Coaches Breakfast 08/29/26

[0:00] It's time for the 93.9 The Score High School Coach's Breakfast. The Coach's Breakfast on 93.9 The Score is brought to you by Lost Pizza, John C. Saylor Attorney at Law, The Courier Journal, Millis Place, North Alabama Boney Joint Clinic, Southern Pride Pest Control and Bank Independent. Now live from the North Alabama Boney Joint Clinic, here's your host, Kevin Johnson. Top of the morning to you on this Saturday morning as we finish up the month of August with really what we call week two of high school football here.

And it was a great week, that is for sure, for the weekend. Some call it week zero to week one, but we'll call it week two. Most teams have got their second game under the belt. Some played their first game last night. We'll meet one coach or two that played their first game this past week. But most finished up their second game last night. And it was a great night for high school football. Hot, humid, yes. But it was a great night. It was a beautiful night.

And tremendous all around the state of Alabama. Great football, high school football played. And after week one, you see some new faces. You see some, you know, scores that catch your attention. Week two, again, you're in non-region play. You start to sort of see some people rise to the top a little bit. It's okay. This is a team to keep an eye on. These are the same teams they've always been. That great pedigree that they have. So that's the type of thing you watch for scores statewide.

But it was a great night all around for high school football. Tremendous games played from Mobile to all the way up in the Shoals area. And hope that you enjoyed listening and watching games last night as well. And it really kicked off Thursday night. Several games played Thursday night throughout the state of Alabama. Some good ones then. And continued Friday night as well. So hope you enjoyed high school football being a part of it. We've got several coaches on deck to be with us here in a few moments.

To talk about Friday night's games here on Saturday morning on The Coach's Breakfast. A great tradition. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you once again. Hosting this show. And I hope that you are getting that second cup of coffee growing here soon. Maybe the first cup of coffee. You've just woken up. A little breakfast out on the porch and listening to The Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score. Well, let's start it off with three things that KJ saw last night. And really, how about saw all week? I had to go back a week because we're going to get this thing going.

Let's do it right. And these are three things in high school football that really garnered my attention. And you have to start in Huntsville, Alabama. The Columbia Eagles. Last Saturday night, they went into Milton Frank Stadium with a 101-game losing streak. Folks, they had not won in 11 years. 11 years. I mean, maybe more than that. It might have been 12. I have to go back and look. It was unbelievable how many years it had been since they'd won a game. Last Saturday night, they finally get their first win in over a decade.

And over a decade, they won a game for the first time. Can you imagine what it was like at that high school on Monday morning for the first time in over a decade when over the loudspeaker, the principal said, Congratulations to Sammy Coates and the football team for winning the game Friday night. What a celebration. What a historical moment. What a great way to finally get that streak and that streak ended there of 101 games. And Sammy Coates, great job. The former Auburn Tiger player taking over that program and finally gets a win for the program last week to go 1-0.

But Coach Coates, I need to talk to you for a minute. Now you're just showing out. You come around last night and you win again. You're 2-0 of the season and knock off East Limestone. What is this going? You got a streak going the other way. Coach Sammy Coates in Columbia turning it around. Salute to the Eagles. Congratulations and best of luck to them the rest of the season. What a great story. National story. And we can't wait to follow them the rest of the season as well.

How about a team that last night put up 515 yards of total offense? That is incredible, isn't it? An offense that puts up 515 yards of total offense. But let's hear the rest of the story. That wasn't just the team. That was from one player on the Winfield Pirates last night. Quarterback Blaine Bowen. Get these stats. In a 58-50 win over Oak Grove last night, the Pirate quarterback went 23 of 31, 376 yards passing. Oh, but he also carried it 23 times for 139 yards. He alone had 515 total yards offense. One of the great performances already of the season given there last night in Winfield by quarterback Blaine Bowen and Coach David McKinney over there, a veteran coach.

He's done this a long time. I mean, he knows what he's doing. But I know he hasn't seen one like that in a while. So, congratulations to Coach McKinney and the Pirates. And congratulations to Blaine Bowen on a night you'll never forget as a quarterback. 515 yards total offense and a 58-50 win for the Winfield Pirates over Oak Grove. What else did KJ see last night? Well, this one's sentimental. Emotional, sentimental, special. For the first time in the school history at Florence High School, they went into Brawley Stadium and the stadium belonged to Florence High School alone.

[5:25] Congratulations to the University of North Alabama who's getting ready to move into their brand-new stadium, a bank-independent stadium. And best of luck to Coach Brent Dierman as they kick off the season tonight. That is a great thing for the University of North Alabama. But as I said last night, for a long time, it was like two brothers had shared a bedroom, bunk beds even. And finally, the older brother at the University of North Alabama said, you know what, it's time to move out and to get our own room.

And they did. And congratulations to them. Which meant for the little brother maybe a little bit, which is Florence High School. Florence High School said, thank you very much. We'll take this room and we'll make it our own. And boy, did they ever. Congratulations to Athletic Director Coach Myra Miles and her staff. They really put a lot of touches on this. Coach Kenny Morrison, the stadium was decked out in blue. It's Florence Falcons all over the stadium, the Falcon emblem on this field. And Florence Falcons in the end zone.

But the sentimental and emotional night last night was a great touch by Florence High School. Over the years, Florence High School has been very grateful for the donations and the love and support from TNT Fireworks, from the Anderson family, who's done so much for them. And recently, their matriarch, patriarch of their family, Mr. Charles C. Anderson, passed away this past summer. And last night, Brawley Stadium was named Brawley Stadium at Charles C. Anderson Senior Field with all the Anderson family on the field there to just remember their dad and granddad.

What a moment it was. What a special moment. And great to see them. The former great Alabama football player, Keaton Anderson, was there last night. His grandfather being honored. So, just a very special night all around to do that. And what a great honor to a family that's given so much back to the community and especially to Florence City Schools. So, just a tremendous night last night. Those are three things that caught my attention. I love those feel-good stories. I love those stories that make you go, wow, that's pretty cool.

Last night was one. If you were at Brawley Stadium, no matter which sideline you're on, by the time that was over, you had a little bit of a tear in your eye realizing, hey, this was a pretty special moment in the history of this high school. Let's look at some scores from last night's games around the Shoals area especially, starting with Clements and Lexington last night. And Coach Brett Mask and his team go to 2-0 in the season. As they knock off Clements, 46-7. Coach Mask already in there in the green room with all the coaches, a bunch of coaches here today, getting ready to have a good time.

So, congratulations to Coach Mask. West Point fell to Claiborne County, 49-7. Brooks, big win. The first win ever there for a new head coach there. that we're going to talk to in just a few minutes. Coach Horton's in the house and we're excited for him. They win it last night over Lauderdale County, 43-14. Bob Jones comes back to beat Athens, 28-14 last night. Belgrin was better than Brilliant last night, 47-14. A-Rab got the best of Ardmore, 41-21 last night. It was Brewer falling to Good Hope, 47-23.

Parker and James Clemens played down in Birmingham last night. James Clemens is a really, really good 6A team. Parker is a really, really good 5A team. And Parker wins that one, 34-7. The Rogers Pirates kicked it off, I think, on Thursday night, going over to Joe Davis Stadium. When they got to Joe Davis Stadium, they knock off a pretty good team. We're wearing John Powell by the score of 56-27. Huntsville was better than Mae Jemison Thursday night, 28-18. The game that heard right here on 93-9, the score.

The Florence Falcons last night knocked off Jasper at Brawley Stadium, 50-21. Coal Springs was better than Vynemont, 9-0. East Limestone fell to Columbia, as I said last night, 29-13. The Eagles on a two-game winning streak. Hartzell got upset by Coleman last night, 14-9. Faultville over Danville, 42-29. Decatur, big win over Grissom, 20-12. The Dashner Tigers, Carver County Indians, what a matchup that always is. That was over at Howard Chappell Stadium, and last night, the guys in the darker jerseys, the home jerseys, the Tigers, win that one over the Indians, 58-16.

Douglas over Westminster Christian, 47-14. East Lawrence was better than Carver Heights, 28-18. Fairview gets by Hayden, 19-12. Galesville over Lindsay Lane Christian, 42-0. Huckleburg was better than Marion County, 34-27. Big win for the Wilson Warriors. Go on the road and knock off HALO, 28-14, a place they haven't won often. They get a big two-touchdown win last night. Hatton is for real. The Hornets can sting. They stung Lawrence County last night, 48-18. Albertville may have set a school record. I'll have to check it. They've been playing football a long time, but they put up 57 points last night.

I can't tell you the last time Albertville put up 57 points, but they beat Hazel Green, 57-27. Eider was over DAR, 39-12. Madison Academy slides by West Morgan, 28-21. Lee in Madison County had a great game last night over in Huntsville, and Lee beats them 42-41. New Hope over West Limestone, 27-7. Oak Mountain gets by Buckhorn, 38-23. Central, big win in their first game of the year over Phil Campbell, 49-14. Phillips slides by last night over Vina by a score of 42-14. The Red Bay wins 34-14 over Sheffield, and the game of the night in the Shows area, Russellville and Coach Darrell Higgins knock off Marcel, the former coach, is home there.

[11:01] They coached for many years. Russellville beat Marcel 21-7. That's just some of the games from around the area last night. A lot of good ones played throughout the way. By the way, a couple more, one or two more. Spartan got by Austin, 38-21 last night. Shows Christian, the big win over Tharptown last night, 24-12. When we come back, we'll have coaches from the Coaches Breakfast. First up, the Desher Tigers. This is the Coaches Breakfast on 93.9 The Score. Back in one minute. At North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic, our Shoals roots run deep.

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So thank you for listening in as a coach's breakfast. It's a great tradition here in North Alabama here on 93.9 The Score. We're joined now by the head coach of the Desher Tigers, Coach Patrick Malone, whose team at home last night in the home opener beats Carver County 58-16. And, Coach, any time those two teams get together, just when those jerseys come out on the field, it just has a feel of, wow, this is high school football. Absolutely. I can remember as a kid always, you know, you had to get to this game early.

They would do spaghetti suppers in the cafeteria at, you know, 4.30. And we'd go over there. Then we'd play some touch football or something. And then, hey, we've got to get to the stadium. So everybody, not much has changed. We had a big tailgate on the lawn, great atmosphere there. Our administration does such a good job of setting things up like that. And then our stadium was packed. Tremendous support by our people. And Carver County had a great representation too. Coach, I'm going to be honest with you.

I grew up in Leighton, went to Carver County. I lived right there on old Highway 20 as a young boy. And I still remember being outside playing football on a Friday afternoon in the yard. And here come the yellow school buses from Tuscumbia. And I have a little boy that come by, and I just yell at them and scream at them. I was like, boy, I was trying to intimidate them as a seven-year-old boy. You know, that's the way you're raised in Tuscumbia or in Leighton. This game means a lot.

