Coaches Breakfast 09/19/26

[0:00] It's time for the 93.9 The Score High School Coaches Breakfast. The Coaches Breakfast on 93.9 The Score is brought to you by Lost Pizza, John C. Saylor Attorney at Law, The Courier Journal, Miller's 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 here in the show's area. Another hot one to end up September as we get to the mid of September. Man, it's been hot to be such a month. It's the hottest month of September we've ever had.

But thankfully we've had good weather for Friday night football other than the heat and a lot of games have been able to be played as we have now hit for what I call the midway point this week and next week. There's 11 weeks to play 10. Many teams already have five games under the belt. Some have four under the belt. But we're basically at the halfway point starting this week through next week and then hit the backstretch starting up in October. So a lot of great games played last night and we want to look at a lot of the scores, find out what happened and talk to a lot of the coaches.

A lot of them here today already as well. But I want to say things that KJ saw last night in high school football. First of all, before I forget, new stadium. New stadium. Congratulations. I'm sorry, I am going to congratulate the University of North Alabama in a few minutes, but I'm not talking to you right now. How about congratulations to a new stadium that was a high school stadium that was christened last night. Down in Clay Chalkville, the Cougars, the number one team, I think, possibly in class 5A, the Cougars opened up a brand new stadium.

If you've ever been to their old stadium, Jerry Hood Field, the longtime coach there, good friend. It's just it was a great stadium, but it was just really tight. It was a tight fit into the school system around the school campus and the sidelines were tight. The bleachers were tight. They needed a new stadium and they've got one and it is great. And they opened it up last night. They get a big win over Oxford and they flexed their muscles and say, if you're going to win class 5A, it's going to come through Clay Chalkville.

No doubt about that, as they beat a really good Oxford team going away. And they made sure that first game at Clay Chalkville's new stadium was a victory. So congratulations to the Cougars on their new stadium. And they're still having a great season in the win last night. Speaking of first wins, first wins last night. That's the second thing. How about those Sheffield Bulldogs that I hear you Bulldogs barking a little bit for me? That's right. Because you got your first win last night as you knock off Winston County.

Congratulations to the Bulldogs on the big win on the road as well. And then also those Waterloo Cougars got the first win of the season. Man, it's great that these kids get to taste victory. First three or four games maybe didn't go their way, but last night was their night. They're still celebrating in Waterloo and Sheffield. Congratulations on the first wins of the season. And may you have many more before the year is over. All right. The third thing KJ saw in high school football, I need to be a little personal for a moment.

I love the sports writers of Alabama. Ben Thomas from South Alabama is one of the best in the business. We have great ones up here in Times Daily, Decatur Daily. Those guys are great. But I need the rest of the sports writers from the state of Alabama. Would you pull up a chair and come a little closer? I need to have a conversation with you for a minute. I don't know if you watched on SEC Network, Sports Writers of Alabama, but there was a great show on this past week on True South.

And it was a focus on the Shoals. True South came and did a 30-minute segment on the Shoals and what it meant. It was a great segment here in northwest Alabama. And the reason I want you to make sure that you watch that, because I'm not sure that you remember that northwest Alabama is a part of Alabama. Because I've looked at the state rankings, and I don't see anybody from northwest Alabama in the top ten. Nobody. And I'm going to give you a couple of rundowns of some teams that have perfect season so far, and they're not even ranked.

First of all, let's go to Lauderdale County in itself. Four teams from the county of Lauderdale County still with perfect records. Central Wildcats, not ranked. Rogers Pirates, not ranked. Lexington Golden Bears, 2A, not ranked. Florence Falcons, class 5A, not even close to it. And you go over, get this one. One of the best teams maybe around right now is the Hatton Hornets. They are stinging people, and they're not even sniffing the top ten. I just want to tell the sports writers, hey, the football may have been down at times in northwest Alabama, but just because it was down in the past don't mean it's down in the present.

I encourage you, maybe take a little look at the northwest Alabama and see if some of these teams don't deserve to possibly be ranked in the top ten in the future. So that was just a couple of things I saw from high school football last week, and I hope it helps you out as well. Let's look at some scores from last night's games and even starting Thursday night when A-Rab and Columbia met over at Wig Stadium. A-Rab comes away with a 34-12 win. James Clemens was better than Grissom, 48-14, and Briarwood flexed their muscles in private school AA, knocking off Matt Academy as Madison Academy falls 49-14.

[5:11] Class 6A last night, Bob Jones with a back-and-forth win. They went back-and-forth with Buckhorn, win at 31-21. Other scores of interest there, maybe also trying to find a couple here. Prattville last night, 63 to Hewitt Trustville, 30. Folks, the Prattville lines are back. Now, everybody's talking about Thompson as the team to beat, and nobody's going to touch them as they won 62-7 last night. But Prattville, Coach Carr down there, they're starting to circle the wagons. Watch out. They might be a team that might give Thompson a little fit before the year's over.

Spartan beat Huntsville last night, 21-7. Class 5A, Austin had a shootout with Athens last night. They win at 46-39. Boaz over Lee of Huntsville, 52-6. Douglas over Albertville, 29-26. And the game hurt on 93-9 to score. Florence Falcons knock off Decatur, 34-16. Big win for Kenny Marson. The Falcons who go to 5-0 on the season. Huffman slips by Cullman, 28-14. Fort Payne falls to Mae Jemison, 26-14. The quarterback at Mae Jemison had a tremendous game last night. So, tremendous victory for Mae Jemison on the road at Fort Payne.

Other scores of interest from Class 5A. By the way, Pell City knocked off St. Clair County, 36-35. That was one of the best games of the night. Pell City wins that one. That's two really good teams. That region down there is loaded, no doubt about it. The Russellville Golden Tigers all over East Limestone, 49-14 last night. Class 4A, catch a couple of scores from the local area as well in Class 4A if we can. Deschler gets a big win last night, scoring 21 or 31 points in the second half.

They were up 20-7, they scored 31 in the second half and win it 51-7 over Priceful. Brooks falls to Hamilton, 41-20 last night. Other scores from Class 4A of interest, maybe a little bit. Northside all over Jemison, 69-19. West Morgan, big win last night over Lawrence County, 49-14. Class 3A scores Venture Central all over Elkmont last night, put up a 60 spot, 60-13. And a big homecoming win for the Wildcats. East Lawrence, 35, Haleville, 13. Fayette County knocked off Danville last night, 50-0. Also, Lauderdale County, big win over West Limestone, 41-14.

Catch a few of these as we go down our list. Carboard Heights falls to Rodgers, 48-24. Wilson Warriors, sneaking around, playing good football. I love their defense especially, but last night the offense got cranked up. They win it 63-6 over Clements. Class 2A, scores from the 2A division, faultful over Tanner, 8-7. One of the better games played in North Alabama last night. Faultful wins that. Otter knocked off North Sand Mountain, 50-34. Class 2A, Lexington shuts out J.B. Pennington, 49-0. We'll be speaking with Coach Brett Mask of the Golden Bears in just a little bit.

Phil Campbell in Carbert County had a great win last night. The Bobcats come out with a big win over the Indians, 34-26. Winston County falls to Sheffield. As I said, the Bulldogs' first win of the season, 20-10. Knocking off Winston County. Class 1A, catch these right here. Looking at a few of these, we've got Addison knocking off Meek, 56-6. Also, Hupperville over Marion County, 50-19. Hackelberg over Belgrin, 56-13. Brilliant fell to Lynn, 54-0. Cherokee couldn't get to Red Bay. It's Red Bay wins that one, 56-14.

And as I said, Waterloo last night with a big win over Phillips, 41-0. Just some of the scores from around the area last night. By the way, Mars Hill with a big win last night in Class A as they knocked off Coosa Christian, 41-14. We're going to have some coaches coming up talking about Friday night's games, getting ready and get set. By the way, we do want to say, before we go to break, hey, what a day it is for the University of North Alabama. Congratulations to them on opening up their new stadium, the first time to ever play on campus.

And best of luck to Brent Dierman and the Lions as they come out against Alcorn State today. It is going to be festive, electric. If you're in the area, I'd say avoid Pine Street. I think it's already shut down about now, just about. So they'll have all of Pine Street and Florence will be a tailgating area right in front of the stadium. And also, just another note, if you're in North Alabama today, remember, it's the Trail of Tears Day. So be careful traveling out there. Turn your headlights on and watch out for that.

Coaches around the state are going to be talking to us, especially in the Northwest Alabama area. You're listening to the Coach's Breakfast. We're back in one minute. Same day's coming, and your tailgate crew is counting on you. That's why Lost Pizza Company Shoals put together the tailgate playbook, specialty pizzas, wing trays, and subplatters, all built to feed a crowd. It's why we're the go-to pizza place in Florence, Alabama, now bringing that same lineup straight to your tailgate. Order for pickup or delivery to U&A tailgate only.

[10:24] Call 256-415-8693 or order online at lostpizza.com front slash Shoals. From our playbook to your plate. 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.

Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you as the host of one of the great traditions in the Shoals area on Saturday mornings in the fall, the Coach's Breakfast. Let's hope you're getting ready for a great day and getting prepared for a lot of college football as well. But let's talk about high school football from last night because it was a lot of great games played, including the Russell Golden Tigers going on the road last night, getting a big win over East Limestone 49-14.

We're joined by the head coach of the Golden Tigers, Coach Daryl Higgins. And Coach, any time you go on the road in what region play and you come out with a big win, that always feels good. Absolutely. We're trying to get into the playoff somehow, and as our second region win, we're very excited about it. You know, that's a funny thing to say because we're midway season, but you do start to position and jockey and look and say, okay, we've got to take care of business.

