2011 county football preview

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TheAnnistonStar Sunday, August 14, 2011

Calhoun County high sChool football preview

Good as gold

when Kwon alexander steps on the gridiron, the oxford senior proves he’s worthy of his lofty national ranking. off the field, his stardom seldom shines through.

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star OxfOrd yellOw Jackets

AlexAnderT h e g r e a T

OXFORD

Kwon Alexander ain’t never been scared.

not when the Oxford sophomore got his first varsity start against national powerhouse Hoover.

And he certainly isn’t now, on the opposite end of that experience spec-trum —the nation’s best outside line-

backer heading into his senior season. Alexander’s career began with a boom bigger than a

bass line when he registered 18 tackles against the Bucs in the 2009 AHSAA Champions Challenge in Montgom-ery. He’d been moved from safety to linebacker just a week prior due to the Yellow Jackets’ concern about the second level of their defense.

With so much success at a young age — and even more accomplishments since — one might think he’d be cocky. not at all.

Alexander, who just turned 17, is as reserved as they come. But he’s no respecter of persons between the lines. That’s part of the no-fear attitude he was taught as a young child playing in the Coosa Valley league, he said.

“I didn’t know I was going to get 18 (tackles),” he said. “But I knew I was going to ball out regardless.

“I’ve never been scared of any-thing. Them having state champion-ships and me being a sophomore didn’t really matter to me. If you’ve got heart, you’re just going to go out there and play. I don’t have any fear.”

It wound up being the best per-sonnel move coach John Grass and his staff ever made as Alexander went on to rack up 133 tackles, including eight sacks that season.

“He’s by far the best outside backer that I’ve ever coached,” said Grass, a 20-year veteran of the coach-ing business. “He’s probably one of, if not the best, defensive player I’ve ever coached.

“He’s just got that type of ability and nose for the football and desire to get to the ball and make plays. If

he continues to progress, he’ll have a great career.”

While he may be the best Grass has ever coached, the question for such a big-time player is bigger than that: Is he the best player ever to come out of Calhoun County?

That’s high cotton and always debatable.

It’s a conversation to be held once his career is actually over and we can compare his body of work to the likes of former Alexandria running back Mac Campbell, the state’s all-time leading rusher with 9,839 yards.

Among others. At Anniston alone, there’s an

entire catalog of greats — eric davis, Steve Christopher, Orlando Waters, Andra Franklin, rodney Morris and damien dorsey. At one point in the

NickBirdsong

Oxford lB has used no-fear attitude to reach pinnacle of his position

Please see OxfOrd ❙ Page 3Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

The Anniston Star Sunday, August 14, 2011

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o x f o r dy e l l o w j a c k e t s

* denotes region contest

2 0 1 1 s c h e d u l e

Coach John Grass

Class, region6A, 7

2010Record 7-5, 5-2

Points scored24.6 (avg.)

Points allowed20.4 (avg.)

2011 PRosPeCtusIf there was ever a sea-

son for oxfod to enter into the upper echelon of class 6A, it’s now. They have as much talent as tax revenue — Kwon Alexander, Trae elston, Michael flint , coty spurling, Jackson stephens, Gary Mason and racean Thomas. They’ll be right in the thick of things come the start of November.

of note ... Trae elston wore No. 13 as a sophomore and

No. 6 as a junior. he may want to switch to No. 21 in honor of recent hall-of-fame inductee deion “Primetime” sanders. That’s exactly what time it’s going to be whenever the 6-foot, 183-pound athlete touches the field. Alexander might be the biggest name on the marquee, but elston is well worth the price of admission.

he tweeted earlier in the off-season that he wanted to be a smaller version of Nfl receiver Brandon Marshall, the spot Alabama is recruiting him for.

he also possesses lockdown coverage skills, can lay the kill shot down in run support as a safety, and you may want to think twice about kicking the ball to him when he’s back to return.

he was all-state last season with more than 100 tackles and three interceptions.

— Nick Birdsong

date opponent location

08/26 carrolton, Ga. h

09/02 Gadsden city* h

09/09 clay-chalkville* A

09/16 Austin* h

09/23 Auburn A

09/30 Pell city* A

10/07 hewitt-Trussville* h

10/14 huffman * A

10/21 shades Valley* A

10/28 central-Phenix city h

1990s, Anniston was tied with famed delasalle high in california for the high school with the most current players in the Nfl.

But even with all that said, it’d be hard to argue that Alexander isn’t the biggest recruit to ever come out of the county, especially in this rivals-scout-esPN world of webzines dedicated solely to tracking the careers of prep prospects.

“We knew coming into that year (Alexander’s sophomore season) that he had a lot of ability, and that if he progressed as a player, he was going to be a d-1 guy,” Grass said. “he has all the parameters — his height, weight, speed all those things. And he had great sophomore tape.”

following his sophomore sea-son, Alexander was offered by then-defending national champion Alabama as were talented classmates defensive back/wide receiver Trae elston and offensive lineman Michael flint; Alexander, however, was always considered the gem of the bunch.

The only knock against him — if you consider it a knock — would be his size.

some say he’s small for a linebacker and might be better suited at the next level for safety. his stature is a non-factor to him and the coaching staff;

Grass said he’s yet to hit his growth spurt and could easily be 230-240 pounds in a couple years.

“I know I’m going to get bigger in college, but I use my size to my advantage,” said Alexander, who said he admires Nfl linebacker ray lewis’ style of play. “I’m faster than most offensive linemen and if they get to me, my hands are quicker than theirs.”

he played it low-key this summer, spending most of his time engaged in team activities with the Yellow Jackets as they prepared to improve upon their 7-5 mark from last year, which ended with a 23-21 loss to rival Gads-den city on the road.

When he did venture out this sum-mer, he showed out, winning co-MVP at the Nike football Training camp in Georgia then participated in The opening, a Nike-sponsored 7-on-7 to which an invite was only extended to the nation’s players ranked in the esPN top 150. elston also partici-pated.

he’s dwindled his list of suitors

down to six who remain in conten-tion for his signature come National signing day in early february, when he said he’ll announce his intentions. The list includes Alabama, Auburn, lsu, Miami, oregon and florida state.

“I stay humble and just be me,” he said. “I’ll never change. some people never get this opportunity. I’m just real with it.”

Although people know who he is virtually anywhere he goes and he’s often asked for his autograph, he remains the same ‘ole Kwon— cooler than air-conditioning off the field, more vicious than sid on it.

“There’s a lot of weight that comes along with the notoriety that he’s got-ten, but I think he’s handled it well because he does produce,” Grass said.

same way he did the first time he ever stepped onto the field as a starter in a varsity game.

Nick Birdsong can be reached at 256-235-3575. Follow him on Twitter @birds_word.

elston

Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star/File

Oxford’s Kwon Alexander is coming off a junior season that saw him make 127 tackles, 27 for loss, nine sacks and forced five fumbles. He is rated by many as the No. 1 outside linebacker in the country.

OxfOrdContinued from Page 2

“I stay humble and just be me. I’ll never change. some people never get

this opportunity. I’m just real with it.”— oxford’s Kwon Alexander on how he deals

with the fame of being a national recruit

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star

4

Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

t a b l e o f c o n t e n t sSchool Page

Alexandria Valley Cubs 5

Anniston Bulldogs 18

Donoho Falcons 12

Jacksonville Golden Eagles 30

Jacksonville Christian Thunder 22

Ohatchee Indians 32

Oxford Yellow Jackets 2

Piedmont Bulldogs 24

Pleasant Valley Raiders 8

Saks Wildcats 16

Weaver Bearcats 28

Wellborn Panthers 36

White Plains Wildcats 34

Cover photo by Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

John R. Payne, M.D.Kenneth L. Vandervoort, M.D.Duane D. Tippets, M.D.

Gordon T. Hardy, M.DMichael R. Wiedmer, M.D

C. Herbert McCrimmon, M.D

Anniston Orthopaedic Associates, P.A.

Anniston Orthopaedics wishes to recognize and congratulateDr. Kenneth Vandervoort and Dr. Gordon Hardy

on their achievement of Sports Medicine Certificationfrom the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. This additional education enhances the treatment that Anniston Orthopaedics can provide to area

athletes and their family members.

SATURDAY SPORTS INJURY CLINICRegular Football Season Saturdays

8:00 am - 10:00 amTyler Center, 3rd Floor • (256) 236-4121

Dr. Kenneth Vandervoort Dr. Gordon Hardy

The Anniston Star Sunday, August 14, 2011 alexandria valley cubs

5

His turn

Lee hoping to make his place in Cubs’ running back tradition

by bran [email protected]

ALEXANDRIA

The humble tone in Jarline Lee’s voice was as heavy as the orange paint on the walls of Larry Ginn Memorial gymnasium. He rattles off names of great former Alexandria players one after another with awe dripping from the expression on his face.

The lengthy list of running backs he named may not be a fraternity, but Lee wants in badly — in a little less humble way.

“I want to at least be in the top three,” he said, referring to the school’s all-time performers. “I know it’ll be hard, but if I work hard, I think I’ll be able to achieve that goal.”

At the start of last season, that goal seemed as far away as the moon.

Only a sophomore, he was ready – albeit with silent impatience – to prove to those in the Valley that he could do the job. However, it wasn’t until Dar Harper went down with an injury that Lee got his chance.

And the proof was preponderant.Despite only taking over the start-

ing role in the fifth game of the season, Lee responded with 968 yards and

eight rushing touchdowns. It was good enough for the first step in his journey, a first-team spot on the all-county squad at running back.

With so much production in such a short time, Alexandria coach Frank Tucker was pleased, to say the least. But the short span makes him give a short answer as to just how big Lee can become.

Please see alexandria ❙ Page 6

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a l e x a n d r i av a l l e y c u b s


2 0 1 1 s c h e d u l e

Coach Frank TuckerClass, region

4a, 6

2010Record 6-5, 4-3



The sun rises in the west, and alexandria reaches the state playoffs. There are certain things in life that always happen. The Valley cubs return just two start-ers from their offensive line. That bunch will mature and lead the way for Jarline lee’s breakout season. Just don’t read too much into the opener against 3a champ leeds.

