Players, colleagues remember Allison’s legacy

The loss has been felt well beyond Union County. After playing at Furman and earning his degree there, Allison returned to the Paladins as an assistant before coming home to Blairsville in 1996. He later spent time at Winder and East Forsyth and served as an assistant at Lumpkin County, making a lasting impact on his players and the Georgia coaching fraternity.

“Brian Allison was one of the men that molded me into who I am,” said Jefferson assistant and former Commerce head coach Mike Brown in a post on X Saturday morning. “He invested a little of his own soul into me … ‘What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but is woven into the lives of others’ – Pericles.”

Back home, Allison leaves behind his wife, Pam, son Pierson and daughter Riley.

“We have received so many messages from former players, coaches, teammates, etc., sharing their appreciation for him,” Pam Allison said in a text message. “It’s been heartwarming.”

Among the former players Allison impacted was Class of 1999 graduate Robby Brown. With Brown at quarterback, Allison led the Panthers to a 7-3 record in 1998 – Union County’s first winning season in 10 years. Brown went on to play at Georgia Tech before embarking on his own coaching career that eventually took him through the college and professional ranks, including a stint as quarterbacks coach for the Miami Dolphins.

Brown is now coaching high school football at Wilson Hall in Sumter, South Carolina, where he coaches the son of another former Allison player, 1998 Union County graduate Joel Gooch. As the team’s quarterback, Nolan Gooch is carrying on the Coach Allison connection under Brown at Wilson Hall.

“The last time I spoke with Coach, it was obvious he was not feeling well,” Brown said. “He quickly turned the conversation away from himself to football. For 15 minutes I asked questions, and he told me what to look for in our game that night.

“He never stopped coaching me, or the whole host of other boys he helped become men over the last 30 years. He knew when we needed to laugh or when we needed to focus. He knew how to win in football and in relationships. He was real, and larger than life. He will truly be missed.”

In 2001, Allison’s Panthers tied a then-school record with nine wins and advanced to the postseason for the first time in nearly two decades. Leading Union’s wing-T offense was quarterback Daniel Davenport, who helped guide the Panthers to an average of 29.9 points per game, the second-highest scoring average in program history at the time.

“Coach Allison’s impact reaches far beyond the football field,” Davenport said. “He was a family man. He built relationships with his players. They are now husbands, fathers and community leaders spread all over, carrying his positive impact and legacy.”

Also a key member of that 2001 squad was 2003 graduate Andrew Williams, who went on to play four seasons at the University of Georgia under coach Mark Richt.

“Coach Allison was the coach that every kid needed,” Williams said. “He loved you. It was sincere and unique. He held you accountable, but in the way a good dad does. You knew he cared and also knew he was your friend.”

Following that 2001 season, Allison spent six seasons at Winder before returning to Blairsville in 2008. In 2012, he surpassed his former high school coach, Terry Rogers, as Union County’s all-time winningest football coach. He guided the Panthers to nine-win seasons in 2014, 2015 and 2018 before recording the program’s first 10-win campaign in 2019 and securing its first-ever playoff win with his son, Pierson Allison, at quarterback.

After the 2020 season, Allison took over a brand-new program at East Forsyth, going 15-16 in three seasons and guiding the Broncos to their first-ever playoff appearance with a 7-4 record in 2023.

Allison announced his retirement from coaching following that 2023 season, but the coaching itch returned last spring when he joined coach Heath Webb’s staff at Lumpkin County as defensive coordinator.

For his career, Allison won 161 games in 28 years as a head coach, including 121 during 19 seasons in Blairsville. His UCHS teams made eight playoff appearances while holding the top four scoring seasons in program history. Union’s 74 points at Putnam County in 2019 set a single-game school scoring record on a night that saw Pierson Allison set two school records with six passing touchdowns and eight total scores.

Riley Allison was also a standout athlete at UCHS, helping the Panthers win region championships in basketball and volleyball in 2020.

Coach Allison ended his career with an 11-4 record against Fannin County, including a series-record 63 points against the Rebels in 2016. His six straight wins over Fannin from 2014-19 remain the longest winning streak in the series by either team. Additionally, he departed with a 14-0 mark against Towns County.

His impact on Union County football continues to this day, with several current assistant coaches that either coached with or played for Brian Allison. UCHS head coach Rob Stowe also discussed Allison’s legacy as a fellow coach and a friend and how their paths crossed 30 years ago during the early days of their careers.

“Coach Allison’s first home game at Union County in 1996 was my first game as an assistant coach, back when I was at Gilmer,” Stowe said. “He was well-respected in the coaching community as someone with good morals, good character and good football teams.

“I got to know him a lot better over the last year. We would talk at least every other week because we have a couple things of common, not only as football coaches, but we both battled cancer. It became a cool relationship, and I appreciate everything Coach Allison has done for me.”

The Allison Family will be welcoming friends for a public memorial service honoring Coach Allison on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. inside the Union County Schools Fine Arts Center, with funeral services set to begin at 2 p.m.