It's a business-like approach every week. Is that what you go with your team as well? Absolutely. We're trying to get better, just keep improving every week, playing good football, and last night we did a good job. How did your team start off the game last night? Did they get off to a pretty good start? Started out fast, both sides of the ball, special teams. We've been looking forward to getting out and playing after having a loss last week, wanted to get that taste out of our mouth and get back on the winning side.

Let's talk about that for a minute, and I mean this in the right way. It's always, you find out a lot about your team coming off a loss as much as you do coming off a win. What did you find out about your team this week? They did a great job responding. It's easy when you're winning and come back out, have a great week. You've got all the momentum. When you lose a game, you've got to dig deep and find out what you're made out of, and I was really proud of our guys this week.

Golden Tigers go to 4-1 on the season 2-1 in 5A Region 7 as they knock off the Indians last night. I know a lot of different guys played well. You've got one sneaking up on you here. I want you to say hello to you there. Your good friend Kenny Marson coming in here. Last night, who played well for you early in the game? And again, just to find out who had the big game maybe. Our quarterback, Tripp Cleveland, come out on fire. He threw a big first down, his third down.

He made a big throw in case with Darren Jones to get his first down. They ended up hitting Jones on a deep post for a touchdown. And he threw four touchdown passes on the night. Darren Jones had a big night. Offense line did a really good job. It was a good night for us. Let's talk about this quarterback, Tripp Cleveland, for a minute. Because he didn't play high school football until you arrived. I want to know the story. How did you find out about him? And when did you encounter him?

And how did you talk him into coming out for football? It was kind of like trying to get a date with a girl that you really like. I had to game plan it. Think about it. He was in baseball when I got there. Didn't really want to talk about it. Said talk to me after the season's over. Did you start going to baseball schemes? Oh, yeah. I was at the baseball. I was following him around. Kind of waving at him every time we'd go by. Cheering for him.

I love it. That's true, though. You have to recruit with your own school and find the athletes and say, hey, you can make a difference for us. And obviously, what did you see in just the athleticism as a baseball player? Well, he had played football when he was younger. He just didn't play the year before. And I'd heard a lot about him. And he was a tremendous baseball player. Just the kind of person we need to have a chance to win some games. He made us a lot better.

All right. So, you get a win last night. Your defense played well last night as well. Any defensive scores or anything like that? Well, we actually did. We had a scoop and score. Zade Hester picked the ball up. And he is very fast. And when he got it, he kind of looked back behind him and just left everybody out there. It was a huge play for our defense. And then another play for our defense is we turned the ball over, fumbled in our own territory, and our defense went out there instead of dropping their heads.

And they went out excited to get to go play defense and Kiefer Hallmark came up with a big interception, got the ball right back to us. That is a big momentum change in any game. But that pays dividends down the road, doesn't it? That's big. Even though it happened in a game that was more in control, when you see your defense do it like that, now you can come back to that game and say, guys, remember. It's so much mental in how you think about things.

Instead of, oh, me, we fumbled the ball. Now we've got to go out here. Instead of going, we get to go play defense. Let's go away out and make a play. Speaking with Daryl Higgins of the Russell Golden Tigers, whose team wins last night over East Limestone 49-14. And with much respect and all to East Limestone, they've had a tough time, maybe in the 5A starting off here, so they're against a really tough region. Is it tough to get your team prepared for a game like that when you look at the family and realize, hey, we see their scores, we see our record?

[15:44] Is it tough to get your team ready for a game like that? I don't think so. I think if you're a competitor and you practice all week, you want to go play the game. And if you're not ready to play, something's wrong with you. That's well said. It's about the standard that you set, and that's what you're saying. And I think that's why you're such a great coach and do a great job there. Let's talk about who you have coming up next week and where. Coosa Christian at Coosa.

They're a private school. A lot of those really good players left Coosa when they made the announcement that they were going to be in the small private school division, and they're having a really tough season. But it's the next game on our schedule, and we've got to get ready to play. You'd originally set that up, though, because of the test they were going to provide playing against a school like that. You know, that's the thing that people don't understand. You may schedule somebody thinking, this is going to be exactly what we need, but it may not play out that way always.

They were defending state champions, had four-star running back, had a big-time quarterback, had a lot of other players. And for whatever reason, they left, and now that team's just having a tough time. But you go on the road. That's in Gadsden, right? Is that correct? That's a long trip. Do you adjust your schedule this week a little bit because of that? We do. We'll leave at 1 o'clock, and we'll go to Gadsden. We'll eat us a good meal, go over to Westbrook Christian, do a walkthrough with their school, and then go over to Coosa a little bit later.

Now, do you do the game-op stuff on getting to the restaurants and things like that, or do you let somebody else help with that? I set it up this week. You did? Okay. All right. Well, I've got to ask them, do you know where the meal is, what the restaurant is yet? Yeah, it's going to be at Texas Roadhouse, I think. Okay, Coach, listen, I need to ride with you next week. Texas Roadhouse, I'll go for a free meal. That's pretty good right there, man. Yeah, absolutely.

Feed those kids. That'll be good. Well, I think your team deserve it the way they've played so far. By the way, kudos to, again, the Golden Tiger crowd. They have one of the best crowds I've seen so far this year. I'm sure they traveled well last night as well. They're amazing, and our band is like nothing I've ever heard. They were right behind us at East Limestone, and, I mean, it makes a difference. I love the band. At Mars Hill, the time we had all our kids do everything, we didn't have a lot of numbers left for the band.

I've been at Dave Stewart all those years, and we had a great band. I really miss that the band is such a part of the Friday night experience, and ours brings it like nothing I've ever heard. Well, they call it the Marching 100 for a reason. There's a lot of them in it, and there's a lot of kids up there. So, a great band, great atmosphere, great high school football atmosphere. And, again, next week, Russellville on the road. You're playing 10 straight in the season, so you go on the road next week.

Non-region opponent, getting ready to take on Kusa Christian. Should be a good matchup. By the way, UAB play today? They play today, and Hudson is supposed to be one of the deep guys on kickoff return, so I'm really excited. He might get to catch a ball and run with it a little bit. Well, we know what he can do with it. Best of luck to him as well. Daryl Higgins, good to have you tonight, okay? Thank you. The head coach of the Russellville Golden Tigers, whose team goes to 4-1 on the season, getting ready for Kusa Christian coming up next week.

You're listening to Coach's Breakfast. We're back in one minute. The Courier Journal includes exclusive regular features, like Dave Ramsey's weekly column, Ask Dave, plus informative business editorials, 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.

Start your day at Milla'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 Milla's Place, locally owned and operated in downtown Florence, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score.

Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you today and getting ready for a great day of college football. Don't forget Alabama, Crimson Tide football, Florida State coming to town. You think the Crimson Tide remembers that one from last year? Oh, payback's not going to be fun for the Seminoles as they come to Bryant-Denny. 11.30 a.m. pregame, 2.30 kickoff of the Crimson Tide and the Seminoles should be a great one today, that is for sure. And you'll hear it right here on 93.9 The Score. Joined now by the head coach of the Destro Tigers, Coach Patrick Malone, whose team last night celebrated homecoming, region win, got it all wrapped up in one, and did it in a big way, winning at 51.7 over Priceville.

And Coach, breathe a little bit. Homecoming's behind you now, right? It is. It was a fun week, a lot of activities, and a homecoming week. And, you know, all week we just stress, focus, focus, focus. But it was a great, great, great night. We have a Tuscumia Education Foundation that their purpose is to provide grants for our teachers throughout the district, and they put on a big tailgate event, and it's unbelievable. And, you know, I've got to give a lot of credit to our administration for the things that go on in homecoming.

[21:05] I look at our band, Chad Kenton's our band director, Ms. Amberley Westmoreland's our drum major, and I'm just telling you, they had a pep rally at 1130. Then they're in a parade when it's 100 degrees, and then they're doing a pregame show, and then they're there throughout the whole game. What people see is just a small snippet of what they do, so very appreciative of them. And then our cheer squad, they're doing the same thing. They work tirelessly, and I got to know those girls in the spring pretty well.

They were starting to do some workouts, and gosh almighty, they're extremely athletic. They work unbelievably hard at what they do. They're probably the hardest working program that we have at Dexter. I think they get two weeks off all year, but they're doing great. Jordan Fleming's our cheer coach. They've got three seniors this year that they're doing a great job. Sway Baines, Justice Davis, and then Ella Hogan. And Ella Hogan was our homecoming queen, so she's a great representative of Dexter. Very proud to have gotten to know her, and it comes from a great family.

I know they're very proud of her. So it was a busy week. Flag football got first region win. Volleyball had a big area win. Just a great week for Dexter. Head coach Patrick Malone, I'm going to tell you what, that's about the best PR of Dexter High School I've served in a long time. Man, you went down the list. Cheerleaders, band, homecoming queen, flag football. A lot of great things happened. But, you know, it is important for the head coach, I feel like, to be connected to more than just the football team.

Talk about the importance of that. That's what you're saying. All right, well, I think it starts at the top with your superintendent. Your superintendent shares the vision, relays the vision. We've got great coaches, top to bottom, in every single sport. And they're all proud to wear the Dexter jersey. They're all proud to represent Dexter in a positive way. And they send that same message to the kids. And that's what makes Dexter so special. 73% of our student body are involved in athletics. And that number has been like that for the last 30, 40 years.

And so, you know, when you've got a homecoming event, you know, it all, it's just cyclical. Great pep rally, you know, class coming back, 20-year reunion. You know, and I'm starting to go, okay, I remember them. I remember that name. You know, things like that. And it is great, but, you know, we've got four schools in our district, and all four building principals do a great job of getting everybody fired up for whatever event's going on at the time. But it's all for Dexter and supporting our athletes.

The Tigers are 4-1 on the season, 3-0 in class 4A region 7 with the win over the Bulldogs last night of Priceville. And, Coach, it was a 20-7 game, and in the second half, you really took it up with the offense. By the way, get these stats. You had 579 yards offense last night. Bryson Williams had, I believe, almost over 400 yards alone in offense last night. Quite a game. Very proud of our entire team. Very proud. You put 51 points up. That's quite an achievement. And Priceville's a good football team.

