Coaches Breakfast 091226
93.9 The Score WYTK - September 13, 2026
https://www.939thescore.com/coaches-breakfast-091226/

This transcript was generated automatically from the broadcast audio. Names and some words may be misspelt; the audio is the official record.

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John C. Sailor 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 on this Saturday morning. Beautiful day in Florence, Alabama and hoping you're getting your day off to a great start listening in the shows area in North Alabama. We have listeners all the way out to Athens and Huntsville. Thank you for listening in today.
as well. Hope you're enjoying your early morning. And thank you for listening on the 93.9 The Score app. You can listen to this broadcast anytime on the 93.9 The Score app and actually download it if you want to go back and listen to it again throughout the week. We keep those recorded in podcast for you as well. Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you here. Wow. Week four already. I mean, can you believe that folks? High school football, we wait, we anticipate, we can't wait for it to get here. Oh, I just can't wait for football in the summer. It starts in late August.
And you look up and you're almost halfway through the season. It's the fastest of time of the year, but it's also the best time of the year. And last night, the lights of Friday night lights were bright everywhere and tremendous games played everywhere.
And really, the region just kicking off week two, but you're starting to see some jockeying having the way things fell. A lot of teams that are maybe at the top of the regions in several places played each other last night. Great games played throughout. So it was just a fabulous night of high school football. Had some weather delays. I know in different places, a little bit of rain here and there, some lightning delays, but not as much as we thought. Got everything in. That was good to see.
And last night, 194 games were played. And as I said, uh, yesterday on the Boomo Bugg show, uh, 194 games were played yesterday on nine 11. I'm in 194 national anthems. And I'll be honest with you when, uh, I was at the Florence Russellville game. And when the Russell golden tigers, uh, March at a hundred played the national anthem, it just hit a little different last night on the 25th anniversary of nine 11. It's good to be an American and a great night to be out to see high school football as well.
Well, let's talk about three things that KJ saw last night. And I could probably go a list of eight to 10 of things from top of the state to the bottom of the state.
But, uh, I want to start by saying this is not one of the top three, but I just want to say very thankful that the AHS FHS, it's a, it's a, uh, internet, um, place that we can go to, to find all the information we need.
And it does all kinds of information for us, uh, for, for broadcasters and for fans.
And, uh, David Parker does a tremendous job.
They had been hacked last week.
It looked like their system was going to be down for good.
They were really upset.
And man, the state of Alabama, the love sports said, no, no, no, we're going to help you out.
And some people that know way more than I do how to get him back online, fixed everything.
And he's up and running.
He is one of the great historians of high school football.
If you have advice, AHS, uh, FHS.org, I think it might be.com or.org, but the Alabama high school, uh, is where it starts with.
And it's, it's, it's amazing what he's done history all the way back to schools, to the forties, the fifties, the thirties, the twenties.
You can go back and say, Hey, I wonder what that school was in 1975.
And he's got it.
I mean, it's unbelievable.
They do as good a job as anything.
And it's free.
It's free for you to go and to look up and see.
So thankful they got all that worked out.
And we appreciate David Parker, AHS, FHS for what they do for high school sports.
Three things KJ saw last night.
I'm going to go in six, eight, which used to be seven.
I still hard for me to say, but class six, a, and, uh, I think there's a changing of guard happening pretty quickly.
And I see it happening last night.
How about for the first time in a while, those practical lines come up with a huge win.
Man, they were the team that for many years in the nineties and eighties were that team that battled out with Hoover high school.
They were the two top teams.
And then Prattville sort of had a slump a little bit.
They weren't the same Prattville and just weren't the same team, but man, they have turned it around this year.
A new coach come in a veteran coach and last night they knock off Hoover late 30 to 29.
They had to, it took them seven tries inside the 10 yard line, a penalty kept them another first down seven tries.
But on seven tried, they threw it from two yards out to their wide receiver to score late.
And they knock off Hoover 30 to 29, which says also for Hoover, I believe if I'm not mistaken, that's their second region loss already of the season.
They are in deep, deep trouble in that region.
They're going to have to really circle the wagons.
If they even want to make the playoffs in that tough region, they're in down there.
And then by the way, the team that everybody's looking up to in class six, say maybe more so than I've seen in a long time.
Anybody can anybody touch the Thompson warriors.
They are just absolutely rolling over everybody.
It may be, we're starting to say amongst broadcasters around.
It may be one of the great high school teams.
This state has ever seen this year's 2026 Thompson warriors.
What else did KJC last night?
How about this?
Those hat and Hornets are for real.
I don't talk about them enough.
They're just down the road there.
I'm telling you, they have absolutely put together a tremendous team this year.
The Hornets are stinging everyone.
They're playing early on.
They win last night, 45-7 over Winfield.
And just the buzz around the Alabama high school sports writers and broadcasters is,
hey, this Hatton team could make some noise.
And it's starting to make noise already.
Keep an eye on a local team.
The Hatton Hornets are really, really good.
What else did KJC last night?
This one, I think, would be very simple.
Down to the wire.
Down to the wire.
You love those down to the wire games, unless you're a part of them sometimes.
But last night, two were local in our area.
Really, three.
I know Central gets a late win over Lauderdale County.
That was big for them, the Wildcats.
I know last night, Red Bay and Belgrin went down to the wire.
Belgrin had it inside the five.
Couldn't get it in.
It ended with a clock run.
And it was a lot of things going on.
But Red Bay comes away in.
But tip of the hat to both Belgrin and Red Bay for an incredible game last night.
And then Deschler, every time I turn around, Coach Patrick Malone and his team are involved
in a two-point conversion.
