RIO RANCHO, N.M. – A โNew Mexico high school football coach with 51 years of experience is one winโข away from capping โhis โcareerโฃ with โฃa state championship. โคEddie Kilmer,โค head coach of Cleveland High School, will lead his team โคinto the Class 6A State Championship game this โฃSaturday.Kilmer, who has coached in both Texas andโ New Mexico, has built a legacy spanning more than fiveโข decades. Though he admits he wasn’t a standout player himself – “I wasโข slow and skinny and just wasn’t any good,” he said – heโ discovered a โขpassion for the strategy โขandโค development inherent โin โขcoaching. His defensive ideologyโฃ centers on reaction and aggressive play. “On defence, โIt’s reaction. โฃWe’veโฃ taught them thatโ we’re going this way or we’re doing this thing. All they have โto do now is just go hardโฃ and โbe fast โand mean,” Kilmer explained.
Throughout his career, โฃKilmer has served primarily as โฃa defensive coordinator, most recently with the Cleveland High School Storm.A championship victory this weekendโ would represent a fitting conclusion to a careerโ recognized with inductions into multiple halls of fame.
“I never worked โคa day in my life, I got to haveโข fun. I got to โdo a kids game every day. How can you beat that?” โKilmer said.
His influence extends beyond the high school level; among his former players is Lincoln Riley, currently the head football โcoach at the Universityโข of Southern California. Kilmer shares a regular tradition with Riley, texting him a message of encouragement every Saturday: “G-A-T-A,’ wich means get afterโ their fanny.”
Kilmer frequently enough tellsโข his players about three unforgettable days in life:โ “The day youโ get married, the day your kids are born and the day you win the state โchampionship.” He now has the possibility to โขexperience that third day himself.