Anderson County High inducts five into Hall of Fame

November 27, 2024

Peggy Crabtree Stooksbury



High school athletics runs deep in Peggy Crabtree Stooksbury’s family.

Her father officiated basketball and football for the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, her husband recently retired as a referee in the same sports, and her daughter played basketball and volleyball at Anderson County High School.

However, when Stooksbury graduated from Norris High School in 1965, opportunities for girls in sports were limited. At the time, girls’ sports were intramural only.

Stooksbury served as president of her high school’s girls intramural association, which was led by fellow TSSAA Title IX trailblazer Rita Hackler.

When Stooksbury became athletic director at Anderson County High School, she broke barriers as the first woman to hold the role in Anderson County.

While fulfilling her duties, she also taught two physical education classes daily. Stooksbury oversaw 12 varsity, eight junior varsity, and three ninth-grade athletic programs. Her leadership extended to directing numerous TSSAA district, regional, and sectional tournaments, as well as football playoff games. She also founded the girls soccer program.

After 37 years with the Anderson County school system, Stooksbury retired in 2009. Her career was marked by service on various committees and as a department head.

She was nominated for Anderson County Teacher of the Year and led in-service training for physical-education teachers throughout the county. Some of her classes were recorded by the University of Tennessee to help train future educators.

“To young women today, I would say: ‘Go for it and believe in yourself,’” Stooksbury said.

“You will be the example for the next generation of women, so try to live up to it.”

Larry Kerr



Larry Kerr started his coaching career in Lake City as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator.

He became the head coach in 1977, and stayed until 1980, leading the Lakers to the playoffs and an undefeated regular season.

In 1992, he came back to Anderson County as the head coach, after leading Halls High School to a state championship in 1986. 

He rebuilt the Mavericks’ football program and led them to the TSSAA playoffs in 1995-97, 2000-03, and 2007-08 before retiring.

He carries multiple coaching honors, including being named district and region Coach of the Year multiple times, Knox Journal Coach of the Year, Greater Knoxville Hall of Fame in 2021, and head coach for the Tennessee Kentucky All Star game. 

He started the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Lake City and Halls high schools, and promoted the chapter at Anderson County. 

He is known as a program builder, and has upgraded facilities everywhere he has been. 

Kerr retired from Anderson County High School in 2008, with many region championships. 

His coaching tree extends to more than 20 high schools in the East Tennessee region, and he is known for his tough, hard-nosed teams, including the 1996 Anderson County team that ended the nation’s longest winning streak at Cleveland (54 games). 

Kerr ended his career with more than 270 wins. 

He and his wife, Janie, have been staples in the Maverick community for more than 50 years. Their son Josh was an All-State football player at Anderson County and graduated in 1997.







Al Rodd



Al Rodd graduated from Bluffton College in Ohio in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in art education.

He earned a master’s degree in art education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1994.

Rodd and his wife, Becky, have been married for 48 years and reside in Clinton. They have two children: Jesse, who lives in Clinton, and Tiffany, who lives in Cleveland, Tennessee, with her husband, Gabe. Together, Tiffany and Gabe have six children.

Rodd began his teaching career at Clinton Junior High in 1979 and moved to Anderson County High School in 1987.

While he initially coached football and basketball, his dream was to replace the school’s gravel track with a modern track facility around the football field. After much prayer and the support of others, that dream became a reality in 1992.

From that point on, Rodd dedicated himself exclusively to coaching track, a role he held until 2019.

He was drawn to track and field for its variety of events and the challenge of building a cohesive team from diverse talents. He approached coaching as an adventure, focusing on teaching and developing athletes to reach their potential.

Rodd credits numerous administrators, parents, and volunteers for their contributions to the development of the Anderson County High School track program.

He is grateful for their support and for the many outstanding athletes he was privileged to coach over the years.

Their accomplishments, he says, were a testament to the program’s success.





Dail Cantrell



Dail Cantrell is a lifetime resident of north Anderson County and was in the first graduating class at Anderson County High School.

Dail has two children, Ben and Erin, who both competed at Anderson County High School.

He began coaching volleyball at Anderson County in 1983, and is currently the longest-tenured volleyball coach in the state, and the longest-tenured coach of any sport in the Anderson County school system.

The 1999 Lady Maverick volleyball team was the first team in the Anderson County system to win a state championship.

The Lady Mavericks have been to more than 25 state tournaments ,including three of the last four; have been in six state finals; have produced more than 70 All-State players, and have produced 50 collegiate players.

Cantrell also began the track program at Anderson County High School and helped coach multiple athletes to state championships.

Besides volleyball and track, Cantrell has also served as the boys’ basketball coach at Anderson County High School.

Over a 40-year coaching career, Cantrell has also coached basketball at high schools throughout East Tennessee, but Anderson County has always been his home.  He has mentored dozens of coaches during his long coaching tenure, and has received several other coaching honors and distinctions.

He was recognized as a Prep Extra Coach of the Year, and was also named to the initial board of directors for the Tennessee High School Volleyball Coaching Association.

During Cantrell’s coaching tenure, he has had a winning percentage of almost 90%.





Gary Houck



Gary Houck is a lifetime resident of Anderson County. 

He attended Lake City High School, where he was a standout basketball and baseball player. 

He went on to play baseball at Lincoln Memorial University. 

He has been teacher, coach and administrator for more than 40 years, and served as the head coach of the Lady Mavs softball program for more than 20 years, where he enjoyed several district championships. 

He  was instrumental in advocating for a new school for students who needed a different environment in which to learn, and needed smaller class sizes.”

As a result of his leadership and persistence, the Clinch River Community School was built to accommodate students with different learning styles.

Outside of school hours, Houck coached has girls softball.

He started the program at Lake City High School in 1981, and was assistant, then head coach, at Anderson County High School for many years.

He continues to be a volunteer coach for the Lady Mavs.

In recognition of the positive impact he has had on female athletes, the softball field was named in his honor in 2016.

Houck, who retired in 2013, received numerous awards during his career, including Teacher of the Year and Principal of the Year.

He and his wife Lori, who is also a 1976 graduate, live in Rocky Top.

Their daughters Shonda and Misty were players for the program, as well, and earned all-district honors.