Northside Head Coach Enters Final Year

According to Gary Harris of The Gary Harris Show and WVUA, Northside High School Head Football Coach Chris Hilliker will retire at the conclusion of the 2020 season. Hilliker is entering his 17th season and has coached at Hale County, Paul W. Bryant High School and Northside. He has a career record of 102-62.

Coach Hilliker has been at Northside the last eight years and is looking forward to finishing his career on a strong note. The Rams are scheduled to open their season against Berry on Thursday, August 20.

Hilliker and his wife are both veterans of the Alabama school system and when asked why he has chosen to retire at the end of the year he said, "it's just time." This will be his 26th year in the school system and his wife's 30th. He is looking forward to spending time with his wife in retirement.

He began his career as an assistant coach at Hillcrest and mentioned that what he will remember most is the relationships he made with the players throughout the years.

The Rams were 9-1 last season and won Region 5 as well as two games in the class 4A State Playoffs. Northside was defeated by Jacksonville in the State Quarterfinals. It was the best season in Northside history winning 11 games in a row.

Hilliker is replacing 12 seniors from 2019 and said he is looking forward to finishing out with a class that he has coached their entire career.

He spent time on The Gary Harris Show on July 8 and talked about the upcoming season. Listen to the interview here.