At the beginning of the year, against Russellville, Russellville knocked away a two-point conversion
to knock off Deschler last night.
Deschler returned the favor to the Hamilton Aggies.
Hamilton made a great comeback.
They are a really incredible offensive team.
They cut it to 35-33.
But the Deschler Tigers make a big play in the end zone and knock away the pass and win it 35-33.
So that's the three things that KJ saw last night.
Hope that you're enjoying reading and finding out all about high school football.
And we've got a lot of coaches on hand.
But first, let's get some scores locally from around the area.
Addison knocked off Phillips 52-0 last night.
Brooks over Ardmore 55-31.
As I said, Central and Lauderdale County, they were back and forth at Seesaw Fair.
And Central wins at 21-20.
I haven't got to do my research on that one, how it all played out.
But I look forward to hearing about that game from last night.
Carbett County on homecoming 55-20 over Sheffield.
Big win for the Indians there.
As I said earlier, Deschler with a two-point conversion.
Defensive play to knock it away.
Hold on to knock off the Aggies of Hamilton 35-33.
In a game heard right here on 93-9.
The score, a battle of undefeated.
It's 3-0 teams going at it.
Two really good high school football teams.
And Florence pulls away from Russellville in the second half and win it 35-21.
Schoenberg all over Waterloo last night, 57-7.
Haleville with a shutout of Danville 55-0.
As I said, those Hatton Hornets 45-7 over Winfield.
They are the team to beat in their region, I do believe.
Lexington knocks off Falk for last night 59-8.
How about seven?
Seven touchdowns by their quarterback.
We'll find out about that.
It was an amazing night for him.
I think a school record as well.
Marce Hill with a big shutout of her shows.
Christian 44-0.
Cherokee falls to Meek 62-14.
Muscle Shoals, first win for Coach Darden.
Congratulations.
That's a really good coach right there for Muscle Shoals.
They get a big win on the road.
That's a huge win for the Trojans.
Knocking off Austin 26-7.
They actually had it, I think, 23-0 for most of the game.
And held on easily to win that one, 26-7 at Austin.
That's not easy to do.
Phil Campbell gets a huge win over J.B. Pennington, 41-28.
That tells you how good Phil Campbell is.
Last week, Lexington, Phil Campbell went down the wire and Lexington won.
Phil Campbell bounces back.
And if you beat J.B. Pennington, you're a pretty good team.
So a big win for the Bobcats there.
As I said, Red Bay and Belgrane just had one that went down to the wire.
Crazy game.
Red Bay comes away with a win, 24-19.
Congratulations to the Tigers on that win.
Those Rogers Pirates sneaking around, getting that offense clicking.
Knock off Clements last night, 48-7.
Tharptown was better than Vina last night, 46-8.
West Limestone shuts out.
Also, Carbett Heights last night.
And that's a big win for West Limestone as well.
See if we can find a few other scores from around the state if we can.
Might not find it up yet.
But we're trying to find some of those.
But I'll give you an update on a couple of those.
I know last night some big games played around the state of Alabama.
And it was one of those where if you look, you see some of these teams that you expect to win starting to step up.
But there's a few teams sneaking around the chicken coop to say, I've got a pretty good team.
So throughout the day, I may throw some other scores at you, let you know about some of the people coming up
and some of the teams that are coming up in high school football.
Well, coming up around the corner for us, we're getting ready for our first coach.
Looking forward to that today.
You're listening to the coach's breakfast.
We're back in one minute.
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Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score.
Kevin Johnson flying solo with you today here from the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic.
Appreciate the doctors and all the physicians and technicians.
I mean, there's a team here.
It's not just a couple of people.
There is probably 30 or 40 people here to check athletes, to check people.
A lot of athletes do come in and get checked from bumps and bruises on Friday nights.
And then the coaches have a breakfast back here in the room and come on the air.
And it's just, it's an amazing setting.
But North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic sponsors the breakfast.
They're a sponsor of our show.
We say thank you to the doctors and the staff here at the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic.
Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you.
Joined now by the head coach of the Dashler Tigers.
Take a deep breath.
Coach Patrick Malone, you get that win last night, 35-33.
That was one of those that was right down to the wire.
It was a tremendous atmosphere for a high school game.
Hamilton brought a ton of folks.
Our people showed out like they always do.
Had a big tailgate set up.
So it was just a great, great night for Tuscumbia.
It was an incredible night.
It was one of those that you just, you got out to the big lead early and then here comes
the Aggies and you started having to hang on and, but you have to do what you have to do
sometimes, don't you?
That's right.
That was the frustrating point part of last night.
And, you know, we got chances right there.
And anytime you got a team like Hamilton, a really good team, an explosive offense, when you've got to capitalize on your opportunities to put them away.
You know, we go into half 28-13 and I'm just furious because I'm thinking it's 42-7.
It's what it should have been.
We were playing at a pretty good clip offensively, really proud of our offensive guys early on.
But then we got into some penalties, some self-inflicted penalties.
And it's just so frustrating right there.
Defense got some critical stops in the first part.
But, you know, Hamilton's got a senior heavy team and they've got an all-world quarterback.
Everything that I can gather from him.
He's just a phenomenal kid as well.
And you've got to get them off the field because he's got the ability to extend drives and make plays.
But, you know, we go into half 28-13 and I was just very frustrated because you've got 10 chances.
You work all year, 365 days for 10 opportunities to put on your best performance.
And, you know, I did not feel like we did that now.
Much rather be talking about this at 3-1 as opposed to 2-2.
Yes, that's a great point.
This is Patrick Maloney.
