fall sports preview, 2014

Gulf Coast NewspapersAug. 26, 2014Fall

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Baldwin County Tigers • Bayshore Christian Eagles Bayside Academy Admirals • Central Christian Saints

Daphne Trojans • Fairhope Pirates Foley Lions • Gulf Shores Dolphins

Robertsdale Golden Bears • Spanish Fort Toros Faulkner State Sun Chiefs • USA Jaguars

2A • FALL SPORTS PREVIEW • AUGUST 26, 2014 • GULF COAST NEWSPAPERS • GULFCOASTNEWSTODAY.COM

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GULFCOASTNEWSTODAY.COM • GULF COAST NEWSPAPERS • AUGUST 26, 2014 • FALL SPORTS PREVIEW • 3A

By Tony WhiteheadSports [email protected]

Baldwin County High head coach and athletic direc-tor Nathan McDaniel is

the new kid on the block as he prepares for his first season as a head coach. McDaniel, 30, ran the defense for Daphne head coach and AD Glenn Vickery the last three years. He is excited about directing the Tigers program going forward.

“I love this game and everything about it,” McDaniel said. “I can talk for hours about football. It’s just such a big part of who I am and I love to share it with these kids and getting to do it as a head coach for the first time is very exciting. I believe — and I’ve been saying this since I’ve been down in this part of the state — that Baldwin County High School is ready to break wide open with great foot-ball. We had a great spring and the talent, the tradition is there and the enthusiasm level is building for our season to start.”

McDaniel took over the Tigers pro-gram in January and got off to a good start turning the struggling record around with a big spring-game win over Satsuma.

“That was important for us,” he said “We want to make a statement that we can play to win and we will be ready come August.”

His coaching background is rooted in defense beginning with Daleville and then his alma mater Prattville as a defensive assistant working under defensive coordinators Bart Sessions and Mark Hurt who he followed to Daphne before he took over the Trojan defense.

He credits head coaches like Bill Clark, Jamey Dubose and, Glenn Vickery for teaching him about the game and life.

He also said his two years spent at Daleville made him a better person as well as coach. “Working for Sam Holland at Daleville, those two seasons (2006-2007), had a lasting impact on me as a coach and as a person,” he said.

“I’m a product of the men I have had the honor of coaching under and I’ve worked for some great, great guys. What coach Holland taught me was how to be a Christian coach. I think just about every time I walked into his office, he had a Bible open on his desk. His relationship with Jesus Christ means more to him than being a coach. I try to be the same way. I love my job, but if I ever put that above my rela-tionship with Christ, than I am a failure as a man, a coach, a father and a husband.”

Baldwin County also had a good showing in the

National Select 7on7 Championship Series played in Foley in July.

“I think we showed that when we play with enthusiasm and excite-ment we can play with anybody. That’s what we have to learn to do better is maintain that level of play consistently whether we’re playing a Daphne or a team from wherever. Just not let up. But learning to deal with a negative situation is one of those things we have to work on. And it’s a process. (A) good stepping-stone for us in that process and I like what I see. I see a team realizing they can play with anybody, but we have to learn from our mistakes. Not let those mistakes get us down and I believe we’ll get there.”

The Tigers open up with historic inter-county rival Escambia County High on Sim-mons Field in Lyle Underwood Stadium in Bay Minette Aug. 22 at 7 p.m.

“

”

BCHSTigersClass 6A, Region 1Head coach: Nathan McDaniel2013 Record: 0-10Key players: Dustin Brothers, Juwan Judge, Dwayne Koen, Chris Hooks, Cortez Reynolds, R.J. StevensFirst game: Home Aug. 22 vs. Escambia County

The BCHS Tigers play home games at Simmons Field at the Baldwin County Intermediate School, located at 600 Blackburn Ave. in Bay Minette.

Baldwin County High SchoolBay Minette, AlabamaMascot: TigersColors: Orange and BlackOverall record: 477-412-29Longest rivalry: vs. Foley, 91 games since 1924 (ahsfhs.org)

New coach, new game plan at BCHS

Where they play

Who they are

n Nathan McDaniel leads Tigers into 2014

LARRY WHITE / GCN CORRESPONDENTBCHS back Dwayne Koen (1) follows his blocks and gains a first down against Satsuma in May.

LARRY WHITE / GCN CORRESPONDENTBaldwin County’s Robert Stevens (20) runs for big yardage in the Tigers spring game win.

I love this game and

everything about it

... I can talk for hours

about football. It’s

just such a big part of

who I am and I love

to share it with these

kids ...

— Nathan McDaniel

Nate McDaniel


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“

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BaysideAcademyAdmiralsClass 3A, Region 1Head coach: Phil Lazenby2013 Record: 8-5Key players: Trey Barry, Gex Billups, Nick Bolton, Greg Wallace First game: Away Aug. 29 vs. Faith Academy

The Bayside Academy Admirals play home games at Freedom Track and Field on the school’s campus at 303 Dryer Ave. near downtown Daphne.

Bayside AcademyDaphne, AlabamaMascot: AdmiralsColors: Blue and greenOverall record: 75-63-0Longest rivalry: vs. Excel, 10 games since 2002 (ahsfhs.org)

Admirals set sail for new season

Where they play

Who they are

n Size matters — If you let it — say feisty Class 3A competitors


Bayside Academy remains in a tough neighbor-hood in 3A Region 1 but some realignment factors may change the dynamics for better or

for worse.“We are losing Straughn (near Andalusia) but pick-

ing up Hillcrest-Evergreen who dropped down from 4A so we may be trading the frying pan for the fire,” said Bayside head coach Phil Lazenby. “Of course T.R. Miller will still be in our region and they are always tough. The main thing we have to do is focus on what we can control and do our best to execute our game. Not worry about what is out of our hands.”

On the earlier days of fall practice Lazenby sees many positives but has a number of skill positions to fill with less experienced and younger players.

“We lost five or six starters on de-fense and offense, but most of the guys stepping in had some experiebce last year on both sides of the ball,” he said. “Being a small school we have a lot of players go both ways. And that helps with preparing some kids for a starting job. Some may continue to play both ways and some will not.”

He added that being one of the smaller schools in the 3A classifica-tion also affects the schedule and overall strategy for reaching the playoffs.

“Making the post season is always a goal for us, but I have to be concerned about depth. We have good athletes and I think our attitude and enthusiasm is great. But our numbers are limited so we have to ask a lot of them and they understand why.”

The Admirals are starting a new quarterback in 6-foot, 5-inch sophomore Trey Barry after three-year starter Hunter Slater graduated this year. Barry brings limited varsity experience as Slater’s backup last year but has good command of the offensive system, said Lazenby.

“I have a lot of confidence in Trey. He’s a strong passer and understands his role and what we’re trying to accomplish with the tools we have.”

Barry is also the reigning state indoor high-jump champion, a title his older sister Trista owns as well in their divisions.

“Trey is a good quarterback, he uses his height well. But if he gets any taller I may have to make him a wide out and just throw high jump balls to him.”

Other players Lazenby will look to this season are seniors Gex Billups, Nick Bolton and Greg Wallace.

The coach who has won 35 games as he enters his fifth season at BA making the third round of the playoffs twice, including last year, said sometimes the small-school mystique seems to work in their favor.

“Somebody told me that one coach (Bayside had defeated) advised another team we were playing not to watch us get off the bus,” he said. “Because we looked like a junior varsity team,” Lazenby joked.

Bolton, a cornerback, said stories like that make him smile.

“I love people thinking we are going to be an easy win. We are kind of used to it now.”

Billups, a linebacker-tight-end, said “Sometimes I think people try to take it easy on us because we are so small.”

A wide receiver, Wallace added “But then, halfway through the game they realize we can play. Sometimes it is too late then.”

The Bayside Admirals open up with Class 5A Faith Academy this year in West Mobile on Aug. 29. The Faith

Rams Football Complex is at 8650 Tanner Williams Road. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFReceiver Reid Norton makes a leaping grab as Gex Billups defends.

Quarterback Trey Barry in spring scrimmage action.

We have good ath-

letes and I think our

attitude and enthusi-

asm is great. But our

numbers are limited

so we have to ask a

lot of them and they

understand why.

— Phil Lazenby



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Daphne coach Glenn Vickery said his team is working hard in preparation for their opener at home with 7A Davidson. The Trojans hosted the

Warriors in a spring game in which the DHS varsity won but held off a strong surge by the visitors.

Vickery is going into his 11th year at the helm of Daphne’s football Trojans. He has 287 career victo-ries. He said dropping tough rivals like Fairhope and Foley from Class 6A Region 1 play might appear to lighten the competitive load some but replacing them with the likes of Spanish Fort and Blount balances the scales right back.

“At this level, everybody is good and we can’t take anybody in our region for granted,” he said.

“That’s what we try to instill in our kids. To prepare mentally and physically for every opponent with confidence in yourself and your team-mates and in your coaches, but also with respect for your opponent. We don’t hate Spanish Fort or Fairhope or anybody. We respect them.”

He added that the preseason so far looks good but there were still kinks to work out.

“There is always room for improvement and there

are always distractions when you’re dealing with teenagers. We need to have more work on having better ex-ecution and consistency individually and as a team. We have some who need to get their assignments more polished and finished. But as first weeks go, we are making headway and that’s good.”

He added that the heat and humidi-ty comes with the preseason territory.

“Conditioning is always important. It’s a year-round thing, but this time of year it’s crucial to getting ready for the season. Especially with the kind of heat and conditions we have

to play in early on. We’re working on it. We know Davidson is, too. Coach (Fred) Riley will have his guys prepared. So we can’t take anything for granted or overlook any details in the short amount of time before we open up with them.”

The Trojans will host the Warriors Aug. 21 at Jubilee Stadium with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

“

”

DaphneTrojansClass 6A, Region 1Head coach: Glenn Vickery2013 Record: 8-3Key players: Chris White, TJ Reed, Mario Osborne, John Quinnley, Khael SanfordFirst game: Home Aug. 21 vs. Davidson

The Daphne Trojans play home games at Jubilee Staduim at the Daphne High School campus at 9300 Champions Way in Daphne.

