Prep Football 2013 by Consolidated Publishing Co.

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Prep Football

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Alabama School for the Deaf • B.B. Comer • Childersburg Coosa Valley Academy • Fayetteville • Lincoln • Munford • Pell City Ragland • Sylacauga • Talladega • TC Central • Winterboro • Victory Christian 2.00

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Contents ASD........................6

Lincoln..................34

Talladega..............62

B.B. Comer............10

Munford................38

TC Central............70

Childersburg.........16

Pell City................42

Winterboro............76

Coosa Valley.........22

Ragland.................50

Victory Christian..81

Fayetteville...........28

Sylacauga.............56

STAFF Publisher/Editor - Ed Fowler Sports Editor - LaVonteYoung Advertising Director - Pam Adamson Distribution - Kandi Macy Photography Bob Crisp, Brian Schoenhals & Courtesy of Bill Miller Photographers Art Direction - Jennifer Mashburn Graphic Design - Fay Denton, Jennifer Mashburn, Geraldine Osburn Writers

Writers -

EMILY ADAMS Gary Hanner, Erich Hilkert, DAVID ATCHISON Lavonte Young Kenny Farmer ELSIE HODNETT AZIZA JACKSON MARK LEDBETTER CHRIS NORWOODof A product LAURA NATION-ATCHISON

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Talladega - P.O. Box 977, 35161-0977 Phone (256) 362-1000

Sylacauga - 22 N. Broadway, 35150 Phone (256) 249-4311 Pell City/Towne Park 1911 Martin St. S., Suite 7, 35128 Phone (205) 884-3400

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Prep Football 2013_____5

Alabama School for the Deaf

Silent Warriors

NDIAA

Warriors look to improve off last season

By ERICH HILKERT The Alabama School for the Deaf Silent Warriors went through growing pains last season, finishing with a 1-8 record. “Last year was a difficult year,” head coach Paul Kulick said. “We were rebuilding with a very young team and had a lot of struggles, but through the hardships we learned a lot. We grew and are now moving forward. We don’t have a lot in terms of the number of players, but we are looking at about 18-20 players. We’re of course a small 1A school and our players often play both offense and defense as many schools do in our division. While this could be a disadvantage, our student-athletes embrace the challenge and want to be on the field from the beginning of the game to the end.” Kulick thinks a lot of the team’s problems last season stemmed from injuries to an already-thin roster. “We had a lot of injuries and that reduced the number of our players,” Kulick said. “We had to move them 6_____Prep Football 2013

around to different positions and so we struggled with that last year. I know we’re a very young team. Before we just used ninth through 12th graders, but now we’ve expanded to seventh and eighth graders also. So, we’ve disbanded the junior varsity team and just have the one varsity team.” Kulick estimated the roster will be thin again this season, but has seen more commitment from his players. “We still only have 20-25 players and they’re still a very young team, but I think they’re going to keep improving,” Kulick said. “Last spring, we had the weightlifting program and they did a great job. A lot of kids came after school and were working out. I was very impressed with their hard work. I’m sure that they’re going to do better. I expect this year we’ll be better than last year.” Kulick wants to see each player strive to improve so the overall team can improve. “The goals for our ASD Silent Warrior football program include an emphasis on team and individual

improvement,” Kulick said. “The Silent Warriors couldn’t get much going offensively last year, scoring just 10 points a game after a three-year stretch of putting up good offensive numbers. The Silent Warriors have plenty of experience returning including nine starters on offense and eight starters on defense. ASD will have just one senior returning, so the Silent Warriors will be young but will have talent.” The schedule for the team in the upcoming season should prove to be challenging. “We’re going to play eight different schools, four hearing schools and four deaf schools,” Kulick said. “The hearing schools are Fayetteville, Victory Christian, Jacksonville Christian Academy, and Tharptown. That will be tough. The four deaf schools we play are: Florida, Indiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. It’s almost like the SEC. We play against different states. It is a tough schedule. That’s why we reduced the number of games we’re playing to just eight: so we can keep healthy and we have some open

Prep Football 2013_____7

Alabama School for the Deaf

dates so the players have more time to gear up for the next game.” State schools for the deaf compete against each other to see who will emerge as the national champion, since they don’t have a formal championship like other schools. “We don’t really have playoffs, so we’d like to win a national championship,” Kulick said. “The hearing schools have a state championship, but deaf schools don’t have that. When we play with other deaf schools, we see who is the best deaf school in the nation so that makes us feel good. That’s a really nice aspect and that really motivates the boys to play harder.” The Silent Warriors open the season at home against Tennessee School for the Deaf on Sept. 7.

Roster Name Grade Lonzo Brownlee Jacob Darda Joshua Edwards Xavier Fayson Matthew Garrett Ketrez Holman Matthew Lowry Cody Maddox Nicholas Moses Eloy Ramairz-Garcia Tyler Robinson Anthony Scott Uriah Stallworth Eddie Thomas

JR 8th SO SR 8th 8th SR JR 8th FR SO SO SO SO

Key Facts

Overview Team: Alabama School for the Deaf Head Coach: Paul Kulick (tenth season) KEY LOSSES: Jabar Brice, Kim Juntilla, William Weaver KEY RETURNERS: Rydrea Walker, Eddie Thomas, Anthony Scott, Lonzo Brownlee Base Offense: Double Wing Base Defense: 5-2 2012 IN REVIEW Record: 1-8 Points Scored: 120 Points Allowed: 463

Schedule 8_____Prep Football 2013

Spotlight

Eddie Thomas and Lonzo BrowNLEE By ERICH HILKERT Eddie Thomas and Lonzo Brownlee were thrust into starring roles for the ASD Silent Warriors last season. After a solid year of experience, they find themselves as leaders of the team before the first snap of practice. “Both of these players have played both defense and offense,” head coach Paul Kulick said. “They play a hard game. Eddie was in ninth grade last year, and it was really hard on him. He was very frustrated, but he’s really gained in strength. I think he’s ready to show them this year what he’s made of from his experience, what he learned last year. Lonzo started in 10th grade. We had 30 players back then, but now we have gotten smaller, our numbers have reduced—the whole enrollment at the school—so it’s also affected our football team. So, when he moved to varsity it was tough on him, but he’s really picked it up fast. I appreciate his progression

Aug.30 at Victory Christian Sept.7 vs. Tennessee School for the Deaf Sept.14 vs. Indiana School for the Deaf Sept.27 vs. Fayetteville

and improvement.” Thomas is an all-around weapon on offense. “I am so excited about versatile sophomore Eddie Thomas,” Kulick said. “He can play anywhere from wing-back to receiver to quarterback. He can run it, he can catch it, and he can throw it. He will also benefit from the fact that most of the offensive lineman will return from last year.” “Lonzo Brownlee here and Anthony Scott are both the best defensive players on the team,” Kulick said. “Both of them are linebackers. Brownlee is looking forward to taking on more of a leadership role this season. “We’ve got a young team, but we’ve just got to keep them motivated,” Brownlee said. “We’re building it back up. We need to practice hard so we can improve in our play and stay in shape. Florida [School for the Deaf] won last year, but this year I think that we’re going to win. I hope we do better.”

Oct.12 vs. Mississippi School for the Deaf Oct.19 vs. Florida School for the Deaf Oct.25 at Jacksonville Christian Academy Nov.1 at Tharptown

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B.B. Comer

Tigers

CLASS 3A REGION 4

B.B. Comer not content after last season’s success

By ERICH HILKERT When B.B. Comer head coach Anthony Jacks took over for the team in 2010, he figured in order to change the team’s losing ways he had to first change the culture. Such a change takes time. The team struggled in their first two years under Jacks, but was able to turn things around last season and make the playoffs for the first time since 2001. The team was ousted from the first round of the playoffs by eventual class 3A runner-up Fayette County, giving Comer a final record of 5-6. “We’ve had some hard times,” Jacks said. “There’s no secret about that, but this is going into my fourth year here; I feel like we’ve got the culture of the school turned a little bit. I feel like the kids want to do bigger things. They’re not satisfied with just ‘Okay, we finally made the playoffs. Now we can exhale, we can relax.’ They want to do more, so they’re putting more work in. Now, we’re getting more people out to help. So, I think obviously winning is contagious. Losing is contagious, but winning is contagious. That’s what we want: we want to win obviously. We want to get those people out and get 10_____Prep Football 2013

them doing the right things and grow as a unit, as a team. I think that’s really happened here.” Jacks and his staff have stressed to the seniors the importance of leaving a legacy at the school to finish their high school careers. “You want to make sure the kids understand that what we did last year— that’s great but it doesn’t have any effect on what we do this year,” Jacks said. “Every year—it’s a unique team. What’s our legacy going to be this year?” The senior players this season have big shoes to fill in order to make their own lasting legacy. “Last year’s seniors—they left, they had a great legacy,” Jacks said. “They were able to lead our team and do something that hadn’t been done since 2001, which is make the playoffs. But what’s the legacy of this team? It’s going to be different. It’s made up of a lot of the same parts, but then again we’ve got a lot of different parts. What you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it. So, what is your legacy going to be? That’s what our focus has been. We feel good; we’re moving in the right direction. We made the playoffs last year. Obviously, that’s a goal but that’s not the final goal that we want to

achieve. So, we’ve worked real hard to try to improve on that this year.” Comer lost leading rusher, fullback Caleb Duffee, but Jacks pointed out Duffee was one of only three total seniors. While the three seniors will be missed, it is a small group and excitement brought about by the team’s playoff run has pushed higher turnout numbers for this year’s team. Factor that in with an experienced offensive line and Jacks thinks the team might be able to improve upon last year’s accomplishments. “I think our offensive line has a chance to be a strong suit for us,” Jacks said. “We’ve got all those kids back. Any time you can return your offensive line, you’re expecting big things from them. We only had three seniors, so we’ve got just about everybody back. We’re hoping we can throw a few of the new kids—the playoff run, the .500 season—we’re hoping that that’s going to build some excitement and it has. We’ve got a lot more numbers out, so we’re hoping we can put a few more pieces in there and catapult us to having a lot better year.” While Jacks want to see the team have a better year, he also doesn’t want his team take anything for granted

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B.B. Comer

Thorsby—these other teams—that’s what they’re saying. Their goal is to get in the playoffs, so what are they saying? Well, they’re saying, ‘Look, Comer got the fourth spot last year, so we’ve got to beat Comer.’ Those other teams are trying to get us. We can’t just get all carried away thinking ‘We’ve got to

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do this to go out to win the region or do that to improve a spot.’ We’ve got to make sure we’re on our game every week because it’s not just going to happen.” The Tigers season begins on Thursday on Aug.29 against a familiar rival, the Childersburg Tigers. Comer

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because every team in their region will be fighting for a spot in the playoffs. “We want to make a move up—we’d like to be first, or second or third—but there’s also three other teams under us. They’re sitting here saying ‘What do we have to do to get in the playoffs?’ You talk about Tarrant, Montevallo,

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B.B. Comer

hasn’t beaten Childersburg since 2000. “I think everybody knows it’s been a while since we’ve beat Childersburg,” Jacks said. “We always open up with them on Thursday night, but what does this year’s team have to do with last year’s team and the year before? I don’t want our kids to get caught up in a streak or anything like that. They had nothing to do with that. Every year has got a life of its own.”