Absolutely. And it's funny you say that. I can remember playing junior high football. And Coach Wayne Bracey was our coach. And we'd pull up, and they'd tell us, all right, helmet's on. On the bus. You know, you get off the bus with your helmet's on. That's a good sign. Ready to go. And, you know, some of the great names of North Alabama football came out of that stretch of Highway 20. And I just got such respect for the tradition of that rivalry. Speaking with Coach Patrick Malone of the Destro Tigers.

And, Coach, last night your team played really well. You went at 58-16. Did you get off to a good start? Was that part of it last night? I believe, you know, we won that game on Monday. Okay. And we challenged our kids Monday morning to come out, execute at a high level. And my fear as the head coach was two years ago we had a similar situation with Russellville where we thought we were going to beat Russellville, should have beat Russellville. We didn't. We dwelled on it for a week, got beat by Hatton the next week.

And we just, we weren't going to let that happen. And we've got 25 seniors. A lot of those guys remember that. And that was the challenge. That was the message. And they took it on themselves. Hey, this is not going to be who we are. We learned from our mistakes last week, fixed them early, and it was, let's get back to playing industrial football. Tremendous, tremendous effort by our coaching staff this week, too. Our guys were so well prepared. Couldn't be prouder of the job that not only they did, but the players understanding the mission and executing it.

Not only did your players remember that as seniors, your coaches remember that. And you as a head coach remember that. Is that some of the things that you follow as a head coach until you think over the years you think, this is a good teaching lesson right here? Yeah. You know, so after each game, there's about a five minute where everybody's kind of, they're winding things down. We're getting laundry going, whatever. And while the game's still fresh in my mind, I've got a little notebook. And I go in there and I write down just some shorthand notes.

[16:11] And I always look back on those. And it could be anything from, you know, a play here or there, or, hey, I wish I'd have done this. A two-point conversion, maybe, or something like that. You know, how to have a call here or, you know, handle this differently next time. But I always, you know, during the week, I'll reflect on some of those. Because there's all lessons. Gosh, almighty. Football teaches us so many lessons. Very few of them are football-related, more life-related. But, you know, the preparation.

Preparation. And that's high school football. Execute, execute, execute. That is such great insight from me about the little notebook. I mean, I love that from my head coach as we speak with Patrick Malone of the Destro Tigers. Who played well for you in offense last night? Well, gosh, almighty. Both sides. Your offense and defense, both did really well. I thought up front, we did well again. And that's two weeks in a row. I like to see that trending. We're still young in this season. And so we're moving guys around.

We're looking at different running backs, different receivers, different protections. And on the defensive side, we're rolling some guys in the secondary. So when you say, all right, who did well? You know, everybody played their role. And as a coach, you're going, okay, everybody has a role on this team. Find your role. Excel in it. Embrace it. And none of that can get accomplished without our younger kids in our program. And we've got 70 kids on our roster, nine through 12. And for a freshman to come in, he goes, oh, this is a year where I'm not going to do anything.

That's not true. The freshman that may not have played as much on Friday night is so important Monday through Thursday. And when kids start learning that and embracing that, then you've really got something going on. And we had two young freshmen play significant last night. So I was pleased with them. But everything about that game, again, goes back to Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. And I can't look any other way than our 25 seniors and the way they've handled the locker room. Their leadership has grown ever since we got out of fall camp.

We've challenged them. We've challenged them. We've challenged them. Been tough on them. And it's probably the closest group of seniors in my 20-plus years of coaching that I've been a part of. And there are very few egos in that run. It's, hey, we are so honored to wear the Duster jersey. Let's represent it the right way. And let's send the same message that we were taught as seniors. Let's make sure it keeps going. Well said right there. But Coach Patrick Malone of Duster High School. Coach, you got off to the quick start 28-0 in the first quarter.

Really set the tone. And your guys did it so well that you got to play a lot of players. But it started with senior quarterback Bryson Williams finding Jeremiah Fletcher from 38 yards out. A big pass play early just opens everything up. I mean, I know Coach was like, you know, three bad things can happen if you throw it. Three things can happen if you throw the ball and two are bad. But when you hit a big pass, it really opens things up, doesn't it? Right. And Bryson's, you know, this is just his second game playing quarterback.

Wow. He's going to keep getting better and better and better. And he's a competitor. He is a winner. Not afraid of contact. You know, he's a linebacker mentality playing quarterback. So he's doing a great job for us. And Jeremiah Fletcher is a guy that we've got a chart touches for. He is so explosive. He is a guy that defenses have to know where he lines up. So our offensive coaches do a good job moving him around. Really impressive last night. Got to play a lot of players.

You talked about how many you had out. That's incredible for us to have 70 kids out to play. And everyone probably touched the grass last night. And that's a great thing for you. You go to one and one on the season in this 4A Region 7 of Ardmore, you know, Brooks, Hamilton, Lawrence County, Priceville, West Morgan, West Point, and Deschler. That brings you to a point of, you know, it's a different region. It starts up next week. Who do you have and where? Well, we're on the road.

We go to Moulton to play Lawrence County. Just early review of them. They're huge. I think they're 280 across the front. They've got a really good running back. Going to be another physical game. Need another great week of prep. And now you're in region play. And so everything matters. And then some. So excited to get it underway. Do you like the realignment, by the way? Yeah. Yes and no? I like the, okay, new opponents. The unfamiliarity with some of them. I enjoy that. But, you know, I've got some friends on the, you know, I like to see Coach Wood every now and then on that opposite side of the line at Central.

But I get to see him here on Saturday morning, which is always a great time. And I'm so thankful that for you doing this and the North Alabama Bona Joint Clinic for having us here. Well, it's our honor. And we're the calm side. That room back there is pretty rowdy. That's for sure. You get Coach Mask back there. Watch out. Everything's off base there. So have a lot of fun with that. Coach Patrick Malone, Destro Tigers. Congratulations on the win. And best of luck next week on the road at Lawrence County.

[21:12] Okay? Thank you. The head coach of the Destro Tigers. When we come back, more from the coach's breakfast as we'll be talking to the new head coach of Brooks High School, Coach Mike Corden. We're back in one minute. You got a craving that won't quit? Lost Pizza Company Shoals just dropped something new, and it's only around for a limited time. Say hello to our jalapeno mac and cheese bites. Crispy, cheesy, packed with a little kick, and serve with our house-made ranch for dipping. Paired with the fillet, y'all, our loaded fillet cheesesteak pizza that's quickly becoming a fan favorite.

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Let us help you take back your home this summer. Call Southern Pride Pest Control today to schedule an appointment. When you have pests, we have solutions. Beautiful Saturday morning here in the Shoals area. Kevin Johnson with you from the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic, the host for the Coach's Breakfast for many years now, and my honor and privilege to be sent behind the mic and talk to all these coaches from around the Shoals area for many years. And you do it for so long, there comes a time where you go from interviewing dads to interviewing sons.

And for the first time as a head coach this season, it's well to have with us from Brooks High School, Coach Mike Corton, who got his first victory last night. Coach, congratulations. Yes, sir. Thank you very much. That had to be really special. I know you as a coach want to say it's about the team. I know you're going to do all the coach talk. I know you are. But did you have a moment where you could just take a step back and go, wow, this is one thing I'll always remember?

I mean, it definitely, you got the relief of big breath of fresh air right there. And, you know, all the coaches come up, you know, and obviously, you know, it takes a big pile off your shoulders right off the bat and everything. But, you know, it's, at the end of the day, we're glad to go out there and get a win for the kids and everybody else, community and all that. So, I mean, it was a good first win. Now it just gives us something to continue to build upon.

Before we move on to the team and the game and the season, did you get the ice bath last night? I did. All right, the bucket came. I did. Do you know who did it by any chance? Yes, actually, my defensive coordinator, Broadfoot, set me up. But, yes, I did say who did it. It's always the defensive coordinator, Coach. You know that you should know this by now, right? I should. I was wondering why he was really nice right at the end like that. But, no, it was all good.

Well, congratulations, Coach. Mike Horton Brooks getting the win last night. His first win as the head coach at Brooks High School. And, Coach, you win at 43-14 over Lauderdale County. And your team played well last night. Did you feel good bouncing back a little bit in the way they showed resilience from that week one to week two? We were. I was really pleased with the way we responded in the second half. Yeah. You know, we had a couple of turnovers the first half. You know, a couple of big plays.

Their offense was able to sustain a couple of drives and keep the offense off the field. But going in at halftime, challenging our kids, they came out and responded very well. And, I mean, we, I think it was 27 unanswered that we were able to finish in the second half. So, it was real good to see them come out and establish, you know, what we're trying to do every week in, week out. You get momentum. And momentum is such a big part of the game, isn't it?

And do you talk to your team about the importance of the start of the second half, those first five minutes, as they say? We do. We do. I mean, we still preach to our kids, you know, we want to start fast and finish strong. And especially right at the beginning of the first half, you know, you want to start there. But coming down to the second half, we knew we were getting the ball. And we wanted to establish, you know, the run game from that standpoint and really set a precedent, you know, what we're going to try to do the second half.

And the kids did a real good job. Speedy Coffey wasn't bad last night. He ran 13 times for 140 yards. You have a back like that, can go for 100 yards. That opens everything up a little bit. Very well. He runs hard. He earns every yard he gets. And, you know, he's done a great job for us, not just getting the ball, but from blocking, from, you know, out wide catching it. And, you know, he's done a lot for us right now in these first two games. And it's been good to see.

Was there one key play maybe in the second half that sort of turned the tide, you felt like? Overall, that first drive. I mean, we did hit a big screen down the sideline to Sam Hamner. But, you know, just the physical running that we did on that drive, you know, kind of sparked, you know, the rest of the outcome of the second half. Speaking with Coach Mike Horton, the head coach of the Brooks Lions, who's team wins last night 43-14 over Lauderdale County. Coach, as a head coach, do you still do any play calling on defense or offense?

[26:15] Have you relinquished all that? Is it a new change for you a little bit? I'm still calling it offensively. I did turn it over towards the end of the game to Coach Greg. You know, he's our receivers coach. Called it before. And, you know, I'm still going to continue to call it. But it's like I told them, if I get tied up with something where I got to go talk with defense or talk to the official or anything like that, you know, I'm perfectly, you know, we're good where I can just say, you got this series right here or anything like that, and we got all the trust in the world for them.

A lot of game planning for coaches. People don't realize those type of things are things that you discussed during the offseason and you said, hey, if this comes up, here's what we're going to do. Are these things, especially as a new coach, as the head coach, I know you're not new there at Brooks, but those things that are saying, hey, in case of this, here's what's going to happen. Y'all go through all those scenarios? We do. We do. We try to look at every scenario that might come up.