Daphne High SchoolDaphne, AlabamaMascot: TrojansColors: Purple and yellowOverall record: 201-89-0Longest rivalry: vs. Fairhope, 25 games since 1990 (ahsfhs.org)

Trojans ready for revamped Region 1

Where they play

Who they are

n Daphne trades in region rivals Fairhope and Foley for Spanish Fort and Blount

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFDaphne defense against Davidson in the 2013 season.

Daphne High School quarterback John Quinnley sets up for a pass. TJ Reed picks up extra yardage for Daphne against Gadsden City.

At this level every-

body is good and we

can’t take anybody in

our region for granted

... there is always room

for improvement ...

— Glenn Vickery


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GULFCOASTNEWSTODAY.COM • GULF COAST NEWSPAPERS • AUGUST 26, 2014 • FALL SPORTS PREVIEW • 1B


The Pirates open up the season Aug. 22 on the road at J.D. Sellars Stadium in Robertsdale against the Golden Bears.

Fairhope head coach Adam Winegarden likes a lot of what he sees but so far but hopes to see improve-ment down the stretch to game one.

“I think the kids have progressed well considering we’re just five days,” he said after practice Friday. “Obviously we have a long way to go when it comes to details and fine tuning some things before we open. We elected not to play a (preseason) scrimmage and so when we see Robertsdale it will be live bullets. It’s not a region game but it’s always important to start off the season well as I’m sure they do. So, we have get to ready in a short amount of time (less than two weeks), but this is a great group. They’re working hard and working together with a really great attitude. The chemistry is real and progressing in a positive way, but I’m glad we’re not playing tomorrow. Still work to do.”

Fairhope head coach Adam Win-egarden agreed that the new classifi-cation did not mean radical changes were in store.

“To win a state championship, you basically have to beat the same people,” he said. “We have to play the Mobile schools more now, but we would have had to play them in the playoffs anyway. In my mind, it’s just not that big a deal.”

Fairhope and Foley will share Class 7A, Region

1 territory with Alma Bryant, Baker, Davidson, Mary G. Montgomery, McGill-Toolen Catholic, Murphy and Theodore.

Fairhope’s new defensive coordi-nator Jacy Todd will make his debut at the position after assisting at Daph-ne since 2009 and Foley before that.

“We are so happy that we have Jacy onboard with us,” Winegarden said. “He’s excited, the kids love him. He loves them. There’s no question he’s ready to run a defense. Especially when you consider who all he has worked under and the success he’s been a part of.”

Todd, who suffered a near fatal accident in Au-gust of 2012, but battled back to work by the playoff season that year said the opportunity is a dream come true.

“What a great opportunity to get to be part of a

“

”

FairhopePiratesClass 7A, Region 1Head coach: Adam Winegarden2013 Record: 9-3Key players: Grey Jackson, Dave Kirksey, Nate Faust, Drew Fuqua and Joshua NashFirst game: Away Aug. 22 vs. Robertsdale

The Fairhope Pirates play home games at Fairhope Municipal Stadium on Highway 98 near Volanta Park in Fairhope.

Fairhope High SchoolFairhope, AlabamaMascot: PiratesColors: Blue and goldOverall record: 472-335-24Longest rivalry: vs. Foley, 90 games since 1931 (ahsfhs.org)

Pirates reload cannons for 2014

Where they play

Who they are

n Fairhope coach readies team for new 7A classification, ‘Bucs defense under new management

TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFFairhope quarterback Grey Jackson spots a receiver during a scrimmage.

This is a great group.

They’re working hard

and working together

... the chemistry is real

and progressing in a

positive way.

— Adam Winegarden

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Fairhope »From Page 1B

program that is growing and will be playing in 7A,” he said. “For me the job means an opportunity to grow as a coach. Like most people, I would like to be a head coach as well one day down the road. Coach Winegarden has had a lot of success at Fairhope and my goal and the goal of all the other coaches is to help push the Pirates past that plateau to another higher one. We plan to go all out for whatever cham-pionships may lie ahead.”

He added that working for head coaches Todd Watson at Foley and Glenn Vickery at Daphne as well as high-caliber defensive coordinators helped prepare him for his new role at Fairhope.

“I learned so much at Foley and Daphne. Not only working with coaches with so much playoff experience, but also are great at working with kids.”

To get the Pirates past the second-round plateau he hopes to focus on setting goals and working to-gether toward them.

“I think it’s better to look at what our goals are moving forward. Not worry about what happened or didn’t happen in the past but concentrate on what we can do to reach those goals.”

The Pirates at Bears kickoff at Sellars Stadium in Robertsdale is set for 7 p.m.

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFDave Kirksey makes a grab on a screen pass.

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Coach Adam Winegarden talks to the offense.

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Fairhope’s new de-fensive coordinator Jacy Todd has been

through the wringer. But a life-threatening and life-altering accident has not left him wrung out.

The former Daphne assistant coach survived a near-fatal wreck two years ago as fall practice got underway in August of 2012. After months of painful surgery and re-habilitation he returned to work full time, sooner than expected for the 2013 season.

Th i s yea r on the first day of practice at Fairhope, Todd and wife Dyeatra celebrated the arrival of a new family member when baby Jacy Carter Todd arrived at Springhill Medical Center Aug. 4. Baby Jacy’s big sister Raegan is now 6.

Back on the practice field the next day, coach Todd — who took over from former DC David Stapleton in June — said leading a defense has been a personal goal since becoming a coach.

“What a great opportu-nity to get to be part of a program that is growing and will be playing in 7A,” he said. “For me the

job means an opportunity to grow as a coach. Like most people, I would like to be a head coach as well one day down the road. Coach Winegarden has had a lot of success at Fairhope and my goal and the goal of all the other coaches is to help push the Pirates past that plateau to another higher one. We plan to go all out for whatever champion-ships may lie ahead.”

He added that working for head coaches Todd Watson at Foley and Glenn Vickery at Daphne as well as high-caliber defensive coordinators helped prepare him for his new role at Fairhope.

“I learned so much at Foley and Daphne. Not only working with coaches with so much playoff experience, but also are great at working with kids. It’s been great at Daphne where I got to be part of a team that has gone all the way and accomplished that state championship (2010). That’s a great experience and something that I’ll al-ways have with me. Work-ing under Bart Sessions, Mark Hurt, Nate McDan-iel and Glenn Vickery there at Daphne is a very good line of knowledge to study under and it has really helped me to lay

down a template to be able to draw from.

“But I was also really blessed at Foley under coach (Todd) Watson by being surrounded by good people as well as good coaches. I hope to take all that with me and use it in this new position at Fairhope. Also, when you work with people like that I think you get to take with you a culture of excellence. And that’s ex-citing to have that in your suitcase, so to speak. I’m just very excited to bring all of that to Fairhope and get to work with every-body and all the players and parents.”

To get the Pirates past the second-round plateau he hopes to focus on set-ting goals and working together toward them.

“I think it’s better to look at what our goals are moving forward. Not worry about what hap-pened or didn’t happen in the past but concentrate on what we can do to reach those goals.”

Health-wise, Todd is walking well with his cane and coaching from a standing posture much of the time, relying on his motorized chair for longer

distances.“Getting better all the

time,” he said. “God re-minds me everyday that I am still injured. But He gives me strength to keep working and keep going. I’ve been blessed with my wonderful wife and our family and so many good friends and that has helped me from the first.”

Jacy Todd takes over Pirate stoppers

Fairhope defensive coordinator Jacy Todd is glad to be back on the field after recovering from a near-fatal wreck two years ago.

Todd signals a call in for the Pirates.

PHOTOS By TONy WHITEHEAD / STAFF

n Defensive coordinator on offensive against spinal injury“

”

For me the job

means an oppor-

tunity to grow as

a coach. Like most

people, I would like

to be a head coach

as well one day

down the road.

— Jacy Todd

Fairhope defensive coordinator Jacy Todd watches a drill.

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2014FOLEY HIGH SCHOOL

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AWAY

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@ Gulf Shores

@ Fairhope

@ Alma Bryant

Mary G. Montgomery

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Robertsdale

Baker

Murphy

@ Theodore

McGill-Toolen



This year The Pride of Foley enters into the new 7A Class with Fairhope and other familiar ri-vals. Lions head coach Todd Watson begins his

10th season guiding the Forward-City ‘Cats.Under Watson, Foley has made the playoffs nine-

consecutive seasons in one of the toughest 6A regions in the state.

Watson said the new 7A region is nearly the same Baldwin and Mobile area teams with the numeral seven instead of a six in front of the A.

“There is tough competition in Class 6A, and there will be tough competi-tion in Class 7A,” he said. “From a competitive standpoint, I’m not sure how much it will change.”

He added that the main impact would be less travel time and fuel ex-pense with the long road trips to the Wiregrass area schools such as Dothan, Enterprise and Northview replaced by closer 7A opponents.

“It will cut out a lot of travel for us. Most of our games will be in Mobile or Baldwin counties, so that is definitely a little bit of an advantage financially. But it is a tough road in either clas-

sification.” The Lions travel south to open at

neighbor Gulf Shores High Aug. 21. The GS Dolphins also moved up in class from 5A to 6A. The two teams have never met in an official regular-season game.

“It’s a big thing for both communi-ties,” Watson said. “It’s a game that is a natural rivalry and I think a good type of game to open up with for us and them. This is the first time it will count so I think both teams will be up for it.”

He added that preparing for the first region game at Fairhope the next week will not be much different than last year in terms of personnel. Foley has seven offensive and six defensive start-ers returning including quarterback Tyler Cameron, running back Isaiah

“PeeWee” Lewis and defender Jhalen Henry.“We have a lot of players coming back and they say

“

”

FoleyLionsClass 7A, Region 1Head coach: Todd Watson2013 Record: 6-6Key players: Wendell Harris Jr., Jalen Henry and Johnny Williams, Tyler Cameron and Johnny WilliamsFirst game: Away Aug. 22 vs. Gulf Shores

The Foley Lions play home games at Ivan Jones Stadium on North Oak Street near Foley Middle School.

