Coaches Breakfast 09/26/26

[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 as we close up September and get ready for what's going to be a great October. We're going down the backstretch as they say and we're coming around soon. We'll be coming down that corner and going ready for the backstretch, I'll say it that way, for high school footballs. We're at the halfway point. Glad that you're with us here on The Coaches Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score. We're live from North Alabama Boney Joint Clinic on a glorious day. 61 degrees when I walked in today.

Man, get out and enjoy that fall weather and thank you fall for finally showing up. It has been great football weather last night and today as well. So I enjoyed that weather and we're glad it's starting to feel like football around here and excited about that. I want to run down some things that KJ saw last night, high school football. It's a little different. It's the midway point, non-region games mostly all throughout the state last night. So here's some things KJ saw last night. I'm going to extend this version a little bit on this.

One is one of the best players in the state of Alabama. You probably haven't heard of in North Alabama, but he's from Sarah Land High School. Jamison Roberts, he's the quarterback. He's six foot three, 210. He's a commit to Oklahoma. He turned down a couple of SEC schools to go to Oklahoma. It looks like that. Well, Oklahoma's SEC school sort of too. We'll say here in Alabama, but Jamison Roberts is really, really outstanding. And they knocked off Pell City easily last night at Pell City. They are a really big time contender for 5A from the South.

And one reason is because of Jamison Roberts. Just remember that name. One of the great high school players that will be coming out of the state of Alabama coming next year. Also, congratulations last night to a friend of ours that has been in the coaching business for a while, for many years at Decatur High School, now at Whitesburg Christian. Coach Jerry Adcock and his team wins last night. Personally, it was his 200th career win. He's one of the great guys in high school coaching. Does it the right way. His coaching tree is phenomenal.

Kenny Marson comes from that coaching tree. I could go on and on. Several others. He's just impacted the game the right way. And Jerry Adcock gets his 200th career win and well-deserved last night. Red Bay had an incredible game last night against their rivals from right across the state line, Belmont. When those two get together, I mean, you might as well play it at the Cardinal Inn down there. Because I'm telling you, they'll go at it anywhere. And last night, it was on the field. And Red Bay wins it in overtime in a thriller, 22-20, with a goal line stand on the two-point conversion.

And with that win, congratulations to the Tigers. A school 500th win. 500 wins for Red Bay High School. Congratulations to the Tigers. Speaking of Tigers, over in Huntsville, the Grissom Tigers ended a 13-game losing streak last night. Grissom. Coach, I guarantee the alum, Coach John Summerall of Florida, is excited here. Grissom Tigers finally got a win. Ends a 13-game losing streak, and they did it, ironically, against the Columbia Eagles. They win it last night. I think it was about two touchdowns. I don't have the score exactly in front of me here.

But they win it last night. So congratulations on the Tigers for ending that losing streak. Hey, kudos to the Alabama High School Athletic Association. I don't know if you're aware of this, but on Thursday nights, every Thursday night, statewide on PBS Network TV, you can watch a game of the week. They choose a game of the week somewhere random from the state of Alabama, from South Alabama to North Alabama. And this week, it was an Andalusia enterprise. In a couple weeks, three or four weeks, it's going to be Brooks and Deschler statewide.

We'll get to see these two programs play. So kudos to them for having a statewide TV game that the entire state can watch on Thursday night. Sort of a standalone moment, and it's really taken off, and it's really neat how it's done. And kudos to the coaches for adjusting to it. But they do it right, and it is well done. And so if you didn't know that, now you can turn on PBS on Thursday nights, see an hour-long pregame show from 5 to 6, and the game will start at 7.

And it's really well done by the Alabama High School Athletic Association's network as well. Also, kudos to the sports writers of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. Last week, I called you forward. We had a little sit-down, campfire talk. I said, hey, what about Northwest Alabama getting a little love? This week, you heard me. Four different teams ranked in the top 10 this past week, including Hackelberg in Class 1A, Hatton in Class 2, I believe it is, Class 3A, excuse me, and then Destler in Class 4A, and then Florence in Class 5A.

So four teams from Northwest Alabama in the top 10. Congratulations to them, and thank you for noticing that Northwest Alabama is playing some pretty good football right now. Last night, 130 games were played between Thursday night and Friday night. That's not as many as usual because it's the midway point. Most teams took off from playing last night. How many teams took off? According to the Times Daily, who do a tremendous job, by the way, and the sports writers there, 162 games off, our teams off last night. So 130 games, and we're going to count those down here and look at some of the scores from last night's games across the state of Alabama.

[5:33] Again, non-region games crossing over classifications, playing against each other. So we'll find out some of these games from last night. It was A-Rab over Decatur last night by a score of 35-14. Big win for A-Rab. They're really good. The Knights can really play. That great high school game last night. You'll hear from coaches from both sides of this one. Brooks and Central Florence went at it. Brooks ends up winning at 49-35. It was almost like a tennis match. Who would break serve? That means who would get that two-score lead, and Brooks finally did in the fourth quarter.

It was an outstanding high school football game between two county rivals right there. Other scores. Cherokee, big win over Vina last night. Congratulations to the Indians. They win it 47-22. Big win for the Indians there. Curry knocks off Carbon Hill, 42-14. It was D.A.R. over Section, 55-34 last night. Also last night, Gadsden City over Fultondale, 49-8. Good Hope got by West Point, doubled them up, 52-26. Gordo over Corner, 42-26. Grissom, as I said, knocked off Columbia, 34-20. Those Hackleburg teams down there are playing well right now.

They're undefeated, ranked in the top ten. They continue to be that way as they knock off Lynn, 48-16 last night. Other scores of interest from around the state of Alabama as well. Catch a few of these here. We'll have last night, Knoxville Catholic played Hoover. That was an interesting game, sort of put midway and maybe rescheduled. It's a really good team. Hoover falls again. You don't hear that often. They lose to Knoxville Catholic, 20-17 last night. Lawrence County and Wilson may have had the game of the night.

Those two teams went back and forth. Wilson led it by ten or double digits. Lawrence County one time led it double digits. Ends up going in overtime. And Lawrence County scores late, gets it to overtime. Then Lawrence County also gets it in, or excuse me, Lawrence County in overtime scores, gets a two-point conversion. And Wilson came up just about a yard short. So Lawrence County wins it over Wilson, 43-35. And the Warriors are for real. They're a really good team this year. Lindsey Lane shuts out Phillips last night, 42-0.

Checking a few of these others down the scoring list here. Mountain Brook over Oxford. That was a great game down in Birmingham, 10-3. Mountain Brook win that defensive battle. Ramsey gets by Pinson Valley, 34-26. Red Bay, as I said, knocked off Belmont, Mississippi, 22-20. Russell goes over to Gadsden and gets Kusa Christian, 49-10. Daryl Higgins is in the bullpen waiting to be on the radio here in just a few minutes. So we'll talk to him. Getting some information from some others here. Spartan knocks off Jemison last night, May Jemison last night, 21-6.

Tharptown over Waterloo, 38-14 last night. And make sure we've got these others. Vinemont over Appalachian, 24-14. West Limestone, big win over Brewer last night for them, 21-13. Antiana fell to Westbrook Christian. That was a great game, 28-27. Whitesburg Christian, 66. Rodgers, 20. Coach Jerry Adcock's team really playing well. Woodville beat Decatur Heritage, 61-7. And Hamilton on Thursday night knocked off Winfield, 52-12. That's just some of the scores from around the state of Alabama. When we come back, Coach's Breakfast gets ready to line up. You're listening to the Coach's Breakfast on 93-9, The Score.

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[10:40] Waking up on some long trips last night. And good to have some different coaches with us, too, because it's mid-season. So, sometimes we start to get some assistant coaches to come in with us. And today, we have one of those assistant coaches from Brooks High School. A good friend, Casey Phillips. Offensive line coach at Brooks High School, whose team wins a county battle against Central 49-35. Coach, I told you, before you got on the air, it was almost like a tennis match. Who would break serve?

And it sort of was. It was one of those, who's going to have the ball and get that one stop and make that one big play? And your team came up with that. Yes, sir. You know, in the first half, we had some opportunities to kind of put some distance between us and them. And we had a couple of red zone turnovers, unfortunate. But our guys just kept, you know, being resilient. And offensively, we just kept lining up and going. We never punted the ball last night, which was, you know, a first for this year.

