New faces in Pendleton County Athletics

    Kyle Pettit is another new not so new face to Pendleton County Wildcat Football fans. In years past you would find him on the pressbox calling in defensive schemes or on the sidelines calling out directions to the players on the field.
    Coach Pettit is a former Wildcat player and one of the best players to emerge out of the program that has seen its fair share of ups and downs. He is ready to keep the program at a high success level and has goals to help achieve that desire.
    Coach Pettit discussed his first experience with football with a humorous response,
    “I started playing right before my eighth grade year. My oldest friend Mitchell King and I decided to play so we could “get chicks.” It worked because I ended up marrying the coach’s daughter years later. I played Panther football had good teammates and great coaches. From there the rest is history and where I am at today.”
    Coach Pettit then talked about what he had   learned over his years as a player in high school and college that is a part of his philosophy today,
    “Domination on the line wins a lot of games. I found that a good line on offense and defense makes everyone look good or bad regardless of talent. I still coach offensive line simply because I feel it is that important.”
    When or what led you to get back into the game as a coach?
    “On the departure of a coach, a friend told me that the team was in trouble and a chance the program may be disbanded. By this time I was out of school working and feeling I was only going to be a spectator the rest of my life. So I stepped up and started helping Coach Burgemeir. After I stepped up, I found I had a passion for it I probably never would have got into coaching had it not been my own team needing me to come back.”
    What can the fans look for this fall when your first team takes to the field?
    “We are rather young, but have a large eighth grade class coming in and a very large freshman class moving up. Covid really took a toll on our ability to get players the last two years. I’m considering putting the ball in the air more this season. We will still be running my style of triple option, but we want to become more proficient in the passing game. Of course this is dependent on our athletic capabilities, but what I have planned now may be different from our final product.
    What are you bringing back to PC that a young Kyle Pettit would never have thought of?
    “In my days we were always playing seven on seven passing tournaments throughout the summer and then the KHSAA and we kind of have gotten away from them, but I’m hoping to start participating again. It really helps our skills players to see live routes and defense before we get into games. The four linemen will take part in Big Man Challenges. Also our feeder program is moving to flag football which will help develop skill players at an earlier age. The goal is to be one giant program from top to bottom.”
    Coach Pettit was always a top performer on the field so I asked what he expected from his players,
    “I’m a fierce competitor and my team will be also. I expect them to show pride and passion every game, every play.”
    It was always fun watching you in the trenches and moving that line as a player and as your career continued at Georgetown how do you feel knowing you now wear the main headset on Friday night?
    “This is the first time that the Wildcat program has been led by one of its own and I feel honored with this huge responsibility of carrying the Wildcat legacy.”