Yes. I think they're going to be a playoff football team. Very proud of our offense. I think our defense played probably their best football game. Very proud of our defensive coaches, our defensive players, for the game plan they put together. We gave up a touchdown early on. I guess fourth drive. Maybe third drive, I'm sorry. But we start off the game with two back-to-back three and outs. And we label three back-to-back, or three and outs in a row as kills. And if you get a kill in a game for us, you're talking about the way our offense is playing.

That's going to be seven or 14 or maybe even 21 points that are going to be unaccounted for. So we stress that. Our defense coaches do a phenomenal job of getting our guys situational aware of each play. You know, people don't realize they see the score and go, oh, that offense from Desher's clicking. And I'm glad you focused on the defense. Because when a defense does their job, it means time of possession is much more in favor of that offense. Absolutely. You know, it's not a one-man show.

If offense is struggling, defense understands what it's got to do and vice versa. And so there's times where offensively we want to control the football. Defense comes off after a long drive. Or defensively, hey, our offense is clicking. Let's go out there. We may take a shot on a blitz to try to get them behind the sticks. And I think both Lake Spurgeon and Jeffrey Woods work just hand-in-hand at doing a really good job of kind of helping each other along the way. And our practices are like that.

You know, we get after each other in practice a good bit. And I think our players feed off that. And it's that whole we-not-me mindset that we have at Desher's. So very proud of all our guys last night. Got a lot of guys in the game. Got some guys some touches. Had a freshman get a touchdown last night in Tyron Bland. Excited to see him grow and develop. But, again, I just lean on that offensive line offensively. You know, I think we struggled early on running the ball.

[26:27] And then offensive line coach, Coach Spears, challenged him at half. And I think we opened up some things up. But a very, very good game for us last night. Very good win as far as the region goes. It's homecoming. You're right. We can breathe a little bit now that that's over. But, you know, yeah. Good win for us. I like the side there. That was honest, Coach. You know, close enough. We can talk about that. You know, one of the things, I speak with Desher coach Patrick Malone.

One of the things I also think about in this whole aspect of the game for Desher is you had close games a lot this season. You had a close loss to Russell. You had a great win against Hamilton. Last night was the first time maybe that team could have just let their hair down and play. And I had to worry about, hey, this is tight. The close games and the tight games early on, that helps you now in games like that last night where you grew up even a little more?

Yeah, absolutely. You know, in the games that we either won close or lost close, the whole message was focus. You know, there's drive here, a play there that, you know, our focus wasn't where it needed to be. And it led to some poor execution. So now we relay the same message and we go back to those instances that we may not have been ready to go. And our kids understand that they lived it, saw it firsthand. And I think as this season plays out and, you know, we're at the halfway point with the bye next week and a lot of football left to play.

But we've got a chance to be a really, really good football team. And I think our kids are seeing that, but they also see what we're not getting done. And if we want to play like we want to play and keep playing like Dexter's accustomed to playing, then we're going to have to crank this thing up a little bit more. I said before I brought coaches on to the sports writers, hey, there's some good football being played in northwest Alabama and there's nobody getting any votes.

And I said, I know rankings don't matter necessarily, especially. I know some of you coaches may even call the sports writers and say, don't vote for us. I get it. Some old school coaches. But the fact is, I think the high school football in this area is starting to rise up a little bit more this year, especially. It seems like a lot of undefeated teams, a lot of good teams with won losses. Don't you sense that maybe the football is coming back a little bit? I think so.

And, you know, coming here on Saturday and being around those coaches in that room right there, there are some very talented football minds in there. But even more than that, they're great people and great people that I trust my kid with to grow and develop. And, you know, I think that just speaks volumes to the type of football here in north Alabama. And you look at everybody's crowd base. They're going to come out and they're going to support football. Great football being played in this area.

Off week, do you go watch other teams play or do you sit at home and go out to eat and say, hey, let's just be an normal Friday night? No, we'll go somewhere. But I think the message this week is going to be, hey, let's reset physically, mentally, get back. We've got some execution things we've got to shore up. And this is a great opportunity, great time in the season to do that. Destro Tigers, 4-1 on the season, perfect in region play. Take the off week this week after the 51-7 homecoming victory.

Coach, congratulations, and enjoy the off week, okay? Yes, sir. Thank you. The head coach of the Destro Tigers. More from the coaches breakfast after this one-minute timeout. 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. 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.

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When you have pests, we have solutions. Good morning. Welcome to 99 degree heat already. I'm sure outside is caught out here today. The hottest day of the year, maybe. So if you're going to ballgames today in college football, hydrate. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you here on The Coach's Breakfast. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. No matter what you're doing today, pour it in the water and stay safe in this great heat that we're facing right now. And hopefully, by the time we get to October, football weather will be here.

I know one guy that likes football weather more than anybody I know, and that's my good friend. Brett Mask is the head coach here of the Lexington Golden Bears. His team wins last night over J.B. Pennington 49-0. Coach, congratulations on the win. Was that a homecoming game last night, by the way? Yeah, it was a homecoming game. Everybody sort of got that homecoming. So I'm going to put you on the spot. You can say, KJ, I'm not sure. Do you know who the homecoming queen was by any chance?

[31:31] Yes, Reagan Pate. All right. Two for two of my coaches know they're homecoming queens. Y'all have learned me over the years. That's good. Congratulations to Reagan Pate. And congratulations to your team and the shutout victory. But, Coach, I want to congratulate something that happened. For the first time ever that I know of, the defensive coordinator at Lexington High School got his first shutout last night. And his name is Brett Mass. Congratulations on your defense doing that last night. Appreciate it. They played well. That is big, though, for your team to come out there.

You look up there and see the good city. There's a lot of schools go seasons after seasons that don't have a shutout. That's big for your defense. Well, our kids are kind of, you know, right there at the end. You know, we were subbing some guys. And we did. We subbed some guys. But, like, we kept some starters on there just for, I mean, depth purposes and football. I mean, you can't just wholesale them all, you know, at once. And that's one of the things they were kind of getting on the young kids about, like, hey, we're keeping this shutout.

We're keeping this shutout. So, it worked out well. I don't want to say a whole lot, but your quarterback, Zane Kilburn, sort of had an off night last night. He only had five touchdowns, four passing and one rushing. He's not the same as the past couple of weeks where he had seven and six. But he did have a finish with 223 yards passing and accounted for five touchdowns and did his job. But also, Mr. Howard there, pretty big game, too, 93 yards and a touchdown. He was pretty explosive last night.

He was kind of back to his old self. He's been kind of dealing with a little bit of shin splints. And so, yeah, he's been struggling through it. But he kind of played like a big boy last night. Saw your Howard. You know, that's not an easy injury to go through as a football player. You know players have done it. That is – you hear about all these wins. Shin splints can really be painful. It's just annoying. I mean, that's what he said. It's just annoying. I mean, and it comes and goes.

But I think he's – you know, he's worked through it. He's iced it. He's done the stretches. He's – and he hadn't missed a snap. But, you know, you could just tell sometimes they bother him. But he's a tough kid. And he's such a competitor. And to watch him play, he's fun to watch. Not 2012, not 2002, not 1992, 1982 the last time the Lexington Golden Bears started 5-0. By the way, do you realize there is, I think, four, maybe four or five Lauderdale County schools that are undefeated right now? That's pretty impressive for the county.

I know you're proud for your team to be at the halfway mark in 5-0. We are. I mean, it's – we have a 1-0 mentality. I know that sounds cliched, but it really is the truth. And I think you have to approach it that way. You know, and we tell our kids, you know, you can't go 10-0 until you go 5-0. You can't go 10-0 until you go 6-0. And – but we still have a 1-0 mindset every week because it doesn't matter what you did the week before.

And, you know, the same people, you know, patting you on the back or be the same people, you know, what happened to y'all? So, you know – You got that right. And that's just – you just got to understand that's just – that's the nature. I mean, people did it to – And most of them were Baptists, but that's for me. I guarantee you, okay? So I understand. So that'll happen there. That's an inside joke, by the way. I have a lot of fun. My good friends that are Baptists, I am one.

But let's talk about – that's a great point. You hear the noise. How do you control the noise with your team? Well, we just – we talk about a standard. And play into a standard and it doesn't – I tell our kids all the time, I wish I could give you all the schedule that just said game one, game two, game three. And it doesn't matter to the opponent. And it doesn't matter if we're playing, you know, the North Florence Blue Team or the Green Bay Packers. You know, we have a standard that we play at and a standard that we want to uphold.

And if a team is better than us, then so be it. You know, we'll shake their hand and say good luck. But it's not going to be because we didn't play to our ability. Lexington Golden Bears, 5-0. More importantly, I think – is it 2-0 in Region 7? Is it a smaller region? Is that right? No, we're 18 in Region. Okay, so it's 3-0. You should be 3-0. I think they got it wrong in the times daily there. But 3-0 in Region play. Coach, let's talk about last night.

I haven't got to – I never get to talk to my witnesses before I bring you on the air, as I say. Were there any quirky plays last night or unusual plays or a defensive or special teams play that sort of stood out? Not really. You know, it was just kind of one of those kind of business game. You know, I think everything with homecoming and all the distractions, and I think our team – you know, I bragged on our team after the game about all the distractions, and we had a list on the board all week of reasons not to win this game.

And we just listed, you know, homecoming, the distractions, you're playing a wing-T team, got to be disciplined and, you know, overconfidence and all that. And we left it up there on the board all week and kind of pointed out, hey, these are the reasons you're not going to win this game or not supposed to win this game. Now it's our job to make sure we overcome these. And I think, you know, our kids did a great job handling it. I mean, they were down in the field house.

