Decatur High School is a
public high school
State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...
in
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake ...
, United States. It is one of two high schools in the
Decatur City School District. Decatur High offers technical, academic, and Advanced Placement (AP) programs, as well as dual enrollment with the
John C. Calhoun Community College System.
Decatur High, along with southwestern Decatur's
Austin High School, were the first
International Baccalaureate
The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...
schools in Alabama north of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
. Starting in the 2017-2018 school year, Decatur High will no longer continue the IB program.
In 2018, the
Decatur City Schools
The Decatur City Schools is a school system located in the city of Decatur, Alabama, and is home to seven of Alabama's International Baccalaureate schools.
The school system is also the second largest employer in Decatur.
Basic Overview
Decatur ...
, in a massive realignment of school districting, opened a new DHS campus across Somerville Road Southeast from its location of several decades on Prospect Drive. The new Decatur High was built on the site of the former Somerville Road Elementary School, whose students were eventually moved to the old Oak Park Middle School (subsequently renamed Oak Park Elementary). Students who formerly attended Oak Park Middle were moved into the old DHS campus, which was renovated and renamed Decatur Middle. A similar process occurred with schools on Decatur's western side at the same time.
Athletics
![Ogle Stadium in Decatur, Alabama](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Ogle_Stadium_in_Decatur%2C_Alabama.jpg)
Decatur High's football and soccer programs play at the 9,000-seat Ogle Stadium at the southern end of the former Decatur High campus, also located near
Decatur Morgan Hospital. The stadium, owned by the school system, is named for
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history. The museum displays over 5,000 objects related to athletes who were born in Alabama or earned fame ...
r and former Decatur High coach H. L. "Shorty" Ogle, who led the Red Raiders from 1933 to 1963. The high school's sports teams often use the field for practice.
Prior to 1949, the Decatur football team played at the 3,000-person capacity Benson Field, now a part of Rhodes Ferry Park along the shores of the
Tennessee River
The Tennessee River is the largest tributary of the Ohio River. It is approximately long and is located in the southeastern United States in the Tennessee Valley. The river was once popularly known as the Cherokee River, among other names, ...
, located next to the now-closed Riverview High School, Decatur High's predecessor.
Prior to 2018, when
Austin High School relocated and got a stadium of its own (at the same time of Decatur High's physical relocation across Somerville Road), both of the high schools in Decatur played their home games in the stadium, with their schedules arranged accordingly; occasionally, that meant that one of the teams had to play a home game on a Thursday night, instead of Friday as is customary in Alabama high school athletics. The one exception was the Decatur-Austin game. In that case, one team occupied the away side while the other manned the home side. The schools alternated hosting each year, despite the game occurring on Decatur High property, akin to the practice of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
and
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
college football in the years when the "
Iron Bowl
The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the Auburn University Tigers and University of Alabama Crimson Tide, both charter members of the Southeastern Conferenc ...
" was held at
Legion Field
Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...
in Birmingham. This football game usually sold out the stadium, and brought in crowds of over 10,000, in a city of perhaps 40,000 to 50,000 population, to watch the intra-city rivalry.
Football
Decatur High has produced many players that went on to play at the collegiate and
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
levels, including
Jerraud Powers
Jerraud Powers (born July 19, 1987) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Auburn and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He also played for the Arizona Cardinals ...
and
Rolando McClain
Rolando Marquise McClain (born July 14, 1989) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Alabama, where he was recognized as a unanimous All-American and won the 2010 BCS National Championship. He was selected eight ...
.
Other long-tenured Red Raider coaches, other than Ogle, are Earl Webb and Steve Rivers, father of famed NFL quarterback
Philip Rivers
Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was sele ...
. However, the younger Rivers played his high school ball at
Athens High School in nearby
Athens, Alabama
Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, Alabama, Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 c ...
, where his father was coaching at the time. As of 2021, Jere Adcock, Steve Rivers' successor, is the current head coach at DHS.
The Decatur High School Football Team won the 1971 State 4A Football Championship under the leadership of Coach Earl Webb and coaches Wally Burnham, Paul Glover and Jimmy Holley. (Alabama High School Football Historical Society)
Basketball
Decatur High School has won one boys' state championship under coach
Earl Morris and five girls' state championships under coach Mike Smith. The 1948 basketball team was the first Decatur High team to go to the state tournament; however, it did not win the county tournament.
Soccer
The Decatur High School girls' soccer team defeated
Briarwood Christian of Birmingham in the class 5A Alabama State Championship game on May 10, 2008.