Spotlight

Roster No. Name

Grade

Dylan McClure SR

Elijah Mickey

Eli Lovett

Austin Nicholson JR Noah Peterson SR

Tyler Holmes

Tay McElrath

Chris Kane

Houston Ford

Houston Maddox SO

Devin Franklin

Gabe Williamson JR

Jordan Butler

Cory Harris

Jaylun Thomas SO

Mark Garcia

Jordan Ford

Taylor Owings

Alvin Burton

Lynn Harris

Jalen Hollinquest SR

T.J. Tyler

Zach Dobbs

Nathan Williams SR

Tyre McKinney SO

Del McMillian

Daniel Caldwell JR

Isaiah Pearson SO

Jasper English SR

Deon Gaddis

Tyler Williams

SO 8th

Key Facts Overview Team: B.B. Comer Head Coach: Anthony Jacks (fourth season) KEY LOSSES: Caleb Duffee, Trey Ragland KEY RETURNERS: Tyler Holmes, Jordan Butler, Cory Harris Base Offense: Wing T Base Defense: 50 Record: 5-6

2012 IN REVIEW Points Scored: 216 Points Allowed: 311

Schedule Aug.29 at Childersburg Sept. 6 vs. Montevallo Sept 13 at Tarrant Sept 20 vs. Central Coosa Sept 27 at Winterboro 14_____Prep Football 2013

Oct.4 at Leeds Oct.11 vs. Trinity Presbyterian Oct.17 vs. Midfield Oct.25 at Thorsby Nov.1 vs. Sylacauga

Tyler Holmes and Cory Harris By ERICH HILKERT B.B. Comer head coach Anthony Jacks thinks leadership played a crucial role in last season’s playoff run. This year, he’s confident the team already has leaders in place in the form of senior quarterback Tyler Holmes and senior offensive guard Cory Harris. “These two guys here [Holmes and Harris] are seniors, so they’ve been with me for a while,” Jacks said. “They’ve really bought into what we’re doing and I couldn’t be more proud of them. They’re just two seniors; we’ve got a few other seniors that have also really stepped up their games. I’m really pleased with our leadership.” While Holmes made progress last season, Jacks wants to see him continue to make strides forward this season. “Tyler did a real good job of reading the option for us last year, and he’s worked real hard on improving that part of his game also,” Jacks said. “Even though he did well, there’s still a lot of improvement that he could make.” Holmes attended 7-on-7 camps this summer to work on improving his skills. “I think Tyler’s done a really good job of studying,” Jacks said. “He’s a student of the game. He’s always asking questions. He wants to know

what happens if this happens or this happens. I’m really pleased with our progress. I think we’ve got a shot to really move the football on offense this year.” Harris was happy to make it to the playoffs last season but isn’t satisfied. “It helps to build on what we did last year,” Harris said. “It was great getting there, but we’d always like to go further. Getting to the playoffs has helped us with leadership, because with getting there, a lot of people want to come out and be a part of it. Getting to the playoffs has helped us a lot.” “We’ve got some younger kids that are more mature,” Jacks said. “We played a lot of eighth and ninth graders last year, so they’ve got a year under their belt. We’re excited about seeing them grow this summer and in the offseason and seeing them improve.” Comer struggled at times last year having so many young players on the field, but Jacks expects to have more ‘greybeards’ on his squad this season. “We were very young last year at times, and we just had so many young kids out there that it’s really hard to compete,” Jacks said. “An old coach told me one time, ‘Whiskers beat fuzz every time.’ So, we’re hoping to have a little more whiskers out there this time.”

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Childersburg

tigers

CLASS 4A REGION 3

Tigers are hoping to build on last years success

By LAVONTE YOUNG Childersburg head coach Adam Fossett has moved the Tigers in the right direction. Last season, they made the playoffs for the first time since 2002. “We hope to build on last year’s success,” Fossett said. “The good about last year is that we only graduated three seniors, so we have a lot of guys coming back. We have a lot of leadership coming back. The seniors have done a good job stepping up into the leadership role as well as the juniors steeping into a leadership role. Years two is easier than year one honestly as a head coach. Being able to have success in year one definitely helps the start of year two.” Returning to the playoffs again this season will be challenging with the Childersburg’s difficult schedule. “The region schedule is what it 16_____Prep Football 2013

is,” Fossett said. “I have told the guys since day one that they are on the schedule and that we are going to have to play them. There is really no reason to make an excuse about it, there is no reason to turn away or not prepare thinking that this team is suppose to be better than us. There are reasons that we play the games on the field, they are not played on paper. Any team can beat another team on any given day and that does both ways. We don’t want to overlook a team and we don’t want to take a team lightly. Coming into last season, Childersburg was a game on schedule that coaches would put a mark down as a definite win. By having the success that we had last year especially in region play the target on our back is a lot bigger and it is important as a coaching staff that we relay that message to the players. They understand that they weren’t

really taken seriously. We have to go to Elmore County, which is a team that we beat in the final seconds in the game. At the end of the game, I feel like they didn’t think we were a team that was better. We shocked and surprised them.” Fossett said despite the challenging schedule, he is optimistic because he sees the support of the surrounding community at home games. “Two of the big three in our area: Handley, Dadeville and Clay Central, two of them come to us. We have to go to Dadeville. I feel like that gives us an advantage with them having to come to Childersburg especially with the excitement in the air in the community. I think the community will be there and we will have a good crowd and that will help us out immensely. The community has jumped up and embraces the success.”

GO CHILDERSBURG

Key Facts Overview Team: Childersburg Head Coach: Adam Fossett (second year) KEY LOSSES: DJ Jones, Courtney Reynolds, Christian Garrett KEY RETURNERS: Zach Lightsey, Kendarius Calhoun, Elijah Richardson, Frank Wilkerson Base Offense: Multiple Base Defense: Multiple

TIGERS!!! Building For Supporting d n Our Future Our Team a

2012 IN REVIEW Record: 6-5 Points Scored: 260 Points Allowed: 286

Schedule Aug. 29 vs. B.B.Comer Sept.6 at Beulah Sept.13 vs. Handley Sept. 20 at Dadeville Sept.27 at Sylacauga

Oct. 4 vs. Clay Central Oct. 11 at Elmore County Oct. 17 vs. Dallas County Oct. 25 vs. Holtville Nov. 1 at Winterboro

The City of Childersburg 201 8th Avenue S.W., Childersburg 256-378-5521

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Childersburg

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Childersburg

Roster

Tigers enter season with high expectations

Zack Lightsey & Kendarius Calhoun By LAVONTE YOUNG The Childersburg Tigers enter the 2013 season with high expectations. Second-year quarterback Zack Lightsey believes the hard work the team has put in this off-season should help the Tigers build off last season’s successful season. “We only graduated three seniors last year, so most of our team is back,” Lightsey said. “This summer, we have been working really hard and we have been pretty successful in our 7-on-7s, so I think this year should go pretty well for us.” Lightsey attended several camps during the off-season, and he believes it has helped him develop into a better quarterback. “I have been to six or seven camps this summer, so I think my decision-making has improved a lot,” Lightsey said. “I think my touch on the football has improved a lot, so I can put the ball where it needs to be.” The Tigers were impressive in 7-on-7 competitions this summer. Childersburg finished in third place in a camp in

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Georgia, and in their last camp in late July the Tigers went 5-0. Senior Kendarius Calhoun believes the 7-on-7 passing camps helped the team stay positive and focused when they faced adversity, which wasn’t always the case last season. “I think we grew as a team in 7-on-7,” Calhoun said. “There were a couple of times that we were down and we came back. We got together, we fought and we picked each other up and pulled the victory.” Calhoun was one of the most dynamic playmakers in the county last season. The senior running back didn’t speak about his personal goals, but he wants to make sure the Tigers defeat Sylacauga. “I hold myself accountable for making sure that we beat Sylacauga this year,” Calhoun said. “That is one of the biggest expectations for our team. I have just grown a lot as a running back. I am a lot faster and stronger. I have been in the weight room all summer and I am looking forward to this season. This year is my last year and I am trying to make the best of it.”

No. Name 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 16 17 18 19 22 23 24 25 26 30 31 32 35

Grade

Justin Baker SR Zack Lightsey JR Hunter McCain JR Joseph Garrett JR Tim Tilley JR Nick Cohill JR James Morris SR Keenon Baker SR Tylan Coleman SO Devondre Garrett SO Tyler Jackson JR Jaylon Calhoun FR Jaylon Bolton JR Lafayette McGhee SR Frank Wilkerson JR Sychem Butler JR Kendarius Calhoun SR Peyton Logan SR Jeremiah Marbury JR Javonte Twymon JR Noah Smith JR David Cowlin SR Latimothy Headen JR Timothy Garrett SO

41 50 51 53 54 55 57 58 59 60 61 62 64 65 66 70 72 74 75 76 77 78 79 85

Kris Shepard JR Elijiah Slaughter FR Nick Looney SO Ben Morris SR Matt Hall JR Micah Hall SO Devonte Twymon JR Jamel Lawson SR Elijiah Richardson SR Tyler Shepard JR DK Mann FR Derrick Carter FR Jacob Davis JR Cory Dates FR Travis Tullock SO Jawan Wilson JR Michael Sanders SO Steven Dates JR Richard Keller SR Alex Morris SR Isaiah Richardson SR Ryan Pugh FR Jay Embree FR Ben Datcher JR

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Coosa Valley Academy

REBELS

AISA CLASS 2A

New faces may help Rebels in 2013

By ERICH HILKERT Coosa Valley Academy will have multiple new faces for their football team this coming season. “We’ve added some new skill players,” CVA head coach Arlton Hudson said. “Ryan Garrett comes over from Childersburg, and then we have Walker Holmes that came in. We got Zack Spratlin that came in, so we’ve got some weapons; Trey Dubose, then we’ve got Colton Pate coming in. We’ve got athletes that came in that are really going to help us. Niko Teofilo was our best athlete last year, and we’re looking for big things out of him.” Ultimately, Hudson believes the key for his team this season will be determined by four familiar faces, along with one new addition. “We lost some offensive linemen and we’ve got to replace them,” Hudson said. “We feel like we’ve got a couple of kids that we can do that with, but the offensive and defensive line is where you win and lose football games. Charles Wilson is coming back. He’s our best offensive and defensive 22_____Prep Football 2013

lineman. Charles is 6-3, 305, so he’s a load. We had to move our fullback to right guard from last year. Ryan Brooks—he did good in the spring game for us. Colton Cain is moving to center. We’ve got Anthony Eads that will be playing left guard. Then we’ve got Jessie Crumley at left tackle. We’ve got some size; Colton Cain will be the smallest one at center. The rest of the guys are over six feet tall and average about 270 across the front, so we’re really big there. We’re expecting a lot of big things out of them.” Crumley comes to CVA from the Talladega Tigers for his senior season, with Ryan Brooks being the other senior on the offensive line. Both have big shoes to fill to replace two key seniors from last year’s team who have since graduated. “Kyle [Glover] was a good football player and Andrew McClain was a good football player,” Hudson said. “Those are two big offensive linemen that we lost. Skill-wise, we really didn’t lose anyone. We’ve got everybody coming back. So, we feel good about that part of it, plus adding the additions

we’ve got. Offensive and defensive line will tell the story for us. I really feel like we have a chance to be better on both sides of the football on both offensive and defensive line because we are stronger.” Aside from the offensive and defensive line, Hudson is keeping a close eye on the team’s passing game, knowing improving in that area will be a key for the team in 2013. “We’ll try to open it up and throw the ball a little more this year,” he said. “We feel a little more comfortable throwing the ball. That’s really what I want to do: I want to spread it out and throw the football and then run to set up the pass instead of trying to pass to set up the run. I think last year we had more interceptions than we did completions. We’ve got to really improve there to have a chance.” At this point, Spratlin is the early frontrunner at the quarterback position because of his previous starting experience at Talladega, but Hudson said he hasn’t quite earned the starting job at this point. “There’s a competition,” Hudson

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what we’ve done this summer.” Hudson sees great potential for his team on paper and has seen positive strides in the weight room, but has yet to see the team in full workout mode. “I really feel good about where we are right now,” he said. “Until you get out there and you put the pads on, you can look great without the pads on and then you find out what people are made out of once they put those pads on. I know we’re stronger, I know we’re faster, and I know we’re bigger than we were last year. You put all those three things together, it should equal success.”

is in!

said. “It’s not his yet, but he’s looked real good in our offseason and we’re expecting big things out of him. He’s a notch above everyone else because he has three years of experience playing quarterback and no else had that experience. Now, Blake Gossett has worked really hard. He worked hard in the spring; we’re looking for him to add some things there. In the running game, you’ll probably see Blake back there more than you will Zack. In the passing game, Zack will be there. I’m just throwing it up and whoever goes and gets it, whoever earns it in our camp, that’s who’ll be our starting quarterback.” After finishing last season with a 4-7 record overall, Hudson is hopeful the team can improve this year. The team would appear to have more overall talent this season, at least on paper. Hudson believes even beyond talent, his team will be better for the simple fact that this will be his second year at the helm and his players have had a full year of a formal weight training program. “A year in, the biggest difference you’re going to have in that year is our weight program,” Hudson said. “Before I got here, they really did not have a strength-and-conditioning program. They didn’t have a lot of weights. We’ve really added to the weight room. We are okay there now. We’re not where we want to be, but we’re working to get there. We’re a much better football team right now than we were last year because of continuity—everybody knowing each other and