It was an old-school homecoming now at Lexington. I mean, we had a pep rally at 8.30. Yeah. And it lasted about an hour, and we did the whole festivities. And then for the rest of the day, you know, we had parade. They were down in the field house all day. Was it indoor pep rally or outdoor pep rally? Oh, indoor. Okay, well, that's better. I'll give you credit on that one. That's for sure. Well, let me ask you, did you major in buying a chance or minor in psychology?

[36:32] No. Because you went a little reverse psychology on your team with what not to do. Sometimes it's approaching the team, you start to learn the DNA of every team. This one's DNA you really seem like you've got honed in on. Yeah, they're different. I mean, it took us a little bit to figure out this team, just the personalities of it. And, you know, you had a lot of returners coming back. But, you know, it's like we tell our team, that's a 2025 team. This is a totally different team from year to year.

So it took a little bit to kind of figure out what makes them tick. And they're just a business-type team. I mean, they're very even-keeled and very just – they don't really get too excited, but they don't get too low at the same point in time. And so we've just kind of tried to maximize that. They're a pretty mature team, and they're a smart team. Yeah, they're smart. You look at our GPAs on our team, they're up there. So they're the type of team that you just have to explain what your thought process is.

Not that they are – they'll do anything that you ask them to, but they want to know the process of it. Like, hey, you know, why am I dropping right here? You know, why am I doing this? And not in like a questioning way, but they genuinely want to understand what we're doing, how we want to do it, and how do you want me to do it? So, you know, I'll take a team like that. That's a little different. It's a lot different, yes. Because kids don't watch the games anymore on TV.

They don't understand. They don't grow up. They watch highlights. They don't see the games. They're YouTube kids. They're YouTube kids. That's a great point. And so I think that's a big point that they want to know. They want to learn. That says their mind's growing. As we speak with Brett Mask of the Lexington Golden Bears, whose team remains undefeated. Do you and your dad still talk after games on Friday night sometimes? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Does he give you pointers or just listen sometimes? A little bit of both.

You know, I'll get the, hey, just a couple – hey, we'll talk tomorrow. We'll talk tomorrow. Oh, that sounds like Steve Mask right there if I've ever heard of him. Oh, if it's a we'll talk tomorrow, there's a list of about three things that we need to do. So he's checked it off and see it and look at that. Oh, well, enjoy it or not. We'll talk tomorrow. By the way, if you don't know Coach Brett Mask, he is the master of invitations of people. And I promise you, he probably has KJ down too behind my back.

I like that. Let's talk about next week. Are you open next week or do you have a game? Yeah. Open next week. Is it coming to a good time for you? It does. We're just – not that we're beat up. We're just, you know, tired and sore and just, you know, like I said, we're pretty healthy. But just a couple little nagging bumps and bruises that you get from five weeks of football. Do you approach this week differently because of that practice-wise? You do. I mean, I think, you know, a bye week is – it's a touchy thing, like how you handle it.

And I think it just depends on how your year is going too, you know. Is it one of those where, hey, we've got to go back and teach fundamentals or is it one of those that we need to get our guys kind of rested up but still get work in. And I think that's kind of going to be the approach this week of just, you know, getting our guys healthy but at the same point in time getting our work in and, you know, two weeks to prepare for a pretty big game.

Don't want to lose the groove, that's for sure. Yeah, that's the big thing. Who do you have in two weeks? Vancouver County. Oh, my goodness. That's a familiar place for the Brent Mass. It is. And for Kevin Johnson. That's right. And so, you know, CT Manley Stadium and what a huge game that will be. The more you look at this region, the more you sort of shake your head and go, wow, every Friday night it's a pretty good team that you can race. We talked about it, you know, at the beginning of the year.

Like, it's – there's no off games. There's no throw-off games. You've got to come ready to play every week. And you look at the scores in our region, anybody can be beat at any given time. So. Before I let you go, Coach Brett Mass with the Lexington Golden Bears, I want to turn the page on one more thing. You wear the purple and gold today. You wore the purple and gold in college as well. And today is a special day at the University of North Alabama. Did it give you the feels a little bit, them having to own campus stadium a little bit?

It's weird, but it's pretty cool. Yeah. I mean, it's pretty cool. Raleigh's still home. It is. I mean, it always will. I mean, but for – just to see the growth of that university and of my school and just seeing the excitement of it, I mean, I think that's huge for Florence. That's huge for UNA. I mean – Huge. Yes. I mean, that's the best word you can describe it. It is. It's going to be a special day. Well, I'm sure some of you and your former teammates will have fun chatting today and talking and texting and reliving some of the past memories when you played as well.

Lexington Golden Bears go to 5-0 of the season and coming up with an off week, but in two weeks they are going to be taking on Carbett County. Coach, best of luck and enjoy the off week, okay? Appreciate you. The head coach of the Lexington Golden Bears. More from the coach's breakfast after this time out. Game day's coming and your tailgate crew is counting on you. That's why Lost Pizza Company Shoals put together the tailgate playbook specialty pizzas, wing trays, and subplatters all built to feed a crowd.

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[41:49] For over 75 years, we've served this place we all call home. Bank Independent. We're invested in you. Member FDIC. Welcome back to the coaches' breakfast here on 93.9 The Score. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you. Getting your day off to a good start. Hoping you're enjoying that second cup of coffee here. We've got a couple more coaches lined up. Don't forget, Crimson Tide football around the corner. 11.30 a.m., Chris Stewart and friends, all those guys getting ready for the big one with Florida State coming to Bryant-Denny.

2.30 kickoff. Keep it right here for Alabama Crimson Tide football. You'll enjoy that today. The Carver County Indians last night on the road at Phil Campbell had a hard-fought game. Come up just a little short to the Bobcats, 34-26 in region play in Class 2A region 7. And joined now by the quarterback coach of Carver County Indians, Coach Lucas Craft. And, Coach, any time you go on the road, you know it's going to be a tough, tough matchup. And last night proved to be the same. Yeah, you know, it's always hard playing at Phil Campbell.

Coach Hamilton over there, he does a really good job with his team. You know, they showed up ready to play. They executed. I mean, they hit us in the mouth early. And it took us a minute to respond. Sometimes when you play in games like that, too, you're not used to the environment. It's probably the first time Carver County's played down there in a while, if I'm not mistaken. It's been a while. It's been a while. So, for the kids, it's a new stadium, new environment, new look.

It's just sometimes it takes young kids, no matter what, a little time to adjust to just the environment. Does it not? Yeah, it does. Like you said, it had been a while since we had been there. And I'm not sure, man. It's just always hard to win on the road, no matter where you're going. It is. And I think it's part of Friday Night Lights. You know, you go on the road, and it's just a different thing. As we used to say, if you get on the bus, you're down seven.

Yeah. And that's just part of it. And so that happens. And you go on the road, and you end up losing by eight. So it sort of played out that way. It was a tight-knit game. How did your team maybe respond to some of the, you know, got hit in the mouth? You said, how did they respond? Because they came back a little bit there. Yeah, you know, it was 20-20 at halftime. They had went up, I believe, I believe they went up 14-0 at one point.

I don't, I mean, you might want to check me on that. I'm not sure. Right. But, I mean, I thought our kids responded well. We just had to get out of the first quarter. And after that, you know, they kind of settled in. And it's like, all right, well, let's just get back to doing what we know to do, back to doing what we're comfortable doing. And, you know, we went down and scored a couple times. And, like I said, it was 20-20 at halftime. So, I mean, I think it just took them a while to settle in and, you know, just play football.

As we speak with Lucas Craft, the quarterback coach at Carver County High School, team falls to a field camera last night, 34-26. And, Coach, is this a teaching moment maybe to come up to your team this week and say, look, guys, I know it's a tough loss, but I want to remind you of something. You can lose a game in the first quarter as much as you can lose it in the fourth quarter. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. I mean, it's definitely a teaching moment. Just, I mean, really just the fundamentals of the game.

We've got to block better and we've got to tackle better. Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. Yeah, and sometimes that's what it comes down to. You can do all the coaching talk. It's like, guys, this is where it's at. Do you have an off week this week, by the way? Yes, we are off this week. Off week this week. I'm sure different teams approach it differently, but I'm sure that will be something you'll address this week a little bit. Yeah. Talking about just the basics and fundamentals as it go back to the routine, maybe change the practice up a little bit this week.

Yeah. You know, it's definitely a much needed off week for us. We've got a couple of kids banged up, bruised up, so couldn't have come at a better time. But yeah, this week we'll definitely get back into the fundamentals of, I mean, I'm pretty sure we're going to be doing tackling circuits just about every day this week. And we're going to have a lot of individual time, group time. A lot of one-to-be-one type stuff, yeah. As we speak with Lucas Craft, quarterback coach at Carbert County High School, whose team falls to Phil Campbell last night, but coach, you're three and two on the season, two and one in region play, in class 2A, region seven, and that region's topsy-turvy.

It is. And it's not the end of the season by any means for your team. I'm sure you addressed that as well last night. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, everything that we want to accomplish is still all right there in front of us. Now, we've made it a little harder on ourselves now, but I mean, we just, like I said, everything's right there in front of us. We just can't continue to hurt ourselves, if that makes sense. Like I said, we've made it a little harder, and we've still got some pretty good teams coming up on the schedule, so we've made it a little harder, but everything that we set out and made goals for at the beginning of the season, it's all still right there.

Halfway through the season, though, step back, have to do a report card. You don't have to give a grade, necessarily, but what have you learned about this team halfway through the season there? You said, okay, through the good times, through the bad, what do you see in the future, maybe? We definitely have got some young kids coming up that'll be pretty good, but I mean, they're just young, eighth and ninth graders. I would say, I would say, just as a whole, I mean, we're, we said it, you know, as coaches before the season started, we can be as good as we want to be, and we'll be as good as the senior class lets us be, so.