And we just kept playing, just kept telling our guys to keep chopping. And we just finally, you know, kept pushing through and ended up on the good side of it. 224 yards rushing last night. Your backs are pretty good. Coffey and Thompson can really tote of it. We'll get to them in a minute. But you called the coach of the offensive line. They had to do their job last night, too, against a really good central defense. Yes, sir. And we had a, it's kind of been a, you know, a mass unit this year.

We've had several different combinations up there throughout the year. And last night, our starting left tackle was out. So we had to bring a freshman in, play left tackle for us. And he did a good job. He's going to be a really good player for us. But they did a good job. Wasn't perfect. But when we needed them, we got a good push up front and gave some holes for those backs to run through. And, you know, they did a good job there. Speaking with Casey Phillips, offensive line coach at Brooks High School, whose team wins 49-35 over Central.

And, Coach, you talk about a mass unit having to bring in a freshman to play. Do you cross practice or teach kids different positions, guard, center, tackle? Do you say, hey, you may play here, but you may have to play here, too? Well, we've got a couple of guys we do that with. Not all of them can handle that. That's right. You know, we've got, of course, we've got a freshman. And we try not to move guys like that around very much. And our other tackle is a kid that's new to us this year.

And he's learning the scheme and all of that. But we've got a couple of guys inside our center and one of our guards that, if we need to, we can move them around. And they can play multiple positions. That is something new that you're having to be flexible, I think, with guys and seeing that. Does some of your offensive linemen play defense as well? A couple of them. We have one that's our starting right guard, Tristan Young. He didn't play as much defense last night, but we've had some games early in the year where he has played.

Just about every snap on both sides of the ball. Is that something you have to keep an eye on? Or do you have a certain coach that keeps an eye on that with certain players? Because I know when you get class 4A and down, you're always seeing some guys having to play both ways. Yes. Because of numbers. Is that some coach saying, hey, watch your snaps here? Or is it just the position coach keeps an eye on his guys? Just kind of the position coaches. And, you know, we do a good job.

Our defensive line coach, he rotates a lot of guys. And, you know, that was big. Plus, we had a young man that was injured on the D line there, one of our good starters there. And he's back with us. So, you know, that's kept us from having to play so many guys, you know, going both ways there. We've kind of got a little bit healthier, and that's helped out a lot. Brooks wins it last night, 49-35 over a central team that really runs that wing tee as well as anyone probably around.

They can run it. They've run it for years with Coach Wood. And when you look at playing a county game, why is it so special, you think, in Lauderdale County? Well, you know, these – of course, I'm a Brooks guy, and I grew up doing the same thing over the years. And it's just – it's kind of a source of pride. These kids grow up around each other. They know each other. They cross paths all the time. You know, I've got a son that's a senior, and he's got friends, it seems like, from every one of those schools around there.

And they just love to compete against each other because it's such a, you know, a tight – kind of a tight-knit, you know, community as a whole, as a county, you know. And you don't have any of the riff-raff. I know that sounds funny. It's a good, clean rivalry. It's always good, clean. When you get in there, they get after me. You might have one or two sparks sometimes, but it really has that – you have your son on the team. And let's talk about that for a minute.

I remember when your son was the ball boy, Casey. You're getting old, bud. I mean, let's be honest. I guess I am. He's a senior this year. What's it like to see him be on the team as a dad and as a coach? It's good. He probably at times wishes it was a little different. But, you know, and we've got – right now we have three coaches on staff that have sons on the team. And I know a couple of years ago we had six coaches that had sons on the team.

[16:05] So it's – we all kind of bounce ideas off of each other and we kind of watch each other and how each of us handles that relationship and, you know, trying not to do too much with it. Tell you what, y'all starting to sound like a travel ball baseball with all these coaches coaching their sons. But I won't go there. Let's talk about your son playing. And I know just you and I are close enough like they can say is he has had to battle through a few things this year and unexpectedly and he got to play a full game last night.

Had to be pretty good to see him get back on the field. Oh, yeah, yeah. That was – he was looking forward to it. And, yeah, he's had some unfortunate stuff with appendicitis. That's just not one of those things that's on the agenda. But, you know, he got back at it and, you know, had a pretty good game last night. Halfway through the mark with Brooks High School at three and three, basically, what are you seeing about your team? What do you like about your team right now?

I feel like we're getting to a point where the – we had a lot of inexperienced guys going into this year. And now they've got six games under their belt. They've seen a lot of things, especially up front on the offensive line. I mean, there's so many different things that get thrown at them. But they've seen a lot of them now. And they know how to handle those situations. And that's just going to – that's just going to be beneficial for us down the road when we get into those, you know, those region battles, trying to jockey for playoff position and all that.

That's going to be huge. Coach Casey Phillips, the offensive line coach of Brooks High School, whose team wins 49-35 over Central last night. Coach, on the sideline, do you have the iPads that go with it a little bit? Do you show the iPads to your team? Do you coach through that? Yes, sir. We have – of course, we keep a big-screen TV on the sideline. I think most – just about everybody does that now. And we have a tent that when offense comes off the field or defense comes off the field, they go to the tent and we sit down and we go through anything that we need to look at and correct.

They ask questions if they need to. And we can, you know, just kind of see it in real time right there just, you know, because it's there very quickly. We've come a long way from the whiteboards, haven't we? Yes, sir. And, you know, I was sitting back here this morning just watching some of the film on my phone. And, you know, I remember those days back at Florence when we had to wait on somebody to go all the way to Athens to pick up the film and come back.

And you used to be that guy sometimes. I did. I did. And, you know, then Coach Hand would have to go through and burn all the copies. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it's a lot of work now. It's just right there before everybody. Does that help your players, though, to be able to have access where they can see what you're talking about? Oh, yes, yes. They, you know, they all have those accounts. We use Huddle. Right. They all have those accounts, and they can watch not only game film, but we film every practice, too.

And it's, you know, within, you know, 20, 30 minutes after practice is over, that film's in there, and they can watch it. They get feedback. Plus, we watch it with them, you know, from one day to the next and correct things from the practice field. Who do the Lions have next week? We have West Point at home. At home. Okay. Not homecoming, is it? No, sir. We've already been through that. Been through that already. Yeah. That'll be good. So, a region game, though, West Point. Yes, sir. Is this a familiar opponent?

Have y'all played them in the past? I didn't think so. The only time we've ever played them in the past is in the playoffs. Okay. I think maybe 10 years ago, and then when I was a sophomore at Brooks back in the mid-90s, we played them. Wow. So, a new face coming to Killen should be a fun one. This is going to be a packed house. Big, big region game coming down the stretch now. It's a big game, so I know the folks from Lions Country will come and support you well.

But congratulations on the win, and good to see you, my good friend. I hope you and your family are doing well, and best of luck this season. Yes, sir. Appreciate it. Casey Phillips, one of the good guys and coach and assistant coach at Brooks High School. When we come back, more from the coach's breakfast after this one-minute timeout. Yes, sir. 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.

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[21:08] Send those unwanted guests packing. Call 256-383-1890. Southern Pride Pest Control, locally owned and operated, protecting what you're proud of. When you have pests, we have solutions. Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you flying solo today. Talking to coaches about Friday night's games on Saturday morning. A great tradition here in the Shoals area. Do you realize it's been well over 25 years that this has been going on? And I actually, I can think it may be closer to 50 years that this has been happening.

Because I remember as a young boy waking up and listening to Jerry Knight do some of this broadcast. And so it's been a tradition that's going on for many years. And it's my pleasure to be with you each and every Saturday morning as well. We're joined now by the head coach of the Russell Golden Tigers, Coach Darrell Higgins, whose team went all the way over to the other side of the state to Gadsden to take on Coos of Christian and come home with a 49-10 win.

And Coach, congratulations. A long trip, but worth it. It was a long trip, but it was good for us to go out and do that. And I was telling them, hopefully we can make the playoffs one day and do one of these trips like this. So use this kind of as a trial run to go get on the road, see how we do things on a road trip. It's a smaller private school you played last night that has been a state champion last year. And when you schedule them, that's what you were thinking.

But things fell through. They're not the same team they were. But you're also going to a campus where the stadium's smaller, everything's smaller, it's a little different. Did your team adjust to that different environment pretty well last night? They did good. They came out ready to play and did what they're supposed to do and let the young kids play a lot. Getting everybody back healthy was very big for us. Health is a big part of this game in this time and day. Talk about maybe the assistants and the staff around you that help keep everybody in check.

