High School

Clinton football brings on new coach to lead 17-time state championship program

The new coach replaces John Higbee, who was dismissed in November

Kevin L. Smith

The Clinton Red Tornado Bowl in Clinton, Oklahoma.
The Clinton Red Tornado Bowl in Clinton, Oklahoma. / Tyler Lesperance

Clinton High School in Oklahoma has found its new head football coach.

The Weatherford Daily News reported on Tuesday that Trevor Powers, a Texhoma native, is set to lead the 17-time state champion Red Tornadoes. Powers replaces John Higbee, the state title-winning coach who was dismissed after eight seasons.

Aside from coaching the football team, Powers will be an assistant activities director at Clinton. 

Powers coached at Liberal High School in Kansas for the 2025 season. He led the Redskins to a 7-3 record, including an appearance in the second round of the KHSAA Class 5A playoffs.

According to KSCB News, Powers told the Liberal football team on Tuesday that he was leaving after one season. He will remain at Liberal High School for the semester and coach the Redskins’ powerlifting team.

Powers will return to Oklahoma after he coached high school football in the Sooner State from 2015 to 2024. The Texhoma native was at Sayre from 2015 to 2016 then Hooker from 2017 to 2024.

The Bulldogs compiled an 80-23 record during Powers’ time at Hooker, including a 16-7 playoff mark. Powers also led Hooker to back-to-back state championship game appearances in 2023 and 2024 and multiple district titles.

Powers will take over a Clinton program that went 4-7 in 2025, including a 51-6 loss to top-seeded Tuttle in the OSSAA Class 4A District I opener.

Clinton started 0-3 in 2025, which was followed by a four-game win streak then lost four in a row.

The team forfeited its regular-season finale victory over Douglass after the OSSAA Board of Directors unanimously voted in favor of it in connection to a violation. The forfeit was due to an ineligible freshman reserve kicker playing seven seconds in the game.

Due to OSSAA’s decision, Clinton went from a second to a fourth seed in the playoffs and switched to an opening road game. Before OSSAA’s ruling, Clinton had a first-round home playoff game.

Higbee compiled a record of 65-30 at Clinton. He led the Red Tornadoes to a 13-1 mark and an OSSAA title in 2021. Clinton also had a state runner-up finish in 2020.

The Red Tornadoes captured eight state titles between 2000 and 2021.

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Kevin L. Smith
KEVIN L. SMITH

Kevin L. Smith, a Rochester (NY) native and a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, has been covering high school sports for over a decade. He started out as a freelance sportswriter in 2013. Since then, he’s held sportswriter and editor positions for newspapers in Coudersport (PA), Sayre (PA) and Oswego (NY). Smith currently covers high school sports in the Greater Syracuse Area for syracuse.com | Post-Standard, a position he’s held since 2021. You can follow him on social media @KevLSmittie. Story ideas can be sent to KLSFreelancing@outlook.com.

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