Vicksburg High assistant coach Robert Erves stands outside the VHS fieldhouse on Wednesday. The longtime Gator defensive coach will retire from teaching and coaching after this school year. Below, Erves sits at the desk, adorned with newspaper articles and pictures of former players.(Jon Giffin The Vicksburg Post)

[4/5/04]The most senior member of the Vicksburg High coaching staff is stepping aside, and a former offensive coordinator will make his return.

Robert Erves, who has coached the Gators in some capacity for the past 28 years, will retire at the end of this school year. Health problems ultimately forced Erves from the sidelines.

“It’s like a big part of you not going to be there anymore,” said Alonzo Stevens, who has known Erves almost his entire life. “It will be a lot different without him on the sidelines.”

Erves, a career football assistant and the only powerlifting coach the school has ever had, admitted that he came back too early after a heart problem in 2001 sidelined him.

He missed two games, but was back on the sidelines soon after.

“I’m just a hard-headed coach wanting to be back on the field,” Erves said. “Looking back, it probably wasn’t the best decision.”

Erves battled health problems the past two seasons, trying several ways to take pressure off him. He tried coaching from the press box and from behind the bench, but each time the intensity that made him a standout football player at Mississippi Valley State took over.

“When the doctor says this is for the best, it is,” Stevens said. “Coach wrestled with that. He’s a fighter. But he has a family to think about.”

Erves stayed on staff to watch his son, Roderick, finish his senior season. He also coached his son in powerlifting. The Gators won the Class 5A state championship a year ago, the school’s first in the sport.

His departure does not mean that Stevens has to look far to fill the coaching holes.

Jackie Williamson, who helped the Gators lead the state in total yards in 2001, resigned as head coach at Terry and will be making his return after a two-year stint in Hinds County.

“People around Vicksburg really don’t know how much the school district cares about athletics,” Williamson said. “They really do it the right way.”

Williamson will handle the offense, while David Tadlock will be defensive coordinator.

Tadlock coached linebackers the last four seasons. Toriano Wells and Luke Massey will stay on the defensive side of the ball, while Bobby Huell, Tim Hughes and Jeremy Loy will coach offense.

And Stevens?

“I’m going to try to be a head coach,” said the coach who assisted on offense and defense the past two seasons.

As for Erves, he has no plans, so far, for his retirement. He will continue to teach until the graduation on May 13.

When asked what he will do, Erves said, “hopefully be around for a long while.”

The former player, known for wearing his socks pulled all the way up to his knees, coached some of the Gators’ most dominating defensive teams.

The 1991 squad featured NFL players Michael Myers, Mark Smith and Rod Coleman. Erves said that group was the best defense he had.

Nicknamed “Swamp Thing,” the Gators were ranked No. 1 several times over that run, and reached the third round of the playoffs in 1990 and 1991.

“He is the epitome of a Gator,” Stevens said. “You’re talking about a program that started 31 years ago, and he has been around it for almost that long.”