I love your statement about you get 10 chances.
I used to say all the time to players, how many Friday nights do you get this week?
You only get one and make the most of it.
And you made the most of it last night.
And, Coach, you had to face off against Mason Holloway, one of the best quarterbacks in North Alabama.
He is phenomenal.
But when it came down to it, you have to make a play.
And there was a kid named Warner Johnson who comes up and makes a play, forces the interception there.
I think for one of your teammates to come up and make the interception there.
Just a big play by Warner right there.
It was.
Warner's been making plays for us his whole career.
He's a senior now.
Been playing since he was a freshman.
Brought him up as an eighth grader.
Kind of get his feet wet, so to speak.
And he was on that 22 team that was so talented.
And he saw firsthand what it was like to be a leader, and he stepped into that role.
But Warner will be the first to tell you it was a complete team effort last night.
And defensively, just really proud of our coaches, Jeffrey Woods, Michael Statham, John L. Jones,
Hal Mills on the defensive side.
All week were, I mean, they worked tirelessly to get these guys ready to play.
And the play that you're referring to is the two-point play.
And Coach Woods called a blitz right there, inside interior blitz right there.
The Hamilton calls timeout.
So, Coach Wood causes a simulated pressure from the other side.
And so, Warner disguises the brilliance, comes off the edge where they didn't have the protection.
Great call by Coach Woods, a gutsy call in that situation.
Warner forces pressure on Holloway.
Holloway was cramping, so he knew he couldn't roll.
That was huge in the scheme of things.
Warner forces the pressure.
Tristan Welch comes down.
With the interception, and honestly, I didn't even see the interception there.
I saw the pressure.
Felt good about where we were.
And really was getting ready for our hands team to go out on the field.
Sure.
Talking with Coach Flanagan, who was getting our hands team ready to go.
So, Tristan Welch is one of those names that I think you're going to start hearing more and more about.
He had two interceptions last night.
Tremendous player on the back end for us.
Again, total team effort.
But, you know, you come in and they've got a receiver named Houston Tibbs.
And I was stressing him all week.
28 targets in three games that we got.
And I believe he had maybe two or three opportunities last night.
And I came down with one of them.
And, you know, we looked at our defense and we said, okay, let's get a guy on him that, you know, it means something to.
And you got another senior, George Youngblood, did a phenomenal, phenomenal job.
That's really big.
I love what you said, Coach Patrick Malone, the Destro Tigers on that two-point conversion play.
You talked about you had to take a chance.
And sometimes you have to do that.
You say, you know, and I think noticing even the kid was cramping up with someone was a big thing.
You're watching.
You have to have all kinds of eyes on the game.
Sometimes a head coach may not see it.
The defense coordinator might see it.
It might be that 17th coach that comes down there and says, hey, coach, he's cramping up.
Those things matter, don't they?
Absolutely.
And it's part of that communication that you have.
And it's why you meet throughout the week to make sure everybody's on the same page.
But, yes, you're correct.
We saw early on that I thought we were in better shape.
And I think when it came down to it, it made a huge difference.
Class 4A, Region 7, Destro goes to 2-0 on the region, 3-1 in season.
And Coach Armani Jones, again, just, wow, what a game.
I mean, what a game for that young man.
A 70-yard kickoff return.
He carried the ball 20 times, 166 yards, two touchdowns.
And I think he went and got water for his teammates, too.
He's pretty good.
He's doing a really good job.
And I think, you know, you tip your hat to our offensive coaches because they're figuring out.
We've got one ball.
And we've got – we do.
We're blessed to have a ton of playmakers.
And so we're figuring out how to spread the football around and getting the ball in the hands of playmakers.
And Armani's coming into his own.
He's a guy that when he touches it, he can go at any point.
He can take one to the house.
But Armani's also going to be the first one to tell you he couldn't do anything without that offensive line.
And I think we're just getting better and better.
And, again, our offensive coaches do a fantastic job of spreading the ball around, putting guys in position to make plays.
And, you know, I think, you know, hopefully we're trending in the right direction.
Was that a playoff-type atmosphere last night?
It was.
It was.
You know, we come off the second-round game down there last year.
And it was just – it was electric last year.
And one of the loudest environments I've ever been in.
And then our people all week, they said, oh, wait until they come to Tuscum.
Wait until they come to the child.
And I'm telling you, it was unbelievable.
Just our people.
If you've ever been to a Dasher game, you know how Dasher football is and how our people treat it.
And if you've never been to a Dasher football game, you need to.
You need to come home and watch.
It's a different animal, folks.
I guarantee you that as we speak with Patrick Malone, head coach of the Dasher Tigers.
And a great win last night.
I really was amazed at the game when I heard the score and heard how it ended up.
I thought they just did that in the playoffs.
I couldn't believe that it was the same type of game again.
But these two teams, man, they are putting on shows.
And so now you've got to turn the page.
Who do you have next week and where?
Oh, my gosh.
We're into another region battle.
We've got undefeated Priceville coming in.
They're sitting at 4-0.
And on top of that, it's homecoming for Fat Dasher.
It's the fair in town.
We've got just tons of distractions.
So we've got to do our best job of coaching this week, get our team ready to go.
A huge battle in Tuscumbia.
Fair, homecoming.
There are probably bazaars going on.
They're probably selling things.
Everything happens in one week.
You ever notice how that all hits at one time sometimes?
How do you handle that as a coach?
What's your main thing to say to your team this week?
It's improved focus, limit distractions.
And you've got to preach on it so much so that they get tired of hearing it.
But I will say this.
I've been at a lot of places.
Dasher understands what football means.
And our players understand that.
