By Jim Reagan

Leading the Wildcats will be first-year head coach Zac Cater who is no stranger to southeastern Oklahoma.

Cater was a 2013 All-State quarterback at Durant who also saw action at Northeastern 

A&M junior college.

At the 2014 OCA All State game, he completed 12-16 passes for 157 yards and a 38-yard touchdown pass to help lead the East by the West 23-14. He also scored on a one-yard plunge.

Cater’s assistant coaching career included stops in Broken Bow and most recently in Howe, Texas where he spent the past two seasons as offensive coordinator. 

He inherits a struggling Coalgate program that has gone 9-30 since finishing 10-2 in 2018.

“I was ready to get back into the Oklahoma thing,” Cater said. “I’d always said I want to build a program up instead of going to one that was super successful.” 

“Coalgate is a great community. I’ve got family that works around here. Then, coming in for the interview, I saw how much they want football to be good. That made my decision to come here even easier.”

Cater could fling it in his high school days. So, it’s not surprising he likes to run the spread offense with a little running game mixed in with RPOs (run pass option).

Concerning the Wildcats in Class 2A-4, which includes the likes of Davis, Holdenville and Kingston, Cater is encouraged by the fact that few seniors graduated from last year and few seniors will be on this year’s roster.

“I’m looking forward to it. We are going in there to compete every day and win every game.”

Cater said he prefers Oklahoma’s short spring football practice. Whereas Texas puts more emphasis on 7-on-7.  

“It was nice getting to see our kids in pads that early instead of having to wait until August.”

He has scheduled home scrimmages versus Idabel and Savanna before making his debut as a head coach September 1st against Stratford at Coalgate.