And, you know, I predominantly stay on the offensive side and game plan for that. And I want to look at Aaron, you know, me and Coach Brafoot will talk about the defense, you know, what we're going to do that week. And, yeah, we just try to make sure we cover every basis of every type of situation that might occur. Last night you had to go, I believe, to a backup quarterback from the week one. And is the young man from last week doing okay? I know you can't go in a lot, but is he doing okay recovering?

That's a good year. A lot of people asked about that. Tavian Casey last night, 9 of 12, 174 yards, two scorers. You had to feel good about him coming in that role. Had to be a little nervous for him. He took it well. He did very well. You know, when he had to come in, you know, last week, he did well. And, you know, starting the game, you could tell the little nerves were in and everything. But he settled in. And, you know, he really controlled the offense, especially in the second half of making the right reads, you know, getting the ball out quick.

And he was – it was impressive for his, you know, first full-time game out there. Speaking with Mike Horton, head coach of Brooks Lines, congratulations again on that. That's such a great thing for me to see and know that you got the job. I was so excited for you. And I know you're an offensive lineman at heart. So, let's talk about those big boys up front. How do they do? And do you like the way this offensive line is starting to gel a little bit? Yeah. And, you know, coming in this year, we knew it was going to be an inexperienced group.

We pretty much got back two that played last year. And, you know, one of them kind of goes both sides and plays offensive line as well. So, we knew that was going to be a challenge that they're going to have to step up to this year. And we really tested them, you know, in halftime about how to come out and establish, you know, a physical type of running game in the second half. And, you know, they stepped up to the challenge. And it's always, you know, continue to get better.

You know, we preach to our kids to try to get 1% better each and every day. We're not a finished product. We'll never be there. But as long as we continue to build upon what we're trying to do and get better at little aspects, you know, we'll be okay. The folks in Killing are great at supporting high school football. Was there a great crowd last night? Yes, sir, it was. They've been very supportive since I've been there. And, you know, it's been a great community that gets behind this football program.

Who do you have next week for the Brooks Lions? We'll go to West Morgan. Wow. One of the great programs over the past four or five years. And right off the bat in region play, you go to West Morgan on the road. That is going to be a tremendous game and a tremendous test for your team early on to find out where you are in region play. It is. It is. You know, I think the last couple of years, we opened in right off the bat.

You know, first game of the year. Yeah. And we knew right off the bat, you know, it's going to be a tough task, you know, for the first region game. We'll be on the road. And, you know, it's something we're looking forward to. And, you know, just trying to go out there and compete and play at a high level the best we can. Coach, I mean this with all respect because I've known you for a long time. You look like a head coach. I know that sounds funny, but you do.

You carry yourself well. Congratulations, Coach Mike Horton. 1-0 on his time in his first game. I'm 1-1 on the season, but his first win as the head coach of Brooks Lyons. And, Coach, best of luck next week, okay? Yes, sir. Thank you very much. The head coach of the Brooks Lyons, Mike Horton. We'll come back. More from the coach's breakfast after this one minute timeout. The Courier Journal includes exclusive regular features like Dave Ramsey's weekly column, Ask Dave, plus informative business advertorials, opinions, coming events, all the local grocery ads, and the best retail values in the shoals.

And don't forget the Courier Journal's game day scorecard contest during the football season. Up to $100 of lost pizza gift cards and $50 from the Courier Journal are up for grabs each week. The Courier Journal, almost 50,000 mailed weekly. Look for the Courier Journal in your mailbox each week. Let's go. It's Friday night football. I'm John Saylor, your local lawyer. And I'm proud to sponsor this year's scoreboard and Coach's Breakfast because there's nothing like high school football in North Alabama. It's our schools, our teams, our bands, our cheerleaders, and everybody in the stands.

It's good times, and that's what Friday night football is all about. Remember, neighbors, when you need a lawyer, call me, John Saylor, your local lawyer, at 256-740-3131 or visit johnsaylorlaw.com. Good morning, and thank you for listening here at 93.9 The Score. The coach's breakfast, great tradition in the shows area. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you. Getting your morning off to a great start. Some college football on today. Week zero. It's not a whole lot of games, but some good games, some decent games. Bill Belichick is as far away as you can imagine over there in Ireland playing the game, so we can watch that one earlier this morning.

[31:29] It's good just to see it on the stations of TV and listening to college football back here in its football season, so that's great, too. So enjoy the games today as well. Joined now by the head coach of the Rogers Pirates, Coach Daniel Garrett, whose team kicked off the weekend on Thursday night by going over to Huntsville, taking on John Paul II, and they win it 56-24. Coach, Thursday night win, that's always good for you and your team, and I know it felt good to get that one under your belt.

Yeah, it's always good to get the first one. You know, one of those a lot better than 0-1. Still got lots to work on and to clean up, but it's been a long time since we've played, so we were excited to come out and, you know, do what we needed to do. I'm glad you said it was 1-0 because you were one of those teams that took the off week and the first week and started your season a little different. Not everybody does, but some do.

And do you like the way it's set up or just the way it played out? It's just the way it played out, you know, when everything happened with the reclass and, you know, splitting schools and regions and classifications changed. It just kind of messed up some non-region stuff, and so this was just kind of what happened. It's been a long time since we played, you know, so we had some rust we needed to knock off, but I thought we handled it well and, like I said, do what we needed to do to, you know, come out victorious.

Speaking with Coach Daniel Garrett of the Rogers Pirates, and Coach, before we get into the game, your team, I want to take just a minute. You played that game on the road against John Paul II in Huntsville at Joe Davis Stadium. It's been renovated. Wicksville, that's where the University of North Alabama and Sanford play tonight. I've been there. It is a phenomenal venue for high school football. I know that had to be pretty special for your team and players to walk out. I mean, this is one of the most special places you can play a high school football game in Alabama.

Yeah, absolutely. I thought it was a great experience for our kids. You know, it's, you know, I told them, I said, guys, this will be the nicest environment. You know, you'll play in, you know, unless we get to play in the state championship game, you know, and even then it might be just as nice. And so, you know, just great locker room, great, you know, field, great, everything was just great. And, you know, I always try to provide experiences because this is an experience playing high school football.

And, you know, we want life lessons and everything. We also want to create memories. And this is, I feel like that's a memory that the kids can always look back on is that type of experience. And, you know, winning makes it better. But definitely, I mean, I wish we could set something up every year to go somewhere like that. But, you know, got to do that this year, so that was special. It's Rodgers wins it over John Paul II, 56-24. And, Coach, did your team get off to a good start?

How did the game start off? It took us a little while to get going. You know, we had some rust to knock off, like I said, with, you know, some offensive line assignment things. And, you know, we got a few unsportsmanlike penalties on defense that I didn't like. And that's kind of uncharacteristic of us. So, that's a little lesson we'll have to learn because we want to play the game the right way. And sometimes things happen. It's an emotional sport. You know, things are going to happen.

You know, we had a kid hit somebody late, and it wasn't vicious. It was a penalty, you know. Yeah. But, you know, those things happen. But we've got to control our composure when people retaliate and things like that. And, you know, we'll learn from it. And I felt like, you know, after all that happened, I felt like, you know, we composed ourselves very well. And then went out and did what we needed to do to pull away. And, you know, it was like I told our kids, look, we're going to experience some adversity.

And, you know, it was self-inflicted adversity. But we handled it and came out. And I think we'll be better for it. Coach, when you talk about your team at Rogers, you know, it's always a physical team. We talk about that. I mean, it just has that blue-collar mentality always. But it also is one of those teams that you realize every year you know who you are as a DNA. Is that important to really – you've been there a while as head coach. The players know what to expect.

The coaching staff, the community. You just know who you are. Is that a step forward maybe to some other teams that may be going through coaching changes, that type thing? Well, I think that any time you've had the same, you know, people around for a while, it creates an advantage for you to where there's – you know, the kids know what to expect. They know who I am. They know, you know, how I am to where, you know, I'm going to react to this a certain way.

I'm going to react, you know, to that a certain way. And, you know, I also, you know, like these seniors, they were seventh graders when I got here. So, you know, we've been together a long time. So, I think that definitely is, you know, is a strength. And I think our relationship is very strong. And, you know, and when you have a strong relationship, you can really push people. Yeah, that's a good point. And like these seniors, we've pushed them very hard. And, you know, you can't do that if you don't have those relationships.

[36:35] And I do feel like we have an identity. I do feel like we know who we are. And the biggest thing about that is to be who we are and not try to be what anyone wants us to be. And including fans, including opponents, including media, including everybody. Yeah, broadcasters, yeah. We need to be who we are. And only we know who that needs to be. And I feel like we've got a team right now that understands that. And they're bought into that. And, you know, we just need to stay the course.

That is tremendous insight. I love that answer. That's a great answer from Daniel Garrett, head coach of the Rogers Pirates. Coach, who are some of those seniors that stood out for you that really are some leaders maybe for your team? Well, our quarterback's the first one, I think, that comes to everyone's mind. That's C.J. Davis. And Hunter Bacon's a senior that started several years. He had a great game the other night. He forced a fumble, blocked a punt. You know, had several tackles, had a touchdown catch, you know.

That's a pretty good night. Yeah, he had a great – he played a great game. And he's just one of those kids. He doesn't say a lot, but he just does things the right way, plays the right way. Kanan Easter is another guy like that. He plays D-in and tied in for us. And, you know, he doesn't say much. He just – he tries to do everything you tell him to do, and he goes 110%. And he's just kind of a – I feel like he's a Rogers football player.

If you were to kind of just point, hey, that guy plays football at Rogers. You know, that's kind of him. And, you know, there's several more like that that we've got. You know, Court Crunk, Carson Springer, you know, the list goes on and on. You know, I like all of our seniors. I feel like they're all bought in. And I know they are. I don't feel like it. I know they are. And they're just good kids that want to do the best they can. You know, not only for the team, but for each other.

And, you know, we've got some good juniors too that, you know, are running back. Braden Reed, he had a heck of a night. You know, he ran for 160-something yards. And it kind of came into a game to where we just lined up and just started just – our O-line did a great job just mashing the line of scrimmage. And then it took two or three to tackle Braden. And it just – you know, that's – you know, when you think of Rodgers historically, that's who they are. Now, we've kind of gotten more, you know, spread out and explosive, you know, in the past few years.

But, you know, to be able to still do that is important. And we feel like we can if we execute. Was there one play maybe Friday night or Thursday night as you played this week with Rodgers coach Daniel Garrett, was there one play where you said, okay, that play – that stood out in my mind is that that's what I want to see out of my team. Well, we blocked a punt. Yeah. Hunter Bacon blocked the punt. Special teams always big. Yes. So, like, to me that's important to me is blocking punts.