Of note ... Their color may be orange and black, but their

collars have always been blue in alexandria. Just like the spread offense has caught on like

kudzu across the world of high school football, so too has two-platooning players in order to keep the freshest legs on the field.

But in alexandria, they subscribe to another theory.

“We try to keep our best players on the field,” Valley cub coach Frank Tucker said.

if there are starters who don’t play both ways, many at the very least play in spot or back-up roles on defense.

Tucker said they do a good job of condition-ing in the offseason, and also play their way into better condition as the season goes on.

But it all starts in the offseason. “When we had linemen drills down at the

field, we had a bunch of people down there,” said chance heath, an alexandria two-way lineman for three years. “lot more people than usual, and we’re just really supportive.”

— Bran Strickland

date Opponent location

08/26 leeds a

09/02 Oneonta * h

09/09 anniston* a

09/16 Jacksonville* h

09/23 Boaz h

09/30 cleburne county* h

10/07 springville* a

10/14 locust Fork* h

10/21 st. clair county* a

10/27 lincoln a

“i don’t know,” he said. “he hasn’t played a full season, so, i just don’t know yet.”

What Tucker does know is despite what he calls lee’s unique style of run-ning, he fits right into the mold of how football has long been played in alex-andria: run first, win at the end.

With the great names that have donned the orange and black in the past, it parallels a professional team that has long sported the orange, too.

during the Mike shanahan years in denver, ultra-productive running backs came with just slightly less fre-quency than death and taxes. in his 14 years at the helm, 11 backs followed the zone blocking, cut once and hit four digits. There was the big name, Terrell davis, but most were inter-changeable faces: like Olandis Gary, Tatum Bell, reuben droughns and Mike anderson.

experts attributed denver’s suc-cess to the system. Tucker said despite being a run-first system, he’s not smart enough for that to be the case.

“it’s not coaching,” he said. “We’ve always had a tailback-oriented offense that highlights their ability, but 90 per-cent is because of the athletes.

“i guess we’ve just been blessed with good athletes out here.”

lee said he studies tape of other good athletes, sometimes shortly before the games. everybody from alabama heisman trophy winner Mark ingram to nFl star chris John-son. But he doesn’t stray too far from his roots either – he watches tapes of the state’s all-time leading rusher and former Valley cub standout Mac campbell, too.

From campbell, who was flipping footballs to referees while lee was still in diapers, to chris evans, who just recently finished his playing days at samford, lee wants to become that name that everybody in the Valley knows.

But while it may be his name that has them all abuzz, he knows it’s far from a one-man job. he gives credit for his success to his offensive line and

even his receiver – especially senior Tyler Burr.

and if he forgets, Burr doesn’t hesi-tate to remind him how he’s the main person to help him when teams try to take away running opportunities by overloading the box.

“We run the ball a lot, but you can’t always depend on the run,” Burr said. “sometimes you have to open it up with a pass.”

as lofty as the goals are that lee has set for himself, he gives the biggest pat on the back to Burr: “he’s probably the best receiver to ever play here,” lee said.

starting left tackle chance heath, the team’s strongest man sporting a

350-pound bench press, doesn’t mind accolades being heaped around. he doesn’t need the spotlight. he said he gets all the satisfaction he needs on Friday night when someone breaks for a long run and he just follows behind to meet them in the end zone.

“i remember last year running 60 yards on back-to-back plays – and it was the same play,” said heath, one of two returning starters. “it puts more stress on you (to perform for the backs), but at the end of the game, you take pride in it.”

Bran Strickland is the sports editor at The Star. He can be reached at 256-235-3570 or follow him on Twitter @bran_strickland.

alexandriaContinued from Page 5

“We’ve always had a tailback-oriented offense that highlights their ability, but 90 percent is because of the athletes.”

— Frank Tucker, alexandria coach

Trent Penny/The Anniston Star/File

With a possession receiver like Tyler Burr (16), Alexandria keeps oppos-ing defenses honest and uses its bread-and-butter ground game.


77

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star Pleasant valley raiders

Close Counts

By Bran [email protected]

PLEASANT VALLEY

The description of Jeff Davis doesn’t stop at old school. To accurately depict the Pleasant Valley coach, you must also point out that he was a member of the first graduating class.

So, as funny as a few random preseason practice drills may have

looked, at their core, it was basic coaching philosophy: Don’t overlook the fundamentals.

Davis had his charges join hands in two circles. Looking outward, one group raced another down the field. In order to keep the circle unbroken, they had to communicate each link’s ability to keep pace.

After that, Davis had players crawl on all fours with another player in tow.

Practice was finished off with players pairing up again and carrying their teammates on their back.

Please see Pleasant valley ❙ Page 9

Davis, PV hoping team unity can

translate into wins

Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star/File


9

p l e a s a n t v a l l e yr a i d e r s


2 0 1 1 s c h e d u l e

Coach Jeff davis

Class, region2a, 6

2010Record 5-6, 4-4



2011 PRosPeCtusyou can’t lose a player

like Kyle Bean and not skip a beat. especially at a class 2a school like pleasant val-ley. luckily for the Raiders, easing the transition will be a veteran offensive line. If the Raiders can steal a win in the first three games, a late push could mean another playoff berth.

of note ... While a dog never cares if a coach wins or

loses a ballgame or who he’s starting at quarter-back, he’s still not his best friend.

that role, if the vibe between the two is right, is played by the people at the top. and pleasant valley coach Jeff davis has nothing but love for principal eddie Roe calling the support they get “tremendous.”

While davis has implemented many things in his tenure at the helm of the Raiders — man-datory after-school study periods for example — just recent did he get something he’d long been craving.

the two have worked well together and have now instituted a new program davis thinks will pay dividends in the future.

“now we have a 7-8 grade weight lifting class, so when we get them in the seventh grade, we’re getting them in the weight room,” davis said of the program that started last year. “that in itself will pay off in three or four years.”

— Bran Strickland

date Opponent location

08/26 sand Rock* h

09/02 Westbrook christian* a

09/09 north sand Mountain* h

09/16 victory christian* a

09/23 section* h

09/30 Ohatchee* a

10/07 Fyffe* h

10/14 White plains h

10/21 Ider* a

10/28 Jacksonville a

It’s all part of his master plan of finding the team’s strength and mak-ing it even better.

“We just got some seniors that are stepping up and showing unreal senior leadership. not that we haven’t had good senior leadership in the past, but this group is a little different.”

It’s not something that he’s never seen before, but it’s been a while.

davis said this group reminds him of the 2007 squad. the one that start-ed the string of three playoff berths in four years.

While that may not sound like a lot for many programs, that berth in 2007 came after a drought of more than 20 years.

senior Will hamby, one of a dozen soon-to-be graduates, sees it, too. and just like the 2007 team left an indelible mark on the program, he’s wanting to leave one as well.

“We’ve never won a playoff game at pleasant valley,” he said, “and I want to change that. I know we can go far.

“We know how winning feels and we know how it feels to lose close games. We know how we have to bring it and how intense we have to be.”

along with hamby, davis points to Michael Roe as the spearheads for the new-attitude Raiders. set on going into the military after graduation, Roe went to the air Force academy over the summer.

davis said he didn’t know what they did when Roe made the trip out West — all he knows is it worked.

“ever since he came back from there, he’s just a different person as far as leadership and desire and wanting everybody to do good,” davis said.

davis can talk about the more traditional positives on this team. he points out this group is bigger and stronger than ones in years past.

he’s got a fair amount of returners, too. a core group in the place all old-school coaches like to see: the offen-sive line, where five of six are back, including Roe, the tight end.

But there are downsides, as well. Gone is Kyle Bean, who rushed for

more than 5,000 yards in his career at pleasant valley.

davis said he isn’t sure who’ll set-tle into the starting role with hamby (6-foot, 175 pounds) and hunter

Green (6-2, 205, Jr.) are battling it out. his quarterback position is in a

state of flux, too. there, lucas Ford and Garrett

preston, a sophomore and junior, respectively, are sharing snaps while davis, “is waiting for one of them to step up and take over.”

But time and again, while talking about the position battles davis goes

back to the unity of this team and its senior leadership.

While some people may downplay intangibles in the game of football, he’s seen too much to know that it’s not important.

Bran Strickland is the sports editor for The Star. He can be reached at 256-235-3570 or follow him on Twitter @bran_strickland.

pleasant ValleyContinued from Page 8

Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star

With Pleasant Valley’s quarterback position still up in the air, summer 7-on-7 passing camps weren’t the highlight of the offseason.


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Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star Donoho Falcons

BY nIcK BIRDsonG [email protected]

In his years at the helm of Donoho’s football program, Shannon Felder has been and seen it all.

He went 12-1 and reached the state quarterfinals in 2006. He also had an 0-10 season in 2008 followed by a one-win campaign a year later.

So, as you might expect, heading into 2011 without a pair of key starters from a team that’s looking to replace six on both sides of the ball, it didn’t break him

or his returning veterans. “My philosophy, my focus, my thought on everything every year is the same,” Felder

said. “We try to set a mark on how many games we’re going to win or how many games we’re going lose. The thing that I tell the guys is from week-to-week I really want to work hard on becoming better football players.

“And if we’ll work hard and focus on just getting better with everything that we’re doing offense, defense and special teams, then winning will take care of itself.”