Because it's not just trainers, it's several people I'm sure that keep an eye on your guys. We've got a lot of guys that help. And our trainer Bulldog, he does a great job. And John Pasarello has been with me a long time and he helps with injuries. And we've got a lot of people that really look out for the players and try to make sure we're doing everything we can to take care of when they get hurt and get them back out there as soon as they get well.

Taurus Davis last night had a big game running the ball, four touchdowns and 155 yards. What makes him so special? From the time I got there, he just stood out as different from the drills that we do, the way he works in the weight room. His body's not that big. He's really got a small frame. But he gets every bit of potential out of his body because of the work he puts in. He's just a great athlete. And when that ball's in his hand, he can do some special things with it.

He can play at the next level somewhere, I believe, without a doubt. Absolutely. He reminds me of the Fletcher kid that's at UNA right now from West Morgan. I told Coach Dierman, I said he's very similar to him. I know Fletcher's really good, but Taurus is very talented. That's a great comparison there as well. You know, you have a lot of college coaches come through and talk to you. Is that a set thing where they will call you and tell you to come, or they just show up, randomly show up?

Well, when I first got to Marseille, I couldn't get any college coaches to come by. We had Joseph Hansen, a really good player. Colt Smith, a good player. And I was calling everybody, and nobody would come by. And a couple years later, Mike McCluskey started making a name for his self, and he got 15 to 18 offers coming in. And ever since then, it's been where colleges were coming through and seeing us. And what's been special is now we've got guys at Alabama, Memphis, Troy, UAB, UNA, and they do a good job, and the coaches see they're well-prepared, how hard they're used to working, and they know if I say a guy can play, they believe he can play and he's going to go over and do a good job.

It is the trust factor. I think that's a big part of it, and I'll say that. I know college coaches know they can trust certain coaches, and that's impressive right there. So we speak with Daryl Higgins, the head coach of Russell High School. And, Coach, you did get to play a lot of players last night. Was it good to see those young guys get in and have some success as well? They had a lot of fun just to get out there. We did a running clock in the second half, so it went really fast.

But they do a great job for us on the scout team all week. We've got two offenses that run full speed against our defense and see them get out there and do it against somebody else. The older guys really enjoyed watching them, cheering for them. Big win for you last night. You go on the road, you knock off Kusa Christian. You know, people don't realize how difficult scheduling is, and especially in your case, you're in the midst of moving from one school to another. I mean, the whole scheduling thing is up in the air sometimes.

It's a lot to it when that first – every two years put it that way. A lot of our people was like, why are we going to Kusa and doing that? And I was with them. I was like, I don't know. I don't want to do this. We're trying to find a game. We want our kids to play. Kusa couldn't find any games. They were so good the year before, and nobody had scheduled them. We couldn't find a game, so it's just something that we wanted to get our kids a game.

[26:10] If we have to go all the way to Gadsden to do it, to play, that's what we did. Well, next week you don't have to go on the road. Next week you're at home, back in region play, and it's a big one. The Muscle Shoes Trojans coming to town. You know what a big rivalry over the years that has been, and really an important game coming up for both teams. I know it's going to be one that the folks in Russellville are going to be really excited about.

Oh, I've been hearing all about it from the time I got there for Russellville. It's really a big game. Our people are excited to play Muscle Shoes, and they know what it means to play Muscle Shoes, and I think we'll be a packed house. I think it will be a packed house, too. I think it'll be the marquee game maybe at the state next week, and these two teams come together. Is it good for maybe for your team, too, to be able to see where you measure up when you're playing a team like Muscle Shoes, too?

Because you're thinking playoffs, obviously, and it's a high-quality team you're about to play. We want to see where we stand, and like I told you earlier, Florence and Muscle Shoes, they're both so good and talented. They're really hard to play, and so I don't know how we'll match up. We'll find out Friday when we kick it off. Well, it'll be a great one at Golden Tiger Stadium next week. Should be a tremendous matchup. Should be a lot of fun, and best of luck to you. By the way, did you get to watch or see the highlights of the UAB game last night a little bit?

Well, they played at 6, and we started at 7, and Hudson was back deep on the kickoff return. They kicked the ball. I think they saw a little small white dude, freshman, that kicked it straight to him to start the game out. Yep, he got his name caught out on the air there. Yeah, so that was pretty exciting to see. Well, I tell you what, I know you're proud of him. Well, it's going to be a great one. Best of luck next week. Russell Muscle Shows, get your tickets early, get your popcorn early.

It's going to be the marquee matchup in North Alabama for sure. Those two teams match up at Golden Tiger Stadium. Daryl Higgins, thank you for being our guest. Thank you. The head coach of the Russell Golden Tigers. More from the coaches' 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. Start your day at Miller's Place where French toast, fluffy pancakes, and all your breakfast favorites are served fresh and hot, weekday mornings starting at 6 a.m. Come back for lunch or dinner and enjoy our meat and three meals cooked with southern flair. Or dig into a juicy burger, crispy chicken tenders, or our popular fried catfish served every day.

Whether it's dine-in or carry-out, come see us at Miller's Place, locally owned and operated in downtown Florence, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Courier Journal includes exclusive regular features, like Dave Ramsey's weekly column, Ask Dave, plus informative business advertorials, opinions, coming events, all the local grocery ads, and the best retail values in the shoals. And don't forget the Courier Journal's game day scorecard contest during the football season. Up to $100 of lost pizza gift cards and $50 from the Courier Journal are up for grabs each week.

The Courier Journal, almost 50,000 mailed weekly. Look for the Courier Journal in your mailbox each week. Live from the North Alabama Bona Joint Clinic, here atop Florence, Alabama, Kevin Johnson with you on the coaches' breakfast here as coaches come in and out of the green room having breakfast together. A lot of coaches here. I didn't think we'd have any here. We'll probably have one of the bigger groups I've seen. So it's good to see that today and they fellowship and have a good breakfast together, talk about Friday night's games, and really talk about just life in general and their programs.

And it's always good to have them with us. We're joined now by the head coach of the Central Wildcats, Coach Heath Wood, whose team had a big county game last night against the Brooks Lions. And Coach, thank you for being with us this morning. County games are always county games, aren't they? Oh, for sure. Yeah, always kind of a rival situation in all the county games, for sure. You know, those guys grow up playing peewees and all that against each other and hanging out and all that stuff.

So, yeah, anytime you play an in-county game, it's always a good game. Good gate, a lot of people, everybody shows up for those games. It is. And it really is a huge part of it, is the good gate for a non-region game like that. And to have a county rival to play as a non-region game, that's great for both schools. And it helps them out there. Do you sometimes look across there and see some of these players from the other team and go, I remember when their dad played?

You ever seen some of those kids or like that? Because you and I are both supportive and say, hey, we're getting to a point now, we see some of these kids come in. So, I think I remember that name from the past. Yeah, yeah, for sure. No doubt, no doubt. Yeah, not only their team, but our team as well. But, yeah, for sure. What a game last night. I know it didn't come out the way you wanted to in the end, but what a great high school game effort, just great back and forth.

[31:17] No quit in either team. I know you've got to be proud of the effort for your team last night, for sure. No doubt. You know, we've got things we need to work on and things we've got to fix moving forward. But as far as our effort went, you know, I did feel like we played as hard as we could for the four quarters there. And we're where we needed to be there for about three and a half quarters. But, you know, we've got, again, we've got things to fix.

But as far as our effort and how hard we played, I was proud of the players for the way we played, for sure. Got down 21-7, battled back, came back, tied it up. You know, it was just a back and forth game. And did you sort of get a feel early on, hey, this is going to be an up and down the field game? Did you sort of have that feeling early on? Well, you know, going into the game, you know, the guys that they've got, you know, they can pretty high power.

Yeah. They can go score. They've got the guys that can run it and throw and catch as well. So, we knew it was going to be a challenge going into it. But, you know, again, for about three quarters there, you know, going into the fourth, we were, you know, we were where we needed to be to give ourselves a chance, you know. But, again, proud of the way we played. You know, things didn't work out. But, you know, we've got to take that loss and learn from it and, you know, get ready to play next week back in the region.