And they feel the responsibility that every time they are honored to put that jersey on, they represent all those that came for them.
So I think our players will do a really good job.
Again, we're looking at 25 seniors in that locker room.
And it's a lot easier to send a message when they've had guys before them send the same message.
All right, Tuscumbia fans, put on your Sunday best for a Friday night.
It's homecoming at Howard Chappell.
It should be a great one.
Priceful coming to town.
Undefeated priceful at that.
What a game it's going to be for homecoming.
It will be a knockdown dragout.
And wow, what a region this is.
And Class 4A, Region 7, every Friday night, strap on.
Because it's going to be a good one.
But a huge win for the Tigers last night.
They knock off Hamilton 35-33.
Coach, go home and get a little bit of rest, okay?
We'll do it.
All right, Coach Patrick Malone of the Destro Tigers.
We'll come back more from the coach's breakfast.
We'll be with Coach Daryl Higgins of the Russell Golden Tigers after this one-minute timeout.
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Back here on the Coach's Breakfast from the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic on this Saturday morning.
Getting your day off to a good start.
Hey, best of luck to the UNA Lions.
They're on the road getting ready to take on Southeastern Louisiana tonight.
Best of luck to Coach Brent Dierman and his team.
They look pretty good.
They took Arkansas down to the wire a little bit.
Played them pretty well.
Pretty exciting.
Joined now by the head coach of the Russell Golden Tigers, Coach Daryl Higgins, whose team had a big battle with Florence last night.
Before I get to that, Coach, you're headed down to see your son play today.
Who do they play at UAB this today?
They play ULM.
ULM, so Louisiana Monroe.
So you get to go see your son.
Is that an afternoon game today?
They play at 2.30.
2.30.
Well, we appreciate you coming in this morning, but I told our crew last night, I said, Coach Higgins will come.
I've seen him many times come to our show and literally drive four or five hours to see his kids play.
And that's pretty special to see your kids play at the next level.
I know it means a lot to you.
It's a blessing that they're getting to play, and we're going to do everything we can to support them every game we make.
Let's talk about support.
I've been to a lot of high schools in a long time.
It's been a while since I've been to Russell High School.
There's something special there.
They support high school athletics.
We have never been treated so nicely before and after the game as a radio crew by Russell.
I can't say enough about how nice they were, but it's really an impressive all-around program.
And I know now why you're there because it is an impressive place.
They love football.
They love their school.
They support these kids.
It's been an amazing experience.
Let's talk about the game last night.
You knew going into 3-0 Florence versus 3-0 Russell.
You knew what it was coming to be, and your good friend across the way, Kenny Morrison.
I think I went to school together at coffee and played together at coffee.
By the way, I found some footage of that the other day I'll have to send to you.
I saw you returning punts, by the way.
Okay.
Yeah, I saw that there.
Let's talk about your game last night.
Just first of all, let's talk about the atmosphere.
Was that not a playoff atmosphere last night?
Oh, it was so exciting, and both sides, the fans from both sides were just really into the game.
You could just feel it when one team would make a play and the other team make a play.
Well, let's talk about making plays, because you came out early, and your team throws the
first punch.
Really impressed by your offense.
You know, everybody talks about the wing tee, the running, and you're the master of it.
You know more about it than I could even talk about it, but your passing game is pretty
good off that wing tee, and a big touchdown early on.
Got to be balanced, especially when you play a team like Florence, so you can't just line
up and run the ball.
And so, Tripp Cleveland, a great quarterback, really excited of what he's doing, and he was able
to find Carter Clement up the same, get an early score.
And Cleveland's a senior, correct?
Yeah.
But he did not play football last year, did he not?
So you walk the hallways and find Cleveland.
I sat there and I thought, my goodness, this kid looks like he's been playing for five years.
It's impressive to see him play that hadn't played in a year or two.
It's really high level, the way he throws the football.
My son, Peyton, that played at Troy the last five years, he said he looks like the quarterbacks
at Troy the way they spin the football.
Yes.
He has incredible throw marks.
He's a big kid, big size, and threw it really well.
And man, Coach, I cannot say enough about Taurus Davis.
My goodness, what a running back.
He impressed me more than anybody last night.
Unbelievable how hard he runs.
Unbelievable how he breaks tackles.
But he has great vision as a running back, too.
He is special.
He's just continued to amaze us.
And he's not very big, but he has the heart and the toughness.
He breaks tackles.
He's special.
The game is tight.
It's a back and forth seesaw fair.
The first half, 14 to 14.
Slugfest there going about.
At halftime, obviously, you say, hey, somebody's going to blink.
It's going to happen.
But you've got to look at this team through the first two quarters.
It felt like, hey, we had it right where we wanted it a little bit.
That's all we want to do is want to try to keep it close.
And hopefully, at the end, be able to come up with something, block a punt,
do something to give us a chance to win.
But we just couldn't make the plays when we needed to.
And you did block a punt.
And you had a big block.
And you said, I thought, when I saw that, I said, well, here they come.
Here, the Tigers are getting ready to roll.
Block, punt, an incredible job.
That's the thing that stood out to me is the never quit attitude of this team.
Have you really felt like this team buying in completely now?
That's been a big talk since we got there is we're not going to quit.
We're going to play all the way through.
We're going to stay together, really proud of the way they competed last night.
It was the first time we had that much adversity, and we just kept on fighting.
In a game like that, I know it's not the outcome you wanted,
but is this one of those great teaching moments for you coming up in the next few weeks?
It showed a lot about our team and what it takes to be able to play with a Florence,
somebody with that kind of size and talent.
They're well coached.