Another changeupFelder, Falcons hoping to take hits from graduation, injuries in stride

Photos by Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

Donoho coach Shannon Felder (above, foreground) has had to deal with injuries to two key players as he looks to improve on last year’s 8-3 season.Please see Donoho ❙ Page 13


1313

D o n o h o F a l c o n s

Date opponent Location

08/26 Decatur heritage A

09/02 Ragland* A

09/09 Jacksonville Christian* h

09/16 Coosa Christian* A

09/23 Spring Garden h

09/30 Appalachian* h

10/07 Parkway Christian* h

10/14 Jefferson Christian* A

10/21 Akron* h

10/28 Woodville A


2 0 1 1 S C h e D u L e

Coach Shannon Felder

Class, region1A, 6

2010Record 8-3, 5-2



2011 PRosPeCtusGoing 8-3 after losing

19 of your previous 20, that was tough. But it’s going to be even tougher for Donoho this season, going into a tough-first-half schedule without two key contributors. If they man-age to reach the playoffs, Shannon Felder should be a strong candidate for Class 1A-2A Coach of the Year.

of note ...The Falcons will have to replace plenty of pro-

duction from its breakout squad from a year ago. Former quarterback William nunnelley

completed 83 of 192 passes for 1,139 yards and 15 touchdowns against only seven intercep-tions.

he also added 341 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground, which was good enough to be the team’s third-leading rusher behind Walker Mason, another graduate.

nunnelley’s top target, Will Montgomery, caught 24 balls for 367 yards and eight touch-downs. he graduated as well.

The good news is Walker Mason, one of the team’s top three rushers, is back.

Still, Felder thinks his team has more than enough leadership to excel.

“We’ve got nine guys that are seniors,” he said. “For us, that’s a big class.”

— Nick Birdsong

Felder said he expects his team to go without seniors Matthew overton and Justin Foster for the first five or six weeks as they try to improve upon last season’s 8-3 mark. overton, a team captain, would have been The Falcons starter at center, on offense, and line-backer on defense had he not broken both his fibia and tibia playing a game of pickup basketball this summer.

“Football-wise he’s the most knowledgeable player on the team,” Felder said.

“he understands everything offen-sively and defensively. he under-stands what every person on the field is supposed to be doing. Losing him, not only do we lose a good leader, but we lose a player-coach.”

Foster, an honorable mention to the all-county team, broke his leg in the offseason and won’t be available for the season-opener at Decatur heritage. he was set to start at both running back and outside linebacker.

Parker Morgan will fill in on the offensive line, while overton is out, and Alex Svensen will get the carries intended for Foster.

“We have inexperienced players that have some talent,” Felder said. “So, they’ve got to get some reps. Get-ting back Justin and Matthew later in the season is going to make us a

stronger, make us a deeper team, and it’s going to make us a better team. As we work to develop some chemistry with those players back, I feel like we’ll continually improve.”

newcomer Teddre Williams and Marshall Ghee are battling it out to fill the void at quarterback left by last year’s Star Class 1A-2A Player of the Year Will nunnelley.

overton, for one, is doing every-thing he can to expedite his return.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pounder hasn’t missed a team workout or practice since his injury. he does as much core and upper body work as he can.

“The doctor told me that I’m three weeks ahead of schedule,” he said. “I plan to be back by the second game of the season. I’m just trying to rehab and get in as much as much work as I can.

“I’m just looking forward to playing football and us making a deep run in the playoffs.”

In the meantime, his boys will have to hold it down without him.

Donoho spent the first week of practices tucked away at a team camp in Pisgah. Fullback/wide receiver Walker Mason said the experience, which he described as “seven days of pure football,” included some six prac-tices a day and helped the team bond both on and off the field.

“We’ve been 0-10 and 8-2,” Mason said. “It helps out a lot when things go wrong. We had a good season last year and we expect to have another this year.

“I think we’ll be alright without those two, and when we get them back, we’re really going to be tough to deal with.”

Nick Birdsong covers prep sports for The Star. He can be reached at 256-235-3575. Follow him on Twitter @birds_word.

donohoContinued from Page 12

ABOVE: Terry Lamb/The Anniston Star/File; BELOW: Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star

Walker Mason, above, and the rest of the Falcons will have to shoulder a heavier load while injured players like Justin Foster, below, work their way back onto the playing field.

Mason


1. Daphne (24) 15-0 366

2. Hoover (2) 14-1 277

3. Prattville (7) 8-4 250

4. Spain Park 6-6 228

5. Davidson 12-2 169

6. Clay-Chalkville 9-4 136

7. Mountain Brook 11-3 119

8. Auburn 8-2 86

9. Oxford 7-5 75

10. C.-Phenix City 9-2 31

Others receiving vOtes

Gadsden City (9-4) 28, Stanhope Elmore (10-3) 27, Tuscaloosa Co. (8-3) 27, Wetumpka (10-2) 17, Foley (8-4) 15, Vestavia Hills (9-3) 13, Decatur (9-2) 7, Florence (4-6) 6, Fairhope (7-5) 2, Hill-crest-Tuscaloosa (9-2) 2.

c l a s s 6 a

Team (first-place votes)2010

record Pts1. Briarwood Chr. (17) 13-2 347

2. Hueytown (13) 11-2 330

3. Spanish Fort (3) 13-2 235

4. Hartselle 12-2 219

5. Vigor 8-5 173

6. Eufaula 9-3 124

7. Chelsea 8-3 107

8. Walker 10-2 96

9. Muscle Shoals 8-3 84

10. St. Paul’s 10-2 65


Fort Payne (12-1) 44, Russellville (11-2) 16, Pinson Valley (5-6) 14, McAdory (11-3) 12, Demopolis (8-4) 6, Fairfield (7-4) 3, Etowah (6-5) 2, Greenville (7-4) 2, Tallassee (9-2) 2.

c l a s s 5 a


record

1. Thomasville (33) 15-0 396

2. Jackson 10-2 234

3. Dadeville 12-1 231

4. North Jackson 13-1 209

5. Deshler 12-3 182

6. Bibb Co. 12-2 164

7. Andalusia 9-2 140

8. UMS-Wright 6-5 75

9. anniston 10-3 69

10. Escambia Co. 9-4 62


Oneonta (8-4) 54, cleburne co. (9-3) 20, Straughn (10-2) 19, Fairview (10-2) 9, Guntersville (7-4) 6, cherokee co. (5-6) 5, Fayette Co. (10-3) 4, Dora (3-8) 1, Hillcrest-Evergreen (7-4) 1.

c l a s s 4 a


record

1. Leeds (33) 15-0 396

2. Piedmont 12-2 274

3. Hamilton 14-1 256

4. handley 10-2 255

5. Gordo 12-2 193

6. Washington Co. 9-3 130

7. T.R. Miller 8-4 86

8. Madison Acad. 10-3 58

9. Plainview 8-4 44

10. Bayside Acad. 9-4 41


Daleville (8-3) 40, Lauderdale Co. (10-2) 37, Trinity (11-2) 31, clay co. (8-4) 25, Glencoe (10-2) 6, Sardis (4-6) 6, Cor-dova (10-2) 2, Hanceville (4-6) 1.

c l a s s 3 a


recordPts Pts Pts

A S W A P R E S E A S O N P O L L

1414


15

The spirit of a community comes alive on Friday nights in the fall as we cheer on our friends and family out on the football field. At Farmers & Merchants Bank, community spirit is something we know about, as we open our doors each day as your true community bank. Join us as we proudly support our community and the Friday night tradition!

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS...WHERE TRADITION LIVES.

Best wishes to all our area teams for a great 2011 season!

1. Leroy (16) 14-1 340

2. American Chr. (17) 12-2 339

3. Elba 11-2 247

4. Reeltown 13-2 228

5. Millry 5-6 171

6. Cottonwood 12-1 134

7. Fyffe 9-2 132

8. Tanner 11-1 66

9. Lineville 10-4 48

10. Sulligent 10-3 43


Houston Acad. (8-3) 40, Colbert Hts. (8-3) 36, Fultondale (4-6) 29, Westminster Chr. (10-2) 8, Red Bay (5-6) 6, Southern Choctaw (9-3) 6, Woodland (9-3) 6, Westbrook Chr. (10-1) 2.

c L a s s 2 a


record Pts1. Sweet Water (32) 12-3 393

2. Linden (1) 12-2 287

3. R.A. Hubbard 13-2 264

4. Parrish 10-4 207

5. Cedar Bluff 9-3 179

6. Lynn 11-2 162

7. Collinsville 9-2 119

8. Brantley 8-3 89

9. Maplesville 12-1 51

10. ragland 9-3 50


Addison (10-3) 32, Appalachian (8-3) 30, Hackleburg (8-3) 6, Pickens Co. (7-5) 6, McKenzie (10-1) 2, Winterboro (7-3) 2, Gaston (5-6) 1, St. Jude (11-2) 1.

c L a s s 1 a


record

1. Monroe Acad. (29) 2-1 381

2. Pike Liberal 9-3 276

3. Fort Dale Acad. (2) 10-3 259

4. Edgewood Acad. 12-2 238

5. Bessemer Acad. (1) 11-1 186

6. Glenwood 6-5 175

7. Patrician 7-3 116

8. Lowndes Acad. 8-4 74

9. Springwood (1) 10-3 57

10. Clarke Prep 10-2 54


Restoration Acad. (8-4) 32, Macon-East (4-6) 17, Coosa Valley Acad. (11-2) 9, Autauga Acad. (7-6) 4, Southern Acad. (4-7) 2, Sumter Acad. (10-3) 1

a i s a


recordPts Pts

A S W A P R E S E A S o n P o L L The Anniston Star

Haute Homemade A crafter’s

favorite corner in

Sunday’s Life section

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star saks wildcats

20

Knock, knockBY Nick BiRdsONG

[email protected]

SAKS

The Wildcats want back in.

After four straight postsea-son appearances, Saks failed to qualify for the playoffs in 2010.

The Wildcats had to believe a fourth straight appearance was all but theirs heading into

the season a year ago when they dropped down in classification. After all, they were coming off an 8-4 season where they made it to the second round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

“We didn’t like last year,” coach Clint Smith said. “We didn’t like not being in the playoffs. When you take something away that you’re used to, you want to get back to that.”

