17 Oct 2012 The 'silent leader' – Magnet Cove's Hunter Linam
by Mark Oliver
Two years ago in the 2A quarterfinals, Hunter Linam and his Magnet Cove Panthers trailed Spring Hill, 21-0, at halftime.
“I wasn’t doing very well in the first half,” Linam said. “I threw many incomplete passes and made a few mistakes. In the second half, I started completing my passes and the team started playing a lot better and we came back to win it in overtime, 28-21. It was an amazing feeling.”
Today, the senior quarterback reflects back to that game whenever he and the Panthers get into a tough situation as a reminder that nothing is impossible.
“Hunter plays with a controlled intensity that doesn’t allow him to lose his cool in a ballgame,” Panthers Coach Ronnie Efird said. “That controlled intensity is contagious to his teammates. He is the silent leader — when he speaks, the players and coaches listen.”
Linam was nominated by Efird for the 2012 501 Football Team – 20 players representing all 11 counties in the 501. The team boasts the best the 501 has to offer both on and off the field.
While many athletes may vie for all-state or all-conference honors during their senior season, Linam has a different goal in mind for his final year with the Panthers.
“Since I’ve started for two years and we’ve had two good runs, I’m trying to get 35 wins in my high school career,” Linam said.
Currently at 28 career wins, Linam is just seven shy of his goal, which would give the Panthers the opportunity to play for the 2A state championship.
“First, we’re talking about the conference championship,” Linam said. “After that we’ll focus on the playoffs and then the state championship.”
“Hunter is a leader in the huddle and leads by example,” Efird said. “When a play needs to be made, he is the person who wants to make it.”
Aside from football, Linam is also involved with baseball, basketball and track for the Panthers and contributes his time to the youth group at Butterfield Missionary Baptist Church in Malvern.
“When I’m not on a field or a court, I’m trying to get as much help as I can to get better at sports,” Linam said. “When I’m not playing sports, I’m studying, hanging out with friends going hunting and fishing. I love the outdoors. You get to see a lot of great things here. There’s so much to do.”
“Hunter is just an all-around good kid,” Efird said. “He’s pleasant to be around and to talk to, and he is very mature for his age.”
In a game that could decide the 5-2A conference championship, Magnet Cove rides a six-game winning streak into tomorrow night’s matchup against the unbeaten Bigelow Panthers.
“I’m ready to play Bigelow,” Linam said. “They beat us for the conference championship two years ago, and we took it back last year. It’s turning in to a bit of a rivalry between us. We want to beat them this year and win the conference championship.”