You can't mess up when you get an opportunity to make plays.
You've got to make plays, and they've made more plays than us.
After the game, the team showed great sportsmanship, and the coaches, too.
I watch a lot of times after the game.
I can't remember seeing two coaching staffs just embrace each other.
There's a real respect for both of them.
That's pretty good to see in high school football, too.
Definitely.
A lot of our guys know their coaches.
Oh, yeah.
Coach Morrison and myself.
I love playing ball with him at coffee.
He was a leader back then.
He's one of the guys that really brought it to practice every day.
Him and Diamond Don Bales, they would come out every day.
Oh, that name.
That's a good one.
They'd come out every day and get fired up and really showed me.
I was a couple years behind them, showed me how to lead
and how to build a football team.
We talked about your quarterback and your running back.
Who else played well for you felt like last night at times?
Both our middle linebackers.
Braxton Duncan, number 31, he flies around to the ball.
And Western Whitaker plays offense and defense.
Kiefer Hallmark plays both.
I mean, we've got some guys that don't come off the field,
and they were giving everything they got,
and they just could not keep up the pace with those guys from Florida.
I saw at the end of the game even, I mean, this is after the game,
after shaking hands, two guys, I think, cramped up.
And it wasn't because they're out of shape.
It's just because they left it all out on the field.
That's quite impressive.
I want to go back to your linebackers, though.
Coach, those guys, as you said, fly around the ball.
They bring it, too, though.
They will knock you into next week.
Those guys are hitters.
I mean, I was highly impressed by how aggressively
your defense comes after the ball.
They really swarm to the football.
Coach Kilpatrick does a tremendous job.
Chris Ballantyne works with us.
We have some great defensive coaches,
and those kids have really bought into playing hard,
being physical, and flying around to the football.
But Florence was just too much.
Well, I got tickled.
I looked down last night.
I said, it looks like a Hall of Fame down there on the sideline
for Coach Higgins, all these coaches around him.
There's two or three that are Hall of Famers with him.
It's an impressive staff, an impressive team.
Who do you have next week and where?
East Limestone on the road back into region play.
Yeah, region play.
Go on the road to East Limestone.
These first three, these first four games,
I looked at your schedule.
I thought, my goodness, I don't know who made the schedule
before you got there.
But that is four tough games to come out with.
Now that you step back, what are you impressed by?
What do you like about this team right now for Russell?
I just love the kids.
They were crying last night after the game.
They want to win.
They want to be good.
They want to do things the right way.
And just the heart of the program.
Coach, I want to take a personal moment.
Last night after the game, I got to see and meet for the first time
your parents who were there.
And such great people.
And it was great to see them there to support you.
And they're impressive people.
I know about them from a distance and being around your sister
for many years and stuff.
And, man, it was great to meet them.
But I see why you get where you are because you've got quality parents.
And it was good to see them.
I know it means a lot that they're still there coming to the games
and being able to support you as well.
Very blessed to have the mom and dad that I have talk to them every day.
Just keep having them in my life.
It's been a real blessing.
I got a feeling dad might give you a few pointers every once in a while.
Does he still do that every once in a while?
Dad can see some good stuff.
He really likes running to the short side of the field.
I love it.
Hey, and it works sometimes, that's for sure.
Well, next Friday night, Russell on the road at East Limestone.
And, Coach, I know the Falcons and the Tigers met up last night.
I would not be shocked if they meet up again this season.
That's how two teams I thought were that quality last night.
Thank you again for the great, great hospitality last night
to the Russell Tigers.
And, man, impressive, impressive game.
And, Coach, best of luck next week.
Thank you.
One of the great guys in high school coaching, Coach Daryl Higgins.
When we come back, more from the Coach's Breakfast after this one-minute timeout.
Let's go.
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Welcome back to Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Store.
Kevin Johnson with you.
Again, big kudos to Daryl Higgins.
It just shows the class act that he is.
He comes by today and just, man, he's got that Russell team going the right direction
and just, again, just quality, man.
And I didn't expect anything to last as well.
Just really appreciate him dearly.
Now we're joined now by the quarterback coach of the Carver County Indians, Lucas Kraft,
whose team wins last night 55-20.
Coach, homecoming.
Yes, sir.
Man, what a week was that?
Was that a little different week this week?
I'm sure it is.
A lot of things going on, but, you know, your team came out and handled business.
Yeah, it was definitely a different week for sure, and just to throw on top of their Labor
Day being on Monday so the kids are already out of school, and then all the homecoming
festivities, pep rallies, things like that.
It was a different week for sure.
You know, what do y'all do with the team, like at the parade?
Do you say you can't go to the parade, you let your team be in the parade, you let them
watch the parade?
Every team does it different.
How do y'all have that?
So when I was in school, we were not in the parade there.
Right.
We were walked after it was started to a specific spot, and as soon as it was over, we were all
walked back.
Yep.
But the kids' last two years, they've been in the parade.
Coach Bonds just says, he's like, man, you got to let kids be kids.
And so they enjoy it.
They rode the fire truck yesterday, and it was all good.
You know, I think it's great from a head coach, Coach Bonds there, who says, hey, got to let
kids be kids.
And your team in Class 2A Region 7 goes to 2-0 in region play, 3-1 overall as you get the
55-20 win over the Bulldogs.
And, you know, you have to know the DNA of your team.
What's the DNA you're starting to see in this team right now?
They don't quit.
They do not quit.
You know, there was times, excuse me, last game against Tanner, you know, Tanner came out
and punched us in the mouth pretty early, and then they showed resilience and fight through
the whole game, came back and won.
I think that was like 24-16 or something like that.