Foley High SchoolFoley, AlabamaMascot: LionsColors: Blue and goldOverall record: 542-300-27Longest rivalry: vs. Fairhope, 90 games since 1931 (ahsfhs.org)

Foley returns with experience at key spots

Where they play

Who they are

n Lions open season at the beach with Dolphins, begin region play at Fairhope

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFLinemen work on blocking, pass protection and defense.

Quarterback Tyler Cameron looks to pass during a preseason scrimmage.

I feel like since we

played in an environ-

ment like Prattville

we can play anywhere.

We lost a lot of close

games last year. Our

goal this year is just

finish, finish, finish.

— Todd Watson

The PeeWee Express - Isaiah ‘PeeWee’ Lewis breaks to the endzone in a preseason scrimmage. The senior set a single-season rushing record (1,306 yards) for Foley last year as a junior. See Foley, Page 6B


Foley »From Page 5B

you can’t coach experience,” he said at the Baldwin County Media Day press conference in June. “College coaches can recruit players to fit their schemes. In high school, you take the athletes you get. Fortunately, we’ve had some great players. But there is still some tweaking to fit their strengths and — to be honest — to hide their weaknesses sometimes. A little change is always good.”

The Lions lost a couple of games in the final min-utes last year, including a playoff heartbreaker after leading Auburn in the second round. They had ad-vanced with a big road win over Prattville.

“I feel like since we played in an environment like Prattville we can play anywhere. We lost a lot of close games last year. Our goal this year is just finish, finish, finish.”

Two 2013 losses were by one point and Watson said youth had a part in not holding those leads.

“We had a very young team last year. I thought we really started hitting our stride in the second half of the season and into the playoffs. We beat a good Prat-tville team in a tough environment and had Auburn on the ropes at home.

“There are a lot of things you can coach and drill, but you can’t drill experience. For our guys to have been in an environment like Prattville and experi-enced that should be invaluable to us as we move forward.”

The Class 7A, Region 1 also incudes Alma Bryant, Baker, Davidson, Mary G. Montgomery, McGill-Toolen Catholic and Theodore.

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Coverage area: Focused on Baldwin County with events included from the surrounding areas

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event calendarn Live music listingsn Restaurant reviewsn Recipesn Hunting and

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Good Luck to all Baldwin County High SchoolFootball Teams, for a winning season!

1119 North McKenzie St. • Foley

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PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFCoach Todd Watson with defensive back Trevor Carvin.

Defensive backs work on jump-ball coverage.

Offensive linemen work on technique and quickness.


By Patrick HerringGCN Correspondent

The hype around Uni-versity of South Al-abama football has

been building steadily over the program’s short, six-year history. Last year the team went 6-6, gained bowl eligibility and even defeated the Sun Belt Con-ference Champion Univer-sity of Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 30-8. But none of the bowls took notice of the fledgling team from Mobile, Ala., even after seeing them take the Ten-nessee Vols down to the wire on national televi-sion in Neyland Stadium.

This year, the Jaguars are looking to build on and exceed last year’s accom-plishments. They seek a Sun Belt Championship and a bowl game; anything else will be considered insufficient.

“We’ve raised our ex-pectations every year,” head coach Joey Jones said at the team’s annual media day. “We’re looking forward to the schedule we have, obviously it’s a very tough schedule. The kids know what’s ahead of them and they’re very excited about the oppor-tunity.”

In order to build on their past success, the Jaguars will have to work harder on finishing out games. Five of USA’s six losses came by a com-bined 12 points. This in-cludes games lost on a game-winning field goal in the closing seconds by Southern Utah and Texas State, as well as a game-

winning touchdown pass given up to Troy with seven seconds left on the clock.

“There were three games last year where we had the ball with about a minute left to win the game and we lost, so we’ve gotta learn how to close out close games,” Jones said. “That’s the difference between a great team and an average team: coming through in the fourth quarter.”

OffenseLuckily for South Ala-

bama, they bring back a boatload of talent on the offensive side of the ball, including a good deal of depth at wide receiver and offensive line.

“Our receiving corps is very deep with guys like Danny Woodson, Marvin Shinn, Shavarez Smith, Wes Saxton and Jereme Jones,” Jones said. “All of those guys are very tal-ented and experienced.”

Woodson, a Mobile na-tive and former Univer-sity of Alabama commit, returns after an injury-shortened season in which he recorded 26 catches for 439 yards and four touch-downs.

He’s joined by fellow Mobilian and former Crimson Tide wideout Shinn, who sat out last season after transferring. Shinn has experience playing on the biggest stage after he nabbed two receptions in the 2012 national title game against Notre Dame.

The guy throwing to these veteran receivers

will also need to step up his game. Senior quar-terback Brandon Bridge returns to the Jaguars as the undisputed starter after splitting time in 2013 with departed quarterback Ross Metheny. It’s the first time since 2011 that a quarterback has distanced himself as the starter.

“Brandon is our starting quarterback, that’s a slam dunk right now,” Jones said.

In rationed playing time, the Canadian gun-slinger went 29-of-66 for 398 yards and a touch-down. He also ran the ball efficiently, adding 170 yards and another touch-down on the ground.

“(Bridge) got some experience last year, he worked his tail off in the spring and so far in camp,” Jones said. “He watches more film than anyone on the team. He cares about being a better quarter-back.”

Offensive coordinator Robert Matthews is giddy about the depth he has on his side of the ball this upcoming season.

“We’ve got a lot of guys outside who can catch the ball and inside we return a lot of guys, so I’m excited about what our perim-eter can do in the passing game,” Matthews said.

DefenseNewly promoted de-

fensive coordinator Travis Pearson knows he lost a substantial amount of talent on defense, but believes he has players who can step up and fill the roles of those departed

contributors.“We’ve got guys like

(defensive lineman) Jesse Kelley who started every game last year, (lineback-er) Jerome (McLain) who played in every game last year,” Pearson said. “So the roles are being filled and the leadership is qui-etly coming.”

Kelley returns with 14 starts and 29 game ap-pearances under his belt. Last season he notched 34 tackles, including 6.5 tackles and two sacks.

McClain, who hails from Pensacola High School, enters his senior season with plenty of hype.

“Jerome is a guy I can see playing in the NFL,” Jones said.

The senior linebacker garnered preseason sec-ond-team All-SBC hon-ors by AthlonSports and third-team by Phil Steele Publications. He too had 34 stops last season, in-cluding a career-high 5 against the conference champion Cajuns.

Jones sees depth on

the defensive front as the biggest question mark for the team.

Special TeamsRedshirt Sophomore

Aleem Sunanon returns after a solid first season at kicker for the Jaguars in which he hit 18 of 23 field goals and 37 of 39 extra points en route to honorable mention on the All-SBC team.

The punting duties will likely go to fellow sopho-more Brandon McKee, who saw action in seven games last year, mostly in kickoff duty. His lone punt came at Navy and traveled 32 yards.

His competition is freshman Corliss Wait-man of Milton, Fla. The ESPN.com three-star pros-pect was a first-team all-state selection as a senior at Milton High. He has been seen booting some sky-high punts in train-ing camp and looks to be right in the thick of things when the first game comes around.

ScheduleThe schedule is a gruel-

ing one for a team play-ing only its third season against D-1 programs. Significant home games include visits from Mis-

sissippi State and Navy, as well as conference bouts against Texas State and in-state rival Troy.

On the road, the Jaguars will face another SEC program when they travel to Columbia to face Steve Spurrier’s South Carolina Gamecocks. The season opener at Kent State and trips to Lafayette to face the Cajuns and Jonesboro, Ark. to battle Arkansas State certainly won’t be walks in the park either.

The student body and university are highly an-ticipating the home open-er against the Bulldogs on Sept. 13. But the head coach says he and his players have their eye on the season opener.

“We’re not thinking about Mississippi State,” Jones said. “We’ve got all of our focus on Kent State right now.”

“Having an SEC school come to Mobile is a big deal and it’s exciting for us,” Jones said. “But we are not thinking about them right now.”

Becoming bowl eligible will be much more chal-lenging this year than in 2013, but it’s a task Coach Jones, his coordinators and his team are up to and on they believe they can achieve.

Jags ready for toughest fall yetUSA head coach Joey Jones Senior defensive lineman Jesse Kelley

PHOTOS By PATRICK HERRING / GCN CORRESPONDENT

n Home games include visits from Mississippi State, Navy, and conference bouts with Texas State and in-state rival Troy

“

”

We’ve raised our

expectations ev-

ery year ... the kids

know what’s ahead

of them and they’re

very excited about

the opportunity.

— Joey Jones

USA Coastal home-town players

Name Position Hometown/School(s)Hunter VaughnChason MilnerSam HarrisBlake DeesHunter Hall

Marvin ShinnDanny Woodson IIJarrius HackworthKendall HoustonBerron TysonKelan JamesTerrance TimmonsMargo ReedChris LewisJeremé JonesE.J. MayHarrison LoudenRaymone WigginsDeMarrion Buford-HughesCole TravisChristian PearsallJerome McClain

Demarius Rancifer ILB

Jeremy Reaves

Cordivido GriceRyan OnkkaDaylan Abrams

Qudarius FordCorliss WaitmanMatt Floyd

QBILBWRILBDL

WRWRTERBRBDLRBCBWRWRCBOLSTE

PKWRKL

ILB

CB

ILBTEWR

CBP

QB

Robertsdale / Butler (Kan.) CCSpanish Fort / Spanish Fort HSSpanish Fort / Spanish Fort HS

Spanish Fort / Texas TechSummerdale / Foley HS

Mobile / AlabamaMobile / Alabama

Mobile / Alma Bryant HSMobile / Arkansas State

Mobile / Baker HSMobile / Belhaven (Miss.)

