Legendary high school coach Jerry Arledge died this past weekend at the age of 83. Arledge served as West Monroe’s defensive coordinator from 1992 to 2012 and then succeeded the legendary Don Shows as head coach from 2013 to 2022. Arledge was the DC for the Rebels’ eight state championships, and KNOE-TV Sports Director Aaron Dietrich says his defenses were elite.
“Over the 30 years that he was the defensive coordinator, literally, the Rebels only gave up 13.6 points per game. And that is an amazing average over that length of the period of time,” Dietrich said.
As West Monroe’s head coach, Arledge went 103-22 with two 5A state championship game appearances. Dietrich says Arledge took great pride in coaching.
“He was a very humble guy, and he literally just loved football. But what he loved more than football was the kids. And you can see it, even in his later years, just how much he enjoyed being out there at practice every single day,” Dietrich said.
Dietrich says Arledge and Shows changed the trajectory of West Monroe’s football program.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever see a one-two punch like Don Shows and Jerry Arledge in high school football under state of Louisiana ever again,” Dietrich noted.
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