[47:20] Wow. That's a good point. Yeah. And leadership's a big part of this. It is. It is a big part. You know, there's a funny, you make a great statement. Sometimes for teams, the ceiling can be high, but at the same time, the floor can be low. And so it just depends on what they want to do. So, so it seems like you're right there and halfway through the season, you put it in your kids' hands and say, okay, it's up to you now. Yeah, it is.

I mean, we tell them all the time, a coach-led team's not going to go very far. Player-led teams are the ones that they, they're the special ones that go and get it done. I think it's great. Next week, you're off, but the following week, Lexington, I believe. Yes, sir. Comes to home for, comes to Carver County at CT Manly Stadium. That's going to be a huge matchup. You got a chance to see one of the best quarterbacks in the state of Alabama, maybe in Zane Kilburn.

So a lot to work on that as well. Have you faced many passing teams this year? We, we faced Deschler. They threw it around a good bit and they didn't throw it around, you know, a whole, whole lot, but they were very efficient. They were very good at what they've done. You know, I think I said it after that week, coach Malone over there, he does a fantastic job with Deschler. And I mean, as everybody can see, they're rolling. He's got them rolling right now. But just as far as throwing it a lot, I think they're probably the team that we'll see that'll throw it the most.

Who played well for you on offense last night? Corey and Campbell played well last night for us. He's got a couple of nagging little things going on. So he wasn't a hundred percent, but Sean Blevins played well. Our quarterback, Sir Miller played well in the first half. He was dealing with a cramping type stuff in the second half. But Dayton Hood, another receiver we had number seven for us. He played well. I mean, we had guys play well. We just couldn't get out of the first half.

Yeah. Sometimes you just can't get out of your own way, and that happens there. That's Carver County Falls to Phil Campbell get ready in two weeks to take on the Lakers and Golden Bears. Coach, let me ask you this before I let you go. Quarterback coach, Lucas Craft, you enjoying being back at your alma mater and coaching there? Oh, yeah. I've loved it, man. I've loved every second of it. Yeah. Now, you're teaching as well, obviously, there. What's your teaching responsibilities, that type thing, too? I'm in PE.

Wow. So, you get to get out there and stay physical with them and get them in shape and all. Do you talk to the kids about, no matter just athletes or not, about hydration, the importance of that, too, and say, hey, this is important? Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, me and Coach Bonds, we're the two PE teachers. I mean, we tell them every day that health is wealth. Yeah, that's good. I like that health is wealth. Well, listen, we'll see if the wealth will come for Carver County in a couple of weeks, and we wish you the best, okay?

Yes, sir. Thank you. The quarterback coach of Carver County High School, Coach Lucas Craft. More from the Coach's Breakfast after this timeout. 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.

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. Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score.

Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you. Hoping you're getting your day off to a good start again. Congratulations to the University of North Alabama for their new stadium today, home opener at their new stadium. What a day, what a festive day. It's going to be just special, and Coach Brent Dierman's done a good job there, so congratulations to him, and best of luck to the UNA Lions. We're joined now by the head coach of the Rogers Pirates, Coach Daniel Garrett, whose team went up on the mountain and doubled up Carbert Heights last night, 48-24.

And Coach, big road win. Congratulations. Thank you. I know it's got to feel good any time you get a regional win when you're wearing the white jerseys. That's a good thing, isn't it? Absolutely. We, you know, feel like any time you can handle, you know, all the stuff that comes with going on the road and everything, you know, you have to be responsible. Make sure you carry what you need to carry, and any time you can do that and take care of business is a positive.

As a team, do y'all throw in a couple of extra pairs of cleats and extra jerseys just in case somebody forget something? We always have a little checklist of things we've got to have, you know, towels, you know, pants, you just never know what might get left behind, and, you know, he's got to be prepared for everything. Was this week a big week about talking to your team? It's been hot all week, but you need to hydrate more than ever. It's been the hottest week of the year.

[52:25] Did you talk about that a little bit? Actually, we've been talking about that for a long time. And so, like, what we do is, and Coach Lloyd at Randolph actually, you know, I talk to him a lot. They do a really good job with their low numbers of staying healthy and getting a lot out of stuff. And so what we do is, you know, every day during the week, I give them a supplement. That's right. And it's what we give them is called Waterboy, and it's got a bunch of electrolytes, no sugar, you know, vitamin B12, stuff like that.

And then the obvious stuff like sodium and potassium to help with cramps and all that stuff. And knock on wood, we haven't had any issues to this point. Excellent. So, because it starts during the week. It's not – if you wait until Friday, it's too late. Yes. So, I feel like that's really helped us. Speaking with Coach Daniel Garrett of Carpet – excuse me, of Rodgers, who beat Carpet Heights last night, 48-24. And, Coach, your quarterback had a big game last night, C.J. Davis, 12 of 15, two touchdowns, ran for 194 yards.

Three scores. I mean, he really had one of his best games. Yeah, he was kind of mad when we took him out because he was one yard away from 400 all-purpose yards. Oh. I think from what I've looked at. And so, I'm like, it ain't worth it, buddy. Maybe we can go back and film and find one more yard we didn't know about. We'll see. Yeah, sometimes when you do that, you end up finding their one or two off. That's a good point. But he had a great game.

And then your running backs as well, Reed and Broadfoot. Boone Broadfoot, Braden Reed, both had a good game as well. So, overall, offense really clicked last night. Yeah, and like Boone, this was his second game back, Broadfoot. So, he's just going to get more and more involved in what we do with him just because, you know, we're trying to move him around. He's a pretty dynamic football player. So, we try to line him up receiver. You know, pretty much every play, he has the option to get the ball.

Right. Yeah, CJ's kind of got the decision to make on that. And, you know, I felt like last night we really started to click on some of our downfield RPO throws. Like that real long touchdown pass to Hunter Bacon was one of those. And, you know, I think the better we get with that type of stuff, it just makes our offense even more difficult to defend. Go to 4-0 in the season, 3-0 in Class 3A Region 7. And yet, I'm sure you say, hey, there's still a lot more to be left out there that you can do as a team.

I'm sure you've got things you want to work on. And that's a big part of it, continue to grow, isn't it? Yeah, and it's like, you know, that Times Daily article they published last night, you know, the guy said something like I was kind of not happy or whatever after the game. And, you know, I think, you know, as a coach, you're always looking at how can, like you said, how can we get better? And, you know, you're a perfectionist. And it's, you know, you always see things that we can work on and get better.

And so, like, my thoughts always, all right, we've got to play cleaner. There's a couple things here and there that we need to do a lot better at. And, you know, it's the end goal is to be the best version of yourself and then, you know, beat that every night or every day. And so, that's kind of the message to my team, you know, in that. And I think one thing in that article, it said something we've got to continue to work and buy in. And I just want to clear that up in terms of our kids are bought in to what we do.

But it's more of, like, you know, that kind of has to continue every day. Because, like, if you slack off on your belief and you're focused for one second, it can derail everything. It's good. And so, you know, it's an every day, every minute, every play process to do that. It's not just a simple, hey, I believe in coach and what we're doing. It's not that simple. It's I've got to believe in what I do on this play, my assignment, so on and so forth. And, you know, that's hard for anybody to do, myself included, because every second, you know, is an opportunity for ten distractions.

Sure. You know, especially for the kids these days, they've got every distraction in the world more than I had, more than you had. And so, it's really hard for these kids to do that. But I think that's what's so great about football is it gives them the opportunity to learn and focus on those things to where they can not only be a better player, but a better man when they leave here. Great insight from Daniel Garrett, Rogers, Pirates. And, Coach, I often say if the ball's being run to the right, the left side's still important.

You've got to do your job on the left side, too, because you never know when that ball carrier may cut back to the left. You never know when the play may be a broken play. It's important to know that just because it's not coming to your side or the ball's not coming to your hands, it still may be you that makes that play. Yeah, you've got to do your 111. That, so to speak, is one out of 11, which that's a fraction. You don't want to get too many of them fractions.

You know, some kids aren't good at math, but, you know. But, yeah, everyone's got a job to do, and if we all do our job, then things work out. WT2C2, what does that mean? Well, we can't control. Okay, that's a big statement for y'all. Yeah, so, like, we've got shirts with it, and, you know, this is kind of the deal of, in a game, you're going to have all sorts of things that are out of your control, you know, from, you know, maybe it's a call that doesn't go your way.

[57:31] Maybe you get a bad break. Maybe, you know, you're in position, but the other team makes a good play. Like, you can't worry about all that. You've got to worry about what my job is and execute my job. Control what you can control. And if you do that, you can be successful. And so, that's kind of been our focus because, you know, every year you reflect on things that you can do better. And I feel like last year we got a lot, you know, really too worried about things that were out of our control.

And instead of just focusing on what my job was and things like that, and so that's kind of been a big focal point for us this offseason. And so, once again, you know, that's something. If we do that, we're going to be successful. And we have been successful. We have. Undefeated season so far. The next week, who do you have and where? We got Wattsburg at home. And, you know, that's a game, like, I told someone last night, I said, look, Coach Adcock is one of the best coaches around.

He's had a lot of success. You know, Kevin Rose is the OC. He's had a lot of success as a head coach. They got a great staff, and they got a really good football team. They're going to be very well coached. It's going to be one of the best teams we've played, one of the best teams we'll play all year. So, it's a great test for us to see kind of where we're really at. And, you know, I've had a lot of questions about, oh, this region stretch coming up.

And I'm like, guys, y'all don't understand. Like, all that don't matter. This team's really good. Yeah. You know, and, like, if we can beat this team, then all right, now things look really good, right? Right. So, but that's a tall task just because they're a good football team. But, once again, control what you can control and do your job. And if we do that, then we're going to be just fine. Homecoming in Green Hill will be next week hosting a Whitesburg Christian. Should be a festive time for Rogers High School to be at home celebrating homecoming against a really good Whitesburg team.

