Handley football

KALE GIBBS

By Kevin Eckleberry

He’s following in his father’s footsteps.

Kale Gibbs, who enjoyed a memorable senior season as a member of the LaGrange High football team, is playing football at a military academy, just as his father Chuck Gibbs did decades ago.

Chuck Gibbs, who was LaGrange High’s head football coach during the 2018 and 2019 seasons, was a football and track standout at the United States Military Academy (Army) in West Point.

Now, Kale Gibbs is in the early stages of his own college journey as a freshman running back at the Air Force Academy. Gibbs, who helped the Grangers win eight games and reach the second round of the state playoffs in 2020, was one of a handful of LaGrange players who signed a letter of intent during a signing ceremony in February.

“To be able to play Division I, that’s just a dream I’ve had since I was young,” Gibbs said. “My dad was always a football coach. My granddad was a football coach. It’s been in my family for so long. That, and being in the military and serving the country. Those two things have been embedded in my family, and I always dreamed about being able to achieve it, and I never thought I could. I went into my senior year with no offers, and then my senior year blessing after blessing came along, and the ability was given to me, and now I have the opportunity to go and serve and play at a Division I school. That’s just a dream come true.”

Kale Gibbs joined the LaGrange football program in 2018 when his father was hired as the new head coach.

Gibbs was a productive player as a sophomore and a junior, but his time on the field was limited because of injuries, and there was little interest from colleges.

Everything changed during a memorable senior season. Gibbs, playing for new head coach Matt Napier, became one of the state’s most productive running backs, and he rushed for more than 1,700 yards while averaging close to 10 yards per carry.

A team that won a combined six games the previous four years went 8-4 in 2020 and won a playoff game for the first time in a decade.

Defenses knew what was coming, but Gibbs still managed to put up massive numbers week after week.

For Gibbs, it was all about the preparation heading into his senior season.

While the school was shut down for months because of COVID-19 and the players were not able to train together, Gibbs didn’t let that slow him down. “He made the most of it, training six days a week from March on,” Chuck Gibbs said. “We set up a gym in the garage. I’m a track coach and a strength coach. He didn’t miss. His relative gains, relative to everyone else, were huge. So many other people took three or four months off (because of COVID-19). I think that made a huge difference in his life was the work ethic and the preparedness.”

Matt Napier took over the LaGrange program in 2020, was proud of what Gibbs was able to accomplish during his remarkable senior season.

“He didn’t have a lot of film before this year with injuries and things like that,” Napier said. “He went all out. His accomplishments are well-deserved.”

Napier added that “his heart and his commitment and his effort and his personality are exactly how you draw it up. He just played with an effort that you ask all kids to play with, but you don’t get it from them all. His leadership and his work ethic are second to none.”

While Gibbs will no doubt be laser-focused on making the most of his time in Colorado Springs, he’ll also be keeping an eye on what the other college football players from the LaGrange High class of 2020 will be doing.

“The rest of these guys have worked hard alongside me,” Gibbs said. “I have no doubt that they’ll find success. Hard work is the core of this program.”

BRAYLON SANDERS

By Kevin Eckleberry

This is one of my main goals, to hear my name called on draft night.”

If Braylon Sanders has shown anything over the years, it’s that when the ball is thrown in his vicinity, he’ll usually find a way to make the catch.

During his time at Callaway, Sanders was the consummate big-play receiver, making some momentous catches, including one on fourth down for a touchdown in a memorable playoff win over Screven County in 2016.

Sanders has been at Ole Miss since 2017, and while his playing time has been limited at times because of injuries, he has continued to make plays when the football comes his way.

Sanders, who along with all other college-football players received an extra year of eligibility by the NCAA, is his fifth and final season at Ole Miss.

With second-year head coach Lane Kiffin leading the way, Sanders is having his finest season as a college player. In a memorable 52-51 win over Arkansas, Sanders had the game-winning 68-yard touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter, and he also had a spectacular diving catch that set up another score.

The previous week against topranked Alabama, Sanders had a phenomenal one-handed catch that appeared on the sports highlights shows that night.

Before the season, Kiffin felt Sanders was poised for a breakthrough season, and the coach has been proven right.

“I think Braylon can play all over the place. I think he’s extremely talented,” Kiffin said. “If he had a good year from a height, weight, speed, ball skill standpoint, he’s a potential first-round draft pick. You saw the explosive plays he made a year ago, just didn’t have that many opportunities with injuries and other situations. So, look for him to have a really big year.” Under normal circumstances, Sanders’ time at Ole Mis would already be done, but the NCAA decided to grant every college athlete an extra year of eligibility because of the complications created by COVID-19.

When Sanders was given the option of returning to Ole Miss for a fifth year, he didn’t hesitate.

“It’s one of the best campuses in the country,” Sanders said before the season. “The Grove, that’s the best thing about it. Before the game, you’re walking through the Grove with all the fans. It’s a great feeling walking through there.”

For Sanders, game days turn into family reunions, with a large group of relatives also turning out to watch him play.

“My family and friends, they like to travel,” Sanders said. “Most of them, they get there on Friday and stay the night so they can be there for The Grove on Saturday mornings. Just to be able to see them in that time of morning, it’s great.”

Sanders arrived at Ole Miss after a memorable stint at Callaway High, where he was an all-state wide receiver.

Sanders was, in fact, a part of one of the biggest plays in the history of Callaway’s football program.

In a third-round game against Screven County in 2016, Callaway was facing a fourth-down situation with moments left in the game when Sanders caught a pass from Dylan Johnson and turned it into a 47-yard touchdown.

That play capped a 98-yard scoring drive and gave Callaway a 35-34 victory and a berth in the state semifinals.

“That’s one of the biggest games of my life,” Sanders said. “Being in that atmosphere, it felt great, and then scoring the winning touchdown and having all the fans running around on the field, it was great.”

When this season ends, Sanders is hoping to play professional football in the NFL, and his stock is no doubt rising this fall.

“This is one of my main goals, to hear my name called on draft night,” Sanders said. “Whether it’s day one or day two, just as long as somebody has faith to give me an opportunity, I can go out there and show them my talents.”