Speaking with Coach Heathwood of the Central Wildcats and, Coach, you know, one of the things that I think in playing a game like that, it really helps you going forward as far as playing a competition like that in a game like that that's high intensity. Yes, yes, out there playing four quarters like you were talking about in intense situations, you know. And, you know, from that, you know, hopefully we, you know, learn that we can handle some of those situations and we know we've got to work on some stuff too.

But, you know, again, going back to the players, definitely proud of how hard they played. I want to mention one touchdown you had last night. One of your players, I can't remember if it was a catch or a run, but he got it, went down the left sideline, cut all the way back across the middle of the field, came back down to the right side. It was an, I mean, he probably ran 150, 200 yards to get to the 100 yards to the end zone. Yeah. It was an impressive play.

Yeah, I think that was Lucas Price. Lucas Price, yeah. It was right before halftime there, I think, I don't know, 20-something seconds. And, yeah, to make the run that he ran, it took all but one second over there. So we were able to get a timeout and then Jakar was able to sneak it on in there. But, yeah, definitely a great run by that young man for sure. We're halfway point right now. What are you learning about your team? You think maybe as you look back, it's okay, where are we right now?

What have you learned about this team? Yeah, the effort that these guys play with. I'm definitely proud of that. And that comes from the leadership, you know, those seniors and the older guys that's been around, not only seniors but the juniors and just how hard those guys play and how hard they want to win. Well, Central now gets ready for region play, back in the region play and coming down the back stretch here. Who do you have next week and where? We've got Clements. We travel over there.

So, you know, big game next week for us, you know, getting back in this region. And it'll be how we handle, you know, the loss from last night. You know, we've got to put that behind us and fix our mistakes and, you know, move forward and get back into this region play and try to get ourselves in the playoffs. This region, it's really from top to bottom any night. You've got to strap it on and get ready. Yeah, yeah. I mean, we've got to worry about ourselves getting better from one week to the next.

That's kind of how we try to look at it is look at ourselves and continue to try to get better as a team, you know, moving forward. But, yes, definitely, you know, if we don't get ready to play, you could, you know, definitely not work out in our favor. Yeah, this region is topsy-turvy. Anything can happen on any given night. But you're right there in the mix of it. You've got to feel good that you're right there in the mix and at the top and got a chance to, as you say, region play is region play compared to non-region play.

Yeah, yeah, you know, like you said, we're on the back end of this thing. We've got to make sure we're continuing to get better at ourselves each and every week. And hopefully we'll go back to work Monday and do that. Wildcats are on the road this next Friday night at Clements. It's going to be a good game, not too far to travel down there. It won't be too far a trip. And so the Wildcat fans can come in a big, big region game. Coach, we appreciate you coming by and best of luck this Friday night and the rest of the season, okay?

Yeah, appreciate you guys having us on Covering Central. One of the best guys in the business, I promise you that, Heath Wood of the Central Wildcats. When we come back, more from the coach's breakfast after this one-minute timeout. 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. It's why we're the go-to pizza place in Florence, Alabama, now bringing that same lineup straight to your tailgate.

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[36:32] Member FDIC. Autumn weather is finally here, the last of September. We have the coaches breakfast here on 93.9. The score felt like football last night. Man, it felt good. And I felt so bad for the 150-something teams that didn't play last night because it was the perfect night for football. And after 99-degree weather every night, we finally have one of those great games. And most teams had an idle game last night. One of those teams that didn't play last night was the Dester Tigers. And we're joined by the defensive coordinator of the Tigers, Coach Jeffrey Woods.

And were you like me last night thinking, man, this would have been a great night to play high school football? Oh, yeah. It was one of those nights where we think around and look around and think, and no heat timeouts tonight. No heat timeouts. And especially because you work with those big guys up front sometimes, and they know that it has been really brutally hot. I mean, you have to keep a close eye on these guys during the season, haven't you? Yes. Got to make sure we're in shape.

We try to, especially during the summer, our conditioning, we hit it kind of heavy. And when it's like we kind of go in the mornings, but it's catching in the middle of the day when it gets high, and we got to make sure we're in shape, make sure that we keep an eye on them because we don't want nobody going down. Yeah, that's a big thing. And we speak with Jeffrey Woods, the D.C. at Dester High School. And, Coach, let's talk about your program a little bit.

First of all, defense has always been something at Dester that is really where you hang your hat. I know everybody's talked about for years the different offenses that they run. But, man, there's one thing that always Dester brings is the defense, and you know that. What makes it so special to play defense at Dester High School, do you think? It's really the history. And just like they understand what they play for. If you ever come to our stadium at Howell Chapel, you go look at a quarterback club and you see those numbers, and everybody's goal is to try to get the number on the board and then to see how far you can take.

So that's the goal. And we want to pride ourselves on being physical, being tough, and just flying around to the football. Let's talk about goals. Do you have preseason goals that you do with your defense and your teams? And here's what some goals we have. Do you have anything like that, a list of goals anywhere? We haven't presented them to the guys because we don't want them focused on numbers. But in my mind, we've got kind of some. We kind of want to be lower in far as points that we allowed in the year before.

We want to win a turnover battle. And this year, we're kind of hitting a lot of those goals as far as turnovers. We've probably had a turnover, at least one in every game. Are you a guy that keeps the – during the week, you go back and find the stats and look at the stats and sort of check everything out? Or do you have to do the stats yourself? That's another question. Luckily, the coach we have that charts during the game, he's kind of a former head coach.

So he kind of helps us out. So he'll chart at the end of the thing. Especially like last game we played, he handed me the sheet. And it was – well, I don't know, I was impressed. It was only one sheet of calls. Yeah. That was rare for us. And then, too, he already had everything marked down, how many yards were given away, how many yards in passing and rushing. So that makes stuff a whole lot easier. Okay, let's talk about something. Let's speak with Jeffrey Wood, defense coordinator.

Coach, when you go in at halftime, do coaches still do, like you see in most places where they all huddle up before they go in? Do you go to one side and offense go to another side? Or how does that work out? So it depends on how that half went. If there's a lot of points, you're going to be talking first, right? I got you. Okay. Yeah, but we will meet right before we go into the locker room as a group. And then we'll kind of – as we're walking out the field, kind of a defense coach will kind of get together and we'll talk a little bit.

But then it depends on how it goes. If it's a kind of so-so, then we'll break off. If it's something where we need to get fire up under them, Coach Malone will go in there and say something, or somebody else will go in there and say something and try to get them on the same page. And then we'll kind of talk. We don't kind of want to over-talk them. That's a great point. You don't want to over-talk them. Sometimes – is there – sometimes that maybe we as coaches, and I put myself in that shoe sometimes, do we sometimes maybe put too much out there and it over-stimulates the mind and keeps them from playing?

Sometimes you can give them too much information. Yeah. So, sometimes you just got to let them – you give them a little update or a quick fix here and there and then let them sit there and think about it because a lot of them will correct themselves. And a lot of them will hold each other accountable, especially if they're not holding up their end at their spot or on their side of the ball. You know, I heard a statement one time that said, sometimes you got to realize this, Coach, you did your job during the week.

And on Friday nights, you got to let them do their job sometimes too. And I think that's part of it. We speak with Jeffrey Wood, the defense coordinator at Desher High School. Coach, let's talk about your team. Halfway point, what have you learned about your team? Where do you feel about your team right now? We are – I feel like we're a player-led team, and that's kind of where you want to be as a coach. You don't want to have to be – like we just said about giving them too much information.

Well, we don't want to have to always constantly be saying, hey, pick your stuff up. Hey, run to the football. Hey, make sure that you know your keys. They hold each other accountable. So, that's where we kind of feel like we're at because this is a tight group. They've been together for a while, and they've seen good leadership over the past couple years, especially with last year's group. So, that's really a plus for us. Tigers 4-1 on the season, I believe ranked number nine in Class 4A in the ASWA poll.

[41:35] And, Coach, you've got coming up next week a big one. You go on the road to the nemesis that has been really good the past five or six years, those West Morgan Rebels. What a matchup that's going to be. Oh, yeah. So, we kind of were very familiar with each other. Actually, they was on a bye week, too, which kind of, in your mind, you think, I bet they did that on purpose once they saw the schedule. But, you know, you get your point in, it's just the way it falls.

