Eldridge announced as new Berrien football leader

Published 3:30 pm Tuesday, May 9, 2023

NASHVILLE — Berrien High is hiring from within to fill its head football coaching vacancy. Tuesday, May 9, the school system announced the promotion of assistant Ken Eldridge to the position on Facebook.

Eldridge takes over for Tim Alligood, who led Berrien last year to its first winning season (7-5) since 1995 and first state playoffs victory, which came over Spencer, since 1991.

In the Facebook post announcing his hiring, Berrien and Eldridge referenced the history made in 2022. “We are ready to build on that success and make it the norm for this community,” Eldridge said.

The Rebels last had consecutive seasons above .500 from 1991-95.

Eldridge served as quarterbacks coach and special teams coordinator for Alligood in 2002. The Rebels scored their most points in school history a year ago, 359, which eclipsed the mark set in 1973. Special teams were a major reason for that, with Josiah Davis alone returning eight kickoffs for touchdowns in 2022.

Davis is set to return to Berrien for the 2023 campaign. With many of the southeast’s major football programs after him, he announced his commitment to the University of Florida in March.

Prior to joining the Berrien staff, Eldridge had head coaching stints at Coffee (2008-11) and Swainsboro (2013-15). He reached the Class 5A quarterfinals with Coffee in 2008.