Tony Sigmon just stamped his name among the all-time Whitehall greats. Truth be told, he probably earned that status years ago — but now it’s official. With Friday’s win over Montague in the Battle for the Bell, Sigmon became the winningest football coach in Whitehall history.
The Vikings now sit at 3-1 after grinding through one of the tougher early-season slates you could draw. They opened with a setback against perennial powerhouse Unity Christian, but bounced back in a hurry — first dispatching Orchard View, then toppling last year’s Division 3 state champion Zeeland West. The rivalry win over Montague was the exclamation point, their sixth straight in the series. Read more about that win here.
“It’s always nice to win a rivalry game. We all know it’s important to the White Lake community…This particular game has had winning streaks for both schools. Montague has owned the Bell for multiple years in the past. We have been fortunate to win the Bell for five years. From my understanding the series is now tied.”
That victory was bigger than just bragging rights though. It was the one that pushed Sigmon past the top of Whitehall’s coaching mountain.
“The term ‘winningest coach’ sounds great, but it really is a program award…so many people who are involved with the high school, athletics department, and football program (families, players, and coaches) deserve the recognition.”
Back in 2022, Sigmon was recognized as the Lions Football Coach of the Week, sitting at 55-37 at the time. Fast forward just a few seasons, and he’s turned that into an 86-44 mark. Along the way, he’s guided the Vikings to 11 playoff appearances, multiple conference championships, and has kept Whitehall right in the thick of the title contender conversation every single year.
This year’s group looks like another squad capable of making noise.
We have a really good senior group who are constantly developing as leaders from this past summer and have continued developing into the fall.
When asked whats next for the Vikings and for himself, Tony said
“For me, I’m going to continue on trusting the process and focus on the daily tasks of running our football program and being detail-oriented…Time is a funny thing. One day turns into one week… one month… one year… and before you know it, you look back and realize 13 years have passed.”
It’s that perspective — being present and detail-driven — that’s shaped his tenure at Whitehall.
“My first year I put so much emphasis on winning a game — needless to say, we didn’t do much winning…Since then we have shifted our energy on a daily goal. We have found far more success. I know that sounds like a lot of ‘coach talk,’ but it’s fundamentally true, so I guess that’s why it becomes a cliché.”
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