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Prep Football 2013_____25

Coosa Valley Academy

Spotlight

Roster

A familiar face again this year No. Name

By ERICH HILKERT While the Coosa Valley Rebels welcome a number of new faces to the team for the upcoming season, the team will be counting on the familiar face of Niko Teofilo. Teofilo did a little bit of everything last year: quarterback, running back, wide receiver, cornerback and safety. With all the new faces, Teofilo expects to settle in at running back and safety, but said if head coach Arlton Hudson needs him to fill in elsewhere, he won’t hesitate to do so. Hudson said having a multi-dimensional weapon like Teofilo is a luxury for the team and will be used more strategically this season with the added skill players on the roster. However, Hudson won’t hesitate to turn to Teofilo if needed. “Right now, we’re better off than we were last year because Niko had to do a little bit of everything and had to split time at quarterback, running back, receiver, and we’re going to use him again,” Hudson said. “He’s just a versatile athlete that we can use in a lot of positions. We’re going to try to get everything we can out of him, but I feel real comfortable at quarterback right now.” Teofilo is looking forward to being leaders on this year’s team. “I’m really excited to be a senior because all the little kids look up to you,” he said. “It’s all about setting a good example and going out there and leading them.” “Man, I feel like we’re 26_____Prep Football 2013

Grade

2 Zach Sharp

going to have a really good season just because we have a bunch of skilled players that can play a lot of positions,” Teofilo said. “We can move around a lot and switch it up every game. I’m really excited about it.” Teofilo believes fumbles were to blame for the team’s disappointing record last season. He feels the added skill players will help correct that problem in the upcoming season. “Last year, fumbles killed us,” Teofilo said. “We fumbled two or three times a game. We came in hot at the beginning and we got big heads. Then, we had a big losing streak and we had to re-gather. We ended up winning out. I feel like this year we’re going to be a whole lot better. We’ve got a new group of kids coming in.” With kicker Zachary Sharp routinely knocking down long-distance field goals and given Charles Wilson’s imposing 6-3, 305-pound stature, the Rebels may have a few more scouts in the stands this season.

60 Colton Cain

7 Grant Lovelady SR

66 Anthony Eads SO

8 Zach Brooks

68 J.T. Williams

71 Trent Mays

14 Niko Teofilo

Niko teofilo

18 Chris Malone JR

72 Charles Wilson JR

21 Bradley Carroll SR

77 T.J. Miller

24 Michael Cain SO

79 Cooper White SO

25 Tyler Warren SO

80 Logan Guy

26 Miles Sharp

Zack Spratlin

32 Ryan Brooks

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42 Taylor Pardue SO

Walker Holmes JR

44 Rowe Fredrick JR

Blake Gossett JR

45 Austin Davis

Jessie Crumley SR

57 Alex Trott

Key Facts

Overview Team: Coosa Valley Academy Head Coach: Arlton Hudson (second year) KEY LOSSES: Zachary Glover, Andrew McClain, Alex Nelson KEY RETURNERS: Niko Teofilo, Charles Wilson, Zachary Sharp Base Offense: Multiple Base Defense: Multiple 2011 IN REVIEW Record: 4-7 Points Scored: 235 Points Allowed: 343

Schedule

Aug.23 at Cornerstone Christian Aug 30 vs. Autauga Academy • Sept.6 vs. Fort Dale Academy Sept.13 at Crenshaw Christian Academy Sept.20 at Restoration Academy Sept.27 vs. East Memorial Christian Academy Oct.4 at Edgewood Academy Oct.11 vs. Evangel Christian Academy 10/18 at Springwood • 10/25 at Bessemer Academy 11/01 at Chambers Academy

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Prep Football 2013_____27

Fayetteville

Wolves

CLASS 1A REGION 4

Time for players to win on the field

By ERICH HILKERT The Fayetteville Wolves finished the 2012 football season once again with a 2-8 overall record. However, head coach John Limbaugh saw the team take steps forward in his first season at the helm. “We want teams to understand— once we’ve gone through this year— that that is a team to be reckoned with, a team that will beat you and can beat you. I believe we gained respect in that regard last year,” Limbaugh said. “Now it’s time to turn that into wins on the field. It’s time to win some ball games. We’ve had a lot of wins in our program: we’ve had a lot of wins as far as our guys becoming leaders, we’ve had wins in the weight room, we’ve had wins where young men are becoming a little wiser and they’re making better decisions. They’re doing the right thing. To me, that’s a win. When you teach a young player to become a young man, to me that’s a win. Now, we actually do want those wins on the field. I think our community deserves it. Of course, we have a community that’s worked real hard for our program and to support our program in many different ways.” 28_____Prep Football 2013

One tangible improvement on the football field was the defense. After allowing 346 points in 2011, the Wolves shaved that number down to 273 points allowed in 2012, equivalent to more than a touchdown per game. Limbaugh required several hours of community service from every one of his players this summer and thinks it taught them the value of virtuous actions. “Our school was just recognized as a green ribbon school, so we got out and our team worked all around the campus, cleaning up and stuff like that,” Limbaugh said. “Something I found out about our team is our kids are not afraid of hard work. They’re not afraid of it. They get in there and jump in. They did a real good job this summer.” Several players attended 7-on-7 camps this summer to further develop their skills. “We just got through with a 7-on-7 against Calera, did quite well against a 4A in the passing camp,” Limbaugh said. “We’re pretty pleased with ourselves right now, but we know we’ve got a long way to go.” In Limbaugh’s second year as head

coach, he has higher expectations. “Right now, we’re lifting 30,000 more pounds than we were this time last summer as a team,” Limbaugh said. “Depth in the 1A level, if you play a team that’s got one, maybe two superior athletes it can really hurt you. So, what we’re doing is we’re developing four or five players that can go both ways. We’ve been working on giving that player the stamina he needs to stay throughout the game. These guys know the last set is the best set, whether we’re in the weight room, out on the field doing conditioning, whatever. They’ll all say it together ‘Last set, best set,’ because they understand we’ve got to be that fourth quarter team. That’s something we’ve addressed, something we’ve taught those four or five guys that go the whole game. They’ve got to go. They’ve got to get after it just like it’s the first play of the game. We’ve been working in the weight room hard towards that. We’ve been working on the field towards that.” Limbaugh expects the offensive line to be a strength this season, especially senior leader Steve Brasher. Turnovers proved to be costly for the team last season, something not

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Fayetteville

lost on Limbaugh. The Wolves’ head coach tells his players that critical aspect of the game is a top priority. “Our kids have got to understand that ball security is a no.1 issue for us,” Limbaugh said. “We’re going to hang on to that football, control that clock, grind it out and our defense is going to stop people. You win ball games that way.”

key facts

Overview Team: Fayetteville Head Coach: John Limbaugh (second season) KEY LOSSES: Zach McGrady, Damian Harris KEY RETURNERS: Tyari Powell, Jonathan Harbin, Darious Cook Base Offense: Multiple Base Defense: Multiple 2012 IN REVIEW Record: 2-8 Points Scored: 149 Points Allowed: 273

Schedule Aug.29 vs. Spring Garden Sept. 6 at Winterboro Sept. 13 vs. Wadley Sept. 20 at Notasulga

Sept. 27 at ASD Oct.4 vs. Verbena Oct.11 vs. Loachapoka Oct.17 at TC Central

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Prep Football 2013_____31

Fayetteville

Spotlight

Tyari Powell-Welch and Jonathan Harbin By ERICH HILKERT While the Fayetteville Wolves lost their starting quarterback and star kicker Zach McGrady, head coach John Limbaugh feels confident about the two senior players who will each receive playing time as the team’s new quarterback: Jonathan Harbin and Tyari Powell-Welch. “Zach McGrady was a great quarterback and a great leader for us, but I lost one and gained two,” Limbaugh said. “We have a two-quarterback system. These guys are up to speed, they’re ready to go. Both of them have a great arm. Both of them can do things that are special for us. I look forward to both of them getting complimentary playing time. It’s no problem. We want to get our program to the level where we lose one, we replace one. Zach McGrady was special and it was special to have him as my first quarterback as a head coach, but I’m just as pleased with these guys as I was with him. I’m very excited about watching these two. I watched Tyari the other day in the 7-on-7 and saw him doing some really nice things. When Jonathan was in, he gave you some nice touchdown passes. 32_____Prep Football 2013

I watched Jonathan in the spring game and he ran for about 130 yards that game and threw for about the same. So, I’m really excited about these guys coming up and see no problem replacing Zach McGrady whatsoever.” Powell-Welch has already had to demonstrate leadership abilities since taking over the duties during the spring game. “When it comes to leadership, I like to use coach Limbaugh’s saying: ‘Lead by example,’” Powell-Welch said. “I think that helps us out a lot. The younger kids coming up, they see us doing good stuff and they look up to us and try to do the same stuff—help out as much as possible, help the community.” “Knowing that some of the players were getting tired during the fourth quarter, we try to push every player now to run as hard as they can,” Harbin said. “That way, if we do get to the playoffs, which we plan on it, we won’t be giving up in the fourth—we’ll be playing hard through the whole entire game.” Harbin said it’s nice to talk about winning a state championship, but his main focus is making it to the playoffs.

Roster No Name Grade 2 Elijah Guy SO 3 Jacob Skinner JR 4 Brandon Oden JR 7 Tyler Pennington SR 10 CJ Townsend JR 11 Zane McGrady SO 12 Jonathan Harbin SR 14 Tyari Powell-Welch SR 16 Hunter Smith FR 20 Houston Goins FR 21 Luke Gaddis SR 24 Darious Cook SO 32 Dustin Ingram SO 33 Peyton McKee FR 34 Matthew Hamilton JR 44 Dalton Karls SO 45 Austin Brasher JR 51 Steve Brasher SR

54 Aaron Duke SO 55 Blake Morris FR 56 Dakota Graben SR 61 Cole Ford SO 62 Grayson Shaw JR 64 Luke Murphy FR 65 Blake Autrey SR 66 Adam Braswell JR 72 Justin Aymond JR 73 Cedrick Lyke JR 75 Cody Bailey SO 76 Seth Butts SR 78 Hunter Goins JR 82 Zach Wideman SO 83 Shane Blankenship SO 85 Walker Wesson SO 88 Mason Vick JR 90 Quintarious Hale SO

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Prep Football 2013_____33

Lincoln

Golden Bears

CLASS 4A REGION 5

Lincoln Golden Bears hungry to win

By LaVonte Young First-year head coach Brad Wallace wants the Lincoln Golden Bears football team to mirror his glory days when opposing offenses feared going up against their defensive unit. Wallace has even gone as far as changing the Golden Bears uniform to look like the ones when he was a senior in 1995. “The biggest improvement is that I want us to run to the football,” Wallace said. “From watching tape from last year that’s what I want to improve on. I want 11 bodies around the ball and I want people sticking at all times. It has been a while since I have been here-1995 was when I graduated and everybody used to fear us. We would come in and bring our helmets, we would wrap people up and put them on their backs all the time. That’s what I want to bring back to these guys. I want these guys to be physical.” Wallace was hired in February after Ryan Herring left to fill the head coaching vacancy at Oxford High School. Wallace, who spent several 34_____Prep Football 2013

years as defensive coordinator at powerhouse program Washington County in Georgia, hopes that Lincoln is the place he can call home for the next two decades. “I have told them that I am a Lincoln guy,” Wallace said. “I am here. This is my dream job. This is what you want to do, you want to come back home, and you want to take over the team. We want to win the state championship because we haven’t done that before at Lincoln. That is one of the big things that we want to produce at Lincoln before I am gone from there hopefully 17 years from now.” With continuous coaching changes over the past four seasons, Wallace said it took the players a while to buy into his system. “These guys have really stepped in and they understand what I want,” Wallace said. “It took them a couple of days. They thought I was as crazy as I could be. We picked it up day four of spring and they bought in to it. This summer we have worked on it and kept reping and reping. I tell you, I am

real proud of the way these guys have come on. It has taken a while, but I know when they leave they have to say this guy is crazy. I am going to keep pushing them until we do the right thing on the field at all times.” The community support for Wallace and the Golden Bears football has been exceptional. Last season, Lincoln recorded a 6-6 record and earned a trip to the second round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs. Wallace said he can tell how bad his seniors want to succeed this season. “These guys have already set the foundation,” Wallace said. “They have made it to the playoffs and they know what it is about in the first and second round. This is a guy looking in, I wasn’t here with these guys last year, but I see the hunger in these guys and how they want to get better. They want to do the right things. When something bad happens in practice, they pick it up. I have a senior leadership group I meet with every Monday and that’s all they talk about. They talk about winning ball games. We are going to take this

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what we talk about all the times. I know I am a defensive guy, but I was the biggest cheerleader for the offensive side of the ball when they were out there, because what I like to see is nasty football and that’s the offensive line getting after it. That is the way it is supposed to be done in the trenches. I really like this group; they got a little chip on their shoulders. They have a good time with it, believe me.”