Mobile / Davidson HSMobile / LeFlore HS

Mobile / McGill-Toolen HSMobile / McGill-Toolen HSMobile / McGill-Toolen HSMobile / McGill-Toolen HS

Mobile / MemphisMobile / Mississippi College

Mobile / Saraland HSMobile / UMS-Wright HS

Pensacola, Fla. / Northwest Mississippi CC

Pensacola, Fla. / Pearl River (Miss.) CC

Pensacola, Fla. / Pensacola Catholic HS

Pensacola, Fla. / Pensacola HSPensacola, Fla. / Washington HSPensacola, Fla. / West Florida HS

Cantonment, Fla. / Tate HSMilton, Fla. / Milton HS

Milton, Fla. / South Florida

TENSAW — The fa-

ther-son team of Bill

Thrower and Brad

Thrower won the 13th

Bay Area Grinnell Rodeo

in an 86-team field with

a total catch of 36

pounds. Second place

went to Clint Smith and

Joey Smith while

Thomas Pugh and Don-

nie Atchison took third.

The big fish award

this year went to the

team of Dewayne Byrd

and Frank Alexander

with a lunker weighing

12.25 pounds.

Bill Thrower said he

and Brad didn’t clinch

the win until the final

half-hour of competition.

“We don't pre-fish a

lot. We will just go look

at some spots. Most all of

the veteran guys know

where we fish and we

share the same water

most of the time with

good fishermen and have

never had any conflict

and enjoy fishing side by

side. This year we fished

beside last years winners

and another top-three

boat all day. We don't

move around a lot, if we

see good fish we stay put

because sometime dur-

ing the day they will bite.

MONTROSE — Bayshore Christian’s athletic pro-

gram begins its first official season in the Panhandle

Christian Conference this fall. The Montrose school

expanded to the high-school level last year and will

have its first graduating class in 2016. The Eagles vol-

leyball team has two junior leaders as their upper-

classmen in Priscilla Brock and Kaitlynn Decker.

They also have a number of starters returning after

their inaugural probationary season in 2013. The Ea-

gles play Aug. 22 in the West Florida Baptist Invita-

tional in Pensacola with Baldwin neighbor and

conference rival Central Christian of Robertsdale.

FAIRHOPE — Teams

around Baldwin County

turned the preseason in-

tensity levels up a notch

by Friday. Full contact

drills and some full-speed

scrimmages could be seen.

Here are some scenes

from scrimmage workouts

at Class 7A Fairhope and

Class 6A in Daphne.

The Pirates open up

the season Aug. 22 on the

road at J.D. Sellars Sta-

dium in Robertsdale

against the Golden Bears.

Fairhope head coach

Adam Winegarden likes a

lot of what he sees but so

far but hopes to see im-

provement down the

stretch to game one.

“I think the kids have

progressed well consider-

ing we’re just five days,”

he said after practice Fri-

day. “Obviously we have a

long way to go when it

comes to details and fine

tuning some things before

we open. We elected not to

play a (preseason) scrim-

mage and so when we see

Robertsdale it will be live

bullets. It’s not a region

game but it’s always im-

portant to start off the

season well as I’m sure

they do. So, we have get to

ready in a short amount of

time (less than two

weeks), but this is a great

group. They’re working

tony whitehead, sports editor

[email protected]

facebook.com/GulfCoastnewspapers

twitter: @gcntoday

SporTSBtuesday

auGust 122014

GulfCoastNewsToda

y.com

Fairhope’s Dave Kirksey (5) breaks away on a sweep.

tony whitehead / staff

Strap on the padsBayshore’s Sydney Omtvedt works on her serve-

receive skills last week.

Bayshore eagles

prepare for first match

tony whitehead

[email protected]

tony whithead / staff

n Football teams go to contact mode as first

games approachtony whitehead

[email protected]

teamthrowerwins rodeo

See StraP, Page 4B

See thrower, Page 4B

Max Preps preseason

rankings releasedn Daphne, McGill-Toolen, Spanish Fort

and UMS-Wright make top 10

Note: For the purpose of these top-20 rankings, each team was

awarded points based on where it finished in Max Preps computer

ratings after each season. Teams also received 30 points for winning

a state title and 15 for placing second.

1. Hoover - 451 points

2. Prattville - 3283. Sweet Water - 185

4. Spanish Fort - 173

5. Leroy - 1716. UMS-Wright Prep (Mobile) - 168

7. Vestavia Hills - 153

8. Daphne - 1519. Homewood - 110

10. McGill-Toolen (Mobile) - 109

11. Auburn - 10712. Spain Park (Hoover) - 106

13. Oneonta- 104

14. Demopolis - 103

15. Russellville - 97

16. Mountain Brook (Birmingham) - 96

17. St. Paul's Episcopal (Mobile) - 95

18. Leeds - 9419. Jackson - 9319. Deshler (Tuscumbia) - 93

To view Alabama state computer rankings for the past 10 years visit

Max Preps.com.Bill Thrower and Brad Thrower win first place with a total of 36 pounds

submitted

submittedEd Counselman

Your source for local sportsFind out the latest on your favorite team in our Sports section.

Published every Tuesday and Friday with updates and new stories being uploaded online 24/7 at GulfCoastNewsToday.com/sports.

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2014 GULF SHORES HIGH SCHOOLFOOTBALL SCHEDULE

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By Patrick HerringGCN Correspondent

In the wild, the dolphin isn’t typically hunting Lions, Tigers or Bears. However, on the football field, the Dolphins of Gulf Shores will certainly be out to

mangle any prey in their wake.Following a disappointing loss to Saraland in the

opening round of last year’s playoffs, head coach Ben Blackmon and his squad are setting their sights higher. Getting to the playoffs wasn’t enough. The Dolphins are setting out with the intention of winning the school’s first playoff game.

Getting to the playoffs will be no easy task, as the team has moved from the 5A ranks up to 6A. With the higher clas-sification comes a tougher schedule. Just ask Blackmon.

“Region 1 in 6A, I believe, is the toughest competition in the state,” Blackmon said.

Not only will perennial power Daphne compete in the same region, but along with the Dolphins, 6A Region 1 also welcomes back-to-back 5A State Champion Spanish Fort into the mix.

Senior outside linebacker Roger Strict is looking forward to playing in the new classification.

“There is a lot of good competition out there now, and it motivates us,” Strict said.

Gulf Shores does have a good deal of talent return-ing from last season’s playoff team, with six guys back on offense and eight on defense. Senior quarterback Nathan Harris is confident in where his squad is.

“We’ve been coming together as a team over the last three years, and now is our time to really show what we’re made of,” Harris said.

He believes the offense are ready to get the season started any day now.

“Offensively, we are in good shape physically,” Harris said. “We plan to go at a high pace and tire out other teams.”

Harris will be a key component to the Dolphins’ success on the field. Blackmon is comfortable putting that load on his shoulders.

“Nathan provides great leadership. He loves the game, and has a determination to get himself better,” Blackmon said. “He can run, he can throw and he understands what we want to do offensively.

Senior inside linebacker Shannon Campbell, who practices against the quarterback at every practice, also has high praise for his teammate.

“Nathan does anything he wants to out on the field, whether it’s throwing the ball deep or scrambling for a first down,” Campbell said. “He’s a quarterback you want on your team. I’m just glad I don’t have to defend him in a game.”

Defensively, Strict likes where the team is.

“We are strong everywhere on de-fense, there are really no weak points,” Strict said. “We want to get better every day and work to be a more well-rounded unit.”

The two areas where the team will need to work, according to Blackmon are special teams and depth through-out.

“We are breaking in a new kicker, so that’s always something you have to work on,” Blackmon said. “And past our starters, we really need to improve our depth at key positions and get ready for game-type situations when injury and fatigue set in”

The Dolphins have no time to waste getting to midseason form as they’ll open with neighboring power Foley

High School.Though the teams have never met in a regular season

game, many believe this game to be the beginning of a

“

”

GulfShoresDolphinsClass 6A, Region 1Head coach: Ben Blackmon2013 Record: 8-3Key players: Roger Strict, Nathan Harris, Shamon Campbell, Andrew Woodyard, Phillip Nelson First game: Home Aug. 22 vs. Foley

The Gulf Shores Dolphins play home games at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium at the Gulf Shores Sportsplex at 19025 County Road 6.

Gulf Shores High SchoolGulf Shores, AlabamaMascot: DolphinsColors: Columbia Blue, navy and whiteOverall record: 57-84-0Longest rivalry: vs. Citronelle, 8 games since 2006 (ahsfhs.org)

Dolphins enter new waters of Class 6A

Where they play

Who they are

n Coach and players seek to repeat playoff bid in ‘toughest competition in the state’

TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFGulf Shores receiver Andy Bonnett is hit by defender Lucas Michaelis.

PATRICK HERRING / GCN CORRESPONDENTFrom left, seniors Roger Strict, Nathan Harris, Shamon Campbell, Andrew Woodyard take questions form sports media at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

We’ve been coming

together as a team

over the last three

years, and now is our

time to really show

what we’re made of.

— Nathan Harris,

Senior Quarterback

See Gulf Shores, Page 5C

2C • FALL SPORTS PREVIEW • AUGUST 26, 2014 • GULF COAST NEWSPAPERS • GULFCOASTNEWSTODAY.COM

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ROBERTSDALE HIGH SCHOOLFOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 22

Aug. 29

Sept. 5

Sept. 12

Sept. 26

Oct. 3

Oct. 10

Oct. 17

Oct. 24

Oct. 31

HOME

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Fairhope

LeFlore

Saraland

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Gulf Shores

@ Spanish Fort

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2014

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obertsdaleGOLDEN BEARS



Robertsdale head coach Brian Campbell is enter-ing his third season with the Golden Bears, who have improved each year since he left Daphne as

coach Glenn Vickery’s offensive coordinator. Campbell believes putting an emphasis on strength and endur-ance the last two years is paying off and continues to be a big part of the Bears’ turnaround.

“To compete in 6A football, you have to be strong,” said head coach Brian Campbell. “When I got (to Robertsdale) I don’t think anybody was bench pressing (very much), but now we don’t have enough weights for the guys to max out. I think the biggest thing from two years ago to now is the weight room. We look like a Class 6A football team now. Hopefully, we will play like one as well on Friday nights.”