I feel like that's a huge momentum shift. And, you know, he almost – he almost scooped and scored his own block. Oh, wow. That's tough to do. Kind of scooped and kicked it around, went out of bounds. He ended up – I told him, I said, you just don't want to score. But he got him. He got him one layer in the game. He did. But, you know, to block a punt, it takes – you got to sacrifice yourself a little bit. You got to be – you know, because it's going to hurt sometimes.

Yep. You know, it might jam your finger. It might knock the wind out of you in your stomach. You got to have a little courage. And that's what – we kind of always go into the first game of, all right, who do we think has the courage to do this? And we put them in the spot to where we think that they can go get it. And then we find out, all right, they do or they don't. Because sometimes they'll get in there and they're shy away.

Yep. Well, he did it. Tremendous. First game. And so that, to me, that's what I want to see. And I'm happy to see that. And I think we can build off stuff like that. Who do the Pirates have this week and where? Elmont at home. It's a nod of legends for us. We're honoring the 2003 football team that made it to the quarterfinals. It was the first team that won a playoff game at Rogers since 1980 – or 1990 or something like that. Wow. 89, I think, maybe. So we're honoring that team as well that night.

So it should be a good night. Always great to bring the alumni back, especially those guys like that. They remember that. The community remembers that. Well done right there. Congratulations on going 1-0. And they get ready to take on Elmont at home this coming Friday night, right? Yes, sir. Back home in Green Hill at Rogers High School. Daniel Garrett, the head coach of the Rogers Pirates. Congratulations again, okay? Thank you. Appreciate it. Coming back with more from the Coach's Breakfast after this one-minute timeout. Start your day at Miller's Place, where French toast, fluffy pancakes, and all your breakfast favorites are served fresh and hot, weekday mornings starting at 6 a.m.

Come back for lunch or dinner and enjoy our meat and three meals, cooked with southern flair. Or dig into a juicy burger, crispy chicken tenders, or our popular fried catfish, served every day. Whether it's dine-in or carry-out, come see us at Miller's Place, locally owned and operated in downtown Florence, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. At North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic, our Shoals roots run deep. We provide quick access and familiar, friendly faces so you never have to feel just like a number.

[41:59] From sports medicine to joint replacement, expert care happens right here at home. As UNA Athletics' choice for orthopedics and the trusted orthopedic team of the Shoals families for over 30 years, North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic is here for you. Learn more at nabjc.com. I'm back here on the Coach's Breakfast, 93.9 The Score. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you. I'm in a separate room from what we call the green room. All those coaches chopping it up, having a good time at breakfast. I don't have anyone out here yet coming to be on the air, so we'll catch a coach in just a minute.

I do want to remind you, starting next Saturday morning, it'll be Alabama football as they take on East Carolina, the home opener for them. And that game will be 11 a.m. kickoff. 9 a.m. will be the pregame. So next week's broadcast will only be for the coaches' breakfast an hour to go. So that will be a little shortened broadcast next week, but we're looking forward to doing that as well. We want to thank all the coaches who have come already to be with us today. We've already heard from Deshler High School, Patrick Malone.

We've heard from Mike Horton of Brooks High School. We also have Daniel Garrett of Rogers, so we appreciate all these coaches being with us. And again, we appreciate all the help from the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic. Wes Richardson does a great job. He's sort of the liaison here between coaches and all of us here doing these things. And now we're being joined by the head coach of the Russellville Golden Tigers in a game that everyone talked about last night. And it's good to have Coach Daryl Higgins to come be with us today.

Russellville gets the win over Mars Hill, 21-7. Coach, congratulations on the win last night. Oh, thank you. I appreciate it. You know, I don't even know where to start because I can't imagine being in your shoes this past week. I know how smart and, well, just how you play things. You care about both schools. You care about high school football. And I appreciate that so much about you. But you're now in the black and gold, and your job is with Russellville. And you've turned that page, and you know how to do that.

And that's not easy to do. But last night, to face your old team so soon after that season, probably a lot of things went through your mind last night. It definitely was. There was a whole lot of emotion. I got to see a lot of people from Mars Hill. I have wonderful relationships with the parents and the kids. The coaches have a lot of great friends there. You know, I don't say this often, but last night was probably what they call, as in coaching land, a good gate.

That was probably a lot of people there. Absolutely. It was packed out on our side. And our visiting side's huge, and they brought a lot of people over there. It's just a great high school environment. I saw pictures last night. I thought, wow, it's a great environment. Of course, a great stadium there at Russellville. And your team last night played in one of the better games of the night in the state, in Russellville and Mars Hill. You win it 21-7 over Mars Hill. But, Coach, last night, your Golden Tigers team had to fight from the very beginning to the very end to make that happen.

Marcel used to winning. The kids know how to win. They play hard. And for us, we make so many mistakes, don't do the right thing a lot, and makes it real hard on ourselves. But you got to give them credit. Those kids would not go away, wouldn't give up, and they had a chance to win it late. I know it was probably different for you knowing their team so well, as you probably did. And yet, there's a new coach there. He does different things. So, you had a lot of study and game plan to do because it wasn't the same Mars Hill team that you had from the past as far as scheme and game plan.

Right. It's a lot of the same kids, but they're totally different on offense, defense. They do it. They do a great job of everything. They're running over there, and Coach Hill and his staff, they're really good football coaches. They really are a good job at Mars Hill too, and just a great high school game. Boy, your quarterback, Tripp Cleveland, had an outstanding night last night. He was 11 of 15, 179 yards, two touchdowns through the air, and that's a big part of a great, great pass early in the game to set the mode a little bit, and he is a wide receiver in stride.

You know, you've got a weapon there that is pretty good for the wing team to have a quarterback throw it like that. Tripp is outstanding. He throws some of the most beautiful passes. It looks like high-level college ball, and Darren Jones at receiver, he's one of the fastest guys in the state. So those two together is a deadly combination. Is Cleveland a junior or a senior? I can't remember. Unfortunately, it's a senior. Okay. Unfortunately, I like it. Yeah. And we can't do like LSU and bring them back, can we?

No, I'd like to bring them back a couple more years. But you get ahead 7-0. Mars Hill battles back. It's back and forth, and it's a 14-7 game, and Mars Hill has the ball and driving, and your defense makes a huge play that turns the game and seals it for you, really. Our defense played great all night. They had to keep going back out there. Mars Hill having all the momentum, and they made play after play and ended up Rich Stockton with a huge interception to seal the game.

Braxton Duncan made some huge plays. Jason Owell, we had just guys flying all over the place making plays. And you see that with a long run, too, to go up 21-7, that run pretty much helped put it away. Because when it's a one-score game, you're always nervous as a coach. Taurus Davis is the back that made that run, and the drive before that is the exact same play, and he was hit and he fumbled. Yeah. So he got another opportunity, and he ran through some tackles, and he's a really special back.

[47:23] Is that something when a kid fumbles? I know some coaches say, well, we're going to put you back in. You put him right back in the fire. Is that the way you've always done it? Absolutely. Put him back in the fire. Let him get back out there. And everybody makes mistakes, so go back out there and redeem yourself. And a lot of times they'll be even a little more motivated to do something after a mistake. But who hasn't made a mistake, and how are you going to respond to it?

Veteran coach here of Russellville Golden Tigers, Coach Darrell Higgins, whose team wins last night over Marce Hill, ending the winning streak of Marce Hill. That had been the state's longest at the time. And, Coach, you get the win last night. That is a huge confidence builder for this program that you're building up and building back with that great tradition. You start to see it, the lights come a little bit in the eyes a little bit of your team? They were excited. They could really go. Could have broke a couple times when Marce Hill had the ball, had the momentum going.

And so at the end of the game, our guys were really excited. You could see confidence growing. But it's about to get a lot tougher for us. Yeah, region plays around the corner. And I know you started off with two really difficult games with Destre and Marce Hill back-to-back. Now you're getting ready for region play. Does those two games have to help you? Why is that so important? Those are two good teams that we play. And we were able to somehow pull out a win and build our confidence.

And we've got to just keep growing, getting better. This region play we're getting into is going to be a whole different level. Well, it's an amazing region. I'm glad you bring that up because in Class 5A, look at these teams, Athens, Austin, Decatur, East Limestone, Florence, Hartzell, Muscle Shoals, and Russell. It's a great region, first of all. It's a great region because it's teams that know each other. They're close by. It's cousins versus cousins. It's really not teams stretched out two hours and three hours. But also, it's really quality football.

And you know that coming up. It's going to be some fun. Every Friday night, you're going to have to strap it on and get ready. Absolutely. We can't wait. We love competition and see where we stand and go out and play. That's why high school football is so much fun. And the kids get to go out and compete and grow as players and as people. Speaking with Daryl Higgins of the Russellville Golden Tigers. And Coach, your staff is so important. You brought a lot of staff with you from when you were at Mars Hill and you had staff that you added there.

You have a veteran staff and some guys that have got a pedigree that really help you out a lot. We have some wonderful coaches. We have a good mixture of a couple guys my age and some younger guys bring a lot of energy. And all together, we're having a lot of fun. Everybody gets along. They all like each other. It's really enjoyable. What was it like for the community and the sideline last night after the win? They were excited. Marcelle had been 4-0 against Russellville as the first time to beat them.

And we really wanted to change that. We have a lot of pride in the community and the school and be able to do things. And it was big for us to be able to get that first win against Marcelle. Who do you have this week in region play as you open up? We travel to Hartsell. Wow. One of the toughest places to play, I think, in North Alabama is Hartsell High School. Tigers versus Tigers. They're always well coached. Always a great team. But the atmosphere there is so different.

It's a unique high school atmosphere, isn't it? It's unreal. And we're looking forward to going over and see how we can do. Should be a lot of fun. Coach, again, last night we talked about your quarterback and running back and defense and all that. But after the game, the lights are going out. You get in your car and you're driving home. You had a few moments to reflect. Was it one of those things where you felt, maybe I'm putting words in your mouth a little bit, but it felt like, man, I'm so proud of both those teams last night in both those schools.

100%. I'm riding home with Peyton, my son. We're taking him and we're talking about our memories at Morris Hill, how much it meant to be there and be a part of that. And now what we're doing together at Russellville, it's just a very special time. Do you see a little correlation between the two and building back Russellville and where you started building Morris Hill a little bit? In a lot of ways, it feels like my first year at Morris Hill with some of the things that we're doing, the problems we're running into, a lot of the same stuff.

But, you know, of course, Russell is an established school that expects to win. A lot of tradition is where Morris Hill, we were more just getting the whole program started. Well, Coach, we congratulate you. I can't imagine what you were going through last night, no matter how long you've coached or whatever. That was a unique atmosphere, unique night, and you handled it very well with class, and both teams did as well. And a great high school football game. Russellville wins it 21-7. You go on the road to Hartzell next week, start region play, and it's time to get real because here it is, right?