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‘When I was here I was 185, I think the guy next to me was 165 and I think the biggest guy that we had on the line was my right guard. He was 270.’ We got trees compared to what we used to be when I was here. I said ‘You got a lot of talent. We could go out and you could dominate the offensive line, but we can’t have it up and down-having one or two of you doing it and the other ones letting off on it.’ I don’t want to let any secrets out, but we are a power run game, these guys know it and that’s

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one step at a time. We are not going to look ahead. We are going to take that first ball game and what ever we need to fix we will fix. When we make it to the playoffs, I would like for us to keep going and take that same mentality each step.” Lincoln has a pair of lineman that has Division I offers in Shed Thomas and Jantavious Johnson. Thomas was an All-State lineman for the Golden Bears last season and he has an offer from Jacksonville State. Johnson was a sophomore last season, but he impressed scouts during the JSU and Auburn camps this summer. The 6-foot-4, 310 pound lineman has offers from Auburn and Jacksonville State, while Alabama and Ole Miss have shown interest. Wallace said he needs both players to help the line perform at a high level every time they step on the field and he needs them to be nasty. “I talk to them all the time, especially when we finish working out each day,” Wallace said. “I have looked them in the eyes and I have told them,

Prep Football 2013_____35

Lincoln

Spotlight

Senior group ready to perform By LaVonte Young For the Lincoln seniors, they have seen coach after coach stay for a season and leave a few months afterwards. Seeing a new face each season has forced the players to come together as a team. “It goes with knowing whoever is going to be the coach you have to go out there and perform,” Lincoln quarterback Chance Byrd said. “You know that you have to go out there and do your job and trust that everybody else is going to do their job. When they slack off we have to get on them and keep them in check. Shed (Thomas) helps me do that a lot, so when I miss he is stepping up and when he misses I am picking up where he is leaving off. We have good senior leadership; we have a whole bunch of other seniors stepping up. It is going to be pretty good this year.” “We have been playing together since pee-wee and midgets,” Byrd said. “So we have that connection. With all the coaches coming in and out we have learned to lean on each other when things

36_____Prep Football 2013

Key Facts

Overview Team: Lincoln Head Coach: Brad Wallace (first season) KEY LOSSES: TJ Truss, Savion Green,Tredarian Gamble KEY RETURNERS: Chance Byrd, Shedrick Thomas, Jantavious Johnson, Jamario Howard Base Offense: Multiple Base Defense: 4-3 Record: 6-6

2012 IN REVIEW Points Scored: 362 Points Allowed: 368

Schedule

Chance Byrd & Shedrick Thomas are getting hard. We know no matter what we are going to be here together all the way to the end when we graduate. In all the groups you have some young cats and some old cats that would go their separate ways, but now we are trying to incorporate the younger ones with us to try to keep them from straying away. We have to be a father figure sometimes, so we have to take them in and make sure they are doing the right things so we leave a good foundation for them to keep building on.” First team All-State lineman Shedrick Thomas likes the way first year head coach and former Lincoln lineman Brad Wallace pushed them to get better everyday.

Aug.30 at Leeds Sept.6 at Munford Sept.13 vs. Anniston Sept 20 at Hokes Bluff at Lincoln Sept.27 vs. Etowah

Oct.4 vs. Cherokee County Oct.11 at Jacksonville Oct.20 vs. Alexandria Oct.27 vs. Cleburne County Nov.1 at Piedmont

Roster

Name No Runyae Bell Jalen Turner Devonte Peeler Danny Bradford Justin Knight Nate Johnson Jamario Howard Mason McClean JaMychol Baker Zay Caldwell Terez Ellis Isaiah Howard Michael Pressley Micah Gaston Chance Byrd Marquavius Wills Kenderius Truss Drew Wesson Timberland Dennis Tredarian Gamble Avery Burr Quin Carmichael Josh Phillips LJ Carmichael Wesley Jones Connor Stanford Austin Threat Andrew Threatt Thomas Hogeland Lee Hobbs Dontaevius Johnson Blake Greenwood Jordan Milam Blake Gable Andrew Roberts Roberts Watts

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 32 34 36 40 41 42 43

Riley Putman Weston Perry Marvin Pearson Nick Embry Tanner Johnson Elijah Graves Michael Taylor Zabian Smith Eddie Smith Keon Woods Xavian Pearson KJ Collins Cole Wallace Michael Harmon Aubree Young Jaunta’vius Johnson Luke Britton Clion Wells Maliciah Gooden Blake Phillips Andre Smith Jacob Bass Anthony Zamelli Drew Synder Shedrick Thomas Trey Holmes Austin Blanton Tae Knight Jachson Knowlen Austin Phillips Skyler Owens Landon Higginbotham Taylor Allen Lamar Fomby Bailey Pollard Kenneth Fomby

44 45 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 61 62 64 65 66 67 68 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 81 82 84 85 90 92 99

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Prep Football 2013_____37

Munford

Lions

CLASS 4A REGION 5

Munford Lions have high expectations

By LaVonte Young Last season, the Munford Lions went 8-4 and made a trip to the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs. The success that the Lions experienced last season has brought on high expectations for this coming season. Fourth-year head coach Will Wagnon hopes his football team will use the high expectations as a positive or it could have a negative effect on them. “It is exciting,” Wagnon said. “Expectations are what gets a lot of coaches fired I guess you would say. It is kind of exciting for us. In the past, we haven’t been expected to do a whole lot. You can look at it in two ways: it could be a thorn, it can hurt you or you can embrace it or say they are expecting us to be good for a reason because of what we have done in the past. So let’s build on what we have done in the past and build on their expectations and worry about ourselves. We don’t need to compare ourselves to anyone else and just worry 38_____Prep Football 2013

about ourselves and do the best we can do. At the end, that is all that we can do. You look at football teams and it is not always how good of a football team that you have, because I know we have a good football team. It is how good of a football team that everybody else has. That is the thing that we have to play against. We have good football players, but so does every body else.” In the Alabama Sports Writers Associations preseason poll the Lions are ranked 13th. This season, Wagnon changed up the way he sets his team’s goals. “I always set specific, to-the-line goals,” Wagnon said. “I always felt like to go where ever you wanted to go, you had to be specific on your goals. I’ve tried to get away from that this year. Our one goal as a team and we have written it down, posted it up: we want to play like a champion every play, every rep, every day. We have a list of how champions act and what champions do. We want to be champions. We have expectations; we have strength and conditioning expectations. We have

expectations at the point where we may have a chance to win the region. Every year we have a big rivalry with Lincoln and you guys know and we know that it is an important game. An expectation every year is to beat Lincoln. We want to be the best that we can be and see how far we can go.” Monteo Garrett played a major role in the Lions going 8-4 last season. The senior dual-threat quarterback made several big plays for Munford, which included game winning drives. In week three against Cleburne County, Garrett ran it in from a few yards out with two seconds left in the game. Going into this season, Wagnon expects Garrett to do more damage to opposing defenses with his arm rather than his legs. “Monteo rushed last year for 1,500 yards and threw for 1,800 yards and I don’t remember how many touchdowns,” Wagnon said. “Just looking at that, he was very valuable to our offense. It sounds like he was our offense, but one thing that I want him to understand and he is beginning to

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understand that he is not the only one out there. He has to depend on 10 other guys and he also has to trust 10 other guys. He has to have faith that they are going to do what they are supposed to do and he doesn’t have to put everything on his shoulders. I really hope this year we don’t have depend on him as much in the running game and I don’t think we will. We have two backs coming in this year. One of them started last year and one of them will be a new guy. I think they are special guys and I think they will be able to take the load off Monteo. I still expect Monteo to do the same special things that we saw last year and since he was a freshman.” “I am an offensive coach, but I understand what it takes to win a championship and that is a great defense,” Wagnon said. “This year, all of our secondary will be returning. We will return two to three linebackers and we will return two defensive linemen. Experience-wise it is looking bright. Scheme-wise this is basically our fourth year. We have altered some things in some spots to improve with the personnel that we have, but for the most part we got four guys on defense that will be four-year starters. Just like the comfort level on offense we should see some comfort level on defense. We have to be more consistent. We sat down and looked at some things last year that we need to improve on such as plays and some schematic things, so we sat down and written out plans on how to improve. Hopefully, that will work and hopefully, we can have an outstanding defense that takes pressure off everybody.” Wagnon believes if the Lions focus on themselves they will have a memorable 2013 season. “I tell the guys that I have a problem myself with comparing myself as a coach to other coaches,” Wagnon said. “We compare our teams to other teams. I have tried myself to get these guys to understand that we don’t have to compare our self to anybody else. We’ve got to be the best that we can be. If we do that, then we have enough talent to have an outstanding year. As long as we are as good as we can be, we will have an outstanding year.”

Prep Football 2013_____39

Munford

Spotlight Senior ‘quarterbacks’ ready to lead By LAVONTE YOUNG Last season, the Munford Lions had their most successful season since 2005 in thanks to their offensive and defensive quarterbacks. The Lions went 8-4 last season and made a trip to the second round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 4A playoffs. Safety/receiver Tavon Lawson has a lofty goal going into his senior season. “Every kid’s goal that plays football is to win a championship,” Lawson said. “That is what we have been working for since our freshman year when we got with Coach (Will) Wagnon. We know that he is going to put us in the best position to help the team.” Wagnon plans to use Lawson a lot more on offense this season than he has in the past. “Tavon is a guy that is a great athlete, so not only does he play great defensively, but we are going to try to get him the ball offensively,” Wagnon said. “When it is crunch time he has to be on the field, because he is one of our top leaders. He is not only a leader for this program; he is a leader for this school. He is a leader for this community. So when the going gets tough, he is going to be out there and in the middle of it.” “Monteo rushed last year for 1,500 yards and threw for 1,800 yards and I don’t remember how many touchdowns,” Wagnon said. “Just looking at that, he was very valuable to our offense. It sounds like he was our offense, but one thing that I want him to understand and he is beginning to understand that he is not the only one out there. He has to depend on 10 other guys and he also has to trust 10 other guys. He has to have faith that they are going to do what they are

40_____Prep Football 2013

TAVON LAWSON & MONTEO GARRETT supposed to do and he doesn’t have to put everything on his shoulders. I really hope this year we don’t have depend on him as much in the running game and I don’t think we will. We have two backs coming in this year. One of them started last year and one of them will be a new guy. I think they are special guys and I think they will be able to take the load off Monteo. I still expect Monteo to do the same special things that we saw last year and since he was a freshman.” Garrett said he is going to enjoy having playmakers surround him this season. “First off, in the game I love having big playmakers around me,” Garrett said. “I am not a real selfish guy. I just want to win. When it is down to the wire, I know that I can depend on them to make a big play.” “I am not trying to just develop myself, I am trying to develop the whole team,” Garrett said. “As a prime example, I get young players and take them outside, and I know what position Coach Wagnon is going to have them at after I leave so I can help him out. That is just part of my job as a quarterback. I take them outside, I throw with them and teach them plays, so it will be easier on Coach Wagnon when they know what to do when it is time for him to teach them.”