The Golden Bears will host Fairhope Aug. 22 at home in J.D. Sellars Stadium against the newly re-classified 7A Fairhope Pirates.

“That will be a good test for us,” Campbell said. “We plan to make it a good test for them.”

As for the 2014 version of Class 6A

Region 1, he is focusing on what his players can excel at on the field and less on what the other region opponents are expected to bring to the game.

“I think our region is just as tough as or tougher than the 7A region,” he said. “There is no one you can look at and just put an automatic ‘W’ on the schedule. We hope people aren’t put-ting an automatic ‘W’ by us. We are going to show up on Fridays and give it our best shot. Our goal is to make it to the playoffs.

We have to be ready and have to bring our best every week. There are no easy weeks in 6A Region 1 and on our non-region games we play 7A (Fairhope and Foley) schools so it’s going to be rough but I think it will make us better.”

The Bears have their starting quarterback returning in Dylan Smith and other key positions. He sees and feels more confidence in himself and his teammates.

“

”

Robertsdale

Golden BearsClass 6A, Region 1Head coach: Brian Campbell2013 Record: 4-6Key players: Dylan Smith, Quaid Arthur, Adam Sanders, Tyler Reeves, Luke and Will Carnley First game: Home Aug. 22 vs. Fairhope

The Robertsdale Golden Bears play home games at J.D. Sellars Stadium at 1 Cub Drive in Robertsdale.

Robertsdale High SchoolRobertsdale, AlabamaMascot: Golden BearsColors: Maroon and goldOverall record: 299-475-29Longest rivalry: vs. Foley, 92 games since 1925 (ahsfhs.org)

Golden Bears hungry for more wins

Where they play

Who they are

n Tough schedule comes with tough region says Hub-City coach who sees turnaround continuing

PHOTOS BY JOHN UNDERWOOD / STAFFRHS quarterback Dylan Smith looks for a receiver.

RHS head football coach Brian Campbell explains a play to his offense.

To compete in 6A

football, you have to

be strong ... we look

like a Class 6A football

team now. Hopefully

we will play like one as

well on Friday nights.

— Brian Campbell

See Robertsdale, Page 4C

RHS assistant coach Wayne Davis works with a player.


Robertsdale »From Page 3C

“We didn’t feel like we could win (last year). Now, we are better, we are stronger,” Smith said.

The Golden Bears improved from 1-9 in 2012 to 4-6 last season but lost three games by six points or less.

“We thought we won the games we were supposed to win last year,” Campbell said. “We had three other games that basically came down to the last possession. Our biggest emphasis in the off-season has been to fin-ish. That is our big word. If we finish last year, we are maybe 7-3 and possibly in the playoffs.”

PHOTOS BY JOHN UNDERWOOD / STAFFTemperatures and heat indexes soared throughout the first week of practice.

Position players polish their ball-handling skills.

Brian Campbell looks on as his team runs a play.

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Gulf Shores »From Page 1C

competitive rivalry game.“Although they’re twice the size of the

school that we are, it’s good for the com-munity. Both communities are so tight, everyone knows everyone, so it’s good for us to compete against each other,” Blackmon said. “The gate (ticket sales)

have been really good in years past, and it’s a great game to start off with, so it’s something we’ll probably try to keep go-ing, definitely this year and next year.”

The Gulf Shores-Foley contest will kick off the high school football season on Thursday, Aug. 21.

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PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFGulf Shores quarterback Nathan Harris spots a receiver.

Coach Ben Blackmon talks to the Dolphins after a preseason scrimmage Friday at the Mick.









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Back-to-back 5A state champion Spanish Fort be-gins 2014 in a new and higher classification. The Toros head coach Mark Freeman said he could

not remember how many consecutive wins the Toros have put in the books the last two seasons.

“I know we won the last one,” Freeman said of the most recent championship win, a title victory over Muscle Shoals 35-14 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa last December. In fact SF has not lost since a contro-versially decided regular-season defeat to St. Paul’s in 2012. The Toros enter the 6A ranks at 24-0 overall and 2-0 in title games since. Will they make it three titles in a row? Will they make it 25 games in a row?

“We don’t talk about things like that,” Freeman said. “We don’t talk about a three-peat. We talk about this year and representing Spanish Fort, the school, the town. Being the best we can. We talk about being better every day. We talk about the character of our players. We have great kids who work hard and we talk about goals and we

have very clear goals in mind. Last year was great, but it’s over.”

The Toros will open in Montgomery against Stanhope-Elmore in the Chal-lenge of Champions at the Cramton Bowl.

The Toros are ranked fourth overall in the state by CBS-MaxPreps.com. Be-sides the four 6A teams from Baldwin County, the realigned Region 1 list of Class 6A squads includes, Blount, Cit-ronelle, LeFlore and Saraland.

SF lost about five starters on both sides of the ball and is counting on younger players to step up.

“We have a good core of experience returning but every year is different and every team has its own chemistry,” he said near the end of the first week

of practice. “We are still trying to find the right mix and we may still be adjusting it after the season starts. But it’s the kind of thing you know it when you see it.

“

”

SpanishFort TorosClass 6A, Region 1Head coach: Mark Freeman2013 Record: 15-0Key players: Maurice Cole, Kristian Cotton, Tyler Johnston, Kevin MarionFirst game: Away Aug. 23 vs. Stanhope Elmore

The Spanish Fort Toros play home games on “The Hill” behind Spanish Fort High School at 1 Plaza De Toro Drive.

Spanish Fort High SchoolSpanish Fort, AlabamaMascot: TorosColors: Black and redOverall record: 77-28-0Longest rivalry: vs. Vigor, 11 games since 2006 (ahsfhs.org)

Toros hope to tackle 6A Class

Where they play

Who they are

n Twice-and-counting 5A state champs move up in Alabama High School Athletic Association classification this year

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFKevin Marion extends a completion.

SF head coach Mark Freeman makes some adjustments on “The Hill.”

We have a good core

of experience returning

but every year is differ-

ent and every team has

its own chemistry. We

are still trying to find

the right mix ...

— Mark Freeman

See Spanish Fort, Page 8C

Tyler Johnston on quarterback keeper at SFHS.


But I don’t see it like I want to just yet.”One of the starters returning is quar-

terback Tyler Johnston, who was named the AHSAA Super Six Class 5A state MVP. It was his first full season as a starter.

Freeman said his signal caller has all the character of a winner.

“Tyler will be a great quarterback in college because he is a winner. God knows where he is supposed to be. There is no reason to sweat that right now. He will go somewhere and make a difference because of his character. He’s just a winner.”

The Challenge of Cham-pions game is going to be televised and is techni-cally an exhibition game

but will be counted in the official team records.

“I’m glad it counts,” Freeman said. “It makes it mean more and I hope it motivates the kids more, too.”

Raycom is televising the three Chal-lenge games statewide. The Toros-Mus-tangs game on Aug. 23 will be carried locally on UTV-44.

Spanish Fort »From Page 7C

By Mikal HensleyGCN Correspondent

With the 2014 foot-ball season right around the cor-

ner, player safety contin-ues to be in the minds of players, coaches and par-ents. Heightened aware-ness and new rules head-line 2014 in effort to keep players safe.

Daphne High school defensive coordinator Danny Cowgill and mem-ber of the USA football Master’s program is sad-dled with the responsi-bility of spreading aware-ness to the dangers of head injuries for young athletes at every level.

“I’m a member of the heads-up initiative, and its motto is, “To build a better, safer game,” Coach Cowgill said. “Just through educating coach-es, parents and players on the concussion issue we can achieve our goal of making it a better, safer game.”

With safety being such an important issue in

football, the success and growth of the game is dependent on the edu-cation and awareness of not only head injuries but other major injuries as well.

“I really believe, now that head injuries have been brought to the forefront, in 20 years they will have come a long way in medicine,” Cowgill said. “Concus-sions are really danger-ous when they’re not diagnosed and you go out there and get a concus-sion on top of another concussion.”

Properly diagnosing and treating concussions continues to be a top priory heading into the 2014 season. Players who are suspected of display-ing concussion symp-toms must go through a proper checklist before returning to full contact participation.

One of the changes heading into the 2014 season will be the new targeting rule. The new rule will penalize any

player 15 yards for mak-ing contact to the head of an opposing player.

With big hits being the popular thing to watch on television highlights, coaches now more than ever will have the re-sponsibility of coaching their players to tackle the opposing player cor-rectly.

“As a coach I have always taught my play-ers to get the guy on the ground, that’s the main

objective,” Cowgill said. “A lot of times when players go for those big hits, in addition to being dangerous by leading with the head, you also more times than not miss the tackle. Missed tackles if you talk to most coach-es are their biggest pet peeve. Any coach who is interested in playing good football will gladly give away big hits for a sure tackle.”

The new awareness and rules heading into 2014 continues a trend that has seen football grow leaps and bounds in the past decade.

“Football has grown leaps and bounds as far as moving forward. You don’t need to go out there and blow people up, you can practice the right way, and truth be told you can get better on game day the fresher you

are,” Cowgill said. “Any way you can make your team better and safer is a win-win for everybody.”

The new concussion policies and rules will be effective before the 2014 season. For more information on heads-up football you can visit US-Afootball.com. You can also visit AHSAA.com for more information on any new rule changes heading into the season.

Concussion concerns: New rules in force

Daphne Defensive coordinator Danny Cowgill is the injury prevention master instructor for the area.

TONy WHITEHEAD / STAFF

n Daphne DC and USA Football injury- prevention master instructor Danny Cowgill discusses new policies and rules

“

”

Concussions are

really dangerous

when they’re not

diagnosed and you

go out there and

get a concussion

on top of another

concussion.

— Danny Cowgill

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFF2013 state MVP Tyler Johnston is interviewed by FOX-10 Sports in June.

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GULFCOASTNEWSTODAY.COM • GULF COAST NEWSPAPERS • AUGUST 26, 2014 • FALL SPORTS PREVIEW • 1D

FaulknerStateVolleyball

Faulkner State Community CollegeBay Minette, AlabamaMascot: Sun ChiefsHead coach: Ritchie Dulaney

Who they are

Sun Chief women ready for 2014By Larry WhiteGCN Correspondent

The Faulkner State Community Col-l e g e L a d y S u n

Chiefs volleyball team opens their 2014 season on Saturday, Aug. 23 in the Wallace-Selma Tour-nament in Selma.