After one-year playoffs hiatus, Saks hoping

it can reopen the door

Please see saks ❙ Page 17

“Last year taught us a lot of things.”

— Clint Smith , Saks coach



2117

The Wildcats began the season with an impressive 4-1 start with wins against Ashville, Hokes Bluff, White Plains and J.B. Pennington. However, they folded late losing to Glencoe, Weaver, Piedmont and Clay County down the stretch to finish 4-5.

They are motivated by their mis-fortune as they prepare to embark upon another season in Region 6, where nine teams will do battle for four playoff spots.

The Wildcats play all eight of their region games right off the bat, begin-ning with an Aug. 26 road meeting against an improved Ashville team.

“We don’t have a non-region Week 1 or Week 5,” Smith said. “So, there’s no margin for error. We have to come out ready to play each and every week. … You have to hit the ground running. You have to have everything in Week 1. You have to be ready to go and ready to play because that game matters just as much as any of them getting off on the right track.”

It’s arguable whether anyone wants it as badly as senior linebacker Joshua Reynolds.

The 5-foot-8, 175-pounder tore his ACL in the spring game last season and was forced to sit out his junior season. He rehabbed the injury for more than three months, and still Reynolds said in early August he was still at about 90 percent and that he would fight through it to be able to be on the field and help his team out.

“It was real painful, especially the first game,” Reynolds said of having to sit out. “The first game was on my birthday. I thought I was going to be out there. I missed that first game, and it broke me down.”

Smith said his team learned that what they did the previous season doesn’t matter at all.

Now, their slate is clean, and they’re all about establishing the identity of this year’s team and return-ing to their postseason pedigree.

They lose a trio of all-county per-formers in Brandon Johnson, Shed Long and Mark Wilson, and will start several newcomers across the offensive and defensive lines. Chase Johnson and Cordarius Cooper are

battling for the starting quarterback position.

They have five starters back on both sides of the ball. Among them is talented sophomore Corpio Den-nard, who started as a freshman on both sides of the ball, to go along with a tackling machine in linebacker Xavier Morgan and athlete Justin Grier.

These Wildcats have seen success, winning a pair of spring contests in Mississippi. Now, it’s just a matter of putting things together and getting results on Friday nights.

“Last year taught us a lot of things,” Smith said. “You have to realize that you have to play each and every game. You have to go out and you have to work. You have to weather the storm and play through injuries and stay focused.

“We want to work at trying to peak at the right time. We want to play our best ball at the end of the season instead of at the beginning of the sea-son.”

Nick Birdsong covers prep sports for The Star. He can be reached at 256-235-3575. Follow him on Twitter at birds_word.

S A k SW i l d c a t s

Date Opponent Location

08/26 Ashville* A

09/02 Hokes Bluff* H

09/09 Susan Moore* A

09/16 White Plains* H

09/23 Pennington, J.B.* A

09/30 Glencoe* H

10/07 Weaver* A

10/14 Piedmont* H

10/21 OPEN

10/28 Clay County H


2 0 1 1 S C H E D u L E

Coach Clint Smith

Class, region3A, 6

2010Record 4-5, 4-4



2011 PRosPeCtusThe Wildcats have a

nice array of skill players on offense. They’ll have to produce early and often. They’ll also need their young players to step up and make plays and avoid the late season failings of a year ago. If they can, they’ll be back to building another playoff streak.

of note ... With the graduation of former standout Bran-

don Johnson, Saks is a team in need of an experi-enced playmaker.

The Wildcats may have one in Justin Grier. The 6-foot, 170-pound senior could be a

diamond in the rough for college scouts. He performed well on the summer camp circuit, earning an invitation to the National underclass-men Combine’s ultimate 100 Top Prospect Elite Camp at the university of Oklahoma.

Grier could wind up being a Division 1 signee in February if he has a big season, and he’ll have lots of chances playing a range of positions from running back to receiver or safety to corner.

— Nick Birdsong

saksContinued from Page 16

Trent Penny/The Anniston Star/File

Saks quarterbacks Cordarius Cooper (pictured) and Chase Johnson will likely split time running the Wildcats’ offense.


Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star Anniston bulldogs

It’s on him

bY niCK biRdsong [email protected]

He certainly looks more comfortable.

During a preseason practice on a dreary Thursday morning outside Anniston’s Lott-Mosby Stadium, junior quarterback Spencer Howard commanded his offense like a sea-soned veteran.

He congratulated them when they executed a play to perfection. “I likes that. Good job, O!,” he shouted as he carried out a fake.

And he corrected them when it was needed, “Get the snap up,” he said to center Chad Anderson, encouraging a better exchange.

Howard, who’ll make his first varsity start when the Bulldogs travel to Class 5A Erwin on Aug. 25, replaces former standout Josiah Atkins as the Bulldogs starting quarterback. Atkins started four games as a freshman

Bulldogs’ new QB has both doubters, support

Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star/FilePlease see Anniston ❙ Page 19


19

A n n i s t o nB u l l d o g s

Date opponent Location

08/25 Erwin A

09/02 Cleburne County* A

09/09 Alexandria* H

09/16 springville* A

09/23 Lincoln H

09/30 Locust Fork * H

10/07 saint Clair County* A

10/14 oneonta* H

10/21 Jacksonville* A

10/27 Briarwood Christian H


2 0 1 1 s C H E D u L E

Coach Eddie BullockClass, region

4A, 6

2010Record

10-3, 7-0Points scored

35.4 (avg.)Points allowed

19 (avg.)

2011 PRosPeCtusWithout former QB

Josiah Atkins and his Elway-esque fourth-quar-ter comebacks, Anniston’s margin for error is lower this season. Luckily, they still have loads of talent and a hard-working coach in Eddie Bullock. Expect them to compete for a region title again and at the worst, nab a playoff spot.

of note ... Last year, it was easy to be

enamored with Anniston’s offense, a group that put up close to 40 points per contest and featured the all-state run-ning back troymaine Pope.

Pope is back and should once again impress, but the Bulldogs could earn their rep on defense, led by a pair of talented seniors — linebacker Lafayette Ragland and defen-sive back Denzel Roberts.

Ragland possesses ideal size for a high school linebacker at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and has the experience in Bullock’s sys-tem to help lead a defense that graduated all-state performer Quinton Royal.

At 6-1, 170, Roberts will be able to matchup with any receiver they’ll see this season.

— Nick Birdsong

in 2007 and led the Bulldogs to three-straight playoff appearances, includ-ing a Class 4A, Region 6 title and trip to the state quarterfinals as Anniston went 10-3 a year ago.

Howard’s cool, calm and collected demeanor was a far cry from the gun-shy signal-caller who fumbled the most significant snap he took all sea-son filling in for Atkins in the Bulldogs’ homecoming win against oneonta.

“i’m just trying to get better,” said the 5-foot-8, 165-pounder. “Rep-etitions, that’s all. i’ve made a big improvement from then, just being focused and confident.”

second-year Bulldogs coach Eddie Bullock can relate to the skepticism his new signal-caller might incur as he leads a program with a state-champi-onship pedigree. Bullock was met with criticism when the Board of Education was reluctant to make him the perma-nent head coach after releasing Alex Wilson, who’d guided Anniston to a pair of postseason appearances. Bull-ock was tagged with an interim title before leading the Bulldogs to its most successful season in a decade.

“i sort of tell spencer that we’re two of a kind,” Bullock said. “i told him, ‘Being totally honest with you, i get criticized a lot, and i get doubted a lot

about my ability to coach the football team.”

“the same thing happens to spen-cer. i have to defend him on a daily basis. People don’t believe that he’ll be able to quarterback. i told him that should be motivation to him like it is to me.”

Howard has worked to get accli-mated with a new set of targets. the Bulldogs graduated the entire wide receiver corps from a year ago. How-ever, he’s got a more-than-capable offensive line in front of him, anchored by 6-foot-7, 276-poud left tackle Don-tavious Blair. the Bulldogs also return isaiah Riggins (6-3, 255) and Chad Anderson (6-1, 240). so, if size matters, protection shouldn’t be a problem.

“We’ve got the talent, and we’ve got the size to be better than we were last year,” said Blair, who’s received inter-est from virtually every school in the sEC.

And it never hurts to have troy-maine Pope behind you taking hand-offs. the 5-foot-8, 188-pound all-state running back rushed for 1,895 yards and 30 touchdowns in 11 games before going down with a slight knee injury that kept him out the Bulldogs’ final two contests in 2010.

“He’s going to be alright,” Pope said about his new QB. “You’re going to hear a lot about him.”

Atkins, a two-time first-team all-county choice, said the toughest part

for him as a young quarterback was adjusting to the mental aspect of the game.

“He’s about to be a starting quarter-back. it’ll hit him sooner or later,” said Atkins, who signed with Mississippi Delta Community College. “it’s tough, but he can do it. He’s got to know every position on that field, including the offensive line and wide receivers.”

the Bulldogs aren’t expecting How-ard to do the things Atkins did right out of the gate. they’ll limit his reads and expand the playbook as he develops and gains experience, Bullock said.

Bullock saw emerging leadership qualities in Howard in his ability to fol-low. He didn’t miss a single workout this summer and was one of less than a handful of players on the roster to hit the weight room every day. He also spent countless hours going over plays and schemes with offensive coordina-tor Lynn Moore.

“You’d have to give him the respect just based off the work he put in,” Bullock said. “You sat behind Boobie (Atkins) for two years; it’s your time. You’ve got 100 percent support from me. As long as you’ve got support from me, you’re alright.

“Just do what you do. Just play foot-ball.”


annistonContinued from Page 18


With Dontavius Blair (74) protecting him, the maturation of quarterback Spencer Howard should at least be a little easier. Blair now checks in at 6-foot-7, 276 pounds and has a multitude of college offers on the table.

ragland

roberts

Sunday, August 14, 2011 Sunday, August 14, 2011 Page 21

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Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star Jacksonville christian thunder

s m a l l c a m p u s

By Joe [email protected]

JACKSONVILLE

The hints kept coming for Jon Averette.