Roster No Name

1 Tavon Lawson 2 Terrious Williams 3 Charles Smith 4 Jay Scales 5 Donterious Mcgee 6 CJ Chapman 7 Hunter Prestridge 8 Cameron Turner 9 Nick Parker 10 Monteo Garrett 11 James Jenkins 12 Jonathon Best 14 Austin Stephens 15 Devin Strickland 16 Avery Harris 17 Landon Scott 18 Elliott Carothers 20 CJ Foster 20-JV Jacob Turner 21 Justin Banks 22 Que Taylor 23 QT Elston 24 La’Raie Ball 27 Chris Haynes 28 Greg Oden 30 Zach Foshee 32 Calvin Smith 34 Brian Strickland 37 Christian Forbus 38 Garen Thomas Jr. 40 Andrew Waddell

Grade

SR SR SO SR SR JR SO JR SO SR SO JR SO JR FR JR FR SO SR JR SR SO FR JR FR JR JR SR FR FR SR

42 45 47 48 50 52 53 54 55 56 58 60 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 74 75 77 78 79 80 82 85 87 88

Colton Helms SO Takeo Hall JR Jimbo Stone FR Corey Smith SR Savion Hill SO Adejuwon Oyekenu SO Andrew Johnson FR Tae Borden FR Sean Wadsworth SR Briar Bussie SO Dacoda Steffey SR Abel Duel FR Dalton Lathem SO Greg Lawrence SO Jaylen Best FR Logan Couch FR Robert Carothers SO Kaleb Jennings SO Jakari Robinson FR Kaleb Watson FR Tucker Jones JR Jay McNeal SR Bobby Robinson SR Tyler Clark SR Seth Thomas SO Trey Roberson JR Dawson Baker FR Earl Moss SR Christian Caldwell JR Lance Ford FR Dakota Powers SO

Key Facts Overview Team: Munford Head Coach: Will Wagnon (fourth season) KEY LOSSES: Blake Haynie, Kyle Franklin, Twetty Richardson KEY RETURNERS: Monteo Garrett, Tavon Lawson Base Offense: Pro Spread Base Defense: 3-4 Record: 8-4

2012 IN REVIEW Points Scored: 369 Points Allowed: 324

Schedule Aug.30 at Corner Sept. 6 vs. Lincoln Sept.13 at Cleburne Co. Sept.20 vs. Jacksonville Sept. 27 vs. Central of Clay Co.

Oct.4 at Alexandria Oct.11 at Hokes Bluff at. Oct.17 at Cherokee Co. Oct. 25 vs. Anniston Nov.1 vs. Talladega

Let’s see what happens when preparation meets opportunity.

Good Luck to all area teams!

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Pell City

Panthers

CLASS 6A REGION 7

Panthers adapting in first season under Dampeer

By LaVonte Young Brooks Dampeer has high expectations for his first season at the helm of the Pell City Panthers football team. Last season, the Panthers went 7-5 and earned a trip to the second round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 6A playoffs. This was the first time the Panthers made the postseason since 2007. Dampeer said their main goal this season is to make back-to-back playoff appearance for the first time in six season. “We are shooting to get into the playoffs,” Dampeer said. “We want to get in the playoffs and that is step 42_____Prep Football 2013

one. You have to get in the playoffs before anything else matters. We want to get into the playoffs and we want to dominate each opponent each Friday night. We are going to take it one game at a time, but we really want to make it back to the playoffs.” The Panthers went through adversity in the off-season when former head coach David Shores abruptly resigned on April 2. On the same day, Dampeer was tabbed the Panthers interim coach. Dampeer is the third coach in four years at Pell City. “We have gone through some transition,” Dampeer said. “We still have some kids that have played a lot

last season. “There are some changes and it took some time to adapt. I think a lot of guys have gotten comfortable, I think guys understand their role. The coaches are just trying to teach details and the players are taking it well. In the summer time it is not fun, that is not the fun part. We are ready to get the season started to reward the kids for their hard work. The senior class has done well sticking together. I expect a lot of things from them.” The Panthers surprised several teams in their region last season. Dampeer believes their success in 2012 put a target on them this upcoming season. “We have had great efforts from

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the kids and the coaching has been working hard,” Dampeer said. “I think the kids are really buying into what we are doing in all three phases of the game. I am seeing some guys step up as they progress and have confidence in the weight room. I am looking forward to an exciting year. We do have some skill guys coming back and our defensive line is back. We also have some situations that we have to figure out quickly who is going to take leadership roles. We lost four offensive linemen and our quarterback. We lost a couple of linebackers and a secondary guy on defense. Coming off a year that we felt we did some stuff to be proud of we understand that we will have a target on our back going forward, but that is a good thing. We are going to work hard and we are going to give everybody our best game as well as get the same thing back.” Class 6A Region 7 is one of the toughest regions in Class 6A. The region includes perennial playoff teams in Oxford, Gadsden City and 6A powerhouse Clay Chalkville. Last 44_____Prep Football 2013

season, the Panthers were able to upset Gadsden City and Oxford, which helped them secure the second seed in the region. Dampeer acknowledged that even though he has several players returning from last season, this is a new team that cant live off last season’s postseason success. “We play in a very tough region and you have to play every Friday night,” he said. “There are no breaks and that’s good. We don’t get but 10 of them (games) and we are going to play 10 good ones. The guys that are going to be on the field have been on the field for a while: Damaurian Wills, Ira Burch, Casey Bishop, Tyler Goss, Justin Pope, Joe Pitman, and Logan Sullivan have all played somethat is a good thing. But like every year and especially offensively it is a new team even when you don’t have the same quarterbacks. It is a process and throughout that process offensive linemen have to gel, the quarterback has to gel with the offense. The defensive side of the ball is pretty new and they have to gel together. Kids

have to understand when plays are called offensively or defensively what we are trying to accomplish and what we are giving up.” Pell City returns a majority of their offensive weapons from last season’s team. Ira Burch and Damaurian Wills are the key returners on offense. Both players made several game-changing plays for the Panthers as juniors. Wills had the 46-yard game-winning touchdown against Austin in the first round of the playoffs. Burch comes into his senior season with several collegiate teams interested in him such as: Clemson, Mississippi, Georgia Tech and Navy as a wide receiver according to Scouts. com. Burch mainly lined up last season for Pell City in the backfield as running back. Burch rushed for over 700 yards. “Offensively, we have Damaurian Wills who is a four-year starter,” Dampeer said. At times he started his freshman year. He has a lot of experience; people always asked who is that big running back. He was solid for

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Pell City

us last year and I don’t expect anything less of that this year. You can really see him taking on a leadership role in a good way like encouraging kids. Ira Burch, who missed some of the spring with a knee injury, is well-oiled and he is back to 100 percent. He is going to play a lot of things for us as he did last year. We expect a lot of things from him. We have a senior receiving core: Cody Roberts, Casey Bishop, and Jackson Williamson. We may have some guys from the defensive side of the ball play a little bit. We have very solid football players, mentally tough, they do a good job blocking and therefore, have those guys open a lot as well.” The Panthers have a three-man battle for the starting quarterback job going into the season. “At the quarterback position we could have up to three different guys,” Dampeer said. “Jackson Williamson, Ira Burch, Caleb Hurk and those are two seniors and a sophomore. They all do things well; one guy may do a certain part better than the other guy. They all will be ready. Through this process we are forcing them to learn and at anytime this season I do feel comfortable playing them in a game. But at the quarterback position one guy does need to break away from the 46_____Prep Football 2013

other two at least. I think some of that is happening. At the end of the day, I think our team has confidence in all three of the guys, which plays a big role.” Pell City returns most of their defensive unit from last season. Last season, the Panther defense allowed 322 points, which was a team record. In the off-season, Dampeer hired some defensive coaches that he believes will vastly improve their defense. “On defense, Tyler Goss, Justin Pope and Joe Pitman are all starters returning upfront,” Dampeer said. “They work really hard. Coach Bubba Robert coaches upfront and he does a good job techniques-wise. Those guys are understanding the position and to be unselfish. Sometimes you have to take a double team to free somebody else doing a good job of that. We are proud of those guys and they are learning a new scheme on the run. Casey Bishop, Milton Bothwell, Bennett Fisher, and Gabe McKinney those kinds of kids are doing a great job at outside linebacker and will play multiple roles in our defense. They’re kind of like the quarterback. They really do a lot of things, so we ask a lot of them and they are there for a reason. Our secondary, we have three of the four back. They are playing different

positions, but they have done a pretty good job of grasping it and being very coachable. We hope that the defense will be a strong point for us; I am not saying that it hasn’t in the past. Our mentality overall is that we are going to stop people and control the ball when we want to control it. We want to dictate the pace of the game, not the other way around. There is nothing better as an offensive play caller than to know the defense is going to shut them down and it changes the way you go at it.” Pell City’s lack of tackling was put on for the entire state to see last fall against Oxford. Auburn commit Roc Thomas broke or avoided eight tackles for a 59-yard touchdown run. Dampeer said this season the Panthers plan to prevent big plays like that from happening. “We are going to pride our self on running to the football with great effort and gang tackle –the scheme will take care of itself,” Dampeer said. “We want no big plays. We will bend but don’t break and get a three and out to get off the field.” Pell City opens the season on Thursday Aug. 29 against Hueytown. The game will be aired on MY 68 at 7 p.m.

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No Name

Roster

1 Jarel Shepard 2 Devon Mitchell 3 Demaurian Wills 4 Elijah Shepard 5 Cody Roberts 6 Jonathon Spears 7 Milton Bothwell 8 Chris Evans 9 Gabe McKinney 10 Jalen Lipscomb 11 Ira Burch 12 Tori Oden 13 Diceson Duck 14 Jackson Williamson 15 Caleb Hurt 16 Tyler Holloman 17 Casey Bishop 19 Joe Pittman 21 Matt Hill 22 Bennett Fisher 24 Ethan Smith 26 Michael Emerick 27 Damion Turner 28 Wyatt Rich 29 Ryan Curran 30 Jared Pope 33 Bobby Evans 34 Dexter Headrick 35 Peyton Brownlee 36 Zane McDanal 37 Tyler Whitney 39 Austin Ritch

Grade SR JR SR SO SR JR JR SR SO SR SR SO SR SR SO SO SR SR SR JR SO SO SO SO SR JR SR SO SR SO SO SO

40 42 44 45 47 48 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 63 64 66 68 70 71 72 73 74 76 79 83 86 90 93 94 95

Tanner Richey Hunter Defreese Jordan Mitchell Logan Tucker Andy Heath Will Harman Dylan Wiley Alex Childree Matt Sullivan Luke Brasher Bryce Patterson Stephen Cockrell Lewis Dubose Nick Bowns Kason Fuller Logan Sullivan Jacob Callahan Stephen Poteracki Hunter Horton Dane Floyd Kent Foster Tyler Eckman Angel Flores Jalen Allen Joe Miller Jim Mathis Paul Ryan Garyon Posey Lance O’Neal Tyler Goss Carlos Nobles Justin Pope

key facts

Overview Team: Pell City Head Coach: Brooks Dampeer (first year) KEY LOSSES: Austin Martin, Alex Ennis, HD Fomby KEY RETURNERS: Ira Burch, Casey Bishop, Damaurian Wills Base Offense: Spread Base Defense: Multiple 3-4 2012 IN REVIEW Record: 6-4 Points Scored: 289 Points Allowed: 279

Schedule

Aug.29 vs. Hueytown Sept.6 vs. Albertville Sept.13 at Grissom Sept.20 vs. Clay-Chalkville Sept.27 at Oak Mountain. 48_____Prep Football 2013

Oct.4 at Gadsden City Oct.11 vs. Huntsville Oct.18 vs. Lee-Huntsville Oct.25 at Oxford Nov.1 at Tuscaloosa Co.

Spotlight

JR SO SR SR SO SR SO JR JR SO SO SO SR JR SO SR SR JR SO SR FR JR SO SR JR SO SR JR SO SR SO SR

More confident after playoff season By LAVONTE YOUNG Last season’s success on the gridiron has given the Pell City Panthers confidence going into the 2013 football season. “We have more confidence, because it has been a couple of years since we have made the playoffs,” Pell City tight end Casey Bishop said. “We finally got a chance to taste the playoffs and realize how intense it was. It will go down as one of the best parts of your life that you will never forget, and we just want to get back to it.” Last season, the Panthers earned a trip to the second round of the playoffs, before getting ousted by the defending Class 6A champions, the Hoover Bucs. “We hope to make the playoffs and build off making the second round last year,” Bishop said. “As soon as you make the playoffs, it is week by week and hopefully, get to the next round.” “It was a change in the summer; we have a new coaching staff. We have three new coaches on defense and two on offense. They will push to get everything out of you. By the time you leave after a three-and-a-half hour practice you don’t have any energy left. They make sure you give everything you have on that field. On offense, we are returning our offensive coordinator. A lot of us know our role on offense and what we are meant to do.” Bishop said the new defensive coaching staff has pushed them to their limits this off-season. “I think we are going to have a good year on defense,” Bishop said. “We have a new defensive staff and a new defensive coordinator. They are intense; they make sure we give everything. We can’t take a play off and everybody has to run to the ball. That’s

CASEY BISHOP the reason that Hoover is so good. You don’t have to have the best players, but last year in the second round there was 11 players around the ball to make the tackle. If someone misses a tackle, 10 more were there to back them up. I think we should be like that this year. Everyone is going to hustle to the ball. We have some young players on defense, but we are returning most of the secondary and the defensive line.” On the road to the postseason last year, the Panthers defeated region foes Gadsden City and Oxford. Bishop hauled in the gamewinning touchdown in the final seconds of the game against Oxford. The loss eliminated the Yellow Jackets from the postseason. “We surprised a couple of teams last year like Gadsden City and we had a lot of close games last year,” he said. “It is not usual that we have a target on our backs, but we will be ready for it. We have a lot of people returning in our region like Roc (Thomas of Oxford). We have faced them many years, so we know what to expect. We have to game plan for it, make sure we do what we need to do, take care of our business and let the rest go from there.”