And then this week, it was 0-0, I want to say, right until the end of the first quarter.
And Sheffield just brought it to us.
We weren't expecting it.
You know, Coach Parker over there at Sheffield, he does a good job with those guys, but I don't
really think we were expecting it, you know, homecoming on top of it, things like that.
But they brought it to us pretty early.
What was the adjustments in second quarter?
What sort of broke it open for you, you think?
Just kind of, the kids just kind of settled in, really.
Like I said, it's homecoming.
Their minds are all over the place and everything.
They're not really thinking about football until, oh, dang, we just kicked off.
We're playing a football game.
That is one of the most honest statements I've heard in this breakfast for years.
I said, oh, dang, we were playing a football game.
You're working with 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kids.
You have to remind yourself of that.
Who played well for you last night?
Yeah, Dayton Hood last night, he had to move the tailback.
One of our starting tailbacks was a little banged up, so he went to receive.
They basically just switched roles.
He carried it well last night for his first time actually doing it.
Then, of course, Sir Miller, he's been one of our feature tailbacks all year.
He plays hard.
He runs the ball hard.
By the way, I've got to interrupt you.
As a broadcaster, I'm just so jealous that Sir Miller plays for the Indians.
How much I would love to have Sir Miller on a broadcast cover.
Yes, sir, there goes Sir.
Because I can see him dead.
He gets the respect, though, of his opponents.
What makes him such a special back?
Man, he's just hard to tackle.
He is extremely hard to tackle.
The first person is never going to tackle him, ever.
He's real low to the ground, low center of gravity.
Of course, we have some pretty big linemen up front,
so whenever we're running counters and powers and everything,
he gets behind them and he's hard to find.
What formation are y'all mainly in?
Pretty much just a – yeah, we're multiple.
We'll get in a heavy set, and then we'll get in a two-back twin set.
So you'll throw different things that way.
Yeah, that's okay.
So we speak with Lucas Kraft, the quarterback coach at Florence High School,
whose team wins last night 55-20 over Sheffield.
And, Coach, when you get in a game like that, you get to play some younger guys, too.
That's big to get them in on homecoming as well.
Yeah, absolutely.
It's really nice to see those guys that are on the scout team
and get kind of pounded on during the week at practice to go out there
and do good and score and things like that.
It's really encouraging.
Now, I know that you are all about the team.
You're coaching up.
You've got your mind everywhere.
So if you missed this answer, I'm not mad at you.
I'm not trying to embarrass you.
Would you happen to know who the homecoming queen was for Carver County High School last night?
Did you find out who the queen was for any chance?
I have no idea.
You have no idea.
I have no clue.
He said, are you kidding?
Hey, believe it or not, I would guarantee I ask that often,
and it's about a 50-50 chance.
But whoever the queen is at Carver County High School, congratulations, homecoming.
Very special.
And, you know, you get to look up in the stands,
and you see a lot of alumni back, a lot of people back.
They had things beforehand, honoring classes of the past.
I know my brother's class was honored there.
It's really special to have them guys come back and honor a state championship team as well.
Yeah, absolutely.
So the state championship team, you know, 30 years ago, 1996,
that was the last time Carver County's won it.
They've been there, I think, maybe four or five more times since then.
But, yeah, it was really nice to go out there and pregame and things like that
and see all the people that have came back home.
And then it was actually funny.
I got out there, and I started seeing people that I graduated with there.
So I thought to myself, I was like,
thank God, man, it's been almost – it's been eight years since I've graduated.
You're getting old, Coach.
Coach, you don't realize it flies by.
Trust me, it gets faster as you get older.
I promise you that.
Well, let's talk about last night you went at 55-20.
Any big plays from one of your guys that made a big play for a touchdown
or anything like that or a big defensive play maybe even?
Off the top of my head, there's nothing that just jumps out at me.
Like I said –
Just a consistent moving up and down the field then.
Dayton Hood, like I said, he switched from receiver to tailback this week.
He carried it hard.
He had a few big run plays.
Got us down into the red zone.
Sean Blevins, he –
I think he had one or two touchdown passes that were pretty big early in the game.
I believe that.
Do you go multiple – I'm the quarterback coach.
Do you have multiple quarterbacks get to play last night as well?
Depends.
I mean, I get – we have multiple quarterbacks.
It just depends on what set and what formation we're in.
But typically our quarterback is number three, Sean Blevins.
But we can jump into more of like a wildcat situation set, things like that.
Do you get to work with a wildcat quarterback sometimes though as a quarterback coach and talk to them?
That's important to do because now you have to approach them a little different than you do, say, your starting quarterback a little bit.
And that's important as well.
As we speak with Lucas Crafter, the Carver County Indians, who wins it last night by a score of 55-20.
Coach, who do you have coming up next week in the morning?
We've got Phil Campbell at Phil Campbell.
Okay.
The Bobcats are pretty doggone good.
And they went and knocked off J.B. Pennington last night.
That should get your attention right there.
They took Lexington to the wire.
They knocked off J.B. Pennington.
That's a pretty good ball club you're about to face.
Yeah, absolutely.
Don't let the record fool you.
I believe they're one and three right now.
Sorry.
I believe they're one and three.
But, you know, Coach Jacob Hamilton over there, he's got them playing physical.
He's got them playing fast.
They're a really good ball team.
And, you know, I mean, I will say the same thing all week to our kids.
Do not let the record fool you.
They are a good football team.
I think that's well said.
And it's always tough to go on the road to Phil Campbell.
Tough place to play.
So that'll be a tremendous matchup between the black and gold and the black and gold.
