Huntingdon Coaches Talk Football at Historical Society

HUNTINGDON (July 15) — Featured speakers at this month's meeting of the Huntingdon Historical Society on Wednesday morning were former Huntingdon High School football assistant coach Jimmy Pritchard and current Head Coach Eric Swenson.

The pair sat for a one-hour panel discussion in the conference room of Huntingdon City Hall, led by Historical Society co-founder Johnny McClure.

Pritchard spent 40 years as a teacher and coach in Carroll County before his retirement, mostly at his alma mater, Huntingdon High School.

Swenson began his career as middle school head coach at West Carroll in 1990. From 1996-2004, he served as an offensive coordinator at HHS, then, after a stint at Hickman County, he returned to accept the head coach position in 2008.

Coach Swenson became the winningest coach in program history last year with his 170th victory. The Mustangs added five more wins to the record en route to a state championship, the school's second.

Both Pritchard and Swenson were on the staff for Huntingdon's first title in 2003.

The pair of coaches traced the history of football in Huntingdon back to its origins at Southern Normal University, a private school that began a football program in 1904.

Huntingdon High School was established as a public school in 1919, and they launched football in 1927. Math teacher J.O. Mills started the school's athletic program, which also included basketball.

The team was known as the Eagles or Blue Eagles until they became the Mustangs in 1934. Also that year, C.H. Pudor was hired as head coach. Pudor, who would come to be known as "the Godfather of Huntingdon football," led the team to its first undefeated season in 1937.

The coaches spoke about some other memorable players and coaches, who Pritchard said there are "too many to name."

Besides rattling off over a dozen players who made huge statistical impacts, they mentioned two players noteworthy for their physical presence. Desmond Taylor wore the largest helmet available, the same size as NFL legend William "Refrigerator" Perry. Steve Walker wore a size 18.5 shoe. The team had to search far and wide to find cleats he could wear, eventually acquiring a pair from the Atlanta Falcons.

Swenson spoke about last year's championship run. He said, "It's very seldom here that we get to be the underdog," referring to the Mustangs' projected fifth-place finish in the region. "They didn't have a bullseye on their back. They never got uptight about anything; they didn't feel pressure."

He noted the turnaround from the team's Week 3 lopsided loss to Milan to their one-point victory in the semifinals. "They just got better and better and better. It was just a run where everything went right. We were very blessed with a great group of kids, a great coaching staff and great support from our town."

At the end of the program, attendees were invited to view some Mustang memorabilia, including the two championship rings.

Prior to the program, State Representative Brock Martin and State Senator John Stevens presented Swenson with two resolutions honoring the 2025 championship team and Swenson (for being named Coach of the Year by the Tennessee Football Coaches Association and West Tennessee Coach of the Year by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association).

Next month's Huntingdon Historical Society program will feature Lynn Compton, who will speak about the history of electricity in Carroll County.