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Prep Football 2013_____49

Ragland

Purple Devils

CLASS 1A REGION 6

Nix looking to lead Purple Devils to playoffs

Story and Photos by GARY HANNER In Jonathan Nix’s first season as head football coach at Ragland, he led the Purple Devils to a perfect 10-0 regular season. But the season came to an abrupt end, as they were upset in the first round of the state playoffs by Hubbertville 42-35. Nix is looking to lead Ragland to a fourth consecutive region championship in 2013, and a run in the state playoffs that will hopefully go further than the first round. To do that, Nix said some young players would have to step up to replace players lost to graduation. “We lost three huge weapons in Devane Brewster, Jimmy Brock and Sawyer Merritt,” Nix said. “All three of these guys played both ways.” Key players returning include starting quarterback KiJana Lindsay, Matt Hicks, Jacob Brewster, Jaylen Brewster, Christian Morrow and Jesse Corn. Nix said Nick Smith has been moved to the F-back on offense. Nix 50_____Prep Football 2013

is also expecting a lot out of Shawn Wright from the wide receiver position. “An upcoming guy is freshman Jadon Killings,” Nix said. “He rushed for over 500 yards last year as an eighth-grader. He has a very strong work ethic.” Nix said they have three seniors anchoring the offensive line in Nate Turbville, Dakota Campbell and Chandler Caywood. Nix said he is expecting great things from his defense with eight returning starters. “That is huge for us,” Nix said. “But we still need people to step up because we lost six people on offense. We have a lot of speed, but we need to get stronger. The guys have had a great summer in the weight room.” Ragland is in Class 1A, Region 6, a nine-team region, but Jefferson Christian was unable to field a team last year, and is expected not to have a team again this year. The Purple Devils open the season Sept. 6, at home against region foe Addison, a team that finished second in the region last year. Other region opponents include Falkville, Sumiton

Christian, Southeastern, Shades Mountain Christian, Meek and Appalachian. Nix said the ultimate goal is to win the region title and go from there. “We want to host the first round of the state playoffs, and go 5-0 in the playoffs and win the state title,” Nix said. Nix said to accomplish that, they all will have to Attack The Day. “That is our slogan this year,” Nix said. “We have to attack each day, not just on Fridays, but Monday through Thursday. We have to control every day, not just in football, but also in the classroom and at home. I want these guys to be good sons. I want them to make the most of each day. If we take care of that, all of this other stuff will fall in place.” The coaching staff has a few changes. Rush Rutledge left for Lincoln. Andy Eden and J.T. Caldwell head up the junior high program. Helping Nix on Friday nights are Brian Alred, David Box, Tim Chamless and Matthew Bone.

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Prep Football 2013_____53

Ragland

Spotlight

Lindsay’s time to step up and lead

No. Name 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 10 13 15 17 21 22

Roster Grade

Jaylen Brewster SR Braxton Thomas 8th Christian Morrow JR Stoney Merritt FR Keyshawn Killings SR Jacob Brewster SR Coby Fuller 8th Jadon Killings FR Robvonte Roberson FR Levi Campbell JR Nick Smith SR Jacob Dobbs SR Evan Browning 7th

24 25 28 30 55 57 58 59 65 68 71 77 79

Shawn Wright John Brewer KiJana Lindsey Triston Turner Jeremy Burnham Garrett Isbell Blake Turbville Kelton Killings Jacob Phillips Dustin Bunt Jesse Corn Matt Hicks Devin Turner

SR FR SR SO FR SO JR JR 8th SO JR SR SO

Key Facts

Overview Team: Ragland High School Head Coach: Jonathan Nix KEY LOSSES: Scotty Smith, Cole Bearden, John Mark Mintz KEY RETURNERS: Devane Brewster, Jimmy Brock Base Offense: Multiple Base Defense: Multiple Record: 13-1

2012 IN REVIEW Points Scored: 535 Points Allowed: 172

Schedule By GARY HANNER As a sophomore, KiJana Lindsay spent time as a duel wide receiver threat with Jimmy Brock. Last year, the 6-foot, 145-pounder was moved to quarterback, and the adjustment has been very successful. The Purple Devils enjoyed a perfect 10-0 regular season, but lost in the first round of the state playoffs. With the departure of seniors Brock and Devane Brewster, Lindsay knows it is his time to step up and be the leader on the field. “In order for us to continue the success around here, we have to continue working hard,” Lindsay said. “If we are not working hard, then we are not going to get any better. We have to continue to get better in practice, and then allow that to spill over into the season.” Not only will Lindsay be quarterback, he has an important role on the defensive 54_____Prep Football 2013

side of the ball as the strong safety. Lindsay said head coach Jonathan Nix is a great coach. “He is good on both sides of the ball,” Lindsay said. After going undefeated in the regular season, Lindsay said it was quite a shock to lose in the opening round of the state playoffs. “Our goal is to get past the first round of the state playoffs, and hopefully make it to the championship game,” Lindsay said. “For us to do that, we will need several people to step up.” Coach Nix said he was very excited to have Lindsay back for his senior year at quarterback. “He made the transition from his sophomore year as a wide receiver,” Nix said. “And he was a very good wide receiver.” Nix said Lindsay got so much experience as quarterback last year, which in turn, is going to make him that much better this year.

Sept. 7 at Addison Sept. 14 vs. Gaylesville Sept. 21 vs. Southeastern Sept. 28 at Shades Mtn. Chr. Oct. 5 vs. Appalachian

Oct. 12 at Meek Oct. 19 vs. Sumiton Chr. Oct. 26 at Falkville Nov. 2 at Victory Christian

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Sylacauga

Aggies

CLASS 5A REGION 4

Aggies aiming for postseason success

By LAVONTE YOUNG During the Matt Griffith era at Sylacauga, two things have been a constant: a winning season and making the postseason. Entering the season, Griffith’s goal for his football program are the same, but the ninth year head coach wants to accomplish something that hasn’t been done since 1998-advance past the first round of the playoffs. “We go into the season and they are all clichés,” Griffith said. “We have the same goals that we have had since I came here in 2005. First and foremost, we want to have a winning season and we want to make the playoffs. Once we make the playoffs, then anything can happen. People can come in talking about state championships and talk about this, but you can’t make it to the playoffs if you don’t have a winning 56_____Prep Football 2013

record first. You can’t have a state championship if you don’t make the playoffs. You’ve got to have those steps first. The playoffs are something that you have to get a little lucky and you have to be injury-free when you get into the first round. For the most part, if you look across the state you really need to be one or two to get out of the first round. It is very hard for the third and fourth team to get out depending on who you are matched up with. We have consistently made the playoffs now for a number of years. The biggest hump we have to get over is that we want to get out of that first round and we want to host a game. One of the biggest goals after that is that we want to be one or two in our region and we want to host a playoff game.” For the first time since 2009, the Aggies will have the same quarterback under center for consecutive seasons.

Griffith believes having a second-year quarterback will help their offense progress from last season. “When Kelsey (Pope) left, we had Matt Collier that we moved from safety and that was one year,” Griffith said. “That next year, we had Jamal Hatton and Hunter was the starter the next year and he has come on this year. He is the first one in awhile that we have had back-to-back. It makes a big difference considering the kind of offense that we run with a spread option style look. We do a lot of motion and he gets things lined up really well from the sideline, he is a very smart kid, so we are looking forward to having him back.” The Aggies also return another key piece of their offense in running back Ian Floyd. Last season, the Aggies averaged 32.4 points per game and went 5-0 before their workhorse went

down with an injury. Griffith believes if Floyd can stay healthy, the Aggies could have a special season. “I don’t think people realize that we were 5-0 when our running back went down,” Griffith said. “Some kids tried to step up and do a good job and they did. But when you loose a starter like Ian, it hurt. We finished up 8-2

and we were very proud of that. Ian has had a great summer. We are just looking forward to him staying healthy and we think we can have a pretty good year. You have to stay healthy and if you don’t stay healthy you got to have younger kids step up to give you some depth.” For one of the first times in Griffith’s

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tenure at helm, the Aggies had a big offensive line. All-State lineman and Troy signee Brett Medforth anchored the line, but his absence this season will force Sylacauga to go back to using small linemen. “We are right back being what we are,” he said. “We play with that 190205 kid in 5A upfront. That is just

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Prep Football 2013_____57

Sylacauga

what we play with. They do a good job for us. It is hard to replace Brett Medforth going to Troy. We had catfish on the other side and they did a good job. The starting center, Logan Beckett got hurt against John Carroll and he is back. Hopefully, Logan is going to be able to step into that center position. We had some guys: Gary Murphy had a good spring at right tackle, Dorian Moon, Brandon Barrett is back at left guard, so we have enough coming back to be OK.” Griffith said he wants to see their offense be more balanced this season than it has been in the past. “Our biggest thing is we really like what we do offensively and defensively,” Griffith said. “We like our spread option. I want to see us return to that 2010 year with Matt Collier where we had a back rushing for 1,500 0r 1,600 yards but we have a quarterback passing for 1,500 yards. We were very balanced. If Hunter can do that and talked about, if we can throw for 1200 yards and keep our run game the way it is we will win our seven, eight or nine games. I want to be more balanced than we have been the last couple of years. I really want to see us get back to 2010 and even 2008 and 2009 under Kelsey Pope. People forget that Kelsey was close to rushing for 1,000 and throwing for 1,000 yards. Hunter is not going to rush for 1,000 yards because he is not the same type athlete, but there is no reason he cant throw for 1,000 and have a couple of running backs to do the rest. “There is a catch 22,”Griffith said. “I talked to Coach (Danny) Horn not too long ago and he was talking about scheduling Homewood game 10 to make his schedule tougher to get ready for the playoffs. You can do that at a Ben Russell when you are the largest 5A in the state with Homewood. But when you are a Sylacauga, we get so much out of our kids during the year, the tougher the schedule the more banged up you are going into game 10 and you are limping into the playoffs instead of being fresh. A tough schedule makes it tough for us to get out of the first round 58_____Prep Football 2013

in my opinion. I think we had an outstanding football season last year, but by the time we were playing Comer in game 10 we lost four starters from game two. You are not the same team going into the playoffs that you were game four and that is critical for us if we are going to make a run out of the first round: we got to stay healthy. You have to have a little help to stay healthy.”

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Sylacauga

Spotlight

By LAVONTE YOUNG

The Sylacauga Aggies seniors haven’t experienced a losing season since coming to the high school in 2010 and they don’t want that to change this season. Sylacauga head coach Matt Griffith told his players if they stop working that streak will come to an end. “These kids don’t ever remember having a losing season from seventh grade up,” Griffith said. “We tell them all the time and they realize it if they quit working it is going to go away. This is one of the hardest groups that we have had. They may not be the strongest, fast or most talented, but they have worked to win. They have the opportunity to have a great year.” Griffith said his defensive leaders played a significant role in their success the last few seasons. “Tristan is a two-year starter and Qulan is a two-year starter,” Griffith said. “Qulan (Darby) moved from safety to linebacker last year. Both of them are outstanding football players. They are good, quiet leaders in the weight room,

Tristan Foster & Qualon Darby they lead by example and they do a good job.” Tristan Foster said that the players have put in a lot of time in weight room and on the track preparing for the upcoming season. “We worked really hard this summer and we have pushed ourselves to the next level,” Foster said. ”We are working hard and making sure everybody is in good shape. Last season, the Aggies went 8-3, which tied the best overall record in Griffith’s tenure in the cardinal and black. Darby believes that the Aggies can build off their success from last season.