At 9 years old, he weighed in at 145 pounds at a doctor’s appointment. He grew out of shoes every six months and reached size 12 at age 12.

From 14 years old on, he worked out and bulked up. Then people at church would get a look at him.

“Guys at church and people here and there always be asking if I play ball,” Averette said. “They’d be kind of disappointed when I said no.”

Averette finally took the hint and took up organized football a year ago. Now that college recruiters are catching on to this 6-21/2, 257-pound senior from tiny Jacksonville Christian Academy who can run a 5.0-second 40-yard dash, they’re dropping hints.

The college looks are coming from Jacksonville State, Sam-ford, Wofford and others. No scholarship offers yet, but then Averette has only played one season of organized football plus camps at JSU and Vanderbilt.

One of few starters back from JCA’s first playoff team, Averette will stand out on film this season. JCA coach Tommy Miller is moving him from nose guard to middle linebacker because, well, Averette is big and fast.

“In the our spring game, we had a back that broke 60, 70 yards out, and Jon ran him down from behind,” Miller said. “I thought then we might want to look at him and see if he can play at linebacker, because that’s a position we have trouble with any way.”

When the big-and-fast kid makes plays from sideline to sideline and down field, more and more recruiters are bound to ask, where has this kid been?

Here and there.He considered playing parks-and-recreation ball as a youth, but that pesky

weight-limit thing kept getting in the way. He lived in Tennessee for a time then moved back to Jacksonville, where he home-

schooled. Then the thought occurred during what would be his sophomore year in high school that he might want to get serious about football.

There could be a scholarship in it.“About the end of 2009, I decided that I was pretty interested in possibly playing college ball

somewhere,” he said. “I definitely had the size for it.”He had to make up for lost time by playing immediately and wasn’t sure how soon he’d get on

the field at Class 4A Jacksonville High School, so he enrolled at JCA, a 1A school in January 2010.

BIG MANAverette turning heads, hoping to

give T hunder its newest milestone

Please see Jca ❙ Page 23



He began offseason work and went to college camps that summer. Then he played his part as an offensive tackle and nose guard in helping JCA to its first playoff berth.

“He had an immediate impact on our team,” Miller said.

“Number one, he’s big, and he’s smart. He wants to play and works hard, and he’s not slow.”

Averette ran his 5.0-second 40 dash a year ago at JSU’s camp, one of several camps in which he participated. He went to seven this summer.

Miller has sent out letters to several “smaller schools.” Wofford, which beat JSU in the 2010 Division I Football Cham-pionship Subdivision playoffs, invited him to camp.

“This summer, the two that have mentioned to me that they are definitely looking at me are JSU and Samford,” Averette said. “I was a little surprised. I didn’t expect somebody like JSU or Samford to be interested in me at this point. I kind of figured I’d be shooting a little lower.

“Division II schools are interested in me. I just want to play ball somewhere.”

Academics won’t be a prob-lem as Averette has already scored a 25 on the ACT.

Miller has coached at JCA for 23 years, dating back to the Thunder’s 8-man football days, and said he can’t remember the school having a football signee.

“Any time you have a kid sign a scholarship, it means a lot,” Miller said, “but to be as small as we are, to have somebody sign, especially if it was some place like JSU, it would mean a lot.”

Averette would love to be the first.

“It would definitely be an honor to be the first one from the school to go for a college scholarship,” he said. “That would be awesome.”

Joe Medley is The Star’s sports columnist. He can be reached at 256-235-3576 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @jmedley_star.

jcaContinued from Page 22

J A C k S o N v I l l e C H r I S T I A NT h u n d e r

Date opponent location

08/26 ASD A

09/02 Appalachian* H

09/09 Donoho* A

09/16 Jefferson Christian* H

09/23 vina H

09/30 Parkway Christian* A

10/07 ragland* H

10/14 Akron* A

10/21 Coosa Christian* A

10/28 Meek H


2 0 1 1 S C H e D U l e

Coach Tommy MillerClass, region

1A, 6

2010Record 7-4, 4-3



2011 PRosPeCtusThe Thunder made an

amazing breakthrough in 2010, making the Class 1A playoffs for the first time since the school stepped up to AHSAA competition. Getting back this year will be difficult. JCA lost several key starters from 2010, put-ting Coach Tommy Miller back in rebuilding mode.

Mr. everything at Jacksonville Christian Academy, also known as coach Tommy Miller (below); is coaching hurt once again.

But if you know anything about Tommy Mill-er, he’s not about to take a day off, and it’s also very hard to keep him down.

He started and finished the 2010 season with open-heart surgery in the middle, miss-ing only two games on the field.

JCA’s rock is at it again in 2011 despite strug-gling through back prob-lems.

He lists himself as probable.

— Joe Medley

of note ...

23

(256)241-3242

August 20th through the Playoffs

8:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

1419 Hamric Drive East • Suite 201 Oxford, Alabama 36203

Saturday Sports Injury Clinic

X X X X XX X X X X X



2 0 1 1 S C H e D U l e

Coach XXXXXXX

Class, regionXA, XX

2010Record x-x, x-x

Points scoredxxx (avg.)

Points allowedxxx (avg.)

the word from Bird

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star Piedmont bulldogs

bY niCK biRdsong [email protected]

PIEDMONT amie Major has never been typical.

As an eighth-grader, he notched nearly double-digit tackles in Piedmont’s loss to Leeds in the state semifinals.

In his first year as a full-time starter on the Bulldogs’ varsity, he led the Bulldogs in tackles on

their way to a state title in 2009. He repeated that feat as they reached the state semifinals last fall.

As an ESPN RISE and Max-Preps All-American selection as well as a first-team all-state choice already, Major is set to take on a unique role on Pied-mont’s defense heading into his junior season. The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder will make the shift from outside linebacker to strong safety/rover position to fill the void left by another all-state performer, Jamaal Johnson, last year’s Star Class 3A Player of the Year who signed with Jacksonville State.

“As a freshman and sophomore, he’s seen all the success that Jamaal has had playing that position,” Piedmont coach Steve Smith said. “We ask a lot of things out of that guy. That guy’s a cover guy, he’s run support, he’s a blitzer. He’s kind of a playmaker on the defensive side, and we felt like Jamie would be perfectly suited for that.”

Piedmont’s Major changesHeralded junior heads big

changes to Bulldog ‘D’

“I want another ring. That’s my

motivation. It’s not about me.

It’s about the team.”— Piedmont’s

Jamie Major

Please see Piedmont ❙ Page 25

MAJoR’S RéSuMé2009

• First-team Class 3A All-Calhoun County team

• MaxPreps.com Freshman All-American team

2010• First-team Class 3A All-

Calhoun County team

• Preseason and Postseason Dandy Dozen selection

• First-team Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 3A all-state team

• First team ESPN RISE Sophomore All-American Team


P I E D M O N TB U L L D O G S


2 0 1 1 s c h E D u l E

Coach steve smith

Class, region3A, 6

2010Record

12-2, 8-0Points scored

35.0 (avg.)Points allowed

18.9 (avg.)

2011 PRosPeCtusGoing 25-4 over the past

two seasons, how could one doubt steve smith and the Bulldogs? sure, they lost a pair of college signees and a 1,000-plus-yard rusher, but the Bulldogs had plenty of questions that needed to be answered following their state title run in 2009. The No. 2 team in the state is worthy of its ranking.

of note ... If you’ve ever been to a Piedmont boys bas-

ketball game, you may have wondered how did Jamie Major become a team manager? here’s the story as relayed to a star reporter by Piedmont Athletics Director steve smith.

At the end of Major’s freshman year — that’d be the year he led the Bulldogs in tackles on its way to a state title — he had to choose a spring sport to play between wrestling and basketball.

he went with wrestling, but as the summer wore it just wasn’t a good fit for him. so, he decided to play basketball.

The problem was he’d missed tryouts and Tommy lewis wouldn’t allow him on the squad.

“Jamie basically said, ‘can I be a manager? I just want to be a part of the team,’” smith said. “We all kind of kid him about it. like, we’ve got the best looking manager in the state. You get down there to the state final four, you look out there and you’ve got a manager that’s 6-foot-1, 210 pounds and muscular and he’s carrying the water.”

— Nick Birdsong

Date Opponent location

08/25 hokes Bluff* A

09/02 susan Moore* h

09/09 White Plains* A

09/16 J.B. Pennington* h

09/23 Glencoe * A

09/30 Weaver * h

10/07 Greensboro h

10/14 saks* A

10/21 Ashville* h

10/28 cherokee county A

But the transition into the second-ary has been anything but flawless for Major. he’s learned his share of lessons in battles with running backs and wide receivers at 7-on-7 passing camps this summer.

“You’ve got to be patient and stay back more,” Major said. “I learned that during passing camp, getting burned.

“You can’t just come up. You have to stay back and be able to watch more. You can’t be downhill, down-hill, downhill. You have to worry more about the pass.”

But, in 7-on-7 camps, there’s no pass rush, quarterbacks have an obstructed view of the field and a guaranteed four seconds to get rid of the ball. As Major put it, that “just ain’t football.”

When it’s to strap up for real and Major can “tear somebody up,” he said he’ll be ready to perform at a high level just as he always has.

“I think it’ll come to him once the physical part of the game is reintro-duced,” smith said. “Once you start tackling and hitting and you can knock receivers off their routes and things like that. I think it’ll come back to him, and he’ll be fine.”

At 14, smith said, Major was already as strong in the weight room as 90 percent of his teammates. he never felt the intimidation of playing on the same field as guys three or four years his senior.

With two seasons to go, he’s already garnered interest from Alabama, Auburn, lsu, Florida state, Georgia, Tennessee, Oregon, Texas Tech and Texas A&M among others.

however, the individual accolades don’t drive him. Instead, he said he’s pushed by the Bulldogs’ 28-21 loss to hamilton, the same squad they defeated to advance to the state title game the previous year.

