July 22, 1998
Kirk Williams hired as head coach
Kirk Williams, a 1979 Greenbrier graduate and former ten-year Bobcat assistant, returns from five seasons on Springfield's staff to become head coach at age 37.
HELP COMPLETE THE 1998 STORY
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← Mr. Football to the Williams Era
RELATED HISTORY
1998 · Kirk Williams' First Season
Season overview
Kirk Williams' First Season
5-6
Williams’s first Greenbrier team finished 5–6, with wins over Macon County, Livingston Academy, DeKalb County, Page and Montgomery Central.
The Bobcats won four of five in the middle of the schedule, establishing a foundation that would become far more visible in the seasons ahead.
Greenbrier traveled to Chattanooga Howard for the first round. The 27–13 loss ended year one, but the transition into the Williams era was complete.
Program Thread: Kelly Ziegler
Greenbrier’s internal coaching-history file lists Kelly Ziegler on staff from 1998–2009, placing his arrival at the beginning of the Kirk Williams era. Tennessee’s official record lists Ziegler as a 1987 senior inside linebacker and co-captain. The thread resurfaces in the 2004 clippings and again in 2008, when his son Zack posts six 100-yard rushing games.
Complete recorded schedule
1998 football schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug. 28, 1998 | Davidson Academy▶ Film | 14–20 | L | |
| 2 | Sept. 4, 1998 | Macon Co.▶ Film | 21–0 | W | |
| 3 | Sept. 11, 1998 | Goodpasture▶ Film | 0–45 | L | |
| 4 | — | Livingston Academy | 35–14 | W | |
| 5 | — | Spring Hill | 7–27 | L | |
| 6 | Oct. 2, 1998 | DeKalb Co.▶ Film | 28–0 | W | |
| 7 | Oct. 9, 1998 | Page▶ Film | 14–7 | W | |
| 8 | Oct. 16, 1998 | White House▶ Film | 14–35 | L | |
| 9 | Oct. 23, 1998 | Montgomery Central▶ Film | 33–14 | W | |
| 10 | Oct. 30, 1998 | Portland▶ Film | 0–28 | L | |
| 11 | Nov. 6, 1998 | Chattanooga Howard▶ Film | 13–27 | L | *1st Round TSSAA State Playoffs |
People in the season
Postseason Honors
Greenbrier’s football honors records list these names under the school’s original award categories.
Postseason honors
- All-Mid-State — Matthew Mayo, Roy Dill, B. J. Link
- All-Region 4-3A — Matthew Mayo, B. J. Link, Stetson Dickerson
- Region Honorable Mention — Tony Gainous
- All-Robertson County — Matthew Mayo, Roy Dill, B. J. Link, Stetson Dickerson
Leadership register
Captains & Leadership
Greenbrier’s captain register records a program-wide practice for this period: “1973–2001 Seniors were game captains.” The collection therefore does not assign a fixed season-captain list for this year unless a game program, roster or contemporary clipping identifies one.
CONTEMPORARY COVERAGE
1998 in print
8 source scans from the season's newspaper file. Open any clipping at full size, or continue into its game page when one is linked.
Aug. 12, 1998
1998 preseason capsule
Williams's first preseason page lists eleven returners and emphasizes harder work and protecting the football; its prior-year line prints Brainerd 24, Greenbrier 6.
Sept. 12, 1998
Goodpasture 45, Greenbrier 0
Goodpasture holds Greenbrier to 73 total yards in the 45–0 final.
Sept. 26, 1998
Spring Hill 27, Greenbrier 7
Matt Mayo scores on a one-yard run and B.J. Link kicks the extra point in Spring Hill's 27–7 win.
Oct. 10, 1998
Greenbrier 14, Page 7
Mayo runs 18 times for 86 yards and a touchdown; Roy Dill catches a 16-yard touchdown from Stetson Dickerson, who adds the conversion run.
Oct. 15, 1998
White House matchup preview
Before White House, Roy Dill has 420 yards on 92 carries and Matt Mayo has 293 on 73; the preview says eight Bobcats start both ways.
Nov. 5, 1998
Howard playoff preview
Greenbrier enters the Howard first round with Roy Dill above 700 rushing yards; the preview describes the program as 0–6 in playoff games.
Nov. 5, 1998
Greenbrier in the Class 3A Fab Five
The Tennessean places the 5–5 Bobcats fifth in its final Class 3A Midstate list.
Reading the complete season
Kirk Williams comes home
5–6record
179–217scoring
9 of 11games on film
A 1979 Greenbrier graduate returned as head coach and won four of five during the middle of his first season.
Williams, a 1979 Greenbrier graduate, returned at age 37 after ten seasons as a Bobcat assistant and five on Springfield's staff. He replaced Scott Smith following the 4–7 season.
Roy Dill and Matt Mayo carried the running-game load. Before White House, the preview listed Dill at 420 yards on 92 carries and Mayo at 293 on 73; Dill entered the playoff preview above 700 yards.
The four-of-five middle run included shutouts of Macon County and DeKalb County and a 14–7 win over Page in which Mayo ran for 86 yards and Roy Dill caught the other touchdown.
Source comparison: Howard is retained as 13–27 from TSSAA; the school score list prints 14–26. The official postseason final controls.
8 contemporary packet items are connected to this season. Open any result for its place in the year, recovered reporting, film status and game-level source comparison.
BOBCATS FOR LIFE · 1998
Postseason names from this season
The People Index connects the players named in Greenbrier’s 1998 postseason honors record.
1998 football statistics
8 sourced lines, 2 players and 1 Greenbrier team entries are connected to this season.
Explore the 1998 season statistics →Season statistics · 1998
The numbers we can account for
Reported season totals and sums from recovered games appear separately. A game without a stat line is unknown, not zero.
Recovered game totals
These sums cover only the listed games. They are not a complete season total.
| Player | Stat | Recorded | Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Mayo | Rushing · Carries | 18 carries | 1 game |
| Matthew Mayo | Rushing · Yards | 86 yards | 1 game |
In-season snapshots (5)
| Player or team | Stat at the time | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roy Dill | Rushing · Yards before White House | 420 yards | View source |
| Roy Dill | Rushing · Carries before White House | 92 carries | View source |
| Matthew Mayo | Rushing · Yards before White House | 293 yards | View source |
| Matthew Mayo | Rushing · Carries before White House | 73 carries | View source |
| Roy Dill | Rushing · Yards entering playoff | 700 yards | View source |