Absolutely, that's what we're getting ready for. Should be a lot of fun. The head coach of the Russellville Golden Tigers, Coach Daryl Higgins, when we come back, more from the coaches breakfast after this one-minute timeout. Imagine a bank where you feel at home. Real people living right here in your community are the heart of Bank Independent and everything we do. You have our commitment to bring the people, ideas, and resources together that create a stronger community full of endless potential. For over 75 years, we've served this place we all call home.

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Dine in or to-go. Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Scorch. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you as we get your day off to a great start, talking to coaches about games from last night throughout the state of Alabama. A lot of great games played, a lot of fun games played, and boy, just to hear the stories from coaches is always incredible and exciting to see. And now we're joined by the head coach of the Central Wildcats, Coach Heath Wood, whose team last night knocked off Phil Campbell 49-14.

First of all, Coach, congratulations on game number one and win number one this season. Yes, definitely proud of the players last night, the assistant coaches, and, you know, put in a good week of practice going into last night, and we're able to come out with a win for sure. And you win it last night over Phil Campbell. Was that on the road last night, by the way? It was, it was. White jerseys getting ready to go, especially early in the first game. That's sort of tough, that first game, because you've got a lot of new players that maybe not experienced it.

Yes, we've got a lot of, you know, like you said, new players, or I shouldn't say new, but inexperienced guys. Right. You know, how you're going to handle that bus ride down there and all that. And we've got some good leadership this year, and those guys really made sure that we handled the trip like we did and went down there and did what we needed to do. Getting on the bus and going to Phil Campbell, it's not too far, but it's far enough to where you had a good travel.

Is that a good measuring stick early on in the season for you? Yeah, I think so. Like I said, I guess it's about an hour down there, but, you know, as far as, you know, it's about how you handle the trip, really. And the kids did well. And the good thing is we didn't forget anything, you know. That's a good thing. You know, you get ready to get on that bus every week. It's always like moving a house or something every time you go. One of the great lives is like moving out, and it is.

I've been there. You're exactly right. You're like, what did we forget? You're thinking. Yeah, what's the world we forget today? Yeah, that's part of it. Well, Coach, you get the win last night, and you've got to feel good. How did the game start out for you? Yeah, you know, start out in our favor. So, really, really, really well there off the start. We scored, and then they fumbled a kickoff, and things kind of got rolling our way and ended up that way. Lucas Price had a really good game for you last night.

Let's go to these stats. Four yards rushing, three touchdowns. That's a pretty good start for that young man right there. Yes, I think that was on seven carries, I think. So, Lucas definitely had a big night last night. And Lucas would be the first guy to tell you, you know, he owes it to that offensive line. You know, nobody does anything in the game of football by themselves. But Lucas did have a big night. But, you know, I'm sure he's just thankful for those guys blocking as the rest of us were.

Is it his speed, his vision? What makes him a good runabout? Both. You know, he's a patient runner, and he's got good speed. So, sets his blocks up well. So, definitely a good player. On the road winnings last night over Phil Campbell, 49-14. You get off to the great start. Momentum is such an important thing. And when you can take advantage of mistakes of the other teams, that's so important. Your team did that last night. Yes, and we talked about special teams going into the game and how we needed to make sure we were playing well in that area of the game.

And we were able to get a couple of fumbles on the goal and a couple of kickoffs there. So, special teams really played well for us last night. And, you know, that goes into the preparation that the assistant coaches put in and all that stuff and the players are going out and executing. And then you had a couple of players from Malik Ball, a couple of touchdowns. He had a good game for you as well. Yeah, Malik is an outstanding player. You know, not only right now, but he has been in the years past.

Can't say enough good things about Malik and his leadership and what he brings to the team, no doubt. How many years have you been coaching at Central now? Long time. Long time. We won't get specific here, KJ. We'll just say a long time. Yeah, a long time. I don't think this is 16 as the head coach, but been there a really long time. And that says a lot about the longevity there. So, a lot of things don't change at Central because of the way you do things.

But has anything been tweaked this year maybe a little bit, you say? Or do you have to tweak some things depending on your team? You know, no. I guess, you know, you start talking about tweaking things. The only thing I worry about is the heat. You know, it was hot a few weeks ago. You know, that type of stuff there. I think I worry about that maybe quite a bit. So, talking about tweaking things, we'll tweak practice and kind of work around that. Try to take care of those kids.

[57:37] I don't know. You may not know the number off the top of you. How many players do you know you have out this year close to it? 48. 48. That's good. That's pretty good right there. So, it's good to have that many players out and doing that. So, you get the win. Did most of them get to play some last night, you feel like? Well, it was – the way the thing played out, some did, some didn't. Yeah. It just pinned. Yeah, kind of a – We had that same situation where we said we're trying to get everybody in at the last minute and it's hard to do that.

People don't realize substitutions late in the game during a situation, that's tough to do sometimes. Do you have different coaches sort of in charge of substitutions? Yeah, well, you got your position coaches, you know. Yeah. Once things get rolling a certain way, it's kind of, you know, go see a coach, make sure you get in the game. We were never really able to – you just had to be in the game. Sure. You don't have to understand what I'm talking about, but we weren't able to do some things we wanted to do in that area.

But definitely proud of the kids, the way they played. And prepared last week. And those assistant coaches getting those game plans together, man, just an outstanding job. You took an off week the first week, and then you go right into your 1-0 in the season now. And region play is next week, if I'm not mistaken. Is that right? Who do you have next week in the way? We're at Wilson. Wilson. Man, did I hear you're at Wilson to start off the season? Oh, wow. Okay, that's the big rivalry, and it's right off the bat, and you go to Wilson.

So the way the people don't realize, they draw and tell you where you're going to play. It's not like you schedule yourself in region play. So you go to Wilson. You're in 3A region seven. Some familiar faces, obviously, for most of these. You've got Wilson, West Limestone, Rogers, Lauderdale County, Elkmont, Carbon Heights, Clements. A few new faces, but pretty much the people you've seen before. You feel good about the region and the way it's lined up? Well, you know, we need to worry about ourselves before we worry about anybody else.

Sure. You know, we won the game last night. We made mistakes, and we've got to get that stuff fixed. So we're going to focus on ourselves and try to get ready for next week. Is film work a big part of this week for y'all? It is. It is every week. I wish you could have seen this, folks. That was the most serious look I've got. He goes, it is every week. And I agree with you. It is every week. You go on the road to Wilson next week.

What's the one thing you want to talk to your team about this week? You know, it's a rival game, and we've got to focus on ourselves and not get caught up in that rival deal. It's, you know, we've got to go out and execute and do what we're supposed to do and let the rival be between the fans and all that stuff. We've got to worry about going and playing a good, clean game. Have you had a pretty good offseason with this thing? Oh, yes. Oh, yes.

These guys, you know, we set out in December last year to make sure we had a good offseason, and those kids definitely bought into what we're doing. And, you know, I can't say enough about, you know, how they showed up in the offseason this summer. And that's, you know, it showed last night. I've been out to your area. I've been traveling around to different schools and seeing their fields. And I want to compliment you on what a tremendous stadium and how y'all keep everything up. I think you're working on a new scoreboard, possibly something like that, too.

So a lot of things going on there. It's exciting to take care of your field and have that. It's a really nice place. Oh, yeah. We're supposed to be getting a new scoreboard maybe this week. But that field, I'll tell you something about that field. Coach Gene, he's really took that field over this year, and that thing looks as good as it's ever looked, in my opinion. I can't brag on him enough and what he's done, for sure. It's one of my favorite stadiums in the Scholes area.

It always has been. I don't know what it's about. It's just so – it's a neat stadium. It's Mystique. It looks great. And I love playing games out there and being out there. And so it should be fun. But first of all, put the white jerseys back on. Let's get on the road next week. Central at Wilson. Get there early, early, early for that one. It'll be a packed house, and what a way to start the region. Coach Heathwood, congratulations on the 1-0 start, okay? Yeah, thank you, man.

Appreciate you guys having us on. Always, my friend. Good to see you. Good to see Coach Heathwood of the Central Wildcats. More from the Coach's Breakfast coming up after this one-minute timeout. Imagine a bank where you feel at home. Real people living right here in your community are the heart of Bank Independent and everything we do. You have our commitment to bring the people, ideas, and resources together that create a stronger community full of endless potential. For over 75 years, we've served this place we all call home.

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Dine in or to-go. Back on the Coach's Breakfast. Top of the hour at 9 o'clock. We've got still four or five coaches left. We're going to try to get everybody in today. So we'll rock them in here and out. But always good to have so many coaches come in, and that's what's great about this great tradition. You know, we do a good job of advertising the coaches, but they want to come here. They love the camaraderie with one another. They get to bring their athletes here to be checked at the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic, who do an amazing job with athletes on Saturday mornings.

[1:02:48] They'll take care of you as well if you have any questions. North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic, the best of the best. And then also just to come and be on this tradition show here on 93.9 The Score, The Coach's Breakfast. And we're joined now by the quarterback coach of Carver County High School, Coach Lucas Craft, whose team went to Deshler, and the Tigers got the best of the Indians last night. And Coach Craft, that is a game that forever has been a great rivalry. You've heard the stories growing up and beyond.

And you know there's going to be some nights, it's the other team's night, and last night just happened to be one of those nights. Yeah, last night it was definitely a tough night to be a Carver County Indian. Deshler, you know, they're a really good team. Coach Malone does a great job over there with them, and they brought it to us. That's for sure. And, you know, it's good for your program, I know not to lose games, but it's good for your program sometimes to play a game like that and against a great competition.

That's going to make you better down the road, don't you think? Absolutely, yeah. Last night it was definitely a reality check for us, the players as well as the coaches and everybody. It's a little bit difference now, more so in the size of the schools in years past. It's a 4A versus 2A that does play a part in it, but still competition's competition. What do you want to see out of your team coming out of this, you feel like? Just, I mean, I know our kids, they're resilient.

They're going to bounce back from it. I'm not worried about that. It's just not letting this game beat you twice going into next week because, like you said, it's a big rivalry. You know, everybody shows up to those games. It's been a rivalry forever as long as I can remember. But you just can't let this game beat you twice. Yeah, that's well said. It's Lucas Kraft, the quarterback coach at Carver County High School. I think that is a great statement because it happens so much for young guys, and that really comes where coaching comes in.

It's really saying, hey, let's focus on this and let that one go. Whether it's a win or a loss, you've got to learn to let it go. You're 1-1 on the season. How did your team this week in practice do, getting ready for this game, it felt like? I mean, I thought we had a good week at practice. Like I said earlier about Deschler, they just brought it to us from the start, and we were – as a team, we just kind of acted like the game was a little big for us, and then by the time we actually got settled in, it was already out of hand, yeah.