But we go back to them again. So, we know what kind of game it brings. The past three years has been close. It could have went either way, depending on how the ball went. So, we're excited for that game. We've been preparing. Like I said, we was on a bye week. So, really, we focused on just us getting better at Deshler. Deshler at West Morgan next week. Going to be a great one. Huge game for both teams. I don't even have to tell the Deshler fans to go to that one.

That's a given. It's going to be packed. It's going to be great. Coach Jeffrey Woods, the defense coordinator, before I let you go, your wife is the head basketball coach at Florence High School. Coach Blair, and you and her are expecting your third child, I believe, correct? That is correct. And so, congratulations on that. Thank you. What is it like to have two coaches in the family? All right. So, it's good and bad. Sure. So, good. Well, you've got somebody you can talk to about stuff that, same thing, kids not doing this, parents doing that.

Yeah. Those type of everyday things. And it's also bad, Larry. If one of us may think that we know what we're doing or we have an idea about something, but you've got somebody else who's not going to be a yes man. That's right. They'll come back and say, hey. They're going to bring your opinion. Exactly. That's good. That's a good way to put it. That's well put. Well, I'll tell you what. Y'all are a beautiful family and two great coaches. And your girls are blessed to have you both as parents.

And we wish you the best of luck as Desher goes on the road at West Morgan next week, okay? Thank you. The defensive coordinator of Desher High School, Coach Jeffrey Woods. More from the coaches breakfast after this 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.

Learn more at nabjc.com. Well, you know what happens when the seasons change. The pests come looking for a place to stay. Don't give them an invitation. Southern Pride Pest Control has year-round prevention plans protecting your home from pests, termites, bedbugs, moisture, ants, rodents, and mosquitoes. Proudly serving the Shoals area since 2010, we're here when you need us most. Send those unwanted guests packing. Call 256-383-1890. Southern Pride Pest Control. Locally owned and operated, protecting what you're proud of. When you have pests, we have solutions. 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. Don't forget, later today, Alabama Crimson Tide football, getting ready to take on South Carolina this evening. That will be a good one.

You'll hear it right here on 93.9 The Score. We're joined now by the head coach of the Rogers Pirates, whose team last night took on a really good Whitesburg Christian team, Coach Daniel Garrett. Coach, thank you for being here this morning. Sometimes in non-region games, you don't know exactly what you're going to see and who you see, and it was just one of those nights where it wasn't your night, but luckily it was a non-region game. Yeah, you know, definitely think that, you know, we got outcoached, got outplayed, you know, in every phase, in every category, you know, by a good football team that's very well coached.

Like I said, Coach Adcock, that was his 200th win, and he's a legend. I got so much respect for him, and, you know, I wish we could have gave him a little bit more of a fight, but like you said, you know, you dust yourself off, you know, get back ready to go back to work. As a head coach, there's games where you have to fire your team up over certain things and all, and there's certain times where you have to remind your team, hey, don't let that score feel you're better than you think you are.

We're going to find out this week. This is a big week for you to rebound a little bit, isn't it? Yeah, you know, I feel like we just got to, you know, regroup, so to speak. I felt like the fear of the moment kind of got to some of us, you know. We got some maybe, you know, a couple guys that, you know, that was their first, like, big game type deal, and that moment, you know, sometimes can get you, and I think, you know, the more you can be in that moment, the more comfortable you can be.

[46:47] And I think that I need to do a better job preparing them for that, and, you know, once again, I think that this can be a, you know, kind of a line in the sand moment for our football team. You know, we got a lot in front of us. Everything that we want to do is in front of us. You know, we can use this and learn a lot of positive things from this game. Four and one on the season. Rogers Pirates, after last night's game, you get ready to go to the back stretch of your region.

And you look at this region and just, you know, Central Florence, Clements, Carver Heights, Elmont, Lauderdale County, West Limestone, Wilson, and Rogers, and you're 3-0 right there at the top. So everything's still in front of you as a team. Absolutely. And, you know, this next one's a playoff game for us. Like, you know, you win. You know, they say you win four region games, you qualify, right? And, you know, so for us, that's a playoff game, right? So we're treating it like a playoff game. It's that important.

And, you know, all bets are off. You know, we got to come ready to play with some heart and some fight. You know, that's going to be kind of a big thing for me this week. I want to see who wants to fight. And, you know, I told these guys this last week in the second half, I said, this is the most important half of my career. You know, and I said, and I said, and that's a career that's, you know, I've been a part of two state championships, but this is the most important, mainly because, hey, we're getting killed, you know, but this is going to tell us a lot about who wants to fight, no matter what the circumstances.

And I think we, you know, like, I'll say this, my quarterback, C.J. Davis, is a fighter. You know, our middle linebacker, Hunter Bacon, is a fighter. You know, we got a tackle who's a sophomore. His name's Reese Thickpin. Everybody knows his daddy. Don't nobody know him. But he's a fighter. And those are the things that will build this thing around is people like that. And so, you know, play well or don't play well, you know, screw up or not. You know, people like that is who you win with.

And I'm very, very, very proud of those guys and the attitude that they showed through victory and defeat. And, you know, we'll be successful with those guys. That is an extremely mature statement from a head coach that I've watched grow up as a head coach. You know, I've sat here for many years from the time you began being a head coach and you came on. And to see the maturity of you as a head coach has been encouraging to me. And that was well stated right there.

And the folks at Rogers are going to be proud of you for that as well. Next week, who do you have again and where? We go to Wes Limestone. Wes Limestone, a team that won last night. A confidence game, I believe, if I'm not mistaken. They won last night. So, you're playing a team that's starting to play a little bit better as well. This is something you know that going into any team at any night in this region can pick somebody else off. It's a really pretty even region.

Yeah, you've got to bring it. If you don't bring it, then you're going to find yourself sitting at home in November. And, you know, that's kind of a big message for us is we've got to bring it. And, you know, it starts tomorrow. We'll get them up there and watch the film and work out and do some walk-through stuff and, you know, put this past one to bed, learn from it, move on, and then, you know, start working on these guys. And, you know, Coach Davis has been there, you know, for many, many years.

You know, they've got a good football team and, you know, we've got to get ready to go to war. It's always a tough place to play over there. And, you know, I'm excited. Anytime you play a game, you know, like last night, you're ready to get back on the field again, right? And so I think sometimes you can get back out there too quick, so to speak. You've got to go back in and put in the work, you know, to prepare yourself for the moment. And, you know, I think we've got some guys, like I said, you know, some of those guys that are those fighters, I think, they're going to lead us in the right direction.

Does the road game next week sort of hit at the right time, you think, a little bit? Well, we've played better on the road this year, honestly. And, you know, the two games we've had at home, maybe we didn't, you know, perform. You know, obviously last night I didn't play great. But, you know, the other home game, we didn't really play that great either, I didn't think. And, you know, so maybe, I don't know, maybe I need to look at our schedule and how we kind of operate at home to make sure that we're setting ourselves up for success with that.

Because the road game, there's less downtime. Right. You know, you've got to do this just schedule-oriented, right? And so we might go to more of that approach for home games. Well, it should be a good one. Next week, Wes Limestone, you follow it up with Lauderdale County, Wilson Central. So the next few weeks, it's going to get real. It's all about what you've been practicing for all year. And, Coach, we wish you the best of luck next week and go get that W, okay? Thank you.

[51:50] Appreciate you. The head coach of the Rogers Pirates, Coach Daniel Garrett, whose team goes on the road to take on Wes Limestone. As we go to break, we want to say to our friends at Bell Green High School, our thoughts and prayers are with you. As you continue to pray for Carter Rainey, one of the young men that plays for Bell Green that was in a wreck this past week. And a 93-9 to score in all the shows there is praying for you. Last night, their game was canceled.

They had a prayer time. And we join you in prayers and wish you the very best. This is the Coach's Breakfast. We're back in one minute. 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.

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. Back here on the Coach's Breakfast as we approach the 9 o'clock hour.

Kevin Johnson with you here at the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic. Can't believe we're halfway through the high school football season, coming down the stretch. It just seems like we started yesterday, but we are there. By the way, best of luck to the North Alabama Lions back at home again today at Bank Independence Stadium, taking on Western Illinois. That's a day game, so if you're in the Florence area, if you're going around UNA, the campus is going to be buzzing. You may not get through as much, so just heads up about that.