“My motivation is to win. I want another one of them,” he said, point-ing to the blue and yellow state cham-pionship banner in the far end zone at the Field of champions.

“I want another ring. That’s my motivation. It’s not about me. It’s about the team.”

Major’s position switch is represen-tative of much of the change through-out the No. 2 Bulldogs’ defense. Despite returning six starters from last year’s team that went 12-2 and won a class 3A, Region 6 title, only one, col-lin Bradley, will be playing at the same

spot as last year. senior clay Dent will start at

middle linebacker and will retain his duties on the offensive line.

“You have to be a little quicker on your feet, be alert and be able to read everything,” Dent said.

They’ll also still have the services of all-county defensive lineman Mar-quez Gamble as well as the talented Quadree Wood, who earned Defensive Player of the Week, off the bench last season.

After reaching the pinnacle of suc-cess in 2009 and falling just short of that mark in 2010, the No. 2 Bulldogs

are more aware of their vulnerability than ever before and primed to return to Bryant-Denny stadium in Tusca-loosa where they won the state title.

“I guess we took them for granted last year since we beat them 63-35 (in 2009),” Major said. “(Now) we know that we can be beat them, and we have to work to stay at the top of the totem poll, so to speak. We have to keep on working hard, harder than everybody else.”


PiedmontContinued from Page 24


Jamie Major (24) admits the transition into his new position hasn’t come without its share of bumps in the road.


LeedsAway

26


27

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star Weaver Bearcats

problemNot a bad

to be facing

BY NIcK BIrDsONG [email protected]

WEAVER

Daryl Hamby had always believed in the old-school philosophy: If you’ve got two quarterbacks, you don’t have one.

Then, Florida won the 2006 BCS National Cham-pionship using both Chris Leak and then-freshman Tim Tebow simultaneously.

Hamby might have wavered a little on his phi-losophy, but it didn’t change his approach when he took over the head football coaching gig at Weaver last season.

Freshman Timothy Hawkins was the team’s lone legit option at starter and guided the Bearcats to the playoffs where they lost to eventual state runner-up Hamilton.

However, his belief was completely shattered when 6-foot-6 senior Brennan Ledbetter transferred back to Weaver. The opportunity to add an experienced signal caller to his offense while also being able to use the 6-foot-2 Hawkins’ immense athletic ability as a receiver when he’s not under center was one Hamby couldn’t shelve.

But just how he’ll use Ledbetter, who played for Hannah High School in South Carolina as a sophomore before sitting out his junior season at Weaver while transferring, is still like the passing game — up in the air.

“I’ll tell you after the season,” Hamby said. “I don’t know. It’s hit or miss. All of this is new. We’re going to have to figure out what works best for Weaver.”

Weaver’s Hamby has two talented signal callers heading into fall

Please see Weaver ❙ Page 29

“They’re both capable passers, and I think the healthy competition could ultimately make them

better players and the team more prosperous.” — Daryl Hamby, Weaver coach



29

Weaver went 5-6 last season, fin-ishing .500 in the regular season. The Bearcats nabbed the fourth and final spot in Class 3A, Region 6 behind Piedmont, Glencoe and Susan Moore with Hawkins running the show.

Ledbetter and Hawkins will see the field plenty whether they’re under center or elsewhere. Hamby said he plans to use both of them at split end when the other is at quarterback.

“If the other team has a 5-5 cor-nerback, we might just split Brennan out just to throw it up there to him,” Hamby said. “That’ll be hard to stop.”

Switching positions doesn’t bother Hawkins.

“I grew up being a running back and a wide receiver,” he said. “My dad actually talked to coach Hamby about me playing quarterback. This could be a good thing. We should be able to run a lot of trick plays and stuff.”

Hamby said both played well in spring competition against Pleasant Valley. Weaver’s summer schedule consisted of just one 7-on-7 against Alexandria, and Hamby doesn’t read

too much into that. “They’re both capable passers,”

he said, “and I think the healthy com-petition could ultimately make them better players and the team more prosperous.”

After going 0-10 in 2009, the Bearcats may have surprised some with their run to the playoffs last sea-son. However, they won’t catch any-one off guard in the season opener at Susan Moore, their first of eight region

matchups. They lost all-county performers

Tevin Heath, who signed with Hunt-ingdon College, and horse running back Quinatta “Toot” Jones. However, they return all-county performer Brandell Massey, one of the county’s most impressive physical specimens, as well as speedster Chris English. The 5-foot-9, 150-pounder put on 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason while retaining the jets that made him so exciting to watch as a freshman.

Hamby admitted his team was somewhat scared prior to getting thumped by Hamilton in the first round last year. However, much like Hamby’s rigid one-quarterback mode of thinking, the idea that Weaver is a doormat victory for the opposition has also vanished.

“They both do things exception-ally well,” Hamby said of Hawkins and Ledbetter. “I know they can handle it. I don’t have to worry about hurting their feelings.

“The thing I like about both of them is they’re both just about winning.”


wEAVERContinued from Page 28

W E A V E Rb e a r c a t s


08/26 Susan Moore* A

09/02 White Plains * H

09/09 J.B. Pennington * A

09/16 Glencoe * H

09/23 Wellborn A

09/30 Piedmont* A

10/07 Saks * H

10/14 Ashville* A

10/21 Hokes Bluff* H

10/27 Coosa Christian H


2 0 1 1 S C H E D u L E

Coach Daryl HambyClass, region

3A, 6

2010Record 5-6, 4-4



2011 PRosPeCtusWeaver’s got the pieces.

The question is, will they fit together this year. In addi-tion to the two QBs, there’s the electrifying Chris English and in Brandell Massey, a rock-solid line-backer. A region champi-onship might not be in the picture with Piedmont still around, but a repeat playoff berth is well within reach.

of note ... If you’re looking for a player to have a break-

out season, watch out for Weaver athlete Chris English.

His speed, quickness and agility have always been unde-niably noticeable, but he’s added a considerable amount of muscle to his lean frame.

In preseason practices, he looked bigger, stronger — and dare we say — faster.

Last season when he made The Star’s Class 3A All-County football team, he listed him-self at 5-foot-9, 135 pounds. Hamby said the sophomore now checks in at 150 pounds.

He could develop into an offensive weapon with a skill set similar to Reggie Bush and could become a more effective runner between the tackles, as well. But unlike Bush, the only thing he’ll give back is the ball to the referee after he scores.

— Nick Birdsong



Even if he’s not under center, Weaver’s Brennan Ledbetter will be easy to spot — most of the time, just look for the tallest player on the field. He’ll team with Timothy Hawkins (below) to give the Bearcats a 1-2 punch.

english

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star jacksonville golden eagles

Largeand in charge

By Bran [email protected]

JacKSOnViLLe

It had all just gotten to be too much to take.

Too many touchdowns. Too many yards. Too many long nights and long faces.

So, after a season full of frustration, Roland Houston decided to make a change.

Contrary to anything he has done in his long football career, the Golden Eagles became a defensive team

based out of the 3-4 look. “It’s going to put us into blitzing more than we have in the

past,” Houston said. “I never have been a blitz guy, because I feel like you play your base and most of the time, that’s what’s going to win it for you.”

But sticking to its base didn’t work for Jacksonville last sea-son. The Golden Eagles went 2-8 and gave up an average of 41.2 points per game. On three occasions, they gave up more than 50 points including a season-high 61 against Anniston in Week 9.

Their only victories came against winless Locust Fork early and a 25-22 win against Class 2A Pleasant Valley in the season finale.

Blessed with big bodies, J’ville switches to 3-4 ‘D’

Please see jacksonville ❙ Page 31



J A C K S O N V I L L EG O L D E N E A G L E S


08/26 John Carroll A

09/02 Locust Fork * A

09/09 Cleburne County* H

09/16 Alexandria* A

09/23 Munford A

09/30 Springville* H

10/07 Oneonta * A

10/14 St. Clair County* H

10/21 Anniston* H

10/28 Pleasant Valley H


2 0 1 1 S C H E D u L E

Coach Roland Houston

Class, region4A, 6

2010Record 2-8, 1-6



2011 PRosPeCtusOn offense, Jackson-

ville should be solid — if not very good. Standout tailback Cordero Little is back and bigger and in bet-ter shape than ever. The defensive experiment will be the difference. It’s hard to image giving up more than 41.2 points per game, but the 3-4 can be feast or famine.

of note ... At a school with such high academic stan-

dards, at least one of the three Rs have carried over to the football field for Jacksonville.

Forrest Pearson returns at quarterback for the Golden Eagles and their complex triple-option attack.

While he doesn’t throw the ball as often as a quarterback in a spread or shotgun look, don’t underestimate his importance.

“I think it’s moreso for our offense than any other,” Houston said. “Reading — it looks like it’s easy when you see somebody else do it, but it’s a lot of timing involved in it.

“It seems like the more experience somebody has with it, the more natural it becomes to them — just by instinct they can do it.”

Pearson has definetly got plenty of experi-ence. He was thrust into the starting role midway through his sophomore year and had the job full time as a junior.

If Pearson has it down like Houston thinks, he’s got plenty of capable backs to help him make the big plays.

— Bran Strickland

Knowing that a change was nec-essary, “because we’ve been so bad defensively the year before,” he said, Houston talked with his coaches and evaluated the situation. What they saw were big things — three to be exact, and the idea of what to switch to popped out to them like the players’ bellies.

With the nose guard position such a crucial role in the 3-4, much like skin-ny jeans, not everybody can pull it off. Jacksonville, however, just happened to currently be blessed with big bodies. The Golden Eagles will rotate in Tyler Prater (6-foot-2, 300), Trey Morris and Alijah Curry in hopes of earning some defensive respectability again on the field.

“We had these big guys that are really huge,” Houston said, “and they’re getting to be pretty good play-ers. We’re better in that than in any other defense.”