That thing says a lot. Sometimes it's big and you look at your kids and you know it, coaches know it, but now all of a sudden you realize, oh, the kids are looking at the lights, the stands, and before they know it, the scoreboard changes fast. Yeah. And that happens. Now that you're turning your page on this one, you're getting ready for region play, these first two games, how have they helped you? They've definitely helped us a lot just by showing us who we are as a team.

You know, the first two, sometimes three, to have the schedule falls. The first few games of the year, they definitely show you what team you have starting into region play and what – not necessarily who can play, who can't, because you already know that by the start of the season, but just who is the best fit at certain spots. Do you think playing a team like Deschler maybe helps going through the season that some of the games will slow down a little bit and it makes it where you've seen the fastest of the fast maybe and that gives you an idea, all right, now I know what to expect if I get to the best of the best.

Absolutely. Like I said previously, you know, Coach Malone over at Deschler, he does a great job. He's done a fantastic job, you know, the whole time he's been there. But Deschler, they definitely played a different speed than what we're used to seeing, especially from practice and the first two games that we've played. Not a knock against anybody that we've played, but, you know, they're really good. They're big and they're physical up front. And, you know, like I said, they just brought it to us early and we weren't prepared for it.

Who do you have this coming week in region play to start off? We open up at home against the Tanner Rattlers. All right, not homecoming early, is it? Okay, I always check because sometimes they sneak it in on me. The Tanner Rattlers come to town. They won a big game recently. I don't know how they did last night, but I know they've played well early on and a pretty good team and gaining some confidence over there. That should be a good matchup. It should be. Yeah, Tanner's 2-0.

They beat Hanceville last night to get to 2-0. They're pretty good. They're explosive. They've got athletes out wide. They can throw it a little bit, you know. They'll be coming in high for sure. What does Calvert County need to work on this week? I would just say, honestly, if we just work on ourselves, not worry about all the outside noise and everything because, you know, people are going to talk on social media, things like that. If we just worry about ourself inside the building, then everything on the field on Fridays will take care of itself.

Social media. Never thought we'd have to talk about that. High school football. And, you know, you said we tried to hide our kids from it. We can't hide the kids from it. I mean, it's nothing. So how do you teach these kids how to handle that mainly? I mean, you just have to remind them constantly that everybody that is talking on social media is not who we're worried about. It's not the people in the building. They're not the ones that are going to go out and play on Fridays.

[1:08:01] So you just have to constantly remind them and just, like, guys, hey, we're here. We're in this building. These are the only people that matter. We'll handle Friday when it gets here. If we take care of everything that's inside the building Monday through Thursday, then we'll be fine. If I'm not mistaken, your first two games were on the road. Is that right? Or did you play your first one home? I can't remember. No, we had a jamboree against Central at home. And then last week we played at Culver Heights.

So two first games really have been on the road then. So it will be your home opener officially this week as you get ready. There's something mystique still about C.T. Manley Stadium. The fans there love coming and being a part of that, don't they? They do. They do. I mean, it's just one of those places that it never gets old. I play in there, grew up there. My dad went there. I've been there my whole life. It's something that I'll always – I always just love going to home games there.

Always will. Were you a ball boy there by any chance? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. All right. So you were there on the sidelines for a long time early on. That is – there is something about that place. Of course, I grew up there too, and it was one time voted years ago by Birmingham News, the most difficult place to play in the state of Alabama. You know, of course, obviously life's changed and skills have changed, but it still has that mystique about it and really special.

And then nothing else, when you walk out there, you just feel it. You know, there's just a feel about it. Do you talk to your team about the great tradition that you have there at Carver County? Oh, for sure. But also, you know, a bunch of the kids that are there still, I mean, their parents, their aunts, uncles, grandparents, they all went there. So they've known about it their whole life. You don't have to tell them. They've already been told by all the family. Absolutely. I would agree with that.

That is great. So it should be a good one this week. Tanner comes to town. The Rattlers come to take on the Indians. Carver County, 1-1, Tanner 2-0. First game of the region. Right now, everybody's 0-0. And then Coach Kraft, is that the way you look at it? Absolutely. You know, the first two games, like I said, it's really just to see where you are as a team. So going into region play, you know, a big thing for us was just to make sure everybody's healthy.

You know, no bumps, bruises, anything like that. And starting this week, we can get the ball rolling on, not saying the first two games weren't important to us, but we can get the ball rolling on the important games, if you will. CT Manley Stadium, Friday night, Tanner in Carver County, Rattlers and Indians, get the popcorn, get ready. It's going to be a good one. Coach Lucas Kraft, thank you always for joining us here on The Coach's Breakfast. Absolutely. The quarterback coach for Carver County High School, when we come back, more from The Coach's Breakfast after this 60-second timeout.

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Dine in or to-go. W-Y-T-K-Rogersville-Athens to cater the Shoals. Sports Radio 93.9 The Score. Valley Broadcasting Corporation. It's summertime in the Shoals, which means sunshine, hot weather, and a lot more bugs. Ants, mosquitoes, termites, they love this time of year just as much as we do. That's why so many homeowners and businesses trust Southern Pride Pest Control, locally owned and operated right here in Muscle Shoals. With years of experience, honest service, and a commitment to doing the job right, our team doesn't walk away until you're completely satisfied.

Let us help you take back your home this summer. Call Southern Pride Pest Control today to schedule an appointment. When you have passed, we have solutions. Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score. Kevin Johnson with you. We've already had Dashler, Brooks, Rogers, Russellville, Central, Calvert County, and now let's get to those golden bears from out at Lexington. Coach Brett Mask, whose team gets a big win to go to 2-0. Coach, congratulations and welcome to the show. Appreciate it. How did it play out for you to get Clements to come to town?

And that was a little different, was it? Because that was not on the schedule. You was going to get the buses, the white jerseys, and things changed a little bit. They did. You know, and I hated for Clements. And Brick Pugh, he's become a good friend of mine. He's their head coach over there. And, of course, they're all getting turf in Limestone County. And, you know, all the way up until Wednesday, they were told that, you know, it's going to be good and get a call Wednesday night and said, you know, got a little issue with the turf, can't get it inspected in time, light.

So, we had to end up flipping it Wednesday night. So, busted out the paint Thursday morning and trying to get the field ready. And great atmosphere. It was kind of a free home game, but, you know, we'll take it. And will you flip it next year and go to Clements? Is that what the plan, or what do you all say? I think we're just going to keep it on schedule. So, you know, we split the gate with them, and that was the right thing to do.

[1:13:05] You know, they did the right thing. And, you know, I hate it for their kids. That was supposed to be a big night for them. It opened up their stadium, but, you know. Had to come to Lexington. Congratulations to Quick Mart, and they had a lot of fun, and that's good. So, that's good. 46-7 win over Clements. And, hey, you said something interesting there. The game got changed at the last minute to move over to Lexington. That meant there was a lot of things for you to do as a head coach and a coaching staff.

It changed everything for y'all. It's one thing to prepare to pack things up. Now you're painting things, as you said. Yeah, I mean, it was like literally Wednesday night at about 6.30. So, you know, their coach called, said, hey, talk to R.A.D., let's go ahead and move it. So, you get on the phone, and what people don't realize is you've got to call chain crews. You've got to call, you know. Oh, yeah. And talk to them. They were fortunate enough that they just sent their officials over to our place, so just swapped the venue there.

But, like I said, you've got to bust the paint out and get, you know, make sure the announcers are there, the chain crew can do it. Purple jerseys got to come out. Yeah. I mean, it's a whole ordeal, but, you know, hats off to our people. You know, we've got a great support system at Lexington and our R.A.D., David Hill. We all were sitting there, and we jumped on it and made all the calls and called the band and told them, hey, can y'all get concessions ready?

Oh, yeah. Oh, wow. There's a ton of stuff that goes into it that a lot of people don't see behind the scenes to put on a game, but hats off to our people. I didn't even talk about the concessions. That is a big deal. Yeah. So, like I said, we have a great support system out there, and everybody jumped on it, all hands on deck, and made it happen. Speaking with Brett Mask of the Lexington Golden Bears, his team beats Clements 46-7. Coach, how did your team come out and play early on?

Well, we kind of were worried a little bit just after a big emotional week last week. We did. We kind of came out flat, and they went up 7-0, and it kind of shocked us back into reality a little bit. But proud of our team for responding, and of course, we're over there screaming, we told you all week, we told you all week. But I think that's the mark of a mature team, and we do have a mature team. A lot of seasoned guys, and a lot of leadership stepped up.

We didn't have to scream and holler a whole lot. So, I mean, they kind of fixed it on their own, and we were able to come out and play and do our deal. I hear from several coaches now that these teams that are more seasoned and veteran, sometimes they're more business-like. Is that what your team has a business-like attitude a little bit? Well, funny you say that. We've kind of made it a thing this year, especially on road trips. It's a business week. So, we make them on Fridays, their coat and tie, and we dress them up, and of course, they looked at me like I was crazy when I told them that.

And then you get the text messages rolling in, Coach, it's a home game. We still, I said, yes, we're just business attire as usual. So, we started doing that this year on road games, and of course, got a lot of response from the faculty and our people. And it's just a good perception. And a lot of kids, they came up and, Coach, this is the first time I ever worn a tie. And that's okay. That's the purpose of this. You're going to be in an interview one day, and it's bigger than football sometimes.

So, it was good. All our kids look great, and we just rolled with it, and we'll say this is the test run for the business trips. Forgive me for telling a personal story, but years ago when I was chaplain at Florence High School, one of the main things I did was I taught about 30 kids how to tie a tie. And it was really special and still to this day, some of those young men come up to me and said, you were the one that taught me how to tie a tie.

They'd never done it. Tied about four or five Friday morning. That's right. And it's a great lesson. It's a great life lesson. Congratulations on doing that. Who played well for you the other night? Well, Zane Kilburn had a great night. I think he ended up with 355 and five touchdowns. Oh, is that all? Okay, 355 and five touchdowns. An average night for the young man. It was for him, and he's kind of coming into his own. He's a little bit stronger now and bigger. And, of course, you know, playing as a true freshman, and he's become one of our leaders.

And then defensively, after that first drive, we played pretty well. I mean, we were pretty physical. And those that didn't know if they heard, and I'm going to throw this out there, they had a young man in their quarterback. We hit him late. I mean, not hit him late, but hit him right as the ball was coming off. And he went down and kind of went unconscious for a minute. But they had to take him off. But by the third quarter we got news, he was talking, cutting up.

So he's good and just got a concussion. But, you know, we stopped the game and prayed for him and kind of came together right there. So that was the biggest positive of the night is he's going to be okay and should be, you know, just fine after that. As a head coach, that's your biggest fear to see something like that happen. But at the same time, you see a lot about your team and players when, whether it's one of your own teammates or the other team that has an injury like that, you got to be proud of your team, how they respond to that.

