By WESLEY HALLMAN / Sports Editor

Vincent High School has named Anthony (Zeb) Ellison as its new head football coach following the resignation of former Yellow Jackets’ coach Dwight Spradley.

Spradley plans to continue serving as the school’s head baseball coach next season.

Ellison, a Shelby County High School graduate, comes to Vincent after serving as the defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at Pike County High School in Brundidge.

Vincent Principal Gary Minnick said he is pleased to have Ellison leading the program.

“We’re just excited about the potential and building on what Coach Spradley did here,” Minnick said. “We’re excited that (Ellison) is coming back home. We’re glad to have him.”

Ellison, who temporarily served as an interim head coach at Pike County in 2010, has also coached at Alma Bryant High School in Irvington, which is near Mobile, and Citronelle High School. Ellison played collegiate football at the University of West Alabama following a decorated career as a linebacker at Shelby County. Ellison, who graduated from Shelby County in 2000, began his collegiate career at Bethel University in McKenzie, Tenn.

Ellison helped Pike County finish with an unblemished 9-0 mark in the regular season in 2009. Pike County dropped its first game of the 2009 season in the first round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A playoffs.

Spradley stepped down after leading the Yellow Jackets to a 38-56 mark in 10 seasons at the helm. Vincent’s best season under Spradley came in 2009 when he led the Yellow Jackets to a 7-4 mark and an appearance in the AHSAA Class 2A playoffs.

Spradley led Vincent to a 5-6 record and an appearance in the AHSAA Class 2A playoffs in 2010. The Yellow Jackets were 0-4 in AHSAA Class 2A playoff games under Spradley.