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Father and son help Hammond earn another state title

Erik Kimrey calls the plays but he has help on the sidelines with his father who has 40 years of coaching experience.

Hammond football was truly a family affair for the Kimreys this season.

Head coach Erik Kimrey won his 10th state championship but this year, his father was back on the sidelines serving as a consultant for the Skyhawks.

The elder Kimrey has been a head coach for 34 years with stops at Lower Richland, Dutch Fork and Calhoun County. He retired in December of 2017 after five years in St. Matthews with the Calhoun County program. But it might be accurate to say Kimrey is semi-retired because he was on the field with the Skyhawks from game one to game 13.

"Oh, it's awesome. I'm so proud of Erik," I saw the other day There were two others coaches in the state. One was Willie Varner, the other was John McKissick, that had 10 state championships. I told Erik 'if we win tonight, we'd be in some pretty good company'. So, I'm so proud of Erik and this team. It was a lot of fun coaching them, lot of fun."

The elder Kimrey led Lower Richland too a pair of state title appearances.. But he says as a father, it's more gratifying to see his son win championships.

"Oh yeah, you want all your children to do better than you have and he definitely has," Kimrey said.

"I had a lot of fun working with him this year. It was a great year.

"I'm a consultant. I'm not retired, but I'm having fun."

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