El Dorado will kick off the football season Friday with a familiar opponent and an even more familiar head coach. Camden Fairview hired former Wildcat assistant Nick Vaughn to run its football program.
Vaughn coached at El Dorado for 12 years under Scott Reed. He was defensive coordinator at Little Rock Parkview for three years before taking over the Cardinals’ program.
“Just real excited to be in our comfort zone, our wheelhouse. This is where the grass roots are for us. My wife and I are both from South Arkansas, from Pine Bluff,” Vaughn said.
“We’ve obviously spent 12 years in El Dorado. It became home for us. It’s where our child was born. She still has a lot of friends in El Dorado. We have a lot of close friends and good relationships there. Matter of fact, we came down for the scrimmage to watch. I knew I was going to have to get there early because getting through saying hi and hugging necks, it was going to be a process. We’re just real thrilled for the opportunity to be here in Camden. It is like coming home.”
Fairview lost its season opener 41-21 to Arkadelphia last week.
Vaughn knows first-hand the intensity of Fairview’s rivalry with El Dorado. It gets hyped up more this season with the introduction of the 7South Showdown Trophy, created by Yung Life Studios, which will go to the winning team.
“Our kids will be ready to play. They’re excited about this opportunity to compete, with the recognition, obviously, it’s a trophy game, now,” said Vaughn.
“For me, it’s another great opportunity to compete with our kids, seeing them continue to grow and develop and bring recognition to both school districts, both communities and, to be honest, South Arkansas. We just don’t get enough attention down here. We get forgotten about quite a bit.
“At the end of the day, it’s about kids. It’s not about me. It’s not about our coaches, their coaches or me coming back to El Dorado. That should never be the storyline. The storyline should be about our kids and our players.
“As far as being on the other side, it’s a change of jerseys. It’s a change of who we’re rooting for, who we’re coaching. From that aspect, I’m going to be excited about it because it is El Dorado. I know it’s a rivalry game for Camden. I’ve been on the other side of that. At the end of the day, it’s still about our kids and their chance to compete.”
Kickoff Friday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.