So be careful if you're in the area, knowing that's going on today as well. Joined now by another assistant coach, this time from Lexington High School. First time ever to have you on the air here, and that's Hunter Killen. Coach, how are you doing? Doing good, man. Thanks for having me. Well, glad to have you. And out there with Coach Brett Mask at Lexington, you're the defensive back coach. How's it like to coach with him on the defensive side a little bit? Man, it's great. You know, he's first time calling defense for him.

You know, he spent all of his time as an offensive coach, which makes him a great defensive coach. Yeah. You know, but it's been great. He gives me a lot of freedom back there in the back half, and I'm really thankful to work with him. He doesn't have any relapse and start hollering twins left or anything like that, does he? You know, okay, making sure he does that, because he's called that offense for a long time, and it does make him a better defensive coach, you know, because I think when you've been on both sides of the ball, it makes you better, and that's part of it.

You've been there now for 10 years at the school. You're coaching football. You've seen the transformation happen. It's always been a great high school for football, but Coach Mask is sort of putting his fingerprint on there, too, isn't he? Yeah, he's done such a great job, and people said the wins, but a lot of people don't say the hard work that goes into it, and man, he's done a great job. Really thankful to have him. What's it like to coach defensive backs, and in a school where Class 2A, you play guys both ways a lot of times.

We do. How do you get to get the guys to your side where you get to coach the DBs? Do you really have to work practice a lot to do that? We do. We meet every Sunday, and we kind of lay out a practice plan, and we allow time for offense, time for defense, any time for both, but it all starts on Sunday, planning out the week, and again, Coach Mask is really organized, does a great job with it, and it all starts there. All right, so your DBs, have they got a few interceptions this year?

I think we have four. Four, that's not bad. I think we have four. Five games, four interceptions is not bad right there, so you got to like that. How's it like to practice against your quarterback that you have to practice against? He makes us better. He makes you better, doesn't he? He makes us better. He's really talented. He don't play a whole lot of defense, just special situations, third and long, those kind of things, so he just stays on the offensive side, and I think we make him better, too, but I will say he makes us a lot better.

You know, you got one of the best quarterbacks in North Alabama, I believe, and so that helps you a lot as well, and you're 5-0 on the season. You have big wins. You had some close wins early on. You had a close win against Lauderdale County by one, a close win against Field Camper by two, and then three wins that were blowouts, but those close wins, is that going to pay dividends for your team coming down the stretch, you think? Yeah, absolutely. I think, of course, we play Lauderdale County week zero, first game, big rival, and that was a big challenge for us, and then week three, I believe week two, week three, we go to Field Camper over there, first road game for us, and we learn a lot about our guys, and yeah, I do.

I think it's going to pay off in the long game. Speaking with Coach Hunter Killen, Lexington Golden Bears, defensive back coach, I'm going to get into some other things as well. Coach, you said you've been there for 10 years at Lexington. Yes, sir. It's a special place. What makes Lexington just such a special school and special place? The community. I'm from there. I graduated from there. It's where I want to finish my career. I love it, and again, the community is what makes it. Whether you're having a great year or a bad year, the people are going to show up.

[57:07] They're going to support you, and no matter what sport it is, it's a special place. Well, you also double as, and I would say you double as a defensive back coach. I hate to say it that way because we're on football, but you also have the head basketball coach. Yes, sir. And so, you know, we're getting to October, and so now you've got a balance. How many guys on your basketball team play football? So, my varsity has got three. Okay. One of them being quarterback, Zane Kilburn, Sawyer Howard, and Lucas Eddy.

Those three guys. So, I've got most of my guys, seventh period PE, will work, skill work there, and work out then, and then I go to football right after practice with them guys. Well, can I give you a little heads up? You might have to put some scheduling around some playoff games in football. I hope I do. I think there's a real possibility this Lexington team at 5-0 is playing really well. Is it good, do you think, for kids to play two, three multiple sports? 100%. I think that's the best thing they can do.

And we're at a school where they can. I mean, we've got several three-sport guys, and I do. I think it pays off, and the fact that they're always competing. It may be a different ball, a different sport, but they're always competing. I think that always pays off. That is big, too. Well, this week, who do you have coming up and where? We go to Colbert County. All right. CT Manley Stadium, and a place that Coach Mass knows well, I know well. One of the great venues in high school football, and one of the tough places to play.

But this has become a really good game coming up, and two really good teams. What is the key for your team this week, you feel like? Just focus on us. I think just doing the basic things, tackling, throwing, catching, just playing assignment football. And I think at the end of the day, if you do those things, you're going to put yourself in a situation to win. With defensive backs, as you coach them, you talk a lot about tackling. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm about to take off my – I'm going to be honest about it.

My Auburn Tigers defensive backs did not tackle well last week. And I watched it, and I thought, why do kids not tackle as well as they used to? Because it seemed like tackling was such a given in high school football and college football. It seems like it's a lost art in some ways. What is the importance of teaching it, and how do you teach it even a little bit? So every day, Monday through Thursday, we do tackling circuit to start. Everyone does it, including quarterback. I mean, everyone does it.

And I think the repetition of doing it every day. We have four or five stations, and they just rotate through the stations. And I think doing that every day definitely helps. That's a good – the repetition of it, the teaching of it, just getting used to the habit of it as well. Well, it will be a great game at Carpet County High School. Did you ever play against Carpet County when you were playing? I did not. They were always – They were always in a different region or in different classification.

So I never played against them. All right. Well, you're about to go to a big-time stadium. It's a lot of fun. It should be a lot of fun with that. And I've got several Coach Mass stories I could tell, but I know you do as well. We'll tell them off the air. We won't tell them on the air. But, Coach, thank you for being our guest, and we hope you have to come back very soon, okay? That's right. I appreciate it. Hunter Killing, the defensive back coach at Lexington High School.

When we come back, more from the coach's breakfast after this timeout. The Courier Journal includes exclusive regular features, like Dave Ramsey's weekly column, Ask Dave, plus informative business advertorials, opinions, coming events, all the local grocery ads, and the best retail values in the Shoals. And don't forget the Courier Journal's game day scorecard contest during the football season. Up to $100 of lost pizza gift cards and $50 from the Courier Journal are up for grabs each week. The Courier Journal, almost 50,000 mailed weekly. Look for the Courier Journal in your mailbox each week.

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. 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. Call 256-415-8693, or order online at lostpizza.com front slash shoals. From our playbook to your plate. YTK, Rogersville, Athens, Decatur, the Shoals. Sports Radio 93.9 The Soul.

Valley Broadcasting Corporation. Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast. Top of the hour here at 9 o'clock. Getting a second cup of coffee going. Kevin Johnson with you. Hoping you're having a good day. Man, it feels so good outside here in northwest Alabama. The weather is just perfect. And, man, it's just great to be out there. And just football weather, beautiful weather. And I hope folks are enjoying that. Be careful outside as you go do things as well. We're joined now by assistant coach of Marce Hill, Coach Stephen Cohen, who's Marce Hill Panthers took on Baldwin, Mississippi last night.

A team not one that you always see, but Marce Hill comes out and wins it quite handily last night over Baldwin. And, Coach, one of those games where you play somebody you're not used to, but you come away with a 56-0 win. I know you've got to feel good about that. Oh, yeah. I mean, Coach Hill and Coach Ryan Derrick was really on top of everything last year. We know Baldwin won the state championship over there in 2A in 2024. So, we knew they had a lot of – they had seven seniors.

[1:02:15] And we got the game because, you know, trying to schedule you. And we got a one-year deal. And somebody dropped them. So, we got to play ball in Mississippi. They come over. And they were really big kids and athletic. Yeah, they were big and athletic. So, we really didn't know what – just watched it on film. They played Booneville and Kassuth and some of those Mississippi schools. So, we didn't, you know – us didn't know a whole lot about them. But we knew their field school. So, we just had them ready.

And we come out – we played our best game last night. So, you know, Coach Hill was saying, like, got to take that next step. And he just worked them all week. And we just got a great atmosphere. What a great night for this feeling and everything. So, we really played from a tit to a – we went up 14-0 quick. And Titus Cosby just throwing – throwing really – throwing BB, throwing darts. I mean, he was like wildfire. He was coming out throwing everything. And receivers, you know, mailing more.

And, wow, everybody was just catching and just having fun. He was like, well, our kids had so much fun. Like, they were having fun last night. Well, I did think Cosby had a great game passing last night. And one of the things I saw was – I thought it was great. Maybe offensive play calling, too. Because Baldwin started bringing the blitz early on. They started bringing a safety every once in a while. They brought a linebacker. And so, well, third or fourth down, I think you had to go for it.