Faulkner then returns home on the 27th for a 6 p.m. home contest against Jeff Davis of Brewton. That match is scheduled for Jack Robertson Arena on the Bay Minette cam-pus of FSCC.

The Lady Chiefs went 10-4 in league play last year and finished up 20-14 overall and another

top five finish in the state tournament.

Coach Ritchie Dulaney begins her 19th season at the helm of the Lady Chiefs and during that tenure has piled up 312 wins.

Longtime FSCC As-sistant John Dussouy re-cently announced that the Lady Sun Chiefs will field a 15-player roster this fall.

“We are assessing the strengths and weaknesses of this young but hungry team,” Dussouy said.

“Heading into this sea-son, this team has the potential to be a very scrappy team, a team that will fight for every

point,” he said.“They will try to keep

the errors to a minimum and make opposing teams earn every point,” he added.

Leading the Sun Chiefs are several standout play-ers from a year ago.

Zhaniece Parker, a 5-foot-9 outside hitter from Covington, La. re-turns to lead the offense.

“Zhaniece started last season, playing every game. She will be one of our “go-to” hitters on the offensive side,” Dussouy said.

“ S h e l b y B r o w n , a 5-foot-8 setter from Huntsville also returns. She was a second team

all-region performer in 2013 and broke the sin-gle-season record for as-sists at FSCC.

Another very experi-enced player is Shannon Blanchard, a defensive specialist from Birming-ham. Blanchard played in every game last season and the coaching staff says she will be asked to anchor the Lady Sun Chief defense in 2014.

Meagan Dobbins (5-foot-5 setter from Mobile) and Porsha Tolbert (5-foot-8 outside hitter from Pelham) both sat out last year but are looked to contribute in 2014.

“Meagan has good hands, great vision and

will compete for a start-ing position while Porsha played during our 2012 ACCC runnerup season. She will be asked to pro-vide leadership to this young team,” Dussouy said.

N a t a s h a J o h n s o n , 5-foot-8 transfer from Foley, is a very good pass-er according to the coach-ing staff and will provide depth at the outside hitter spot.

Megan Zulli ( from Abita Springs, La), Rana Reese (from Mobile) and Chelsea Tyson (from Chelsea) are all 5-foot-9 middle hitters and

Dussouy says the trio will compete for starting positions.

“Megan is a strong all-around player, Rana has a strong swing with a good vertical, and Chelsea is a strong blocker and smart hitter.”

Ciara Williams is a 5-foot-11 outside hitter from Houma, La, with a strong swing and a big

“

”

This team has the

potential to be a

very scrappy team, a

team that will fight

for every point.

— John Dussouy,

FSCC assistant

SUBMITTEDHead coach Ritchie Dulaney is returning for her 19th season this year.

LARRY WHITE / GCN CORRESPONDENTAlexis Treace goes for the ball.

See Faulkner, Page 7D

Good luck to our Lady Sun Chief Volleyball Team in the upcoming season!

Lady Sun Chief VolleyballFirst home game of the season August 27 at 6:00 p.m. in the Sibert Gymnasium, Bay Minette Campus

1-800-381-FSCC (3722) or 251-580-2100www.faulknerstate.edu

Faulkner State Community College offers athletic scholarships for all of its sports programs: Volleyball, Baseball, Softball, Golf, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Tennis and Cheerleading. See our full page ad in this section for more information.

2D • FALL SPORTS PREVIEW • AUGUST 26, 2014 • GULF COAST NEWSPAPERS • GULFCOASTNEWSTODAY.COM

CentralChristianSoccer

BayshoreChristianSoccer

Central Christian SchoolRobertsdale, AlabamaMascot: SaintsHead coach: Dan CrottsSeniors: Joe Smeraglia, Michael Doll, Anthony Skirvin, Howard Hadley and Drew Dixon

Bayshore Christian SchoolFairhope, AlabamaMascot: EaglesHead coach: Lauren Brown

Who they are

Who they are

Central Christian readies for title defense

Bayshore Christian begins historic first official season in Panhandle Conference


The Central Chris-tian School Saints enter ther 2014

soccer season with a Panhandle Conference crown to defend. The Saints won their divi-sion, their conference and then finished second in the national tourna-ment in Tennessee.

“We had a really good team last year,” said Central Christian head coach Dan Crotts. “But we lost about six starters from last year so we have some work cut out for us. You always have to do

some rebuilding, some retooling. This year we have a good bit of that. But we still have a solid core group of guys who I know want to do well again. So we will have to pull some young guys up and see what we got. Then we’ll work hard to get back and hopefully go far and even repeat.”

The Saints will have five seniors in Drew Dix-on, Michael Doll, How-ard Hadley, Anthony Skirvin and Joe Smera-glia. Central has won two of the last three Pan-handle titles in soccer.

Doll will anchor the goal-keeping duties. Hadley returns at sweep-

er. Crotts expects the team to do well overall especially after some adjustments.

“Will we be competi-tive in our conference? Yes. Can I put 11 guys on the field and compete? Yes. Can I sub a lot? Prob-ably not. We won’t be very deep. That’s where the young guys come into the picture. But where people start in the first game may not be where they can make the best contribution once we get into the season. But it’s one of those things you have to work out as you go early on.”

The team will play its home game at Garrett

Park in Robertsdale this fall while work is being done on campus.

“New field will be dif-ferent for us but we’re so glad the city could provide it,” he said. “We really appreciate it.”

The Saints next home match will be hosting neighbor and conference rival Bayshore Christian School Aug. 28 at 4:30 p.m.


Bayshore Christian’s soccer program en-ters its first offi-

cial varsity season in the Panhandle Christian Conference with the in-augural schedule under its belt. The Montrose school expanded to the high-school level last year and competed in a trial season with one sophomore and younger

players. This year the young coed club will be led by three juniors Sara Breslin, Ian Dore-mus and Logan Omtvedt and many other starters returning.

“Last year we did not get off to a good start but then we played bet-ter and better each time out af ter that ,” said Bayshore coach Lauren Brown. “For a team that was so young we really improved impressively week by week. And now

with a year under our belts we have a bet-ter idea of what our strengths are and how to play to them. We’ve had good preseason prepa-ration and for it to be such a mix of ages and experience levels, they are working hard and working well together.”

The Eagles will com-pete in the Panhandle Christian Conference with 14 other Christian schools from Alabama, Florida, Georgia and

Mississippi including the Central Christian School Saints in Rob-ertsdale.

“Overall considering that we’re still young compared to the other teams I think we can play soccer with most of them, especially if we pass well and control the middle well. What we have to do is play smart and give ourselves as many opportunities as possible. We will have to communicate

very well and that’s one of those fundamentals that it takes experience under pressure to do.”

Bayshore will take part in the East-West Challenge tournament in Fort Walton Beach, F la . th i s week as a warm-up before their first conference match-up. The Eagles officially open up the conference season at neighboring rival Central Christian at 4:30 p.m. Their first home match in Mon-

trose is with Trinitas on Sept. 2 at 4:30 p.m.

n Saints hope to defend 2014 Panhandle Conference soccer championship, return to national final again this year “

“

”

”

We lost about six

starters from last

year ... but we still

have a solid core

group of guys.

— Dan Crotts

We’ve had good

preseason prepa-

ration ... they are

working hard and

working well to-

gether.

— Lauren Brown

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFSenior Saints, from left, Joe Smeraglia, Michael Doll, Anthony Skirvin, Howard Hadley and Drew Dixon.

Michael Doll works out in goal for the Saints during a preseason practice.

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFBayshore players in a pass-defense drill.

Bayshore Christian juniors Logan Omtvedt, Sara Breslin and Ian Doremus.

Bayshore soccer coach Lauren Brown instructs her players.


SACS

ACCREDITED

GoSaints!

CentralChristianVolleyball

Central Christian SchoolRobertsdale, AlabamaMascot: SaintsHead coach: Renee CrottsSeniors: Victoria Parsons, Cheyenne Adams and Becky Shelton

Who they are

Central Christian ready to revisit Final Four


The Central Chris-tian School Saints open up their 2014

volleyball season with a taste for unfinished busi-ness after making it to the Panhandle Christian Con-ference Final Four tourna-ment last year. They plan to return to the champion-ship dance with a better than 2013’s third-place finish this season.

But first they have to get through a tough East Division, said Saints head coach Renee Crotts.

“We had success last year and won our region and came in third in the Final Four which was not as high a finish as what I hoped for,” said Crotts. “But we have goals. The girls sat down this year at camp and talked about what they want to ac-complish and what it will take to make those goals obtainable. They

are looking to make a big impact in the conference and I want to help them get there.”

“They’re a very driven group of athletes and determined to do well so confidence is good and work ethic is, too. But we are not a very tall team and that means we’ll have to play a smart brand of volleyball all season.”

She returns three se-niors and four experi-enced starters overall, but some adjustments will be necessary.

“We graduated a cou-ple of starters last year and had a couple others

who are not playing so we’re trying a little bit different rotation. I had to bring up two girls from JV who don’t have a lot of experience. My libero is a seventh grader but is right on the verge of playing varsity level anyway.

“Our seniors Becky Shelton and Cheyenne Adams with juniors The-resa Sullivan and Nikki Gibbs, our setter, will all bring experience back and form the core of our team. Then probably we’ll use my other senior Victoria (Parsons) and three or four players who will fit into the rotation

and make a contribution as well.”

She added that the competition should make it a tight race to the play-offs.

“It’s going to be pretty tough this year. There are some really good teams in the conference so I look for a very competitive season, possibly right down to the wire. But overall, I’m pleased with how we’re doing and very positive about where we can go.”

The Saints next home match will be hosting

Baldwin County neigh-bor and conference rival Bayshore Christian Aug. 28 at 5:30 p.m.

n Saints hope to finish better than top three in Panhandle Conference this year

“

”

They are looking

to make a big im-

pact in the confer-

ence and I want

to help them get

there.