Roster

No. Name 2 Brian McGinnis 3 Ian Floyd 4 Dexter Averette 5 Jackson Walker 6 Donterio Story 7 Qualon Darby 8 Keith Pitts 9 Octavius Moon 10 Jordan Daniels 11 Zach Pearson 12 Mason Culver 13 Bailey Bryant 14 Brooks Jackson 15 Brody Parker 16 Hunter Johns 19 Darrell Pope 20 Erskine McKinney 21 Stephen Strickland 22 Keith Spidell 23 Cade Bryant 24 Mark Bryan 25 Colin Shannon 26 Anthony McElrath 27 Montel McGhee 29 Jacob Daniels 30 Anthony McGrady 31 Curtis Jackson 32 Keyun King 33 Thomas Hudgins 34 Dillon Hickman 35 Alex Thomason

Grade SR SR JR FR SO SR SR SR SO SR SO SO JR JR SR SR SR JR SR FR SO SR SO JR FR SO SO SO SR SO FR

39 45 52 53 54 55 56 57 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 68 70 71 73 74 75 78 79 81 82 83 84 85 86 87

Antonio Harris JR Tristan Foster SR Johnathan Archer SR Isaiah Brown SO Josh Burns JR Everett Fincher SR Logan McEwen SO Brandon Barnett SO Daniel Roberts SO Jared Baird JR Dorieon Moon JR Tyler Welch SO Roman Brown JR Logan Becker SR Ross Blocker SR Chandler Swearingen JR Brenan Smith SR Sam Johnson SR Gary Murphy SR Devin Smith SO Vince Wyatt SO Taylor Hay SR Demundre Adair SR John McKinney SO Denzell Pope SR Eddie Walker SR Devin Morgan SO Matt Griffitt SR Chad Yardborough SR Bailey Frost JR Mason Owen SO

GOOD TIMES - GOOD FOOD - GOOD FOOTBALL We wish all area teams an awesome football season!

key facts

Overview Team: Sylacauga Head Coach: Matt Griffith (ninth season) KEY LOSSES: TJ Green, Brett Medforth, Devin O’Neal, Austin Masters KEY RETURNERS: Hunter Johns, Ian Floyd, Qualon Darby, Tristan Foster Base Offense: Multiple Base Defense: Multiple Record: 8-3

2012 IN REVIEW Points Scored: 293 Points Allowed: 235

Schedule

Aug.30 vs. Hayden Sept.6 at Briarwood Sept.13 vs. Ramsay Sept.20 at John Carroll Sept. 27 vs. Childersburg

60_____Prep Football 2013

Oct.4 vs. Chilton County Oct.10 vs. Homewood Oct.18 at Talladega Oct.25 vs. Shelby County Nov. 1 at B.B. Comer

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Talladega

Tigers

CLASS 5A REGION 4

Talladega aims for winning season

By ERICH HILKERT Despite finishing the season with a 3-7 record, the Talladega Tigers took a step forward in 2012. The team went 2-8 in 2011 and 1-9 in 2010. New head coach Robert Herring wants to improve on last year’s results, but also wants to keep realistic expectations. “Coach [Griffith] talked about state championships being a long way away,” Herring said. “For us, it’s been a while since we’ve had a winning season. That’s our first thing: we want to have a winning season. The next thing will be: we want to get in the playoffs. Then, we want to win a region championship. A state championship is a long way away in our eyes from where we are right now.” Herring believes the key to 62_____Prep Football 2013

improving starts before his players even step foot on the football field. “[We had] t-shirts printed up that had ‘AIE’ on them, which means ‘Attitude is everything,’” Herring said. “We’re going to change the attitude in Talladega, not just our players but the city period. It’s been 1994 since they’ve had a winning season. That’s a pretty good while. We want to change that. We know Rome wasn’t built in a day; it’s not going to happen overnight. The good news is the core kids are showing up and working out. To win games, that’s what you’ve got to have.” Herring knows the team’s schedule this year will not show any mercy. “We’re in a pretty tough region,” he said. “We open up with TC Central, a county school. Then, we’ve got Benjamin Russell game five, who have

a chance to win a state championship this year. Then, we ended up with Munford, who is loaded this year. So, we just preach to our guys ‘We’re going to finish.’” Herring came to Talladega after serving as defensive coordinator at B.B. Comer. His familiarity with teams in the area should help with game planning for opponents. “I was at B.B. Comer last year and we played Sylacauga and Childersburg,” Herring said. “We don’t play them [Childersburg] here, but it helps you especially since you play some of these teams. I heard coach Griffith mention Homewood and we always played them when I was at Oxford. It was always a good game and they’re in this region. Like he said, they’re probably one of the bigger schools in the state.

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Talladega

But you know them and what they do. They’ve got a good coaching staff. You’ve got John Carroll. When I was at Shelby County, they were in our region. You know these coaches just because Talladega County does such a super job of coaches meetings.” Herring didn’t hesitate when the Talladega head coach job opened up,

and he believes learning from other winning coaches has prepared him for the challenge. “I’ve coached with my brother and I’ve coached with my dad,” Herring said. “I’ve been around a lot of good head coaches. I was at West Alabama with Bobby Wallace and he was a bigtime winner. You just pick up things

along the way. But this job struck me as a job I’d like to take. A lot of people said ‘I don’t know if you want to take that as your first head job.’ But I’m from Oxford, so when it came open, I said ‘This is what I want to go for,’ and did. I plan on being here. Talladega now is where I’m living and it’s where I’m going to be. I plan on being here for a

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Prep Football 2013_____65

Talladega

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while.” After years of struggling to put double digits on the scoreboard each game, Herring is looking to turn the offense around. The team was shut out in three games last season and managed to put up double digits in points in only half their games. “We’re hanging our hat on our offensive line this year. These guys right here have not missed a day all summer,” Herring said, referring to quarterback Ken Wells and offensive lineman Byron Tucker Jr. “We’ve got four who are 6-2, 6-3, 280-300 pounds. We’ve got a fullback who was a tailback last year. We moved him. He was a 1000-yard rusher last year, so he’s going to be our fullback. Then, we’ve got a little junior tailback that we call ‘Hiccup.’ He’s about 125-130 pounds and he’s going to get the ball about 12 times a game. We’re hanging our hat on our offense to keep the ball away, run the clock out and just get first downs.” Like many of the teams in the SEC, Herring isn’t going to implement a flashy offense but plans to compete every week with his brand of smash-mouth football. “What we’re doing at Talladega is just old-school football,” Herring said. “We’re going to hang our hats on it. I’ve got a good offensive coordinator [Jason Bates] I brought in. He’s also our weight guy. He’s there, he’s intense. On defense, we’re just going to run a base 3-3 stack and cover 3 and just hope you don’t get behind us.”

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Prep Football 2013_____67

Talladega

Spotlight By ERICH HILKERT Talladega’s new quarterback Ken Wells knows being able to win a game on a Friday night takes months of preparation. “He’s there every day,” head coach Robert Herring said. “He’s the first one there; he’s the last one to leave. When we get through in the weight room, he’s out there throwing balls to receivers. We’ve got coaches that will stay and throw with him and he’s there. That’s what you’ve got to have.” Senior offensive lineman Byron Tucker Jr. has also been working hard this summer to prepare for the upcoming season. “It takes a lot of things to win [a state championship], but you’ve got to have good leadership,” Herring said. “Like I said, this quarterback has been there every day. The o-line has been there every day. We’re behind on defense. Those kids say ‘I’ll be here on Tuesday and Wednesday,’ and miss Thursday. ‘I’ll be here Monday, I’m not here Tuesday, I’m there Wednesday, and I’m not here Thursday.’ That’s why when you asked me about defense I said, ‘Well, we’re not depending on d.’ We’re going to depend on offense because the offense has been there 100 percent. They’ve given everything they’ve got.” Based on Herring’s offensive plans, the team will rely heavily on Wells and Tucker Jr. in the upcoming season. Wells has already seen a difference in how receptive his teammates have been to their new coach. “The players are more coachable and they listen to him a lot,” Wells said. “It goes well in the weight room and I hope it carries on to the field.” Likewise, Tucker Jr. has 68_____Prep Football 2013

Roster No. Name

Grade JR

55 Anntonne Garrett

56 Taylor Freeman

63 Matthew Sewell

8 LaDerrick Stamps

71 Arthur McElrath

14 Richard Williams

73 Byron Tucker Jr.

21 Kenneth Wallace

78 Andrekious Evans

22 Deondre Hall

80 Mario Echols

24 Kenswaylen Griffin

85 Joseph Bath

32 Ahmad Gooden

95 Monquise Lawson

34 Kendarius Smith

97 Jackson Bailey

39 Khason Lackey

1 Ken Wells

2 Jaquavion Hall 7 Devin Morris

KEN WELLS & BYRON TUCKER JR. seen improvements on the offensive line. “Our work ethic has improved a lot,” Tucker Jr. said. “We’ve been working hard in the weight room. Everyone has gotten a lot stronger than where we started out during the summer. We plan to open up a lot of holes for our running backs and put up some points on the board this year and win some games.” Wells has shown leadership during the offseason and he know he’ll have to continue to demonstrate leadership inside the huddle. “On the field, I’ve got to do my job as far as making sure the plays go through right,” Wells said. “I’ve got to do my job as far as showing up on time and doing what I’m supposed to do to set the tone for the other players and make sure no one goes astray from the team. Get on to them if they do, and make sure I do good on and off the field.” “We’ve got to lead by example because the younger boys—they’re not going to listen to a whole bunch of talk,” he said. “You’ve got to lead by example and show them how you want them to play. If you do that, everything will fall into place and everybody will be all in. We should start working as a team.”

key facts Overview Team: Talladega Head Coach: Robert Herring (first season) KEY LOSSES: Dominic Johnson, Brandon Wilson, Carlos Turner KEY RETURNERS: Ahmad Gooden, Ken Wells, Byron Tucker Jr. Base Offense: I-formation Base DefenSE: 3-3 Stack Record: 3-7

2012 IN REVIEW Points Scored: 166 Points Allowed: 264

Schedule 08/30 vs TC Central 09/05 at Ramsay 09/13 vs Carroll Catholic 09/20 at Chilton County 09/27 at Benjamin Russell

10/04 vs Briarwood Christian 10/11 at Shelby County 10/18 vs Sylacauga 10/25 vs Homewood 11/01 at Munford

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Prep Football 2013_____69

Talladega County Central

Fighting Tigers

CLASS 1A REGION 4

Fighting Tigers look to finish in 2013

By LaVonte Young Last season, the Talladega County Central Fighting Tigers had to learn a new system going into the season due to Damien Dorsey being hired a few days before fall practice started. This off-season, Dorsey had a chance to implement an off-season program, and he is seeing changes in his players physically and mentally. “I really think it brought us together more,” Dorsey said. “We are more of a family and that is basically what I am looking for. The guys absolutely care about each other and 70_____Prep Football 2013

lay it on the line for each other. They saw with good workouts in the summer and good work ethic, showing up every day that you will get better. That is what has really shown. We have a whole lot of guys that have got bigger and stronger.” In 2012, the Fighting Tigers went 3-7 and missed the postseason by one game. Dorsey said the biggest difference from last year’s team to this year’s team is that they have become a family. “It is about the players,” Dorsey said. ”They are more mature. They understand that football is a team

sport. When I got there last year there was a lot of I, me and my guys. A lot of those guys are gone, some of them have conformed and those who have not are not here. The guys that are here we are going to go with him, because they know they have to lay it on the line not for themselves, but for his teammates. That has been the biggest thing seeing the guys mature, care about each other and uplift each other.” Only a handful of TC Central players were on the last team that went to the playoffs four years ago. The team’s goal this year is to make

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Prep Football 2013_____71

Talladega County Central

sure that those seniors will go out with a winning record and make the postseason for the first time since 2009. “Send the seniors out as winners,” Dorsey said. “That’s my main goal and that is our no.1 goal. Really, that is our only goal. Send the seniors out as winners so these guys can understand that football is a game that you will always face adversity, but you can win not only on the field, but in life too.” Closing games proved to be a problem for the Fighting Tigers last season. In Week 10, with the playoffs on the line, TCC was not able to make the necessary plays late in the game to defeat Spring Garden. “We had two games to win in order to get to the playoffs and it came down to three plays against Spring Garden,” Dorsey said. “The football Gods aren’t going to let you come just five weeks and make the playoffs. We had to put work in and we actually didn’t put all the work put in. We didn’t put anything in the bank. We are doing circle of champions; they understand finish. The seniors, I am real proud of them because they bought in and they are doing what they need to do.” The Fighting Tigers will go into the season without their leading rusher from last season Corey Morris. The senior fullback went down in July with a broken leg. The injury shakes TC Central’s depth in certain positions, but it gives other players a chance to step up. “As far as offense, we lost Corey Morris,“ Dorsey 72_____Prep Football 2013

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said. “He has a broken leg. I took my best guard and moved him (Tuck) to fullback. It is working out; therefore, we are going to really rely on him a whole lot as far as the run game. If anybody goes down on the offensive line he knows it and that is what we talk about being ready. You are going to face adversity, so we can’t worry about we lost Corey and be like our season is done. He is a good player and we would love to have him, but the season has to be played. It is the next man up. Something may happen in life where somebody may go down, you may lose a father or mother. Are you going to sulk and stay down? You have to pull yourself up and move on to the next play, the next game. Somebody else is going to have to step up. It is an opportunity for someone. That is what I talk to them all the time, you only have one shot in this thing called life and you have to take advantage of every opportunity that is available for you.” The Fighting Tigers open the season on Aug. 30 on the road against Class 5A Talladega.

