By RODNEY YOUNG
Patriot Publishing
The Fort Chiswell Pioneers for 2025 will once again have a new head football coach.
Cory Mabry is the new headman for the Pioneers. Coach Mabry is also the junior varsity
basketball and baseball head coach.
Mabry is the third head coach in four years and the eighth in 12 years for the
Pioneers. If you started in the Fort Chiswell football program as a freshman and you are
now a senior, this is your third head coach in four years.
Mabry played football at Fort Chiswell under then head coach Stephen James, who is
now at Grayson County. Mabry after graduating attended and played football at
Bluefield College. He returned to Wythe County in 2017 and started to teach at Spiller
Elementary. He is now a teacher at the high school.
Last season the Pioneers went 2-9 under Coach Zane Quesenberry, but made the
playoffs losing in the opening round to Bath County.
This year's edition of the Pioneers have 37 kids out. They have 11 freshmen, seven
sophomores, ten juniors, and nine seniors.
Coach Mabry said, “We are behind in the weight room. I was hired late but the kids
have responded and have consistently showed up since we got into the weight room.”
Fort Chiswell assistant coaches will be Luke Arnold, Mason Clark, Chucky Brown,
Danny Dunford and Josh Samuels. Coach Clark will be offensive coordinator and Mabry
the defensive coordinator, as well as helping with defensive backs.and wide receivers.
Coach Arnold will be in charge of linebackers and help with line play. Brown and
Dunford both will help out with offensive and defensive lines. Dunford will also work with
the running backs. Coach Clark will work with the defensive backs and Coach Samuels
is the special teams coordinator. Other coaches that will be mainly with the middle
school, but will help with varsity on Friday’s are Ron Lawson, middle school head
coach; Lucas Hughes, Todd Poole and Brandon Collins.
On offense the Pioneers will use the spread and have multiple formations. Mabry
remarked, “We would like to be 60-40 runs to pass on offense.”
Fort Chiswell’s defense will run a 33 look. Three down linemen, three linebackers
with five defensive backs.” Coach Mabry said. “We hope to attack on defense, but a lot
will depend on our opponents and our personnel.”
The starters on offense look to be Samuel Scott at center, Sawyer Blair and
Brendan Mabry at guard. The tackles are Boston White and Liam Goins. Chase
Hetherington will be the quarterback, while Caleb Wright will be the running back.
Wide receivers should be Eli Martin, Jackson Johnson, Landon Eversole and Aidan
Rooney.
On defense the Pioneers will have White, Mabry and Goins as their down linemen.
Their linebackers will be Rooney, Cooper Davis and Dalton Webster. The Fort’s
secondary will consist of Eli Martin, Jackson Johnson, Miguel Mincer, Dakota Bailey and
Chase Hetherington.
The Pioneers will start seven seniors on offense and six on defense. They also will
have seven players going both ways and half of their roster is made up of freshmen and
sophomores.
When asked about the Pioneers’ schedule, Mabry replied by saying, “Grayson
County and George Wythe will be the favorites in the Mountain Empire District. Our out
of district schedule has Floyd County, Carroll County, Holston, Marion and county rival
Rural Retreat.” He then said, “It’s a competitive schedule and we need to stay healthy.”
The Pioneers are mainly young and with all of the coaching turnover the last few
years, it’s tough to develop any kind of consistency and build a program. There's only
been a couple head coaches in the last 11 years that's lasted more than two seasons as
the head coach.
Coach Mabry was asked about the support he has received since being named the
head coach and he replied, “Support has been great. The kids have shown up. They
have been consistent and have picked up the new terminology we are using. I’m ready
to get started and see what the season brings.”