— Renee Crotts

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFVictoria Parsons puts the ball in play at Central Christian.

Becky Shelton passes to the front row.

Cheyenne Adams swings at the net for CCS.


BayshoreChristianVolleyball

‘Ball’s up!’

Bayshore Christian SchoolFairhope, AlabamaMascot: EaglesHead coach: Dave Omtvedt

Who they are

Eagles take wing


Bayshore Christian’s athletic program be-gins its first official

season in the Panhandle Christian Conference this fall. The Montrose school expanded to the high-

school level last year and will have its first graduat-ing class in 2016. The Ea-gles volleyball team have two juniors as their upper-classmen leaders in Pris-cilla Brock and Kaitlynn Decker with a number of starters returning after their first non-conference season in 2013. The Eagles

play Aug. 22 in the West Florida Baptist Invitational in Pensacola with Baldwin neighbor and conference rival Central Christian of Robertsdale.

Head coach Dave Omt-vedt said a year has made a difference in the level of play. “We picked up a couple of new players and return the rest our team with more experience and maturity than we started with last year, so all of that’s good,” he said. “I

think we have a little more size and strength up front but we have some kids that don’t have a wealth of varisty-level court time, so we need to work on some individual execution, but overall we have a better grasp of the fundamentals and a team mentality. I’m looking forward to testing ourselves.”

The Eagles started the season in the University of West Florida Invitational in Pensacola with Baldwin

neighbor and conference rival Central Christian of Robertsdale.

“There are a couple of other good teams in it so we will get a pretty good idea of where we stand right off the bat. It won’t count as a confer-ence match but should be a good measure for us.

Bayshore opens con-ference play at neighbor-ing rival Central Christian School in Robertsdale Aug. 28 at 5:30 p.m.


The 2014 volleyball season gets under way this week for

the eight AHSAA (Ala-bama High School Ath-letic Association) high-school teams in Baldwin County.

Fairhope and Foley move from Class 6A to 7A and Gulf Shores and Span-ish Fort move up to 6A to join Baldwin County High, Daphne and Robertsdale to form a five-team, all-Baldwin league designated 6A Area 2. Class 6A Area 1 will consist of Blount, Citronelle, LeFlore and Saraland.

Fairhope and Foley will compete in the new Class 7A Area 2 with McGill-Toolen Catholic and Mur-phy. Area 1 in 7A will be made up of Alma Bryant, Baker, Davidson, Mary G. Montgomery and Theo-dore.

Bayside Admirals• Bayside Academy will remain in Class 3A Area 1 with league opponents Cottage Hill Christian and Excel.

The Admirals have earned a lot of attention over the years with their consecutive win streaks of AHSAA state titles, especially the current run which stands at 12. The

Daphne private school has 22 state banners in the sport since joining the AHSAA in 1981.

Not surprisingly Bay-side is the top-ranked 3A preseason team in the 2014 sports writers rankings.

Bayside head coach Ann Schilling is responsible for 20 of the Admirals’ state championships, but she refuses credit.

“I’ve been blessed with great kids. That’s it. You can’t go very far without having great kids. And great kids come from great parents and also a great school that supports the program. We did lose a lot of seniors last year to graduation and we won’t have any seniors this year. But every team is different and this is a good group that is coming together real well. I feel good about our progress this summer.”

Junior Julia Martin and sophomores Lauren Chas-tang and Ariel Dulaney re-turn with the most experi-ence including significant playoff, Elite Eight and 3A championship match court time. Ansleigh Dailey steps into the setter position.

“We pulled some kids up from JV who are very good as well,” Schilling added. “So, we never have had the depth of a big 6A or now 7A school. But we’re used to dealing with that.”

The Admirals step on court for their first match Thursday at McGill-Tool-

en at 6:30 p.m. Their first home match is set for Sept. 6 against T.R. Miller.

Spanish Fort Toros• Spanish Fort is ranked

No. 3 in the state preseason poll in Class 6A.

The Toros have a new coach this year in Gretch-en Boykin after Barclay Kercher stepped aside for health reasons while stay-ing on to continue holding the reigns of the Lady To-ros soccer program. Boykin who led McGill-Toolen and Spring Hill College is only the second head volleyball coach at SF. Kercher was the Toros’ first volleyball head coach at Spanish Fort which opened in 2005.

“I think we will be in great shape,” Boykin said. “Coach Kercher left a team with a lot of discipline and talent. The transition has gone smoothly and we’re hoping for great things this fall and beyond.”

Some returning players expected to have a positive impact include Mia Bar-raza, juniors Anna Claire Whaley, Savannah Lee and Victoria Morris and sophomores Ashley Treace and Carley Hamric.

The Toros open at St. Luke’s Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. and open at home Sept. 9 against LeFlore.

Gulf Shores Dolphins• At Gulf Shores head

coach Brittany Brewer begins her third year with the Dolphins.

GSHS finished as the Class 5A Area 2 runner-up last season and made it to regionals with six seniors. But a number of starters are returning with a taste for the post season.

“I have high expecta-tions for this group,” Brew-er said. “We have a really strong junior group. They are coming out on fire with a year’s experience and more confidence under their belt. And we hope to make a real dent in the new area and play up to our expectations this year. We’re excited and ready to get started.”

The ‘Phins will have one senior in returning defensive specialist Em-ily McDaniel with juniors Taylor Hurst, setter Em-ily Davis, Cora, Ellis and sophomore Tristen Fitts.

n Bayshore Christian begins historic first official season in Panhandle Conference

n High school volleyball in Baldwin County features new coaches, new classifications

“

”

We need to work

on some individu-

al execution, but

overall we have a

better grasp of the

fundamentals and a

team mentality.

— Dave Omtvedt

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFBayshore outside hitter Natalie Omtvedt gets airborne for a point.

Bayshore junior volleyball players Kaitlynn Decker and Priscilla Brock.

See Ball’s, Page 5D

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFBayside coach Ann Schilling with team.

Ashley Treace sets for the Toros.


“In the county it used to be just us and SF,” Brewer said. “And now everybody in the county is in the same area except for Foley and Fairhope. It makes the area more personal, more meaningful with neighbors for rivals — especially when it counts.”

GSHS opens the sea-son at Foley Aug. 28 at 5:30 p.m. and plays their first home match Sept. 9 hosting Area 2 opponent Baldwin County High at The Tank.

BCHS Tigers• At Baldwin County

High in Bay Minette, the Tigers remain in 6A but have a new head coach in Bridget Hollis who took over from Mike Tucker. The Lady Tigers lost a number of starters and look to be in a rebuilding mode early in the 2014 season.

BCHS opens the season at home with former area rival Fairhope at 4:30 p.m. as the Pirates make their debut as a Class 7A club. The Tigers open their Class 6A Area 2 schedule at Gulf Shores Sept. 9.

Robertsdale Golden Bears

• In Robertsdale the Golden Bears will be led by lone senior Beth Taylor, returning junior starters Hope Plato, Jakayla John-son and Hali Thomas with sophomore Rosie Blount.

RHS head coach Metta Roberts sees a tougher schedule ahead in the five-team Area 2 format.

“I think the change-up in 6A made our area tough-er because we won’t have any nights off. We will have more area games and will need to be consistent every game. And consis-tency is always key of course, but with five teams in the area even more so. We really can’t afford to have a bad area game this year. Nobody can.”

The Golden Bears start the season on the road Aug. 28 at LeFlore at 6 p.m., then open their Class 6A Area 2 schedule at home against Gulf Shores Sept. 4.

Daphne Trojans• In Daphne, head coach

Edoli Herrion and assistant Kevin Frazier return with a solid group of starters and experienced core players representing the Jubilee City Trojans on the court.

“With seven seniors, this year will be a very ex-citing one,” Herrion said. “We have a well-rounded team this year with experi-ence that I am very excited about.”

Sandra Cross, Suzanne Evans, Cierra Harris, Niki McCall, Cameron Milroy, Jordyn Valrie and Taylor West fill out the senior portion of the DHS roster for 2014.

The Lady Trojans varsity will put the ball up for their first match at home Aug. 28 at Daphne High against Davidson’s War-riors at 5:30 p.m. Their first area match will be at home hosting Spanish Fort Sept. 16.

Fairhope Pirates •In Class 7A the

Fairhope Pirates also have a new coach — but in a way — a homecoming. Former Fairhope and University of

South Alabama standout player Lacey Stejskal Pow-ell returns as the 2014 Pi-rates skipper. Powell’s first head coaching job was at Foley, then Saraland. She takes over from Melissa Plash Knight who stepped down to focus on teaching higher mathematics in the IB program at Fairhope.

“It’s definitely an honor to get to come back and coach in the same gym where I once played,” Powell said. “Coming back to where I played and re-ally developed my love and passion for the sport. It’s special for sure, but just like everywhere I played or coached I want to be the best I can be and be what these girls need to grow and excel on the court and in the classroom. Melissa did a great job bringing the program to where it is and it’s obvious that it has been

in excellent hands. So, I’m fortunate in that way, too.”

The Pirates have four se-niors in setter and captain Katie Bayley, captain and outside hitter Carrighan Rockwell, middle blocker/hitter Katelyn Hayes and defensive specialist Kath-leen Stone.

“That experience will be big because we move up to 7A with Foley and that also includes McGill and Murphy. So it should be a challenging year but we accept that and welcome the challenge and look for-ward to it. We’re excited.”

Foley Lions

•Class 7A Foley has the newest head coach in the county with Anna Shartzer. The former all-star athlete in three sports at Robertsdale went on to earn all-conference and All-American collegiate accolades on the softball

diamond at the University of West Alabama. This is her first head coaching position. She replaced Wing Brett.

“This is a good group of girls, not just on the court but as people,” Shartzer said. “We have a good time and are excited for this season, but when it’s prac-tice time we get our work done and that’s that. In the beginning of the season, I asked the girls to write down three goals. My goal, other then winning obvi-ously, is to help the girls accomplish their goals and help them become better people and athletes.”