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Prep Football 2013_____73

Talladega County Central

Spotlight

Roster

By LAVONTE YOUNG The Talladega County Central Fighting Tigers football players know that they were in a few games that they should have won last season. Senior Derrick Tuck knows that finishing games will be vital this season if they are going to have any success. “We are loose in the locker room, we joke around and we have fun,” Tuck said. “We know this year that we have to be more mentally prepared for the game. We have to finish this year. That’s what we didn’t do last year: we didn’t finish.” Having the endurance to finish games was a problem for the Fighting Tigers and Tuck said that is something that they have addressed. “You can do more work in the summer, but when you get into the game it’s who has the fourth quarter endurance,” Tuck said. “It comes down to all the work that you put in the summer. You have to put it out there. If a team makes a big play, we have to come back and make a bigger play. If they get a first down, we have to stop them the last time. If it’s fourth and inches, we have to get them to turn the ball over. Then we have to go down the field and score and win the game like that. We have worked out, now all for us to do now is to finish.” Senior lineman Kristian Jones said the players have pushed their selves more this summer, so that they have a next level that they can go to in crunch time. “We have to win our work outs,” Jones said. “Everything extra you can put in put in the bank. That will help you in the fourth quarter. Everything that you put in the bank you can use in the fourth quarter 74_____Prep Football 2013

KRISTIAN JONES & DERRICK TUCK and dish it out. Everything you start you have to finish. We plan on starting fast and finishing fast.” Going into his second season under Dorsey, Tuck has learned several life lessons from the former University of Louisville standout. “We know that he doesn’t want to lose,” Tuck said. “He wants us to win, but he also wants us to follow our education and have something to fall back on. It isn’t just about football to him; it is about building a character and building a stand up guy that you can depend on. As you get older and go into life, it is not about what you did in high school. If you finish and do what you have to do you can go further and build a career. We know that we have to finish this year. We want to win just like he wants to win. Everybody wants to be winners.” “Coach has instilled us with the champion mentality,” Jones said. “Never quit, that’s our chant in everything that we do. You have to finish to be successful and you can’t quit in life. As a football coach, he has installed more life traits than football. Coach Dorsey is really building men on his football team.”

No. Name

Grade

1 Justin Woodruff

16 Rickey Duncan

8th

2 Zekyle Stockdale

22 Kylen Cross

8th

3 Jeremy Allen

23 Darrell Maple

8th

4 Cededrick Garrett

25 Corey Morris

5 Delveccehius Stockdale JR

50 Derrick Tuck

6 Trovell Stockdale

51 Shawntarian Suttle SR

8 Kenny Wallace

57 Kristian Jones

9 Corey White

58 Devlyn Keller

8th

11 Trevarus Garrett

59 Jederius Nelson

12 Jordan Swain

8th

63 Brandon Fluker

13 Jamar Carmichael SO

70 Micah Embry

8th

15 DeBryan Ousley

85 Je’derrain Stockdale JR

Key Facts Overview Team: TC Central Head Coach: Damien Dorsey (second year) Base Offense: Multiple Base Defense: Multiple 2012 IN REVIEW Record: 3-7 Points Scored: 208 Points Allowed: 315

Schedule Aug. 30 at Talladega Sept.6 at St.Jude Sept.13 vs. Winterboro Sept. 20 at Wadley Sept.27 vs. Vincent

Oct. 4 vs. Notasulga Oct. 11 at Verbena Oct. 17 vs. Fayetteville Oct. 25 vs. Loachapoka Nov. 2 at Spring Garden

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Winterboro

Bulldogs

CLASS 1A REGION 4

New head coach brings new opportunities

By ERICH HILKERT New Winterboro head coach Alan Beckett sees many factors in his decision to leave a successful program at Collinsville to come to Alpine. “I looked at it and thought there were some variables with the kids and the layout of the community that maybe there was more there,” Beckett explained. “I definitely think coach [Adam] Fossett tapped into that. It’s not something that just always happens, but I felt like there was potential with it. It was just a situation where my family was from there, so a lot of variables came into play there.” Beckett now has a full line of fresh assistants installed on staff. “I didn’t bring anybody with me from Collinsville,” Beckett said. “I brought in Daniel Graham—he’s from Fayetteville and he’s really hit the ground running. He’s had to do a lot of learning; all our staff is having to do a lot of learning. Alex Johnson we brought in and Tyler Crane. He’s 76_____Prep Football 2013

a young guy, but he’s got a pretty good resume in that he’s been under Russell Jacoway who won a state championship at Sand Rock, he’s been with Tripp Curry who won a state championship at Cherokee County, and he played for Steve Smith and won a state championship at Piedmont.” The team’s quarterback battle between Cardri Duncan and Brady Wideman is still open and Beckett thinks both quarterbacks can offer the team unique strong points. Winterboro lost their rivalry game against TC Central last season 28-24. Beckett understands what the game means to the die-hard Winterboro fans, but he was also clear that he wants his team to play an outstanding game every week of the season. “The TC game is an extremely important game,” Beckett said. “A lot of people work together and a lot of the guys know each other. Of course, a lot of the guys know each other throughout the county. I definitely think those hold a special place to

the people. My thing is: we want to get it to the point where we’re about business each day and a love of the game. We come in and get a little bit better as people and a little bit better as players. We find a way to make each week special. I definitely don’t want to be a team where we get up for this one game or this game here and there and that we try to get a pretty regular plateau week in and week out on our effort.” “I think it’s improved, but we’re still not there,” he said. “That’s another challenge going into fall camp. Let’s understand why technique is so important, let’s understand why running this play in a perfect way is important. We haven’t delved into the past in the very least, but we have tried to change that part of the culture. We want to execute perfect.” There are plenty of those who would like to fast-forward to the end of the season and speculate on the playoffs, but Beckett hears every one of his opponents chirping and would

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Winterboro

rather strive keep his and his players’ focus on growing better on a daily basis. “My expectation is to get a little bit better every day, change the mindset a little bit every day and be able to lean on these guys a little bit more,” he said. “We’re not going to get too far ahead. We’re just going to try to improve daily. We’ll see where it takes us. It’s a cricket bed of a region. I really feel like when you get south of I-20, you run into some pretty good talent. So, I think we’ll play really good people. We open up with a really good team in Maplesville. Our expectations are just to improve daily and win the mental end of things.”

Key Facts

Overview Team: Winterboro Head Coach: Alan Beckett (first season) KEY LOSSES: Taylor Garrett, Jake McCoy, Blake Chandler KEY RETURNERS: Cardi Duncan, Bernard Twymon, Jaylen Ashley Base Offense: Multiple Base Defense: 3-4 2012 IN REVIEW - Record: 3-8

Points Scored: 202

Points Allowed: 403

Schedule Aug. 30 at Maplesville Sept.6 vs. Fayetteville Sept.13 at Talladega Co. Central

Sept. 20 vs. St.Jude Sept.27 vs. B.B. Comer Oct. 4 at Loachapoka Oct. 11 at Wadley

Oct. 17 vs. Notasulga Oct. 25 at Verbena Nov. 1 vs. Childersburg

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Beckett has already tried to prepare the team for the inevitable moment in the season when they will face a test of character. Twymon wants to make sure his teammates understand they have to do the right things on and off the field. “I’ve taken a big part in a leadership role on the team

By erich hilkert

JONATHAN HARRIS & CASEY TWYMON

No. Name

last year. There were a lot of people that skipped out and were leaving practice early. The seniors have stood up this year, stuck to it and committed a lot more than they did last year.” Harris, a senior center and nose guard, believes last year’s team struggled to handle the moments that test a team’s collective mettle.

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With Winterboro head coach Alan Beckett in his first season at the helm for the Bulldogs, the coach hoped he could find some reliable players. As it turns out, the senior class has proven to be a strong group to fill that role. “There’s been a core group that has come in and committed,” Beckett said. “I would say I’ve been pleasantly surprised our senior group has hardly missed. We’ve asked several things of them and you never know when you come in a situation how people are going to respond to something new and they have. I think it’s been a good summer. I think it’s definitely been a start. There’s lots more to do. I thought it was productive.” “This summer was pretty good,” Twymon said. “I’ve seen a lot more improvement than

because everyone looks up to me, little kids on and off the field,” Twymon explained. “You’ve got to stay out of trouble off the field to play. So, you try to stay out of as much trouble as you can.” Beckett believes Twymon exemplifies exactly the type of player he wants out of every Winterboro Bulldog.

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Victory Christian

Lions

CLASS 2A REGION 5

Dorroh has high hopes for senior season

By LAVONTE YOUNG Two weeks going into the season there was some doubt whether the Victory Christian Lions would take the field as a varsity team in 2013. When Senior Pastor David Weir made the announcement that the Lions were playing football this season nobody was happier than senior Micah Dorroh. Going into the fall, Dorroh was the only senior player on the Lions roster. He said it was hard to hold the team together through the uncertainty. “It has been really tough, because I was the only senior until (Aug.16),” Dorroh said. “It has been tough holding the team together and talk to people. Now that everybody has come out, we have pulled together. I have talked up the new coach. He has done a really good job at practice and I really like him. I am looking for us to do good for us.”

The Lions have struggled their last few seasons. Victory Christian has not won a game since the 2009 season. Dorroh believes this season’s team has a chance to end its 29 game losing streak. “My senior year is going to be good,” Dorroh said. “I think we have a really good chance against ASD and Decatur Heritage. We are looking to play tough against those other teams that we play. We are looking to hang with them and I think we can. I think with the people that we have out now, we are going to do good against most of the teams we play and we are going to come out with a good season.” In the first quarter of the opening game, Dorroh was thrown in as quarterback after their starter went down. Dorroh had a solid season under center as a junior, but this season he thinks he will be even better as a signal caller.

“Last year, I kind of got thrown in there the first game,” he said. “This year is one more year of preparation. I got to learn the position. I have a lot more knowledge of the position. I know what to do and what not to do. I think I will make some better choices this season.” With head coach Bobby Fairley being hired two and half weeks before the season started, Dorroh offered to help the younger kids learn their positions. “I like jumping in there,” he said. “I will play any position. I like playing anywhere from lineman to running back, of course, quarterback, safety and defensive back. I have watched college football all of my life. I know a good bit about football and I like jumping in there and helping the kids that don’t know as much about the position.” The senior said he has seen the Prep Football 2013_____81

younger players mature mentally and physically. He believes the freshmen and sophomores learned a lot from last season. “They are a year older, they are a year stronger and they are a year tougher from last season,” Dorroh said. “I’ve got some people in mind that are ready to hurt some people after getting hurt for so long. I think with them being younger and getting some action in the game has helped out a lot because they will have a lot more experience playing the game. When it comes to them getting up there, they will have a year more of experience as a sophomore, junior and senior.” Fairley said the young players are happy to be playing this season. “They have made up their minds and they are happy,” he said. “They are glad that we are going after it. I think that is what they wanted. They don’t know that they are too small and not as old as the 12th graders. They got in there and hung last year — they are a year older and they should do a little better just for that reason. The coaches

did a good job with them, they are a lot further along fundamentally and they are a year older. They are going to hang in there and compete. I can’t say that they are going to win, but they are going to hang in there. The kids have a great attitude. I can’t ask them to give more because they are giving me everything that they got.” Weir said that Dorroh shows that he loves the Lord in everything he does.

“He really loves the Lord and it shows in everything he does, “Weir said.” We are really proud of him. He is an unbelievable leader.” The senior has lofty goals for his senior season. “I would love to win a few games and pull some upsets if we can,” Dorroh said. “Getting some big wins over some team that we are not suppose to beat will make my senior year.”

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