Visual arts
Decatur High School's Visual Arts department offers a wide range of art courses that include Drawing and Painting (Art I – IB/AP Studio Art), Ceramics, Graphic Design, and Photography. A scaffolded curriculum is in place to prepare students for portfolio coursework in IB (International Baccalaureate) Visual Art or AP Studio Art classes. In addition to ongoing competition exhibitions, student work is exhibited throughout the year at Decatur Morgan Hospital, in the fall at the All City Music and Art Festival, and at Decatur High during its spring art exhibit.
Students in th
IBan
courses have scored above the world average for the past two years.
Students who excel in the visual arts at Decatur High School and who exhibit exemplary character and meet academic requirements are invited to join the National Art Honor Society (NAHS). NAHS was created by the National Art Education Association for the purpose of inspiring and recognizing those students who have shown an outstanding ability in art. NAHS members at Decatur High School complete art-related service hours for th
Carnegie Visual Arts Centerand to create ceramic bowls to raise money for North Alabama food pantries.
Decatur High School students participate annually in various city, state, and national competitions. In 2011−12 students placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the citywide PTA Reflections competition. A DHS senior was awarded a regional Gold Key in the prestigiou
Scholastic Art and Writing Award competition a regional Blue Ribbon in the district 5 VAA competition, and also earned one of three portfolio scholarships in the Alabama State Council on the Art
Visual Arts Achievement Programthat are annually adjudicated by college professionals from the Southeast according to AP College Board guidelines.
The Decatur High School art department actively promotes the success of its students through participation in state and nationally-recognized competitions and assists students in applications for portfolio and academic merit scholarships. During the 2011–12 school year, students received over $140,000 in visual art scholarships.
Band
The Decatur High School's Chorus and Concert Bands have consistently received superior ratings in both district and state festivals.
Decatur High has the longest string of District Festival Superior Ratings in Alabama, dating back to the festival's formation in 1947, never receiving anything less than a superior rating.
Decatur High also continues to lead in total number of Alabama Bandmasters State Festival Superior Ratings at 58, more than any other high school in state history.
The ''Decatur Red Raider Marching Band'' won the Tennessee Valley Invitational at
Muscle Shoals High School
Muscle Shoals High School (MSHS) is the sole public secondary education institution in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. MSHS has been awarded the Blue Ribbon Lighthouse Award for Excellence.
Academics
Based on the Alabama Reading and Math Test scores ...
in
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the populati ...
in 2006. Since then, the band has won its class twice at the
Vanderbilt Marching Invitational. During its undefeated 2010 season, the Red Raider Marching Band became the first ever band from the state of Alabama to win a class at the prestigious Contest of Champions in
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...
. The Contest of Champions is the oldest marching contest in America, with 49 straight years of competition. In 2013, the band once again won the Tennessee Valley Invitational.
Notable alumni
*
Paul T. Entrekin,
aviator
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
*
Alan Koch, Major League Baseball player
*
Tae Hayes
Ke'Montae Tayvon "Tae" Hayes (born August 19, 1997) is an American football cornerback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Appalachian State.
Professional career
Jacksonville Jag ...
, NFL player
*
Rolando McClain
Rolando Marquise McClain (born July 14, 1989) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Alabama, where he was recognized as a unanimous All-American and won the 2010 BCS National Championship. He was selected eight ...
,
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...
for the
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...
*
Jerraud Powers
Jerraud Powers (born July 19, 1987) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Auburn and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the third round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He also played for the Arizona Cardinals ...
,
cornerback
A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create tur ...
for the
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
*
Don Whitmire
Donald Boone Whitmire (July 1, 1922 – May 3, 1991) was an American football tackle who played college football from 1941 to 1944 at the University of Alabama and the United States Naval Academy (USNA). He is one of only four college football ...
, member of the
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...
*
Philip Rivers
Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was sele ...
, former NFL quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers
See also
*
Decatur City Schools
The Decatur City Schools is a school system located in the city of Decatur, Alabama, and is home to seven of Alabama's International Baccalaureate schools.
The school system is also the second largest employer in Decatur.
Basic Overview
Decatur ...
*
Decatur, Alabama
Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake ...
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Education in Morgan County, Alabama
Public high schools in Alabama
International Baccalaureate schools in Alabama
Educational institutions established in 1950
Schools in Morgan County, Alabama
1950 establishments in Alabama