secondary.

“Jack Johnson has played corner and has looked good this summer at 7-on-7s,” Gilleran said. “Ray Hamp, a junior, plays defensive end, and he has been good for us, too.”