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Dexter hires Jamerson to lead football program
DEXTER — Chad Jamerson has been selected to take over the Dexter football program.
The Dexter R-XI Board of Education voted unanimously Wednesday night to approve the hiring of Jamerson in closed session, according to a statement from Josh Dowdy, the school’s athletic director.
“Today has been a whirlwind of excitement,” Jamerson said. “It’s been nice to have so many people reach out to me and show their support, not just for me, but for Dexter football.
“My family and I are excited to hit the ground running and get started with this great school, this great program and this great community.”
During the 2020 season, Jamerson was coaching against the Bearcats at Charles Bland Stadium. Dexter lost the game but won over Jamerson, who was East Prairie’s head coach from 2012-20.
“That night was striking to me as a coach,” he said noting the atmosphere, the facilities, the fan and student involvement.
“To see that from the visitor side and now to be on the home side is exciting and it makes me feel very fortunate,” Jamerson said.
The Bearcats are coming off a 6-5 season in which they lost to second-seeded Kennett in the MSHSAA Class 3 District 1 semifinal.
Jamerson is taking over the program after longtime coach Aaron Pixley retired as the all-time leader in wins at the school.
“It’s nice to have those mentors and those coaches that you can lean on that have been there and know the community and know those experiences,” Jamerson said.
This past fall, Jamerson was an assistant football coach at Cape Central under Kent Gibbs.
“I was really fortunate to be in a very intelligent coaching room and hopefully I was smart enough to keep my mouth shut and my ears open and absorb some things,” Jamerson said.
Jamerson also worked as an assistant at Scott City for two years under Jim May before returning to East Prairie where he was the defensive coordinator for one season before being promoted to head coach in 2012.
During his nine seasons the Eagles were 37-56.
East Prairie went from 1-9 to 7-4 in Jamerson’s third season as head coach, winning six games over the next two years.
In 2018, the Eagles lost to top-seeded Charleston 44-34 in the opening round of the district playoffs. East Prairie reached the district semifinals in five of Jamerson’s nine season.
Jamerson’s Eagles won at Dexter 25-15 in 2020, his final year at East Prairie, when the team finished 5-3 earning the top seed in the MSHSAA Class 2 District 1 playoffs before lost to New Madrid County Central.
Jamerson started at East Prairie in 2004 as a track and field coach.
“We want kids playing every sport, but we definitely want them wrestling and we definitely want them on the track,” Jamerson said.
In football, Jamerson said his philosophy as a coach has “always been punch the clock, pound the rock.”
Playing great defense is an emphasis with an offense that can run the ball with “a run-first mentality” but also “prepared to sling it around the yard” if that’s what is available, he said.
“We want to create a culture that is a family atmosphere with a punch-the-clock mentality,” Jamerson said. “We want to work hard and we want to compete.
“We want to make sure that we’re creating young men with high character, accountability and discipline.
“We know at the end of the day that football and life are similar in a lot of ways so it’s going to require us to give relentless effort and to be tough,” he added.
Jamerson, who will be 42 in August, and his wife, Sarah, have an 8-year-old daughter, Isla.
“We want to build a program based on faith and family and of course football and community and academics,” Jamerson said. “We want to put out a product, not just on the field, but we want to create young men of character that everyone can be proud of.”
Pixley, a 1988 graduate of Dexter High School, was first hired as the Bearcats head football coach in 2000. He became the school’s all-time leader in wins over 17 total seasons with a 114-105 record.
The Bearcats won three district championships (2002, ’10 and ’11) and three conference titles (2002, ’05 and ’11), advancing to the state quarterfinals in 2011 when they finished 9-2.
After four years as Kennett’s head coach during which he won 27 games, Pixley returned to Dexter for the 2018 season.
“I’ve worked for good people. It’s a great school. More than anything, we have great kids. It’s been my honor to coach them all these years,” Pixley said in November at the school’s fall sports program.
“I’m just blessed to have been here.”