Gunner Pike

Gunner Pike has taken Whitecaps football to the playoffs two seasons running, which few saw coming, and he calls his own plays. A Middletown native, he played quarterback at Stockbridge State, stayed on as a graduate assistant, and worked through offensive coordinator jobs in three states before Rockbeach brought him back to the Shore. His offenses are known for tempo and for throwing downfield; his program is known for something rarer, players who stay. He says the modern game is less about what a roster costs than how much of it a coach can keep together, and his locker room reflects it. He knows everyone who works in the building, from equipment managers to the ticket office, and once asked to take the sales staff to lunch because he wanted to meet them. He lives in Osprey with his wife, Erin, their two children and a Labrador named Blitz, and runs the beach most mornings before sunrise.