The job of a 3-4 nose guard is almost like a one-man show. They have to keep the defense honest by occupying lineman in the wide-open gaps a three-man front creates. The defense is also reliant on linebackers, which Houston said he had more of

than defensive back-type players.Houston admits while he was skep-

tical, he was more desperate. After watching it work during his time as an assistant at Jacksonville State, he decided to try it, but only in commit-ting to the spring. If it didn’t work — or even show hints of working — it’d be back to the drawing board in hopes of sketching out another plan for the fall.

But it did. At least well enough to score a two-touchdown win in the spring jamboree over Cherokee Coun-ty, a team just two years removed from a state championship.

And that was basically all it took. “I thought it was a perfect defense,”

Prater said. “ … it’s better containment on the quarterback. I don’t think they can stop our nose guard position.”

Even though Prater admits he was surprised by how well it worked in the spring, even before the spring victory, convincing the players wasn’t hard.

Curry is a newcomer to varsity foot-ball, so, he didn’t experience the old way. Nevertheless, he’s loving the look.

“I knew it was an important posi-tion, but I didn’t know it was that important,” Curry said. “I like I feel like I’m playing on a college team or a video game.”

Much like the spread offense, the 3-4 is a chic way to play D. Alabama rode it to a Bowl Championship Series title two seasons ago. And it’s currently

so much the rage in the NFL, some squads have put the franchise tag on their biggest bellies.

At this time of year, the typical response of a coach on nearly any level is that the defense is ahead of the offense. Because of the complexities of defense, Houston puts the two groups are “at least even.”

“I think we’re better than last year,” Houston said. “I don’t know if it’s because of the scheme or more because of the personnel. I think scheme is helping us a little bit.”

Houston said more attention has been paid to the teaching aspects and going into a lot more detail pointing out so many more situations a 3-4 can present and adjustments will have to be made for.

But for all the adjustments a defense may have to make, he can now pose the same type problems for the offense. And do it first --- an offensive defense of sorts.

“In the old defense, everybody knows what they’ve got,” he said. “The thing about the 3-4 is you can line your secondary four across and get the defense you want by rolling them up.

“So, people don’t know until the snap what they’re getting, so, it helps you a little bit.”

Bran Strickland is the sports editor for The Star. He can be reached at 256-235-3570 or follow him on Twitter @

jacksonvilleContinued from Page 30


ABOVE: Jacksonville coach Roland Houston is using a new 3-4 scheme in hopes to improve on 2010’s 2-8 mark. OPPOSITE: Tyler Prater will start at nose guard, the focal point of the 3-4, for Jacksonville.

31

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star ohatchee IndIans

32

By Joe [email protected]

OHATCHEE

Ohatchee’s five senior football players have seen a lot.

In football, they’re on their third head coach in second-year coach Jason Howard and looking to improve on a 2-8 finish in his first year. That’s foremost on their minds in August and should be.

In April, they saw devastation caused by an EF-4 tornado that roared through their community. It raised concerns beyond their years.

“What I get from it is that you never know when something like that is going to happen,” senior center and nose guard Brady Kelley said. “Your life can end at any minute. You’ve got car wrecks and tornadoes, anything like that.

Getting strongerOhatchee seniors

look forward to life on gridiron

following deadly April tornado

Please see ohatchee ❙ Page 33

Bill

Wils

on

/Th

e A

nn

isto

n S

tar


21

“You’ve got to play every game like it’s your last. You don’t know if you’re going to break an ankle, and you don’t know if you’re going to be here tomor-row or what’s going to happen.”

Nearly four months have passed since the April 27 tornado. Rebuilding efforts go on, but time and onset of football have put that terrible day in the way-back for the Indians.

For them and their community, football season on the Creek Bank becomes a happy diversion. It’s fun to think about how the Indians might improve in the second year under a proven winner and native son like Howard.

They lost only three seniors from 2010, and the many freshmen who played a year ago are sophomores. They’ve had a year to do what Ohatchee’s team most needed to do — get stronger.

“That’s the big thing,” Howard said. “We’re a good bit stronger, overall. Brady Kelley is the strongest person on the team, and he’s stron-ger than anybody we had last year, hands down, but overall as a team, top to bottom, we’ve all shown a lot of increases.

“A lot of it is maturity. We played a bunch of little puppies last year. Now, they’re a year older.”

Howard, who played for Ohatchee, came back in 2010 after leading Spring Garden to its best seasons in football. He said Ohatchee is ahead of where Spring Garden was after year one because the Indians have more tradi-tion.

“I feel like we’re ahead of where we were (at Spring Garden),” he said, “but it just takes several years to get it to the point where it needs to be.”

Getting there has proved difficult for Ohatchee, which is on its third head coach since Jeff Smith produced winning seasons there. The current seniors transitioned from Ray Crump to Chad Cochran as freshmen then from Cochran to Howard.

Ohatchee has won six games in three years.

“It’s been pretty crazy,” Kelley said. “You never feel like you can really get settled in.

“When they (other coaches) left, it was kind of like it was pretty weird every time to readjust and get used to the new coaches. Coach Howard seems like he wants to stay there a while. Ohatchee is his home.”

Several in Ohatchee lost homes or worse during the April 27 tornado, which killed nine people in Calhoun County.

Howard said no one on the team lost family members, but some saw their homes damaged or had family members who lost homes. Several players went out to help people who were affected.

“I couldn’t have been more proud,” Howard said. “We were down there the day after the storms working, and I saw a bunch of them boys. I mean, they got out and really worked.”

Kelley was out working the night of the storm along with some friends.

“Me and my buddies went out that night and was kind of clearing the roads,” he said. “We stayed out there for the next few days, trying to clean stuff up.

“One of my buddies that I grew up with, he helped me work and stuff, and he was one of the ones really affected by it. He lost his house.”

Kelley’s family was lucky. They lost an old shed but had planned to tear it down.

Still, seeing what others lost was tough.

“You never expect it to hit home like that,” he said. “You see it on TV, and you feel bad for those people, but

it’s really a life-changing experience to see everybody go through that and see a little town like this get hit like that.

“It’s eye-opening. You think about a lot of stuff, like how lucky you are to still have your house.”

Howard wouldn’t go so far as to say the Indians are using Ohatchee’s tornado tragedy as a rallying point, but there is a sense that the community can rally around the team.

“I think there’s some excitement,” he said. “I thought in spring (practice) it was good.

“We started our spring practice right after the tornadoes and all hit, and it gave people sort of an escape. I’m not saying we had a lot of people who did that, but we’d have some come and watch practice for a couple of hours.”

It’s all part of the experience that has been the past four years for Ohatchee’s seniors. Kelley hopes they can give their community something to cheer this fall.

“I think we’re going to be pretty good,” he said. “… If we don’t win, we’re going to lay everything out on the line.”

Joe Medley is The Star’s sports col-umnist. He can be reached at 256-235-3576 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @jmedley_star.

O H A T C H e eI n d I a n s


08/26 North Sand Mtn.* H

09/02 Victory Christian* A

09/09 Section* H

09/16 Decatur Heritage A

09/23 Fyffe* A

09/30 Pleasant Valley* H

10/07 Ider* A

10/14 Sand Rock* H

10/21 Westbrook Christian* A

10/28 White Plains A


2 0 1 1 S C H e D u L e

Coach Jason HowardClass, region

2A, 6

2010Record 2-8, 1-7



2011 PRosPeCtusGetting Ohatchee foot-

ball playing at a high level again wasn’t a one-year proposition, and second-year coach Jason Howard still has work to do. The Indians should improve from their 2-8 finish in 2010, however, just by virtue of the fact that most starters return, and they’ve gotten bigger and stronger.

of note ... The natives got to Jason Howard last year. Two major staff changes saw coaches go back

to their native schools: Will Ginn back to Alexan-dria and David Beegle back to Weaver.

Thankfully, Howard was able to replace both and added two assistants to his staff, too.

Kevin elwell and Shon Burney are the new additions to the group and both come with a wealth of football knowledge.

elwell was a graduate asisstant at Jacksonville State, while Burney was the head coach at Talla-dega County Central.

“Shon brings a lot,” Howard said. “especially his experience. ... he’s really, really good with the kids. They really relate to him.”

In addition to the newcomers, Howard’s cur-rent staff includes returnee and former Saks head coach Glenn Toney, who was also a key assistant to Bobby Joe Johnson on Saks’ 1996 state-runner-up team. Rounding out the bunch are Casey Howell, Blake Jennings, Randall Toney and Jeff Winn.

— Joe Medley

OhatcheeContinued from Page 32


OPPOSITE: Ohatchee’s five seniors (from left to right) Brady Kelley, Jus-tin Areno, Caleb Vice, Zack Mitchell and Ron Hopper have endured a lot with the recent tornado. ABOVE: Areno returns in the backfield.

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star white Plains wildcats

20

Plains’ truthBy Joe Medley

[email protected]

WHITE PLAINS

Heath Harmon sure has faced challenges in getting White Plains football on the “Build It” plan.

Realignment greeted him, as the AHSAA bumped the Wildcats up from Class 2A to 3A

before his first season in 2008.Another realignment in 2010 put White Plains

in a nine-team region that included 4A dropdowns like Saks.

This for a program that hasn’t been to the play-offs since 1994.

But White Plains is a growing school, and surely the roster would catch up as enrollment forced the Wildcats into tougher competition. Well, not exactly.

A core group of building-block players like Brock Wright, Konnor Amis, “Dirt” Jones and Kyle Bowen have melted away, and that undefeated middle school team from a few years back?

Not all of those guys will be on the field this year.

Challenges keep progress in check for Harmon, ’Cats

Please see white Plains ❙ Page 35

“We’re having to take other guys that maybe we weren’t counting on two years ago and get them ready to go.”

— Heath Harmon, White Plains coach



21

“We had one (sophomore Dylan Randall) that’s not playing because of injuries (concussions), and we had a couple of others that decided not to play,” Harmon said.