But undefeated on the season so far. And, Coach, congratulations on the great start. Best of luck at homecoming, okay? Thank you. Appreciate you. Daniel Garrett, the head coach of the Rogers Pirates. More coming up after this break. Start your day at Milla'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 Milla'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. 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. W-Y-T-K, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, the Shoals, sports radio 93.9, the score, Valley Broadcasting Corporation. Top of the hour, 9 o'clock here on the Coach's Breakfast. Kevin Johnson with you here on 93.9, the score. Glad to be with you. Great tradition in the Shoals area every fall season. Thank you to our sponsors for making it possible, and thank you for North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic for making it possible as well for us to be here each and every Saturday morning. Joined by the head coach of the Central Wildcats, Coach Heathwood, whose team last night takes on Elkmont for homecoming and comes out with a 60-13 victory to continue their season at 4-0.

Coach, congratulations on the big homecoming win. Breathe a little bit. Homecoming is behind you now. You can have a little fun and breathe a little bit. Yeah, yeah, definitely. Definitely a big win last night for our team and our community and the school. Most of all, it was a region win, and, you know, we're trying to get ourselves back to the playoffs this season, and that's the biggest thing that happened last night, in my opinion. Coach, you've got 9,000 things on your mind for football and homecoming and everything else, but I got to ask, homecoming queen last night?

Miss Bentley Cooper. Congratulations to Bentley Cooper, and well done by our head coach here, knowing that. That's good. So that's a big deal there. So congratulations to her on being named homecoming queen last night at Central High School, and you win it over Elkmont, 60-13. Let's go about coming up this week. How did you handle the homecoming week? Did your kids handle practice and all the festivities okay? Yeah, I felt like we did for the most part. You know, we're kind of up against that heat again this past week as far as practice goes.

You know, it changes things quite a bit when you start talking about putting a practice schedule together and including all that heat awareness and all that stuff, too. But, yeah, I felt like the players handled practice this week the way we should. That's big for us. We speak with Central Head Coach Heathwood, whose team is 4-0 in the season, knocked off Elkmont last night, 60-13. The old ball coaches used to say there's three faces to the game, defense, offense, and special teams. And last night, your special teams was really good.

[1:02:43] Yes, did a great job, you know, come out there second half and Logan Pettis there, run that kickoff back. And then, you know, a couple of possessions later there, we ended up running the punt back, too. Malik Ball did. But definitely, special teams definitely played well last night. 95-yard kickoff return there by Pettis and a 75-yard return by Ball in the punt. And any time your special teams, is that a confidence builder for your special teams? Oh, yeah, that changes the game. Any time you can get a touchdown in that area, for sure.

But those were big plays last night. And that second half kind of got things really going our way. And, you know, able to play some younger kids after that. Well, let's talk about that, the ability to get younger kids in. That is so important for your program building up in the future, isn't it? Yes, for sure. You know, we got these B teams on the schedule and B team games. But, you know, not always able to play them because of injuries and different things like that.

You know, not only us, but other teams as well. But, yeah, any time we can get those guys in the game, it's definitely helping the program and helping those young men grow as players. Lots of players got to touch the football last night. Sometimes that's not easy to spread that football around. But a lot of guys got to touch it. A lot of guys had some success. Is that big for you moving forward to get guys to take all the practice is paying off now? Yeah, yeah.

Coach Gene did a great job last night with that offense and spreading the ball around. But I think anybody that touched the ball last night would go back and say it got done because it happened up front, you know, those linemen. So, definitely proud of those guys. Let's talk about that offensive line. You've bragged on them a couple of times this year. Are they a big offensive line or is it just an average-sized offensive line? What makes them special maybe? You know, I like to think that they go out there and try to do what they're supposed to do.

Yeah. And focus on the little things. We actually had a couple of guys out last night and had some dudes step up and kind of the next man up type thing. And those guys played well last night. So, hopefully we're able to build some depth from last night's game in that area. Indeed, a depth-building game for Heathwood Central Wildcats. Homecoming victory, 60-13 over Elkmont last night. Coach, I know as head coach you have your responsibilities as head coach, but do you coach a specific group during the week as well?

Do you work with quarterbacks, offense, or anything like that? Yeah, yeah. I didn't for a few years, several years back. I was kind of floated around. The practice got really long when I was floating around. You didn't have nothing to do, did you? Yeah, nothing to do. And we got kind of short on coaches there, too. But, yeah, I've worked with the running backs and the secondaries. Is that fun for you to be able to do that and be hands-on with them? Yeah, I would much rather be coaching than walking back and forth.

Yeah. Well, that's pretty good as well, doing that. As you win the game last night, Coach, I'm sure it was a big celebration. Everyone excited about that. But who do you have coming up next? We got Brooks next week. Next week. So, next week, a non-region game. Non-region. But a big county rival. Oh, yeah, for sure. You played in those county rivals with Brooks. You know what it's like. What makes that such a special game? Yeah, you know, everybody knows everybody. They grow up playing peewees and all that together.

So, middle schools. Go to church together. Exactly. So, you know, it'll be fun. You know, Brooks got a great team this year. And I know they'll be ready. And they always are. So, we'll have our hands full for sure. Where will that game be played at? Is it home? At home. So, home against Brooks next week. What a matchup that'll be for coming up here in midway of the season. Coach, I don't know if you've noticed this night. But it's pretty cool. In Lauderdale County, you've got several schools undefeated.

Lexington undefeated. Rogers undefeated. You're undefeated. Florence undefeated. That hasn't happened in years past. You feel like the football is starting to rise up a little bit, maybe overall in the area a little bit? Yeah, I didn't know all these other people were undefeated. I guess I'm just kind of worried about us. That's good. I like that. Congratulations to those guys, you know. But, yeah. You see the football starting to grow, though, in the area a little more. Yeah, for sure. And competition each week. Well, there'll be a big game against Brooks this week.

You took a week off at the beginning of the season. Yes. You'll play 10 straight. Is that something you've enjoyed? Is that the way it just fell, or is it just what you chose? It's just the way it fell. You know, you start getting that schedule made. You're trying to get 10 games, and then you're trying to get five home ones and this and that. But I do think for our team this year, as young and inexperienced as we were at the beginning of the season, we're gaining experience and, you know, trying to get better in that area every game.

But with our team we've got this year, I think it benefited us playing a jamboree and then having a week off to fix a lot of things and then going into that first week. Well, it will be a fun week this week as well out at Central High School as Brooks comes to town. Congratulations on the gate already. I know it's going to be a good one when these two get together. It should be fun. And what a matchup that will be between the Wildcats and the Lions.

Coach, congratulations on the great start and best of luck, okay? Yeah, appreciate you guys having us on the covering Central. One of the good guys and coaching, Heathwood of the Central Wildcats. More from the coach's breakfast after this time out. It's summertime in the shows, 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.

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From our playbook to your plate. I just wonder if they might be playing Sweet Home Alabama in Tuscaloosa today when Florida State comes to town. What a matchup that'll be. 11.30 pregame, 2.30 kickoff. You'll hear the Crimson Tide and the Seminoles right here on 93.9 The Score. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you here on The Coach's Breakfast from the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic. Joined now by the head coach of the Marsh Hill Panthers, Coach Chris Hill, whose Panthers last night went on the road all the way over to East Alabama, took on Coosa Christian, and they come back home with a victory.

41-14. Woo, long trip, but worth it, Coach, right? Yes, it was. It was, you know, about two and a half hour drive over there or whatever, maybe even three, but, you know, I was able to get a win. That spot we played well and the spot we didn't. You know, it's things we got to work on, but, you know, glad to get the win and get back home. There are road trips when you go on the road, you put on the white jerseys, and then there are long road trips.

And sometimes you have to get there a little earlier, maybe to stretch your guys out, or do you break up the trip a little bit so maybe you get them a little rest? How did you handle that a little bit? Yeah, we broke up. We broke the trip up. We stopped in Cullman and ate and, you know, we stretched our legs a little bit there and actually stayed there about an hour, just let the kids relax and visit. And then we got on the bus and drove another hour and a half to Gadsden to Coosa Christian.

So, just kind of broke it up where it wouldn't be all, you know, all at one time. I agree with that. That's well said there. So, we speak with Chris Hill of Marshall High School and Coach, you went at 41-14 last night. Let's talk. How did the game unfold? Did you get off to a good start? We did first drive. First drive, we went down and had a good series. I think defense had us got a three and outs. We got the ball, went down and scored, and I think scored a second possession.

And then, man, it was way too many penalties. We had probably 150 yards of penalties that we got to get cleaned up. And that's two drives right there. Yeah, it's, you know, we had two touchdowns called back, and we just got to, you know, we've got to do a better job of playing clean, you know, short football. I'm still getting to know you, Coach Hill, in your first year at Marshall. Are you an offensive guy or defensive guy? What is your specialty a little bit? Well, you know, the other day we played, and we got beat, and I talked to my wife, and she said, I said, you know, our defense played really good.

Defense played well. And I said, the offense, I said, we're struggling. She said, well, who's in charge of the offense? I said, I am. She said, well, you need to pick it up then. So, you know, I do the offensive side of the ball, though, yeah. So, in the offensive side of the ball, do you script a lot? I know coaches in the past used to script plays to start the game. Do you still script a little bit? I don't script. You know, I know what I want to run.

What I do like to do is show some formations early, just see how they're going to adjust to formations, you know, where doubles or trips are empty. You know, see how they're going to adjust to a tight end or tight end each back. So, we don't really script, but I do want to show a bunch of formations early to see what their defensive adjustment is. The game today is more about leverage, isn't it? It's about finding where you can find the defense, maybe get them off of numbers, and you win the numbers game, and there you go.

