The Knoxville Blue Bullet football team has been one of the most consistently successful high school football programs around our listening area for the past 10 years. Ryan Hebard has been the man in charge of the football program during that time period. Minus the covid-shortened season of 2020 and his first season a the helm in 2012, Hebard’s squads have made the postseason playoffs nine straight times. He’s averaged just under 7.5 wins in the last nine full seasons, with a grand total of 74 at Knoxville. The 2022 Blue Bullets made a run to the class 2A quarterfinals.
This year’s version of the Blue Bullets joined Monmouth-Roseville and Rockridge for a combined practice at Monmouth College on Monday morning. I caught up with Coach Hebard following the event and asked what he thought about his team’s performance and his thoughts going into a new season.
Knoxville will take part in the new LincolnLand Football-only Conference this fall. The Lincoln Trail and Prairieland Conference combined to make scheduling easier. They will play in the Large School Division with Macomb, Mercer County, Farmington, Brimfield/Elmwood, Illini West, West Hancock and the Lewistown/North Fulton co-op. The Blue Bullets open the year with an important match up with Brimfield/Elmwood on the road on August 25th.