And maybe even, you know, the communities as well to come together. Well, you know, as a head coach, you know, opposing players down, you go out there and check on them. And me and their coaching staff and, of course, our coaching staff handled our kids. And I didn't even know they were doing it. And Coach Pugh told me after the game, he said, Coach, that was a big-time gesture of y'all's kids. And they did it on their own. They huddled up and said a prayer for him and took a knee.

[1:18:12] And they were over there praying for him. And once he got, you know, we saw that he was okay and then came together at the end. And that's what this is all about. I mean, sometimes it's bigger than football. And, you know, just want to take care of each other and know that we're all in this thing, you know, on the boat, same boat together. And so I was proud of our players and our team for doing that. You spoke of your young quarterback, Kilburn. Last name Kilburn, is that right?

Yeah. He, he's a fast kid. How do you know what his speed is in 40 by any chance? He's probably, probably a four, seven kid. Okay. He's quick. He's quick. Yeah. And he's elusive. Oh, yes. He's elusive. You know, the old Johnny Manziel moniker. I know it's probably something he doesn't want to hear. He wears two as well. He wears two as well. And he, and he's got a personality. Okay. So we understand that's okay though. That's a good thing. You know, you got to, if you're going to play that position.

When you're growing up, everybody had somebody they looked up to. And for him, he felt, hey, I'm that size. I play that position. He found somebody to look up to. Let him be that, right? Oh, hey, we don't want to stifle him. I mean, he's a great kid on top of it. I mean, he's a competitor, three sport athlete, and he's good in everything he does. And that's a good thing sometimes. That's a bad thing sometimes. But, you know, we say it all the time. If you're going to be a leader and you're going to play that position, you got to have a little bit of something about you.

And I mean, if it's fourth and two, or if it's fourth and 30, he's over there. Let's go for it. I'll get it. You know what I mean? He's, he don't like for confidence sometimes. And that's a good thing. It really is. He's fun to coach. 2-0 in the season. Now you get to reach and play. Who do you have and where? We got to go to Phil Campbell this week. All right. Put the white jerseys on for sure. For sure. Yes, for sure. Going down there.

And this is a pretty long trip. It is. It'll be our first real long road trip. I think it's about an hour and a half. And of course, that's a tough place to play. You know, the old folks out there know you go down to Phil Campbell, Franklin County. You know, you're probably down 7-0 walking in the building. That's an old moniker. It is. It is. And so we've kind of prepared for this one. And the first region game. And our goal is to go 1-0 in the region.

Your region is Colbert County, Faultville, J.P. Pennington, Lexington, Phil Campbell, Sheffield, Tanner, Winston County. That's not unusual. Some of these I've been going through, these are familiar teams. J.P. Pennington. That's not a Faultville. You know, Winston County. These are some new names into y'all. It's going to be a little different. You're going to have a little more road trips than usual. We are. And a little bit longer road trips. And, you know, we kind of tell our kids, if we could give them a schedule with just game zero through game 10, that's kind of how we want to approach it, to where we play to a standard.

It doesn't matter if it's, you know, the North Farms Blue Team or the Green Bay Packers. Like, we're just going to play to our standard and forget who we're playing, forget the name on the jerseys, and play to our standard. And, you know, we feel like if we do that, we'll have a chance to win. And so we try to get the names out of it and just focus on us. And that served us well. The name that matters now, Lexington Golden Bears. 2-0. They go on the road to take on Phil Campbell next Friday night.

And the folks in Lexington are ready to put on the white jerseys to support you as well. Coach, congratulations. And best of luck next week, okay? Appreciate it, brother. The head coach of the Golden Bears of Lexington, Coach Brett Mast. When we come back, Kenny Marson, the Florence Falcons. This is Coach's Breakfast. Back in one minute. The Courier Journal includes exclusive regular features, like Dave Ramsey's weekly column, Ask Dave. Plus, informative business advertorials, opinions, coming events, all the local grocery ads, and the best retail values in the shows.

And don't forget the Courier Journal's game day scorecard contest during the football season. Up to $100 of lost pizza gift cards and $50 from the Courier Journal are up for grabs each week. The Courier Journal, almost 50,000 mailed weekly. Look for the Courier Journal in your mailbox each week. Let's go. It's Friday Night Football. I'm John Saylor, your local lawyer. And I'm proud to sponsor this year's Scoreboard and Coach's Breakfast because there's nothing like high school football in North Alabama. It's our schools, our teams, our bands, our cheerleaders, and everybody in the stands.

It's good times, and that's what Friday Night Football is all about. Remember, neighbors, when you need a lawyer, call me, John Saylor, your local lawyer, at 2-5-6-7-4-0-3-1-3-1, or visit johnsaylorlaw.com. Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score. Sometimes you get curveballs and surprises. We got one today. I thought we was down to one coach. I don't know who's back there, but we actually joined by the assistant coach with Marcelle Panthers, Coach Stephen Cohen. Coach, your team played last night, and they get a game against Russell, and you knew what was coming up.

You look across the way and see an old, familiar face, and it was just a great high school game, wasn't it? Oh, yeah. Coach Higgins had them all ready, and it was just a great atmosphere, and it's what a game, what an atmosphere, high school game last night. It was a lot of emotion going on early, and it was kind of different, you know, seeing Darrell again and everybody. How did your team play last night, you felt like, for Marcelle? Oh, we played real hard. I mean, it was like, I mean, it went back and forth, and they had two big plays on us early, and we got a little behind, but I mean, we played really hard with a lot.

[1:23:22] Defense coach, Coach Ryan Derrick, our defense coordinator, and all the defensive staff played really light south. They were running the ball and had a great game plan, and it was just a great atmosphere. It was a great game. It went close to back and forth all the way. Oh, yeah. People don't realize it was a 21-7 final, but it was actually a 14-7 game late in the game. Yeah. We were driving in about the 20-yard line to have a turnover there, so I mean, it was, we gave them all we had.

It was just a, it was an amazing atmosphere. I mean, we, Coach Hill had us ready to play. I knew, he knew going in, Coach Hill's been talking all week that, you know, just play without emotion, just keep playing, do what you play, like the last one, and it just didn't go our way, Liam, but it's, we'll take it from him, and we'll learn from it. First time that Marce Hill has lost a regular season game in a long time, but it was one of those games where you'll look back on it, this game will help you going forward, don't you think, playing a team like Russellville?

Oh, yeah. I mean, it was just, I mean, Russellville, they didn't play anybody both ways, so they had an advantage that way, and we knew number-wise, you know, Kevin, we lost so many kids from the last few years. We lost, in the last two years at Marce Hill, we've lost like 42 kids in two years, you know, winning back-to-back state championships like that, so it was like, so we're kind of starting, we've got nine seniors, so it's, it's just, it's kind of, it's, we're growing, you know, we're growing back again ourselves, so, plus Coach Hill's offense is really getting better every week, but it's still, it's still a learning process.

Speaking with Stephen Cohen, assistant coach at Marce Hill, whose team fell to Russell last night, in the tough game, 21-7, an emotional game for everyone, but a great crowd, great game, but now you turn your attention to reach and play, do you know who you have next week? Yeah, we're going to Westbrook Christian in Rainbow City, Gadsden. That's a long trip. So, yeah, we're going to have to leave early and have a good trip, and we just got to rebound and get ready and see how we, how we do next week.

Go to Brody Crawl area down there in high school at Rainbow in Westbrook Christian, Rainbow Coastal City. It's a long trip, but it'll be a good, and now this is where the change has happened in private schools. You're going to play a lot of different teams and new faces. Yeah, it's different. They put us in a, we're in a single A, private, so we have to adjust to that, and I think we'll, each, each week we'll learn more about our team and our team, our team, Kevin, last night we grew a lot. I think we grew a lot, really, because the defense, defense played really well the whole game, and so I mean, just have a few mistakes here and there. We've got a lot of young kids in spots, but they're getting better every week, and you know, Mars Hill, how resilient we're going to be, so the kid, the atmosphere over there is incredible. So, we just want the Mars Hill family and nation to just hang in there with us and keep the Panthers going. I think that's well said, and they will. They go on the road next week to Mars Hill to take on Westbrook Christian. Should be a fun win. Coach Cohen, best of luck next week, and thank you for being our guest, okay? Thanks, Coach. Coach Cohen of the Mars Hill Panthers. We come back, Kenny Morrison, the Florence Falcons after this one-minute timeout.

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Back on the Coach's Breakfast here on a Saturday morning, gorgeous Saturday morning. That might be a good day to go out and get a walk again or go get some of those plants for the fall. I mean, right before, because you know, college football sort of starts today, but next week it really starts. This is that last sort of free Saturday before you just got to be home all day long to watch college football. Is that right? That's what I feel about it. Should be a lot of fun. So I hope you're enjoying it. And what a great weekend of high school football, including the game you heard right here on 93. Now the scored last night where the Florence Falcons took on the Jasper Vikings and a great high school game, great atmosphere and Carver, excuse me, I said Carver County. I've been talking about that a minute. Florence comes away with a victory last night. Coach, I'm showing my alma mater a little bit. I almost said the wrong name there. Florence comes away with a victory last night, knocking off Jasper and coach. Congratulations on the big win.

[1:28:34] As we speak with coach Kenny Morrison. Thank you. It was, it was a big one. Boy, what an atmosphere Brawley stadium was last night. It was electric. Boy, those kids, uh, just from the get go. We're excited about being there. Let's talk about the stadium. When you say the stadium belongs to you, you really had to turn it over. Your administration said, okay, it's ours now. And all of a sudden you took the old lady and you fixed her up and she looks as good as ever.

I'm telling you what it's, uh, coach miles, uh, it doesn't take no for an answer. I've said that many times and, and she saw a vision, uh, for what that stadium could be like. And, um, it, it needed a big time cleanup and it got it, uh, pressure washed the whole place. And it just, it, it kind of shines now and, uh, cover some stadiums, uh, top that brought fans down, which did exactly what we had hoped it to do. And it brought the fans right there on top of us. And it was loud and it was, uh, it was exciting venue to play in last night. It was special. And also before the game, a great honor to dedicate the field after Charles C. Anderson senior, uh, tremendous, uh, honor there. And, uh, just, uh, I know it meant a lot to the Anderson family because the Anderson family has meant a lot to Florence city schools and a great tribute and well-deserved. Absolutely. I mean, what they've done for the school system and athletics as a whole, not just football, but athletics and, uh, uh, and, and just, uh, the, the support that they've given throughout is, has been phenomenal.

And that, that was a really, uh, awesome night for that to happen. Uh, uh, Anderson family was there, uh, uh, got to talk to them a little bit on the sideline. It was, uh, it was good to see them there. And it was, uh, good to see the stadium get dedicated like it did. You face a Jasper team that has a five star, four star, however you want to call it a lot of stars. And Mr. Zion Coger, running back has offers from Ohio state, Oregon, Alabama, name it. He has them from everywhere.