We'll see which one gets the victory next week as Carver County goes on the road to Phil Campbell.
The Indians go to 3-1 on the season, 2-0 in region play,
and try to go to 3-0 in region play next week against the Bobcats.
And Coach Lucas Craft, thank you for being our guest.
And best of luck next week, okay?
Yes, sir.
Thank you.
Go Indians.
When we come back, more from the Coach's Breakfast after this one-minute timeout.
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From our playbook to your plate.
Welcome back to the Coach's Breakfast here from the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic.
Kevin Johnson with you on this Saturday morning.
Get that second cup of coffee going as you listen to coaches from around the Shoals area
talk about Friday night's games on Saturday morning.
And not too long after our broadcast, we'll be sending it up to Lexington, Kentucky,
up there in the far north as the Crimson Tide and the Cats will go at it today.
Kickoff at 2.30, pregame around 12.30.
You'll hear it right here on 93.9 The Score.
We're joined now by the head coach of the Lexington Golden Bears
who continue to roll with Coach Brett Mass.
Big win last night over Falwell 59-8.
Coach, congratulations on the big win.
Had to feel good the way your team played last night.
It was.
It was a complete game.
You know, we kind of challenged our kids to start fast and they answered.
And good game for the Golden Bears.
It was a good game for the Golden Bears.
And was it a home game or a away game?
It was home.
A home game.
So, you get the home game and play at home.
Play comfortable at home a little bit.
Feel at home there.
You and you going in and probably looking at them and say, we should win this game.
Could win this game.
But it's one thing to know that to get your kids to say, hey, I'm not looking above them.
I'm wanting us to get better.
Seem like your kids play to their standard and not to the opponents.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
And that's kind of what we talked about all week.
You know, the first three games, we kind of came out not sluggish, but just kind of slow.
And we kind of all week were just, let's just play to our standard and start fast.
And it was a good night.
We were celebrating our 400th win.
Had Coach Toner back.
Had Coach Putman back.
Coach Ratliff.
A bunch of old assistants that were there.
So, big night for our community.
And, you know, we kind of challenged our kids this week that, you know, this is one of those games that's a little bit bigger than you.
It's about all of us.
And so, proud of our kids for how they came out and started and played a pretty complete game.
That's impressive right there.
By the way, I don't have all the stats, but your quarterback last night, I think, I can't believe this, set another school record or some type of record last night.
Seven touchdown passes.
Talk about him last night.
He's special.
He's just a 10th grader.
And I'm going to tell you, like, people need to start looking at this kid.
Oh, yes.
I mean, he's, you know, he's right at about 5'11", 6'0", and I think he's going to get a little bit taller.
But I'm telling you, Zane Gilbert is special.
And he's just a competitor.
And just he understands the game.
And him and Coach Davis have a great relationship, our OC.
I mean, you could say they're out there talking in between plays.
They run this.
This is what they're in.
I mean, he's just got a knowledge of the game.
And just he understands it.
Is he a film junkie?
He is.
Yeah.
You know, when you're around, who does he remind you of maybe?
I'm not talking about famous quarterbacks.
I'm talking about just as a student of the game.
Does he remind you of a former player maybe you had back in your past?
Or you make you think of somebody who said, he has a little bit of this.
Or maybe it's just a mixture of people.
I'll just be honest with you.
I've been doing it for 20 years.
He may be the best one I've coached and the best one I've seen.
Wow.
I mean, he just has it.
You know, and to start as a ninth grader, you'd never know last year that he was a ninth grader.
Just the way he just doesn't let the game get too big.
And he wants the ball in his hands.
And that's what I think makes him a little bit different is, you know, you've got quarterbacks out there that, you know, okay, I'll throw this.
He's like, no, this is give me the ball.
And he's a pretty humble kid too.
Now, he's – he don't like for confidence at times.
No.
Which is, you know.
That's what you want.
That's what you want in a quarterback.
But he's, you know, he's kind of quiet, you know, when you talk to him.
But he's also, you know, like I said, he's probably our best basketball player at times and probably could be one of our best baseball players at times.
So, I mean, he's just a natural athlete and he's fun to coach.
Forgive me.
I haven't seen him play.
I've seen some highlights, but I can't remember.
But I assume just thinking from our – see, we're number two.
He does.
Of course, that Johnny Manziel.
And he does it.
He's got it all there.
Let's talk about this.
He broke a record last night, seven touchdown passes.
You know whose record he broke?
He broke his own record.
His own.
His own record last night.
And that was the big – how about this for stats?
15 or 20, 262 passing.
Oh, by the way, we even talked about this.
He ran for 91 yards.
His legs can do it, too.
It's not just his passing.
His legs can do it, too.
You know, that's an impressive night for him.
Obviously, we've talked enough about him.
He'll get his flowers.
Let's go to that wide receiver.
100 yards receiving, two touchdowns, and his name is Buck Shook.
Is there a better name for a wide receiver in the state of Alabama than Buck Shook?
I don't know.
How about this young man?
Listen, I'm going to tell you, my dad came up when I first got hired,
and he's looking around.
We have the name plates, and he's just kind of looking around at names,
and he stopped at that one.
He went, Buck Shook.
He goes, name like that, he's got to be a player.
He's got to be a player, yes.
You know, he actually – he's kind of a do-it-all.
He plays H a little bit in our heavy set, but then he can split out wide
and really just kind of came into his own this spring.
And, you know, and this is how much we trust Zane.
You know, he would take the receivers up there on his own in the spring
and get up there.
I'm like, well, who do you like throwing?
He said, well, obviously, Sawyer, Howard.
He said, I'm going to tell you.