Maybe it was in a fourth down play. And you went right where that backer and safety was. You went right behind him and threw it over the middle. Threw it down to McIntyre. McIntyre down that seam route. The seam route twice on both sides. So, you end up having a big win last night. Kevin, that seam route is kind of – it's timing. You've got to hit that thing right on pace. And Titus, he's working on that seam route. So, he's got a quick release. You know, Titus, his release is getting better and better.

And Coach Hill does such a great job with just setting his feet and finally seeing the field now, I think. You know, I'm doing – I'm working on defense. But I don't really know what they're all doing. Well, you must have done something good on defense because you had a shutout last night. Talk about the defense and how well they play. Coach Ryan Derrick is our defense coordinator. And he's just – man, he's just such a guy, a great guy to be around and learn from. And he's always thinking – he's thinking outside the box.

So, he's got a couple new schemes. And they had two bigs back. Baldwin's got – they went that unbalanced line. And he's got some big kids. So, I mean, just – he just made some great adjustments. And plus, our kids, Kevin, just run to the ball so hard. We had like eight, nine guys run to the ball the whole game. That gang tackling was a big thing. I got to watch it a little bit last night. By the way, just give Titus Cosby a little shout-out. 16-22, 320 passing, and he had five touchdowns and one interception.

And I love how Coach Hill said in the newspaper in the Times Daily, he said, well, he had one thing they didn't do right there. That's a great coach saying, hey, you weren't perfect. There was that one interception, so he's going to remind him of that. And that's a good head coach right there. But now, Coach, you've got to turn your attention to region play. And, boy, it's a big one next week. Whitesburg Christian's playing really well. Yeah, they're playing out of their mind too. I mean, so Coach Adcock, they got them on fire with us.

I mean, I know we played them last year. And I think to look at – they got the same guys back from last year. And that quarterback and receiver is really good too. So, we're really going to have to get buckled down again. We've got them coming. They're coming to Mars Hill. So, Panther Nation needs to show up and got to have a big crowd next week. That will be a huge game. Mars Hill's 4-2 on the season, 2-1 in region play. And, Coach, last night you played a team out of state.

First time Mars Hill's played a team from out of state. It is a little different playing a team from out of state, isn't it? Oh, yeah. It was – we had to get a read on what they did. They were just so athletic, so quick, so big. But the adjustment, I mean, it was just – it was pretty cool to have a place from a different state. Yeah. It was a pretty – a little different atmosphere. They brought a pretty good little crowd, really. Yeah, brought a district crowd.

It was like two hours away. Coach Allen – I got to meet Coach Allen this summer. And he was really – he's a really good – he's been there for a long time, so. Well, now, next week you're at home, as you said, against Whitesburg Christian. Both teams – I know, as you're a defensive guy, you've got to be thinking, our team the past three weeks has put up 44 points, put up 56 points. Well, last night, Whitesburg Christian put up 66 points. I think that whoever's doing the scoreboard operator in Mars Hill better get ready because this could be a shot at the shootout.

Oh, yeah. But have you ever seen it sometimes where you think it's going to be an offensive game and it turns out to be a defensive game? Could it be that possible? Yeah, I mean, it's possible. As far as you're going to know how to get the read on the quarterback and you've got to get pressure. I mean, the biggest thing on playing offense is you've got to get pressure on the quarterback. So, I mean, I know they've got a good skill group and Whitesburg so well coached.

I think – I mean, I think they just – they just roll. I mean, the quarterback is really good, I heard. Well, two legendary head coaches, Chris Hill against Jerry Adcock. It'll be a great win at Mars Hill next week and that one will be one you'll want to keep an eye on for sure. Yeah, it should be a fun one of Whitesburg Christians coming to Mars Hill. Congratulations to the Panthers, Coach Cohen, and best of luck next week, okay? Thanks, Kevin. Coach Steven Cohen of the Mars Hill Panthers assistant coach there.

[1:07:21] When we come back, more from the coaches breakfast after this one-minute timeout. Imagine a bank where you feel at home. Real people living right here in your community are the heart of Bank Independent and everything we do. You have our commitment to bring the people, ideas, and resources together that create a stronger community full of endless potential. For over 75 years, we've served this place we all call home. Bank Independent. We're invested in you. Member FDIC. 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. Welcome back to the coaches breakfast here on 93.9 The Score. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you. Don't forget, again, Alabama Crimson Tide football today against South Carolina.

Should be a great matchup there, and you'll hear it right here on 93.9 The Score. What a day of SEC football. Man, just sit back on the couch and wait today. It's going to be great from Texas, Tennessee, all the way to the Alabama-South Carolina game, and then some. It's going to be a great day of SEC football, that is for sure. Joined now by the head coach of the Florence Falcons, Coach Kenny Marson, whose team last night took on opening. Once again, open falls to Florence.

I like it, Coach. That open week hits at the right time, doesn't it? Boy, it did for us. As bad as we were banged up from the previous games, we needed that off week bad. Yeah, you know, and you never know when you schedule. You never know. Some coaches say take it early. Some say take it late. It hit right for Florence this time. It did. You know, after that stretch with Muscle Shoals, Russell, and Decatur, we were limping out of the first five games, and just fortunate to come out of those 5-0.

But, you know, with all the injuries that we had, you name it, we've had it. Looking at Wes Richardson over here to the right, he needs therapy on his hands from all the taping he's had to do to keep us going. So they're lined up at the door. But this week was good for us to be able to heal those guys up. Well, on a Friday night, what does a head coach do when he has an open week? I mean, is it a movie? Was it a movie at night?

Was it a get away from the game? Or did you go see it again? I did go to a game, you know, normally trying to get away from it and, you know, breathe a little bit. But it was a special night going on last night out at Rogers High School. Jerry Adcock that I had coached with for 22 years and one of my closest friends, love him to death. He was playing for his 200th win last night, which is amazing in this game to reach that landmark of 200.

You know, it's amazing. And, you know, I went out there. I talked to him. If I'd have listened to him during the week, of course, I know him really well and he will poor mouth somebody in a heartbeat. No, really? Awful. I was wondering where you got that from over the years, Coach. I didn't know. I know, but, boy, you'd have thought he was going to get beat by 60. So I thought, you know what, I might not even go out there. And so I was kind of listening to it first quarter and I'd already planned to go out there and I was sitting out there waiting to go in.

And I said, doggone, they are scoring at will. And my phone had died. I charged it in the truck and was sitting out there. And so I went on in and, boy, they blew up. He did. It was 45, 45-14 at the half. And then right there before the end of the game, they were up pretty well. And he sent Jeff Bell, the AD, a good friend of mine as well, and brought me to the sideline with him. And I got to experience that with him. It was just awesome.

That's pretty cool. Awesome. And I was tickled for him. And we shed a lot of tears and had a good moment last night. Friendships in football are special. Lifelong, for sure. And I'm going to say this, too. He's got an assistant coach that coaches with him, Dobie Willis, that I coached in high school. And actually, the first job I ever had was with Leroy Willis at Calvert Heights. And Leroy was out there last night. And I got to see him and his boys and got to see the whole gang together, everybody.

Full circle. I have been very fortunate in my career to have been around some really good coaches. I mean, all the way back to my GA days with Mike Lane at UNA and Don Creasy when I was coaching in college at Coffey. And then Leroy Willis and Jerry Adcock. So I've been very fortunate, spoiled in my days. These guys brought me up the right way. I've known you for a long time, Coach Morrison. I did not know about you with Coach Mike Lane. I'll find that one out later.

[1:12:36] That's pretty cool right there. One of the greats in our area as well as we speak with Coach Kenny Morrison of the Florence Falcons. His team was off last night. And, Coach, now you're building up coaches that are going to learn from you. It's what you take from one and now you pour into the other. It's a pretty neat place to be in life, isn't it? These guys, I think, feel like they've coached for Jerry Adcock. I mean, the stories that I've told in the office and, you know, I tell them a lot of times when they think I'm harsh.

I'm going to say, guys, y'all couldn't coach for that guy. I'm a piece of cake. So, but, yeah, what I learned from the guys that I work for, I just feel like it's my duty and obligation to pass that down. You know, I feel like, again, I have been very fortunate to be around people that have done it the right way. And I feel like we're doing it the right way. And I try to coach the young guys up. As much as I'm coaching the players, you're coaching coaches as well.