Yeah, you know, we're a big bubble screen, fast screen team. And, you know, I'll tell them, you know, guys, if they're two, you know, we get two or three, we're going to throw the bubble. If we get three over three, we're going to go somewhere else. And, you know, if they're two can whip us, if they're two can whip our three, we deserve to get beat. Right. You know, it's just the way it is. It's all about numbers and leverage. And, you know, every defense has a strength, every defense has a weakness, and try to exploit that weakness.

Speaking with Chris Hill of Mars Hill, and team wins 41-14 on the road at Coosa Christian, the defending state champions from last year. And, Coach, let's talk about one of the things is that you got to play a lot of players, I'm sure, last night. That's big, too. It is. You know, we had a JV schedule, but do some injuries. We had to cancel our JV schedule. So, you know, these guys don't get to play a whole lot. But, you know, any time, like last night, we can get them in the game and let them get some reps.

[1:13:15] You know, it's good to reward them for their practice and hard work. And it's also building, you know, building for the future. 41 points. Defense played well, too. But who played well for you there in the starters? You know, Christian O'Rear, you know, running back, he has really had a – I think he can play at the next level. It's not very big, but I think we can find a place for him to play. But he's played really well. You know, he had one, I think, 60-yarder callback.

He probably still finished close to, you know, 175 yards rushing. He's played real well. Jesse Parker, Matthew McIntyre, you know, those guys have played – have been our leaders and played really well. But, you know, those are the guys that kind of stand out. Malin Moore, receiver, had a big – you know, he caught several balls last night from Titus. So, you know, those are the guys that just kind of jumped to the forefront. Does your years of coaching in college maybe help you have an eye for the kids that might could play at the next level, do you think?

You know, I think so. I think, you know, I know what we wanted, you know, when I was at heart and what we wanted there in our players. And, you know, you look at our players and you just – you know, and you see some things, you know, not only on the field, but just, you know, especially character-wise and work ethic-wise, that's what you want on your team. You know, guys we have, they're great teammates. They hold each other accountable. They push each other. They encourage each other.

And, you know, that's – well, if you get a team of guys that do that, you've got a chance to be good. Marcel, 3-2 on the season, 2-1 in region play. Halfway through the season, your first season here at Morris Hill, feel like you can breathe a little bit. Maybe you've got your footing in the whole school and everything and getting to know each other a little bit. A little bit, you know, still trying to learn how things are done. Every school does things different, you know, from purchasing to duties and all, everything like that.

But, you know, we have a really good staff, put a good staff together, good guys to work with. And, you know, but it is – it's getting a little more comfortable each week, you know, and hopefully that trend will continue. Who do you have next week? We play Baldwin out of Mississippi. Out of state. Don't have that popping in Alabama as much as I have every once in a while, but playing out of state. Is that at home next week? It's at home, yes. The way the schedule fell, we had an open date that week.

And Coach Mills got on the internet, you know, advertised. And Baldwin is a really good football team. We should have picked somebody else to play. But they're a really good football team, and they'll come over here this next week. It's not homecoming, is it, by any sense? Okay, so Baldwin comes over from Mississippi to play. You know, that's sort of fun to play somebody different, though, isn't it? It is. You know, they're a really good football team. I think they played for a state championship a couple years ago, and, you know, they're about the same size we are.

But, you know, they're very athletic. They can really run. And they're a really solid football team. What have you learned about your football team through five games? You know, our kids, you know, they'll fight. You know, they're, you know, we're not scared of contact. We're not, you know, we don't make excuses for our mistakes. You know, they are accountable to each other. Work ethic is outstanding. I have no problem with their work ethic, you know. So, you know, I think we have some kids, you know, and I think we've improved in spots last night, you know, with the group that Coach Higgins had last year and lost all those guys.

These guys coming in, you know, a lot of them, they're talented football players that just don't have a whole lot of experience. Yeah. And, you know, nothing takes the place of experience. But, you know, we're improving on that every Friday night. Three and two on the season. Two and one in region play. Mars Hill with a big win last night over Cusa Christian. Get ready to take on Baldwin, Mississippi this next Friday night at Mars Hill. Panther fans, I know you'll pack it out. It's going to be great no matter who plays.

You'll be there for that. And Coach Hill, congratulations on the big road win and best of luck this week, okay? Thank you. Thank you very much. The head coach of the Panthers, Chris Hill of the Mars Hill Panthers. More from the Coach's Breakfast after this timeout. 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. 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. Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score. Glad to be with you with all the coaches. Wrapping it up today with the head coach of the Florence Falcons, Coach Kenny Marson, whose team won last night over Decatur in a game heard right here on 93.9 The Score, 34-16. Coach, before I even get in the game, before I get into anything, we were putting on the headsets here. Are you a left-side headset guy or right-set headset guy?

[1:18:27] Have you ever thought about that? I'm usually the left-side like I've got it right now, but when things aren't going well during the game, I'll switch it over to the right side and see if I can find a different mojo. It has happened before, huh? I do, yes. I switch it around. As a matter of fact, it happened at most shows. I had it on the left side most of the night, and I said, you know what, this just doesn't feel right. And I said, I've got to switch it up.

I was talking to myself, and I put it on the right side, and about three plays later, K-Yon hit that touchdown run. I left it on the right side until the game was over. People can't see me right now. My mouth is wide open. I had no idea when I asked that question. I had no idea. I just asked that randomly because Harold Wisdom, your defensive coordinator, he was a right-side guy. He said, yeah, defensive coordinators were a little different. So I wondered which side the headset goes there.

But the headsets were working last night for the Florence Falcons. You get the win 34-16 over a tough Decatur team. Coach, not pretty, not the way you wanted it, but it was a win. It was ugly, absolutely ugly. But, hey, we came out with a W. Really glad that our guys fought through it. We needed that last night. It was going to be a good wake-up call for us. Everything that we've said to them about how they've not practiced well and homecoming week, all that stuff that the old man here has been involved in for 30-something years, it came true last night.

And so the kids got to say, you know what? He is right sometimes. Yes, he is. He's right a lot of times. And I said that on the air. We talked about it. Mike Albertson, our color analyst, was talking about it. And he was so just right on spot on talking about you set the standard yourself. The coaches don't say that you said it, and the coaches do say it, but you said it whether you were going to be good or great. And it starts not in the game.

It starts during the week in practice. It starts in the classroom. It starts in the home. It starts all the time because you've got to think, if I'm going to be great, it's got to be in everything. Exactly. And to be honest with this, Decatur, when it started Friday night in the locker room at Russellville, and I started on them about the junior-senior war thing that goes on during homecoming for some reason at Florence, it's insane to me, the stuff that goes on. But I started in, told them, great win at Russellville, but we can't start this stuff.

And we started it, it went on pretty much most of the week, and we didn't practice well. We came in Sunday, we said we need to get locked in on what we're doing, and we didn't get locked in on what we were doing. And, you know, I was pretty harsh on the interview, I think, last night in postgame. I was pretty animated about that. I'm not going to throw our guys under the bus. It comes back to me, and, you know, I tolerated more than what I've usually tolerated, you know, homecoming week.

I'm going to admit I underestimated Decatur on film. We didn't think that was the team we were seeing on film. Our young coaches, I didn't set a good example for them in how we should prepare. I let them talk too much about how Decatur's not very good when they were really good last night. And, you know, it comes back to me. Our coaches have got to set a standard. I've got to set a standard for those young coaches to understand how we do things. I'll be better this week from it.

Our coaches will be better. We will be better as a staff. We didn't handle some situations in the game very well. So, we'll have a come to Jesus in the coach's office before we have that with our players. But it's an open week. We need it. Good time to regroup. First half of this game, you were leading 17-7. Stats would have said Decatur was leading 17-7. The stats were not pretty, but you get a big play on defense, a scoop and score that gives you the lead.

Even this week, you and I talked off the record. You're like, you know, KJ, you said this game could easily be 14-7 at halftime. He said, I just know my team right now. And you were right on target about that. But they did listen to you in this end halftime. I don't want to know what was said at halftime. I just know that there's times where you have to let your team know it's time to us to play. And they came out and did what they were supposed to do.

They did. And you're right. I did tell you that. I told the players that it's going to be 14-7. You guys were not practicing very well. We're not getting our mind on our business. And I saw this one coming. And I told them, I said, we're going to get the medicine we don't want sometimes. And I said, it's coming. And I told them after the game, I said, hey, you got it. And luckily, we got a W out of it. But, yeah, the halftime, I think probably Austin last year at halftime, when we felt like we probably, the whole program turned in the right direction.

[1:23:42] They got one of those. You know, somebody asked me last week about Russell. I said, boy, you must have gave one at Russell. No. Let's just go tackle them and keep playing. You know, with no panic button there. I lit them up pretty good at halftime. I was going in the locker room at halftime. And we've got a guy, a kid that does some stuff for us, flicks by wheel and does a really good job. And Coach Miles has hired him to put some content out.

And I saw him walking towards the locker room. And I said, stay outside. Cut the camera off and go in there. So, they got a good talking to you. That's good. Well, it was worth it. The Falcons come away with the victory last night as you knock off Decatur 34-16. And, Coach, one of the things you had was a banged-up team going in. Had a lot of injuries. There was – it looked like that. And I said, there's as many kids not dressed out as are dressed out, it seemed like.

So, you had to go to your bullpen. And you had three running backs. But you go to your bullpen even late in the game. Ja'Kylan Williams. He comes from defense to offense. Changes numbers. What does he do? He gets his first touchdown and goes over 60 yards and rushing. He had a nice drive there. And I was telling Coach McGuire, keep feeding that guy. He was our ninth-grade tailback last year. And we moved him to defense because we had so many tailbacks at the time. We had three guys back there.

