Cave Spring introduces new head football coach Hunter Shepherd

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - After the departure of Nick Leftwich to William Fleming last month, Cave Spring High School introduced its new varsity head football coach on Friday.

Hunter Shepherd will take over as the new head man of the Knights this upcoming season.

The 27-year-old William Byrd alum spent the last four years as the defensive coordinator at Staunton River.

Shepherd played for longtime Terriers coach Jeff Highfill, and hopes his Cave teams can match that brand of physicality.

“A very physical, disciplined brand of football and everything he does is about taking boys and turning them into men,” said Shepherd on what he learned from Highfill. “That’s kind of where my philosophy and coaching is driven from, and I’ve built upon that since leaving there.

“[The former staff] has done a great job taking the school and building a physical brand of football. Cave Spring has been very physical past two years. That’s why you’re kind of seeing the wins increase. And I think building upon that with the same kind of offense, same kind of defense, I think that’s the way we win games here. We might have some athletes, we might not, but if we get to where we’re playing a physical brand of football, we can compete whether we have them or not.”

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