Athlete of the Week - Eli Sparkman

Senior football player Eli Sparkman has dedicated years to football. Starting his football career when he was four years old, he has now reached his final season at White County High School.

Sparkman plays tight end and middle linebacker, playing a major role for the team offensively and defensively. Sparkman fell in love with the sport because of all the friendships he has made and all the different experiences he's got to have through the sport. After high school, Sparkman hopes to continue his career in football at the collegiate level.

Being able to be a part of a team that’s made school history has been very meaningful for Sparkman, with his favorite part of this season being their game against Stone Memorial. Speaking on it, Sparkman said, “My favorite part was when the buzzer went off after we beat Stone. It showed we could go undefeated and beat all the teams that were able to beat us last year.” Going undefeated was also what Sparkman sees as his and the team's biggest accomplishment in the 2026-2027 football season. 

This team has meant a lot to Sparkman, who said, “We’ve played our whole lives together, and it’s nice to see it all come together our last year as a team.” he continued to say, “We went undefeated our eighth-grade year and did it again our final year together.”

Sparkman followed this by speaking on how he feels about the team's chemistry, where he began by describing it with one word: integrity. He continued by saying, “We’re all like, united, and everything we say, we mean it. It’s just like a brotherhood, and we can all trust each other to do our jobs.” Sparkman has the goal of making it through the playoffs and just taking it one game at a time for the rest of the season. 

Throughout his final season of football, Sparkman has handled the pressure very well. He spoke on the season, saying, “I went through the season aiming to make it smaller. Make the season smaller and to just play one play at a time.”

After the last 14 years with this sport, Sparkman aims to carry the friendships and relationships he has made with him. Sparkman believes football has also taught him that putting in time and hard work can get you through everything, allowing you to achieve things if you really want to do it.