Hixson chooses former Moc Rivers to lead the Wildcats
Hixson High School didn’t have to look far to find its new head football coach.
Just three days after the job came open, the school’s administration promoted Nick Rivers to the position on Friday.
Rivers, a 2003 Hixson graduate who played at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, had been on staff with the Wildcats for four seasons, including the past three as defensive coordinator. He replaces Josh Owensby, who stepped down on Tuesday to accept an offer to join the staff at Soddy-Daisy as an offensive assistant.
“It’s an amazing honor, and really it’s just surreal because I was on JV as a ninth grader, so it’s humbling to go from that to now being the head coach at my alma mater,” Rivers said. “Josh did a great job of preparing me for this moment. He gave me the defense, to where it was like I was the head coach of the defense, and I just wanted to be the best coach I could be on the staff.
“The players met with our administration and requested me to be the new coach, which honestly brought tears to my eyes. Just the fact that a group of young men wanted me to lead them, that’s truly humbling. I think the fact that I’m familiar with Hixson will really help us keep the program going in the right direction. I love the school, that’s the reason I came back here, and want to see our program and our guys succeed and have the same opportunities I had.”
After initially signing a scholarship with East Tennessee State University, Rivers transferred back home when that program was shut down in 2003 and played defensive end at UTC through the 2007 season.
In the three seasons before Owensby took over as head coach, and Rivers worked as defensive coordinator, the Wildcats had finished 2-27 overall. But the program has shown steady improvement over the past three seasons, including a 5-6 finish last year that included the first playoff appearance since 2016.
The last time Hixson had an alum in charge of its football program was in 2002 under Todd Windham.
“Football aside, Nick is a man of high character and quality,” Hixson athletic director Brian Bray said. “He’s a great mentor to our kids and is a great asset to have at our school.
“It’s time to have someone who knows our school to be in charge of the program, so it’s a great day for Hixson.”