Add that White Plains returns just four starters on offense and three on defense from a 3-7 team, and Harmon sure has his challenges in trying to make his fourth Wildcats team the first to break the school’s playoff drought.

“We’re returning some really solid linemen,” Harmon said, emphasizing the positives. “When I first got here, I felt like we were weak in all areas, but the line was the worst I’d ever seen. They have come so far.”

Here comes the “but.”“But the skill guys that we were

counting on, some of them are not playing,” he said. “We’re having to take other guys that maybe we weren’t counting on two years ago and get them ready to go.

“I think we can, but as far as our plan of what we were going to build toward, that’s happened on the line. It just hasn’t happened on the skill. We’re kind of still struggling a little bit on our skill players.”

It’s one step forward, one step back, and that’s new to a proven winner like Harmon. His track record is quick

steps forward, with breakthrough sec-ond seasons.

It almost happened that way at White Plains. The Wildcats came within one victory of the playoffs in 2009 but lost a heartbreaker in a win-ner-goes game at Wellborn.

That team finished 5-5 despite los-ing a top defender in Dillon McGuffie, and Harmon thought he had another 5-5ish team a year ago. Oh, those chal-lenges.

A preseason shoulder injury kept Bowen, a defensive lineman and a key offensive threat at tight end, out until the Glencoe game.

Coming into this season, Harmon’s challenges include fall baseball. Of the 17 players from a baseball team that has gone three rounds deep in the playoffs the past two years, only one plays football.

“I’ve never had that problem before,” Harmon said.

The Wildcats’ roster counts 35 play-ers, down from nearly 50 in Harmon’s second year. He likes the players he has.

“The kids that I coach work really, really hard,” he said. “Most coaches say that, but they do. They do every-thing we ask them to do, and they believe in what we’re doing.

“Our whole thing of ‘Build it,’ they‘ve bought in.”

If White Plains is to break through this season, it will do so with raw skill players like quarterback Dalemetrius

Reddick“He is really doing well,” Harmon

said. “He’s real crafty, and he has real good vision, and he’s pretty smooth at what he’s doing.

“He’s not trained in the skill of playing quarterback, but as far as the intangible things, he has them.”

Harmon also has a new and unusu-al running back in 260-pound Roder-ick Young.

“Roderick is kind of a project,” Harmon said. “He played as an eighth-grader last year and started varsity on the offensive line, but he’s one of our faster guys.”

White Plains will also rely heavily on Jalen Hill in the backfield.

Fullback Logan Giddens will move to Bowen’s tight end on offense and Jones’ middle linebacker slot on defense.

“He’s probably our purist football player, just a physical, mean football player,” Harmon said. “He can play any position on the field, pretty much.”

Giddens said he’s up to the chal-lenges of his new positions, and White Plains is up to its many challenges.

“Expectations are going to be high,” he said. “We’ll have a really explosive offense. We’ve just got to step up and have leaders like we had last year with Kyle and Dirt and Konnor.”

Joe Medley is The Star’s sports col-umnist. He can be reached at 256-235-3576 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @jmdley_star.

W H I T E P L A I n sW i l d c a t s


08/25 Glencoe* H

09/02 Weaver* A

09/09 Piedmont* H

09/16 saks* A

09/23 Ashville* H

09/30 Hokes Bluff * A

10/07 susan Moore* H

10/14 Pleasant Valley A

10/21 J.B. Pennington* A

10/28 Ohatchee H


2 0 1 1 s C H E D u L E

Coach Heath HarmonClass, region

3A, 6

2010Record 3-7, 2-6



2011 PRosPeCtusThe Wildcats play in

one of Class 3A’s toughest regions. They’ve lost key players over the past two years, seniors and players who quit football. Finish-ing among the top four in region play, thereby making the playoffs, would be an accomplishment in Coach Heath Harmon’s fourth season.

Key losses for coach Keith Harmon aren’t limited to promising young skill players and foun-dational players who led his first three teams at White Plains before graduating.

The fact that sophomore Dylan Randall is not playing this season because of concus-sions also meant that Chris Randall, his dad, will not be on the coaching staff. Chris Ran-dall coaches the school’s boys and girls basketball teams.

Dylan, an honorable men-tion to last year’s all-county team, would’ve provided much-needed experience to a White Plains squad that lost three first-teamers in Konnor Amis, Kyle Bowen and Tyler Jones.

Harmon is trying to “Build it,” as the school slo-gan goes, but he once again is rebuilding it. This as the Wildcats stare down the possibility of moving up to Class 4A, possibly as early as next year.

— Joe Medley

white plainsContinued from Page 34


White Plains assistant coach Chris White works with players on the quarterback-running back exchange. Attention to detail with the skill players is something that can’t be overlooked this season, White says.

of note ...

randall

Sunday, August 14, 2011 The Anniston Star Wellborn Panthers

20

by Joe [email protected]

WELLBORN

Wellborn has a lot of check marks coming into the 2011 season.

Check progress. Wellborn has made the play-offs both years under third-year coach Jeff Smith finished 2010 with a winning record (6-5), the Panthers’ first since 2006.

Check talent. At least three players — wide receiver/safety Dalton Screws, two-way lineman DeJuan Traylor and defensive end/tight end Bobby White — are on recruiting radars.

Check experience. Six starters return on offense and defense. Junior quarterback Judd Smith, the coach’s son, and sophomore wingback Chantz Goodman each have 22 starts.

So many checks to suggest the Panthers are bound for a breakthrough, but there’s just one big question mark. Running back Delrickus Rho-den, the most recent player face of the program the past three years, has moved on.

About that.Freshman running back Kevin Mixon looks to have the makings of a

rising check mark.

“Kevin has real high confidence. He’s little, but he’s a tough kid. He can make things happen.”

— Wellborn’s Chantz Goodman on teammate Kevin Mixon

Please see Wellborn ❙ Page 38

RiseOn the

Wellborn’s Mixon ready to fill gaping void left by Rhoden



2137

w e l l b o r n | p a n t h e r s


08/26 Gaston A

09/02 Central , Coosa* H

09/09 b. b. Comer* H

09/16 leeds* A

09/23 weaver H

09/30 beulah* A

10/07 Clay County* H

10/14 Handley* H

10/21 Marbury* A

10/28 woodland A


2 0 1 1 s C H e D u l e

Coach Jeff smith

Class, region3A, 3

2010Record 6-5, 4-3



wellborn has improved in each of Jeff smith’s two seasons on The Hill and should again this year. How much it will show, record-wise, will depend on the Panthers’ ability to break-through against region powers leeds, Clay County and Handley. At least well-born plays Clay County and Handley at home.

Of note ...when bobby white steps on the gridiron, it’s

easy to see the defensive end/tight end has talent. what many people are find-

ing is that he has talents else-where, too.

white is getting letters from Ivy league schools, including brown and Harvard. He’s also getting looks from Middle Ten-nessee state, Jacksonville state and southern Illinois.

He wants to be an architec-tural engineer and said Middle Tennessee has a good school for that field.

“brown university, if I get my ACT score up,” he said. “I wouldn’t mind going all the way up there to study.”

He made a 22 on his last attempt and said he hopes to improve to 26.

— Joe Medley

white

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“He’s an exceptional player,” coach Smith said. “One time we were playing Talladega in a junior-high football game, and he dragged their whole team into the end zone from about the 8-yard line by himself.

“At that point, I was watching him do that, and I said to myself, ‘Lord, that boy right there just touched greatness.’”

It’ll take a while for Mixon to grasp greatness. Rhoden had three thou-sand-yard rushing seasons at Wellborn.

At 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, Mixon will chase greatness with his own style. Rhoden was a bigger back.

“Del is more the type he’ll try to run you over,” said Traylor, a senior who has gone up against both in practice. “Kevin is more shifty. When you go to wrap up, he’ll backpedal a little.”

Coach Smith calls Mixon “a totally different back” from Rhoden, saying Mixon compares more favorably to Goodman.

“They’re small, com-pact, real muscular,” Smith said. “Both of them have good vision and good feet. They look more like wish-bone halfbacks than a tra-ditional ‘I’ tailback.”

While Mixon and Rho-den have different styles, they have opportunity in common. Like Rhoden, Mixon will start as a fresh-man.

He’s already off to a promising start. He high-lighted a spring jamboree rout of Westbrook Christian with touchdown runs of 7 and 35 yards on Jack-sonville State University’s Snow-Burgess Field.

Wellborn’s starters played three quarters and rolled up 330 yards in total offense during that span. Goodman also ran for two touchdowns.

Jeff Smith sees a more

flexible offense with Mixon in the mix, and Goodman likes what Mixon brings to the mix.

“With me, Kevin and Judd, we can step it up real good,” Goodman said. “Del’s gone, and we’re going to miss him, but we’ve got to have some-body to step it.

“Kevin has real high confidence. He’s little, but he’s a tough kid. He can make things happen.”

If Wellborn’s running game remains potent, then look for Judd Smith and Screws to take advantage when defenses over-com-mit. They hooked up for a 64-yard touchdown pass in the Westbrook game.

Screws is getting looks from Jacksonville State, Samford and others as a wide receiver.

“He’s our best play-maker, to me,” Judd Smith said. “I can throw it as far as I can, and he’ll go get it.”

So, the check marks are there for Wellborn.

Of course, the Panthers can also place a big check mark beside competition. The Panthers still share a Class 3A region with Clay

County, Leeds, Handley and others.

The good news is that Wellborn gets Clay County and Handley at home.

The other good news is that Mixon has a chance to turn a big question mark into a check as he steps in for Rhoden.

“It’s a big responsibility to take,” he said. “I know my teammates have my back. They’re teaching me and telling me what I need to do and getting me ready for what varsity is like.”

Joe Medley is The Star’s sports columnist. He can be reached at 256-235-3576 or [email protected]. Follow on Twitter @jmed-ley_star.

WellbornContinued from Page 36

The Anniston StarAward-winning sports coverage


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