Oak Grove High School is a public school that was established in 1916. Oak Groves mascot is the Tigers and their team colors are black and gold. Oak Grove resides in West Carroll Parish in Oak Grove, LA and has a student body of around 450 students. A notable alumni from Oak Grove’s football program is Kenny Hill who played defensive back for numerous teams in the NFL from 1981 to 1989. The Tigers also play in the Louisiana 2A level of football and have 7 State Championships in the football program. Head Coach Vic Dalrymple was the head coach for 4 of the 7 State Titles. Coach Dalrymple is also the winningest head coach in Oak Grove’s Program history with an all-time record of 320 wins and 99 losses. These historic accolades is what earned Coach Vic Dalrymple his spot in the LHSAA Hall of Fame. The successor to Coach Dalrymple is current Head Coach Ryan Gregory.
Coach Ryan Gregory started his tenure at Oak Grove coaching the Defensive Line in 2009. Over the years Coach Gregory worked his way up until he was assigned the Head Coaching position in 2014. Over his 9 years of being the Head Coach, Coach Gregory has an all time record of 94 wins and 3 State Titles. The state titles came in 2019, 2020 in 1A and most recently this past 2022 season in 2A level of play. Coach Gregory was also nominated as the New Orleans Saints pick for the Don Shula NFL High School Football Coach of the Year in the 2020-2021 season.
When I spoke with Coach Gregory I wanted to start by asking him about his most recent success and what it was like to bring a State Championship back to Oak Grove.
“It feels great. The goal at the beginning of every season no matter which team we have is to bring home a State Championship and I was awfully proud to see this past years team come full circle and achieve that goal.”
Head Coach, Ryan Gregory
I then preceded to ask Coach Gregory what his outlook was on the upcoming 2023-2024 Season
“We have a lot of guys back. Many of our young guys have played for a while and we were fortunate to have them get two years under their belts. We started a lot of Freshman two years ago so those player have really grown up. We have lost some great guys that contributed for a while but I think we got a lot of guys that make a good nucleus for us to start the season with.”
Head Coach, Ryan Gregory
Coach Gregory mentioned that the team had some young guys step up this past season. Players on the offensive side of the ball like wide receiver Brodie Stuart, tight end Jt Layton and quarterback Jackson Bradley who were all sophomores this past season. As for the defensive side of the ball, players like defensive lineman Isaiah Joles and linebackers Seth Ray and James Harris will be the ones to keep an eye on this season.
The last thing I spoke to Coach Gregory about was his coaching philosophy. I didn’t ask him for his perspective on the field but rather off the field, and what he and his staff do to mold his players to be great even when they’re outside the white lines.
“The things we teach them as far as being physically and mentally tough. Life throws a lot of things at you that the game of football also teaches. We’re going to keep our faith first as we believe everything else will come over that. Those two aspects of our program really help these kids once they leave.”
Head Coach, Ryan Gregory
Picture taken by Jason Saucier
Picture taken by Jason Saucier
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