Powers ready to take on role as Kelly's new football coach

A familiar face will lead the Kelly football team onto the field when the Hawks begin their season on Aug. 21 against visiting East Prairie.

The Kelly school district announced Lance Powers as the team's new head coach, a decision that was approved by the school board at a meeting on Thursday night.

Powers was an assistant coach under former head coach Kenneth Riedinger, who resigned on July 2 due to "a difference of opinion with the administration" in regards to the direction of the football program.

"I'm very excited about being the next head coach at Kelly High School," Powers said Monday. "It's an honor and a privilege. It's something that I've been working towards, and I can't wait to get going on August 3, the same with my coaching staff. They're excited about getting the season started, and we're really looking forward to it."

Powers served as the Hawks' offensive coordinator last season, during which Kelly averaged 21.5 points per game and finished with a 4-6 record.

Riedinger, who accepted a coaching position at Lonoke High School in Lonoke, Arkansas, offered some words of encouragement for the new coach.

"I talked to Ken a couple days ago. We spoke and just talked about the opportunity he's got down there in Arkansas," Powers said. "He wished me the best of luck up there at Kelly, and I wished him the same down there. I know he'll do good things."

The Hawks embarked on their inaugural varsity season last year, but Powers has been involved with the program since it was approved by the school board in the spring of 2010.

"With me taking over, there's a sense of consistency. The program is still stable," said Powers, who was also the head coach of the girls soccer team last season. "There are a lot of things that we're going to keep doing that we've been doing over the past three years, but at the same token, there are going to be some new things we're going to do. We're going to add to the offense and to the defensive side of the ball, so we're excited about the season. We're ready to go."

Powers said he likes his players' work ethic but said their understanding of the game still has a long way to go.

"A lot of them are very new to the game still. Just playing three years doesn't mean that you've been playing for very long," Powers said. "We're playing against a lot of teams with kids that have been playing a lot longer than that, but these kids that we've got work hard."

Ryan Adams will take over as defensive coordinator under Powers and will also join Cody Hanneken as a strength and conditioning coach.

"They work hard in the weight room," Powers said about his players. "I credit our strength and conditioning coaches, Ryan Adams and Cody Hanneken. They are putting the boys through the ringer. They're getting them ready for the season, and I cannot wait to see that weight room pay off this year."

Powers said the team will review candidates this week for an open position as assistant coach. He notified the team Tuesday about the pending approval of his promotion to head coach.

"They've known, and they've adjusted so far," Powers said. "They haven't really skipped a beat as far as practices go. They're still working hard out there, and I appreciate the fact that they're doing that for us."

With a little more than a month remaining before the start of the season, Powers said it's time to get to work.

"Every day, we've got to get better. That's kind of cliche, but that's how it is," he said. "We're such a young program. There's always something we're going to be able to do every day to get a little better than the day before, and we're just trying to improve. We're going to make sure we're better than last year. Hopefully the record at the end of the year will show that we were better than last year.

"We're just trying to teach these boys the game. That's something that they'll carry on as memories for the rest of their lives."