By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director

CEDAR BLUFF – On a night when Cedar Bluff honored the 20^th anniversary of its 2006 Class 1A state runner-up team, the community also bestowed a special honor to former head coach Jonathan McWhorter prior to the current Tigers’ game against Ragland on Friday.

A resolution was passed recently by the Cherokee County Board of Education to have the Tiger field house named in McWhorter’s honor. The school unveiled the banner during the ceremony recognizing the 2006 team.

In true McWhorter fashion, he deflected the praise.

“I don’t deserve that,” he said. “There was a lot of ‘I’ in what (press box announcer) Todd (Dean) read. When you look out on the field, there’s a lot of people involved in the success we’ve had over the years, but I’m very honored though.”

In 15 years as head coach of the Tigers, McWhorter guided Cedar Bluff to a 121-58 record, including five region championships and two state runners-up.

McWhorter’s first year as head coach of the Tigers was 2006. Taking over for Steve Smith, the 28-year-old McWhorter guided the 2006 Tigers to a 13-2 record and a state runner-up to Sweet Water. It was the Tigers’ first 13-win season in school history.

“It’s a special team to me for a lot of reasons,” McWhorter said. “It was my first year as head coach. I’m appreciative to Mr. (Bobby) Mintz for giving me that opportunity. I had a great first group. I had been here as an assistant, the defensive coordinator under Coach (Steve) Smith. I was fortunate to have a mentor like him who kind of molded me as a young coach. I’m always grateful to him for that.”

McWhorter’s success continued following the 2006 season. In 2015, he led Cedar Bluff to another 13-2 season and another Class 1A state runner-up to Maplesville. McWhorter coached the Tigers for five more seasons after that, until he became Cedar Bluff’s assistant principal in 2021. He retired as assistant principal at the school this summer.

“This is home,” McWhorter said. “I spent a lot of time here and a lot of energy, but there’s a lot of people involved in all of those accomplishments. We’ve had a lot of good players over the years, a lot of good assistant coaches. I was just one of many people who was involved in that. This is really a testament to them as much as it is anybody.”