The Lions have four se-niors this year in Karolina Alexander, Sunny Dwyer, Nadia Johnson and Han-nah Sanks.

“I expect Nadia and Karolina to really step up and lead with maturity and expectations of the game. Valerie Davis (junior) is extremely vocal and will be our setter. She has no choice but to be vocal and a leader. She will be the heartbeat of the team. Jes-sica Cantrell (sophomore) will be a strong force in the middle position. She has a lot of knowledge and dedi-cation to the game that I hope becomes contagious. All in all, my entire team from JV to varsity was picked for a certain aspect. It is up to them to fill in that niche.”

Ball’s »From Page 4D

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFFTaylor Hurst puts the ball in play for the Dolphins.

Fairhope seniors, from left, Carrighan Rockwell, Kathleen Stone, Katie Bayley and Katelyn Hayes.

The BCHS Volleyball team is ready to serve up trouble to their opponents this season.

Robertsdale player Chloe Lynn works on passing.

Daphne’s Jordyn Valrie serves the ball.

Foley volleyball seniors, from left, are Nadia Johnson, Hannah Sanks, Karolina Alexander and Sunny Dwyer.



Among the public schools in Baldwin County, Spanish Fort’s Toros should field the teams to beat. The Toros girls team won the county

championship last year beating the second-place team by 63 points. The Lady Toros placed their top-5 girls in the top-8 spots and had nine of the top-20 finishers – and only one of those nine was a senior. The Lady Toros lone senior this year is Callie Shirk.

The SF boys beat second-place Fairhope by 13 points with their top 5 placing in the top-10 finish-ing spots — It was a top 5 consisting of all freshmen. Spanish Fort is young but very talented and starts the season as the hands-down favorite to take the top spot at the County Public Schools Championships in 2015 as well.

Former Spanish Fort CC and Track coach Mike Rauch decided to step down with a new baby on the home team and a new job title with more responsibil-ity at work. He left a sound cross-country team in the hands of new Toros coach Jane Allen Hotard who is excited about the outlook for this fall.

“This is going to be a great season for Spanish Fort Cross-country,” she said. “Our team continues to train hard and develop into advanced runners. Last year we went out and won sectionals and county, and we have every intention of doing the same this year.

“Our young boys and our girls’ team have mostly returning runners, having only graduated one boy and one girl last year. Every race this year should be exciting and come down to the finish for the top spot among our athletes.”

Spanish Fort’s first meet is set for Aug. 28 in the Warrior Challenge hosted by Cottage Hill Christian

Academy at the Mobile Fairgrounds.This year the new Alabama High School Athletic

Association (AHSAA) enrollment-based classifica-tions will see Fairhope and Foley moving up to 7A. Baldwin County High, Daphne, Gulf Shores, Roberts-dale and Spanish Fort will compete in 6A and Bayside Academy will remain in Class 3A. Bayshore Christian in Montrose, which expanded its programs to the varsity level, will compete in the Panhandle Christian Conference with Central Christian of Robertsdale.

Bayside’s Lady Admirals however will be hard to beat by anyone from 1A to 7A based on their overall performance last year (MileSplit.com). Their girls’ team is talented enough to be ahead of Spanish Fort in a virtual meet, said Fairhope coach Tim Yahr. “Using that same MileSplit software, their boys (Admirals) show up in third place.”

Bayside also has a new coach this year with Joseph Swagart taking over for former coach Alan Foster who took an educational sabbatical with his family overseas.

Swagart coached at Cottage Hill Christian Academy (CHCA) for eight years where his boys’ teams finished State Runner-Up for two seasons in the Alabama In-dependent Schools Association (AISA) before joining the AHSAA.

During six years in the AHSAA, his young men’s team earned one AHSAA state title, two AHSAA state runner-up finishes and a third- and fourth-place fin-ish. Within the AHSAA, his athletes earned All-State honors 14 times.

“I am excited to be at Bayside Academy,” Swagart said. “Our young men and women are dedicated to do their best and have demonstrated a passion for (cross-country).”

The Admirals lost a standout distance runner in Ryan Shankle to graduation but will have four senior

guys this fall in Alex Grace, Trevor Gibbons, Jake Melendez and Matthew Dowd.

“Our men’s team is led by four seniors and two juniors,” he said. “The rest of our team is young. Our young men have been working hard this summer through 10 weeks of conditioning and look to improve on last season’s state meet results. Our men’s team will be led by Ash Midyett, a junior who has earned All-State honors these past two seasons, potentially going sub-17 (Minutes) for a 5K this season.”

The Bayside girls lost some experienced runners

PHOTOS BY TONY WHITEHEAD / STAFF

Fairhope runners during a cool-down run last week, from left, Alex Duddenhoef-fer, Zack Hatfield, Jacob Firlus, Britney Spies, Sydney Coleman and Keevin Hoffren.

Spanish Fort runners take to the street. From left are, Hannah Frain, Linsey Hrabovsky, Anderson Copeland, Emmie Smith, Madison Copeland (McGill-Toolen), Savannah Morgan, Olivia Smith, Georgia Shirk, Callie Shirk, Caroline Vegas and Walker Phillips.

AUG. 28 - Warrior Invitational (CHCA) - Mobile Fairgrounds

AUG. 30 - Foley Invitational - Graham Creek PreserveSEPT. 6 - Mobile Challenge of Champions (Coach

Schoenwald) - Mobile Langan ParkSEPT. 12 - Azalea City Classic (USA - Coach Brueske) -

Mobile FairgroundsSEPT. 20 - OPEN (Daphne Invite has been canceled for

this year)SEPT. 26/27 - Spring Hill College Invitational - Spring Hill

Golf CourseSEPT. 27 - Cross-country Stampede - Pensacola / Atlanta

Classic - GeorgiaOCT. 4 - TR Miller Invitational – Brewton / Jesse Owens

Classic - MoultonOCT. 11 - OPENOCT. 16 - Mobile County Championships (St. Paul’s)OCT. 18 - Baldwin County Championships - LoxleyOCT. 25 - McGill-Toolen Relays - Mobile Langan ParkOCT. 30 - Sectional Meets (A/2A/5A/6A/7A - Paul Agnew)

- Mobile Langan ParkNOV. 8 - AHSAA State Championships - Moulton

2014 meetsCross-countryThe sport of high school cross-country running is set to

start the season with local teams stepping to the 2014 line.

See Cross-country, Page 7D


to graduation (Carlisle Calametti, Brittany Houseman and Bowen Spottswood) but has many of the top runners in the state returning from their 2013 state championship team.

“Our young women look to compete for a third-consecutive AHSAA 3A state title,” Swagart said. “(The) team will be led by Mary Catherine Branyon, a freshman who has also earned All-State honors these past two seasons, potentially going sub-19 for a 5K this season like last season and being one of the top-10 young women in the state.

“For both our young men and women, we will com-mit to giving our best effort, build mental toughness, and encourage one another to work hard. Our focus will be to improve as best we can upon last season’s results and help our young and inexperienced athletes become a vital part of our success this season.”

Bayside’s first meet of the season will also be the Warrior Challenge on (Thursday) Aug. 28 which an-nually draws a strong field.

Considering individual contenders to lead this year, Yahr sees Branyon as the front-runner on the girls side with former county champion Hannah Evans of Fairhope now off to run for the University of Montevallo.

“(Branyon) enters the season in the top spot,” he said. “With likely challenges from (Bayside) team-mates Abigail Warner and Delaney Klutes, Carissa Jones and Hannah Frain (Spanish Fort), Mandaline Thomas (Daphne), Katy Hines (Foley), and Gabrielle Chunn (Robertsdale). (But) These ladies better not forget about Kaleigh Akers (Daphne) or Margaret Lloyd (Gulf Shores) who were injured last season.”

On the male side, Shankle (Bayside) and John Alan Walker (Daphne) — the best in Baldwin County in 2014 — also graduated.

“The heir-apparent for the boys this season is Caleb Casolaro (Fairhope),” Yahr said. “With Ash Midyett (Bayside) and Cooper Sewell (Spanish Fort) on Casolaro’s heels. There should be some surprise

names in both the boys and the girls as new families move into the area to work at Austal, Airbus, and other businesses bringing in talented athletes from out of the area.”

Some other senior girls expected to run hard for their team this year include Foley’s Katy Hines and Tessa Johnson; Gulf Shores’ Chera Pledger; Baldwin County’s Erin Connolly; Bayside’s Madison Shelley; Daphne’s Akers, Lela Rice, Bridgette Willis, Sydney Murphy and Rachel Jernigan; Robertsdale’s Gabrielle Chunn, Gabrielle Forland and Morgan Corvo and Fairhope’s Jenna Oden and Britney Spies.

For the senior boys, look for: Baldwin County’s Terry Cox, Cameron Lewis, Cory Steadham, Zack Martin, Joshua Chucks, Derrick Pittman and Ken-nedy Karpanty; Daphne’s McKenzie Arender and Daniel Collins; Fairhope’s Casolaro; Foley’s Dawson Detombe.

Daphne also has a new coach this year in Ruben Rosales taking over for Joe Hutchins.

Cross-country »From Page 1D

Bayside runners and coach Joseph Swagart put in some training miles in Daphne.

Daphne runners Kaleigh Akers, Chris Walding, Tristan Wilson and Jacquez Bowman work out earlier this month.

vertical and she is joined by Shyrie Chaney, anoth-er 5-foot-11 middle hitter.

Rounding out the line-up are a quartet of setter/

libero/defensive special-ists.

Olivia Scarcliff is a setter/defensive special-ist from Mobile, Hannah

Seale is a setter from Slidell, La., Emma Cot-ney is a libero from Chel-sea and Hannah Tarr is a setter/defensive special-

ist from Lancaster, Pa.“Olivia is an aggressive

player that will provide depth at both positions. Hannah has great hands,

can see the court and will be a natural leader on the court. Emma has quick feet, and is an aggressive player that will compete

on the defensive side, and Hannah will provide depth on the defensive side of the ball,” Dussouy added.

Faulkner »From Page 1D

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