Uh, he is everything we thought and then some, but you got to give your team a lot of credit overall played him pretty well. We did. Uh, we got after him. We, we took a lot of pride and, um, um, a guy like that coming in our stadium and, and holding him down and we, we knocked him around pretty good. I'm proud of our guys. And, um, it's, uh, what you're supposed to do against a back like that. And, uh, we, we're really proud of our defense and how they handled that situation.

And maybe I'm a little biased, but after the night, I thought he was the fourth best running back in the stadium. I'm going to agree with you on that. We had three really good ones on our side of the ball that, uh, again, the three headed monster we keep talking about. And they, uh, they just keep rolling in there one at a time. And, uh, we got two of them sometimes in the backfield together and they are very unselfish with each other. And, um, you know, to Carson Johnson, you know, he, he had another big night, uh, Kayon Williams broke one, broke a kickoff. I mean, it was a, it was a good night out of those guys again. And it doesn't happen without that offensive line. Our old line is play playing lights out right now. And we, we had one injury to the old line, next guy in mentality. And, uh, that, that guy that stepped in ended up having a really good night or line runs, uh, played really well. What we've been wanting to see out of him. Uh, he really stepped it up. So yeah, those old line guys, uh, they make it go. And we, I preach it all the time.

It's one in the trenches, uh, and our defensive line and old line have, have proved to be that. And we'll need it again this week. One of those offensive lines, the guard, I think Hernandez, I believe it in there. Yes. He's got a little nasty about it. He can play. I mean, he gets, he goes full throttle. I really like him as a guard, but it's a pretty big offensive line too. It really is. Um, you know, they, the big thing about that group is, uh, coach Cole Harden does a great job of those guys, not just on the field, but it's off the field stuff too. What a bond they have. He cooks for them on Thursday night and those guys love him. He loves those guys. And he, he didn't hesitate one bit challenging them, but they respond to him. Cause you know, though, I'll say, and they, they never know how much you love them until you show them. So, uh, it's, there's a lot of love in that room. You win the game 50 to 21 over Jasper last night. Uh, your offense played really well. The game was early on for the first time you trailed seven to six.

After you scored, Jasper shows a lot coming down the field score, uh, go up seven to six and you're like, okay, game on. And after that you put 21 straight up and, uh, and, and take control or 22 straight up and take control of the game. You got to like your team that shows, Hey, we're going to put the, uh, well, the metal to the pedal a little bit. Yeah. Well, you know, we scored that first drive, um, off of, off a special team situation again. And it was, uh, we got it in there pretty quick and then we just, they just walked it down the field on us and we challenged our defense. Like, what are we doing guys? And we, they just had to settle in. And once they did, uh, it, it, those 21 popped in there pretty quick and it was, it was good for us. But then, you know, right before half, we gave up one, we thought we played really soft, uh, right there at the end and make it 28, 14, got it really too close for us. Um, we, you know, would like to win in at halftime a little different there, but we challenged them at halftime. I mean, we got after them in that locker room cause we thought that we, we, we relaxed, uh, we put it in cruise control. We didn't play our, our brand of football we're supposed to be playing. And, uh, they, they got, they got challenged at halftime and they came out responding. And the most important drive of the night to start the third quarter, you get the ball and you take it down and you put it right in the end zone. Uh, that was impressive right there to do that. Uh, that drive, I think set the tone for the rest of the game. And same exact situation we had at Pinson. We came out after half, we, we told our guys at halftime, let's go out there and finish them off. You know, first drive, this is why we defer. And that's why we want the ball in the second half to, to be in this situation, to go finish the team off and set the tone and Pinson. We went out there and had the worst series of football I thought I would ever seen. There's three or four snaps.

[1:34:51] I, we, we might only had three snaps or two or three penalties in that drive. It awful. And we lost yards on the first drive coming out at halftime at Pinson. And I reminded them that, uh, this time it's the same situation. Um, and we got to go out there and do something different. And they did, they responded. Uh, they did exactly. We said, Hey, let's go do that. Scored. I turned to the defense. I said, three and out and we started all over again, both, both sides of the ball did exactly what we wanted. Let's talk about the Jadens. Jaden Martinez scoop, almost score Jaden irons all over the field, linebacker. And then let's, especially I want to highlight Jaden white, your nose guard, who's getting accolades and looks from everywhere. He made a hit last night on Coger that might've changed the game. I don't know if you realize in the second quarter, he popped him one time and Coger didn't quite have the same giddy up that he did early after that one hit. No, I, you know, um, I hate to probably say it on air, but when you see a guy tap the top of his head and go to the sideline, you, you feel really good about the situation. And that, that lick changed his mentality of how he ran the football. And, um, that's, uh, it's what you got to do to guys like that. And, uh, and to, and to see a guy that of that caliber to, to, to tap his head and one out after a lick like that, it's, uh, excited our guys for sure. And a nose guard at six, three, two 80, two 85, Jaden white is, he is quick and fast, much quicker than people realize that's what's got him. That's what's got Florida state, Ole Miss, Missouri. That that's what's got their attention. His get off. He's so explosive, uh, plays well with his hands and he will shoot his hands on you. When he gets his hands on you, it's not good for the old line guys.

And he, he'll shed a block in a hurry. He's just sudden. And that's, uh, uh, that's something that we've got to get our other two D linemen to understand that kind of get off. You know, there that's, that's where you get noticed and college coaches are looking for that. And that's what's got Jay white, all the, um, all the offers that he has right now. We close the book on this one. Florence wins it over Jasper. You're two and all the season. Uh, I would ask you who you have coming up, but I don't have to, because everyone in the shows have been telling me all week who's coming up. You know it as well. The 24 hour rule you celebrate, but by a Sunday afternoon, you start to turn your attention to the first region game of the year and it's muscle shows. What a high school game that's going to be. It's going to be unbelievable over there. It'll be standing room only. I know our Florence folks are going to be there. They're going to be there. It's going to be a, it's going to be a special night, but you know, going back to, you mentioned 24 hour rule.

I told our guys in the locker room after the game, I said, this is a little different guys. We're not going to take 24 hours. We're going to take 24 minutes. We get home, we're going to get our clothes on the thing and we got to go to work and it's work on us. You know, it's not muscle shows again. We're our worst enemy. We had 11 penalties last night, 13, the first week, just undisciplined, stupid penalties that we got to clean up. And in big games that are coming up like muscle shows, you can't have those types of penalties. They're drive killers and every possession will matter this week on both sides of the ball. Special teams will be probably the difference in this game.

Always is. So it's going to be an electric night over there. Oh, I can't wait. I told our guys too, before we left, last thing I said, situations like next Friday night is why you play this game. Yeah. It's why we got into coaching. It's, it's going to be one of those nights you're going to look around and say, wow, this, this is it. This is why we're doing this business. How do you get your team to play with emotion without being emotional? Well, that's a good question. I need a sports psychologist. I need Dr. Kevin Elko to come back into town and come talk to our guys, but that's really what you've got to do this week. They, we dealt with it all this past week, 45 to nothing at Pinson. We had the worst week of practice I've probably seen in the five years I've been there. You came over one day and watched it and you know, you're watching it from a distance and saw it too. You and I talked about it, but, uh, and they just, we're trying to bring them back down to earth. We'll have to do the same thing. They're 15, 16, 17, 18 year old kids. They're kids. And, uh, they're, there's a lot of hoopla on social media. We got to get them off social media. We got to get them to put the phones down. We got to get them to cut and stop talking to the guys across the river and we got to lock back in and focus on Florence football. And we got to focus on us and cleaning up our mistakes. I would say to both schools, I know we have most of those fans, listen to Florence fans, come and cheer on your team and, and let's, let's have a great rivalry. It's a good rivalry. Let's have a good, clean rivalry. It should be a lot of fun Friday night. It's what high school football is supposed to be like. It is. And, and I hate to say this and I'm, I'm probably, I'm probably saying it out to our community as well. We can escalate this thing in both communities that, that doesn't need to happen. Folks that are not even playing in this game, they're going to get on social media. They're going to talk about it at home. They're going to pump the kids up. Heck it started last night at, uh, at Buffalo Wild Wings. Some of our guys were there. Most shows players came in and it, it, it, the jaw and already started, you know, I'm going to address that with our guys tomorrow that that's not what we do. We got to get our mind off them, get it back on us and in our community, that's going to be around these kids all week. They're going to hear enough about it.

[1:40:32] I need the community to, to not talk about it. And, uh, and let's worry about it on Friday night. Let's go in there and just a positive atmosphere and a positive game is supposed to be high school football. And it's, it's at the end of the day, it's not that big a deal. It's a high school football game. And, but, uh, it is a big deal to our community. I understand that, but, uh, we got to keep these kids, uh, as low as we can, as far as the hype goes. Two great teams should be a lot of fun, two great teams. And it's great for this area to have two great teams in class five, a, I think two of the better teams in class five, five, a going at it, Florence and muscle shows. You'll hear the game right here on 93, nine, the score this next Friday night over at James F. Moore stadium and coach Kenny Morrison. Congratulations on the victory and best of luck this week. Okay. Thank you.

Go Falcons. That's Kenny Morrison, the head coach of the Florence Falcons. We'll finish it up after this 32nd timeout. Imagine a bank where you feel at home, real people, living right here in your community are the heart of bank independent and everything we do. You have our commitment to bring the people, ideas and resources together that create a stronger community full of endless potential for over 75 years. We've served this place. We all call home bank independent. We're invested in you member FDIC. Well, welcome back to the coaches breakfast night, three, nine, the score about to wrap it up here today. A great day. A lot of coaches in from the shows area from high schools, appreciate them coming by and getting started today. We've heard from everywhere from Deschler to Brooks to Rogers, Lussell Central, Carver County. I'm going to leave somebody out Lexington, Mars Hill, and then finally at Florence. Thank you to all the coaches being a part of the show today and hope that many other coaches will join us throughout the season as well. And folks get out and support high school football. It is very special. High school athletics needs your support. And it's great to see stadiums filled on Friday nights throughout the state of Alabama last night. And boy, great games coming next week. Highlighted with that Florence muscle shows game will be a great one over at James F Moore Stadium this coming Friday night. Well, that's going to do it for us today for our station manager, Greg Thornton for James Moody and our nine, three, nine, the score studios. I'm Kevin Johnson saying have a great day. Enjoy the day of college football. And as always folks, I'll see you in church on Sunday. Good day, everyone. You've been listening to the 93, nine, the score high school coaches breakfast. The coaches breakfast on 93, nine, the score has been brought to you by lost pizza, John C. Saylor attorney at law, the courier journal, Miller's place, the North Alabama bone and joint clinic, Southern pride pest control and bank independent. Thanks for listening.