And we felt like he would have an opportunity to get on the field faster as a tenth grader and get some experience over there at outside linebacker. Because he played both ways as a ninth grader. But when the running backs started going down one at a time, we said, we've got to bring this guy over. And we put him in at Muscle Shoals and JV game just to give him a dose. And, boy, he ran hard. He did. And we said, this guy's part of the stable now.

I mean, he's solid. And he ran well last night. Really did. Loved the kid. Great attitude. Do anything you can for the team. And, you know, you go from a scout team back to all of a sudden to be the number two back at the time. And he's a good one. It's just been a while since I've seen Florence with so many toys in the toy chest. There's a lot of them there. It's a good problem to have. It's a good thing. That's for sure. I have no doubt.

You had last night without Kayon Williams was out. Elijah Hines is being out. But he played last night. And maybe the play of the game was number three. He didn't really carry the ball much. But he's in on a two-back set, 35 yards out. The Carson Johnson goes sweep left, bounced it a little bit. And he picked up a block, not from a tackle, not from a guard. From little Elijah Hines, who absolutely threw his body against the linebacker and freed Johnson up. He went in, I mean, untouched, 35 yards.

We really didn't want to play Elijah. And it ended up that we needed him. And he wanted to try to play. He had a little injury that's just one of those nagging ones that just got a hold to him right now. And he said, I want to try to do it. And he went in that two-back set, and we motioned him out. And it was a run-pass option. And so the pass wasn't there, and we handed it off to Carson. And he bounced right out there to him where we were going to throw it.

And Hines just turned, looked for the first guy, and blew that guy up. And it was a touchdown. It was a great block. And that's what they do. Those backs are so unselfish for each other. When Kayon was healthy, and he'll be back with us, that two-back set, he's leading up in there on linebackers blocking for the other guys. And then they're blocking backside edge players for him running. They're just so unselfish in that running back room. Just love those guys to death. Yeah, the Carson Goose Johnson, as I call him, wears number zero.

He's got the new nickname for me, and the Goose was loose again last night. But I think it was big for your team last night, too, when you see a block like that. It was one of those where the crowd went, ooh. It was one of those ooh blocks. And you could see it. And, boy, it just was electric for your team. You saw some flashes of some kids that can make some big plays. Tripp Mars, a big kickoff return. That was good for you. You saw, what about Jackson Mays, his first touchdown catch of the year.

Those two receivers making some big plays for you. Yeah, Jackson came off the field. He looked at us. He said, I told y'all I was going to score tonight. Yeah, we said, absolutely. But, yeah, he's been a very unselfish senior. You know, he's a guy that was the backup last year, going to step into a starting role. And he's, you know, we've got such a deep receiving room as well. And he's just, when he gets his opportunities, he tries to take advantage of them. And he did last night.

It was a big catch and a touchdown for us. But, again, the unselfishness of this team is what's got us to 5-0 right now. And let me say something else from watching. He's the broadcaster that does all the Florence games. I've seen something last night. I've seen it in games past, too. It's nothing against Decatur. But your kids have not had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. And last night, there was a couple opportunities where there was frustration from Decatur. They'd had a tough season. And kids walked away.

[1:28:48] Kids backed away. That says a lot about the culture change maybe happening right now at Florence. And this culture change has been coming. I mean, we've seen this. We haven't had – we didn't have an unsportsmanlike penalty last year. We've not had one this year. We were talking about it. We think it's been about two and a half years since we've had one. And that's big. You know, nothing against that first team. You know, the first team that we had were – we were new to them. They were new to us.

They had been through three head coaches in so many years. And there had been so much turnover at Florence. And they just didn't know. And, God, the number of penalties and personal fouls and unsportsmanlike. But I will say this. That's the one thing that I really am proud of what we've done here because it's been noticed by the community. It's been noticed by the people in the admin and the central office folks and just the people – the doctors coming to me the first few years there.

Wow, what a change on the sideline, Coach. Just thank you for what you're doing. And that means more to me than any win we can win that we're making a difference with these kids and showing them how to do things the right way. And the fact that we're 5-0 and we keep telling those guys, you don't have to do that to win. You're playing. It doesn't make you play any harder to run your mouth to the other team. And I told them coming in, Decatur was one of the most penalized teams that I'd seen.

They had 15 unsportsmanlike penalties in four games and got two more last night. That's 17 in five games. And for us not to have one in two and a half years is phenomenal for our program. And, you know, we came out with a W again and did it the right way. Next week, open week. Comes in a great time. Yeah, I didn't have to go any further. I mean, it was a mass unit. You know, your trainer has been working hard. Everybody has. But it's come at the perfect time.

But it's also a perfect time to teach off this game, I'm sure, as well. I don't – I think I do know who pays Wes' check. I'm pretty sure he wants a raise right now because he has earned his pay this time. It's – to see him lined up at his – in the hallway there to get taped. And it's one guy taping all – we could use three more trainers right now. I know he's wore out after he tapes all our guys just to get them to practice. But we're a mass unit right now.

And we've got to get healed up. And, again, bone and joint, hats off to them. And getting our guys back on the field. We've got one in rehab over here. A couple more in right now. And, again, hats off to Wes for keeping our guys out there. Heck, they're even working on the coach. I know. I've already been in this morning and had a shot on my knee. Well, listen, I might have to work on the broadcast before it's over with. I understand, it's just been a mass unit for Florence High School.

I'm not going to give Coach – I'm not going to give Dr. Hovater too much props because, boy, that shot hurt. Well, that's part of it. Well, I guarantee, Coach, you're going to have to be tough like your team and just tough it out, get through the open week. I'm a wimp. And get ready because in a couple of weeks you're going to have the Athens Golden Eagles come to town. Cody Gross back to Brawley Stadium. He doesn't lose at Brawley Stadium as a player much. Yes, he does this year.

But hopefully he does this year. Yes, he does this year. That's the whole key. Bring him in there and say, all right, good friend. We respect him a lot. But that's a good team coming to town. Yes, they are solid. We've already had them on film. And we started looking at them last night. And they bring a lot to the table. We know they're going to be well, Coach. Cody does a great job. His staff there does a great job. He's got a guy that played for us, that was a coach with us for a while at Decatur, a phenomenal young man, Daniel Terry.

Those guys, they do a good job. And they get the most out of their kids. They always have. And it'll be a battle. Oh, yeah. It'll be a battle. Coach, five-game senior, 5-0. But a lot left on the table for you. I know you're going to have a lot to do the next week or two. Best of luck. Enjoy the off week. And, Coach, more than anything, just get that knee better, okay? Yeah, no doubt. Well, I do want to say this before we hang up.

And this is not about me. But this is the first Florence team to ever go 5-0 in the history of the school. Yeah. And, you know, I'm proud for these kids and this coaching staff and what they've accomplished, not what I've accomplished. But it's big for Florence High School in Florence. 1996. By the way, the best Florence team in 2007 went 4-0. This is the first team to go 5-0. 1996, Bradshaw went, I think, 7-0 before they had a loss, or maybe 6-0 before they had a loss. 1975, Coffey team went 9-0 before they got beaten game 10 against Harsall.

Okay, you're in territory that you haven't been in before, but it's a history-making team. Let's get 6. Let's get 6, and that should be fun. And that was my history lesson for the day on the Florence City Schools there. I love it. Head coach of the Florence Falcons, Coach Kenny Morrison. When we come back, we'll wrap it up after this 30-second timeout. Start your day at Milla's Place, where French toast, fluffy pancakes, and all your breakfast favorites are served fresh and hot, weekday mornings starting at 6 a.m.

[1:34:12] 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 Milla's Place, locally owned and operated in downtown Florence, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Back here on the Coach's Breakfast, 93-9 to score. What a good day. Good with all the coaches. Kevin Johnson here on the call with all them and interviewing them, and enjoyed Kenny Morrison.

What a great insight, and he just did a great job. Marce Hill coached Chris Hill as well. Great job there. Heathwood Central. I could go on and on. Those guys are just fantastic coaches, and appreciate them so very much in all that they do. But I really enjoyed Coach Morrison here in just his insight, his honesty, and veteran coach that's got Florence going the right direction. As he said, 5-0 starts never done in school history. And our next broadcast, a week from Friday against Athens, to try to continue to make history as they take on the Athens Golden Eagles.

A big day of college football. Congratulations again to Brent Dierman, the UNA Lions, christening that new bank-independent stadium. Best of luck to them tonight. I think there's a big one being played down on the plains tonight. Auburn and Florida. What a game that will be. I think two teams that are trying to get into the top. We'll see which one can. Can the mystique of Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium happen? Some say no. Some say yes. But I think it's a coin flip. I think Florida has more players.

But I think Auburn does have a chance at home. So we'll see how that plays out tonight. Ole Miss and LSU. I'm sure nobody's really caring about that one a whole lot. But it's going to be played this afternoon. What a matchup that will be. Get your popcorn ready. I think somebody said that one time. Well, we'll get our popcorn ready and then some. I think LSU, though, wins the game. I think they've just got two Benny Jimmys and Joes. And, you know, some other games to keep eyes on today.

Should be a good one. SMU and Louisville will be a tremendous game. That may be the underdog game nobody knows about. I'm telling you, those are two great teams. And I like Rhett Lashley and SMU. I think they're a really outstanding team. I think Rhett Lashley is one of the best coaches. So enjoy your day of college football. Should be a lot of fun. And we'll be back Saturday morning with the coaches' breakfast. Getting ready to talk to coaches about Friday night's game. Thank you to our sponsors.

Thank you to Bone and Joint Clinic. Thank you to Wes Richardson. Gets our breakfast there every Saturday morning. We appreciate all the help. For Greg Thornton, our station manager. For Blair Krieger in the 93.9 The Score Studios. I'm Kevin Johnson saying have a great day. Enjoy the day of college football. But most of all, I'll see you in church on Sunday. Good day, everyone. You've been listening to the 93.9 The Score High School Coach's Breakfast. The Coach's Breakfast on 93.9 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.

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