And I hope that they're learning from example from me and that we're going to do it. Don't always do things the right way. I mean, we always make some mistakes and some decisions we make along the way. And everybody feels like they would do it different. And I used to give Jerry a lot of heartache, a lot of heartburn through the years because I was pretty opinionated of the things that I wanted to do. And I've called and apologized to him about a million times. And I get it now.

I get why we did these things. And I find myself doing them just like he did and just like we did at Decatur. And it works. And it has worked for us to turn this program in the direction that it's in. And it's, you know, taken into year five to do it. And everybody says it takes three to five to flip one. And we flipped it. And it's, again, what I've learned through my coaching career that has turned this thing and surround yourself. One thing Jerry always said to me, surround yourself with good people.

And that's what I've done. I've got great staff. I couldn't do it without them for sure. Jerry, I've talked story. Kevin Johnson. Coach, forgive me if you're listening in. But this is one of my, I've watched my nephew play for him as a player. And I'm at a Decatur game. And I'm not sure who you were playing. It was at home. But it was not going well in the first half. And the team just wasn't playing with anything. And he called a timeout to chew a referee out.

And he went out there and chewed a referee out and tried to get the crowd a little riled up. Tried to get the team riled up. And it just didn't seem to work. So, you know what he did? He called a second timeout before they even started another play and brought him back over. Then everybody got fired. Yeah, you give it to him. And I'm telling you, it turned the whole game to two timeouts back to back. He knew what he was doing that whole time.

He did. And, boy, he would give officials. So, officials in our association, I'm sorry. I blame him for the way I act sometimes. And I have done this several times here that I thought was the craziest thing ever at Decatur. He called timeout at the end of the game when, you know, it looked like we had won. Sure. Things were getting a little chippy and a little out of control. He called timeout and called the whole team down there and put them on a knee and gave them the what with all and said, this is not what we're going to do and, you know, explained it to them.

And he did that several times. And I've done that about three times since I've been here. And it is – I'm glad I experienced that because it has helped our kids. And people are saying, what is he doing bringing all these 90 guys down here on a knee at a timeout? But it gives you an opportunity to get things under control. And I thought back then, boy, this is crazy looking. But it works and it has worked for us here. And I'm glad I experienced those things too.

One of my favorite things I've seen you do and I've seen it over the years. And these young coaches will learn from that as well. As we speak with Kenny Marson of the Florence Falcons, whose team was off last week. But next week it's back in the region play. And, boy, at Brawley Stadium, the Athens Golden Eagles come flying into town. And that's a really good team. Can't wait. It's going to be a great atmosphere. I look for Athens to travel really well. They're a solid football team.

Very well coached. Cody Gross and those guys, they do a phenomenal job. Daniel Terry is a coach that's been with Cody a long time that we coached at Decatur. And it was with us as a student assistant at one time. Over there, phenomenal young man. Just that whole staff is solid. And you can watch it on film. You see it. I mean, you can't hide. Film doesn't lie. And we see teams coming in. We're like, ooh, I don't know about that. But this team, we're going, ooh, we know about that.

They're well coached. They're where they're supposed to be. They play hard. Great scheme. Now, they're a trick play bunch, too, now. So, we've got to be prepared for everything. They bring a lot of stuff at you. Fake punts and onside kicks and everything. So, we've been preparing. It's a good time again for an open week when you're facing a really good football team that does a lot of things. This week has given us a lot of time to work on those things. Going into the season, Coach, with your defense at Florence, you knew it was going to be a pretty strong defense.

[1:17:46] I think any fan knew that you had a lot coming back. Did you see this coming out of your offense this week? Did you know preseason, say, hey, we might have a pretty decent offense? Or when did you see that offense come to light? Well, we felt like we were talented. And I saw this offense coming to light two years ago when I hired Cade McGuire. Okay. I knew sitting in the office about two minutes in that I thought I knew football until I talked to him.

And I realized that, boy, I forgot a lot. And that young man is phenomenal. And he's surrounded himself with a staff with Cole Harden O-Line and Parker Driggers with receivers and Jacob White with the tight ends H's. And I assume I'm coaching quarterbacks, but I think those guys are too. So, I'm just there. But Cade McGuire is phenomenal in what he does. Cutting edge of everything and of what's going on now. And I knew then we hired the right guy. And we had some talent coming.

And it's been a perfect storm for us with those guys. But, hey, we got a long way to go. This thing could turn out to be five and five. Sure. So, but we'll take the start we've got. We're going to go out of this break 0-0 and try to get this thing done. One last thing before I let you go. Coach, I'll speak with Coach Kenny Marson, the Florence Falcons. The city of Florence has come behind you in the team this year, very much so. The support has been overwhelming.

And it's good to see that should be that way every year, no matter the record. But it really has been great to see. It has. I know that through the years, a couple of times I've got on radio and been pretty harsh to the community about not supporting these guys when we were in a tough times, as hard as they had worked and, you know, called on them to come out and support. And they have. But, boy, they have really come out this year. And it was from the start.

It wasn't just because we're 5-0. First home game there, it was a packed house. And our gates have been phenomenal, which we needed. The atmosphere there with covering the bleachers at the top with the bleacher seats and bringing the fans down, the noise level increased tremendously as it got closer to the lower levels. And it's a high school football atmosphere in a really big stadium that now feels like a high school stadium. And it is a lot of fun. It's electric at night. And Athens is going to fill their side up over there.

And it's going to be a – again, that's why we got into this game to coaching nights like this. And I'm excited about it. And you'll hear that game right here on 93.9 The Score. Next Friday night, it'll be Florence hosting Athens. A huge, huge region matchup. Both teams at the top of the region battling for it. And Coach Marson, we wish you the best of luck. We look forward to Friday night, okay? Thank you. Go Falcons. That's Coach Kenny Marson of the Florence Falcons. We come back.

We'll wrap it up. This is the Coach's Breakfast back in 60. 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. Back here on the Coach's Breakfast at 93.9 The Score here for the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic.

Again, a big thank you to the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic for helping us out each and every week, checking on athletes, taking care of the athletes. They had several here today. They are the best of the best. They'll take care of you as well throughout the week. Contact them. Tell them that KJ and friends recommend them. I promise you the best of the doctors and administrators and everybody else here at the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic. Hey, today, college football, Texas and Tennessee.

I like, actually, Tennessee to pull the upset. I think Tennessee is going to outscore Texas. I think they win that one there. By the way, maybe the hottest team in SEC, the Kentucky Wildcats. They have a South Alabama team coming to them. Keep an eye on Kentucky throughout it. Florida, Ole Miss. Everybody's all about Florida. I'm not sure that Florida's played anybody yet, and I'm an Auburn fan saying that. I think Ole Miss wins that one at Florida, but it'll be close. Oklahoma, Georgia. Oklahoma, welcome to the SEC.

[1:22:57] Go to Athens, Georgia for the first time. You're about to find out what it's like. Vanderbilt, Auburn. Going to be a big game for Auburn. If they're going to turn it around, they've got to do it in this game. If they don't, it's going to be a long season for the Tigers, I'm afraid. Alabama, South Carolina. Trap game. Watch out. Alabama is scoring a lot of points. They look really good on offense, but South Carolina, they're playing for a lot right now, and I think their coaching staff is playing for a lot, keeping an eye on that.

And maybe the sneaky game of the night, everybody's talking about LSU and Texas A&M. LSU, I think, will win that one. But the sneaky game of the night might be Mississippi State and Missouri. Boy, that's going to be a fun game right there. Mississippi State's really good. They may be the surprise team of the SEC. That's KJ's prediction, sure to go wrong. I promise you that. Well, it's going to be a good day for college football. I hope next Friday night you will be out at a high school game somewhere.

And don't forget, we'll have the Florence-Athens game right here on 93.9 The Score this coming Friday night. Well, that's going to do it for us today from the coaches' breakfast for midway through the season. For our good friends, Greg Thornton, our station manager, James Moody, and the 93.9 The Score studios, I'm Kevin Johnson saying have a great day. And as always, folks, I'll see you in church on Sunday. Good day, everyone. You've been listening to the 93.9 The Score high school coaches' breakfast. The coaches' 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. Thanks for listening.