He said, Buck Shook's the slot.
That's who my vote is for the slot.
And he kind of came in, and he's just such a match-up nightmare
because he's pretty quick, but he's physical, he's strong,
and he knows how to find the hole and get in the window.
And he's just so hard to tackle.
I mean, he's about 5'9", 5'8", but, God, he's so thick,
and you just get tired of tackling him.
And so he's become a weapon for us.
Get tired of tackling him, that's a great compliment to a player.
As Lexington wins it last night over Faultville, 59-8.
Coach Brett Mass, the head coach of the Lexington Golden Bears,
whose team now 4-0 on the season, 2-0 in regional play.
Coach, has it been a while since you've been 4-0 at Lexington?
Do you know?
Have you looked at that by any chance?
I think it was 2016 since we were 3-0.
I want to say maybe 2010, somewhere around there.
Yeah, so it's been a few years.
It's been a minute.
So now, who do you have next week?
We've got J.B. Pennington for homecoming.
At homecoming, okay.
Well, we don't want to get into homecoming
because we know the quick market in is going to get another shout-out on this,
but it's going to be a big week.
And this J.B. Pennington team has been a notorious team
of a great playoff team every year.
They're really good.
They are, and, you know, Coach Cantrell does a good job down there.
They're good in the weight room.
They're a team that's used to winning, and, you know, we haven't played them.
You know, they've been 3A, and they're new to the region,
so new opponent and kind of unfamiliar opponent.
But we say it every week.
Let's handle us, and let's go 1-0 every week.
2A Region 7, it's new schools.
It's new faces.
Now that you've had two games under your belt
and you sort of look around, it's a tough region.
It is.
I mean, it's a lot of good football team there.
It's not just like, hey, we've got two or three we've got to get through.
I mean, it's deep.
It's all playoff teams from last year, most of them.
I mean, and I'm going to tell you, Tanner's better.
Coach Smith over there has done a really good job kind of bringing that back.
And, of course, you know, with Calvert County and Winston County, you know,
some of those teams in there, I mean, it's a tough region.
And we taught our kids, you know, even in the offseason, you know, it just got tougher.
And so we've got to up our standard and up what we're doing.
And so far, our kids have bought in, and, you know, they're fun to coach.
I would dare say it's the toughest region in 2A from top to bottom, no doubt,
Region 7, Class 2A.
And, Coach, 4-0, what have you learned about your team so far through four games?
They're even keel.
They're just even keel.
They don't get too high, they don't get too low.
And, you know, we get excited about some things.
And, you know, I threw a fit the first couple weeks.
I'm like, you know, you've got to play this game with emotion.
But theirs is a controlled emotion.
So I've quit fighting it, you know.
And they're just – they're not really hooping and hollering team.
They're not – but they don't get down at the same point in time.
You know, we were down 12-6 last week.
And, you know, a lot of teams that I've coached in the past and, you know,
been a part of that would have – you know, you'd seen some kind of drop their head.
They're just kind of like, okay, let's go score.
And so we've just kind of embraced it as a coaching staff.
And just that's who they are.
And I think it's important as a coach to not try to make a team something they're not
and embrace their strengths.
And I think our strength is just that we are just even keel
and they just come to work every day.
So they're fun to coach in that aspect.
But frustrating early just because you're trying to figure out what makes them tick.
And just let them go.
Let them play.
And so we've just – y'all go be you, you know.
And I think that's important because, like I said, we never get too high,
but we also don't get too low and just punch a clock and go to work.
So that's what makes them fun to coach.
Tremendous insight from Coach Brett Mass, my good friend at Lexington High School.
Coach, homecoming next week.
Yeah, parades, bonfires, things like that coming up.
You name it, we've probably got it.
And you don't know it yet, do you?
No, no.
I just – I look at that schedule and it's something from 830 to every day.
But I'm going to tell you, that's what makes our place special.
And I know I'm an educator at the end of the day.
And, you know, they pay me a whole lot more to teach than they do to coach.
But at the end of the day, I mean, it is a true small school hometown atmosphere.
I mean, with parades and powder puffs and dodgeball tournaments and class competitions.
Dress-up days.
Dress-up days and all that.
And so, you know, you don't fight that.
You embrace it.
And, you know, we want our kids to be a part.
I've kind of changed my stance on homecoming on some of that.
You know, early on, everybody's a homecoming for the fans.
You know, you could fight that all you want, but let them be kids.
You know, we don't want to do nothing stupid.
You know, don't be out 1230 rolling yards at night.
But at the same point in time, you know, I want them to enjoy it.
And I think our team is better, too, when we just kind of let them be.
And they're a very mature team.
They understand what to do, what not to do.
And, you know, it's homecoming.
Yes, it is for the fans and everything.
But at the same point in time, we're going to let our kids enjoy it.
Sometimes when you make too many rules, they break them.
And sometimes when you don't make many rules, they police themselves.
And then it seems like your team has done that.
They're even killed.
They know who they are.
And now they get ready for homecoming.
And, Coach, it's going to be a lot of fun this week.
Best of luck, man.
It's going to be a great game.
Great crowd will come to this one.
Oh, absolutely.
It'll be huge.
J.B. Pennington will bring a crowd.
They travel.
They're a big supporter of their school.
So that's going to be a fun game.
It'll be Lexington at home for homecoming against J.B. Pennington.
Congrats on the 4-0 starter, okay?
Appreciate you.
Tell your dad I said hi, too, by the way.
Will do.
All right, Coach Brett Mask of the Lexington Golden Bears.
We come back more from the coaches' breakfast after this one-minute timeout.
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Welcome back to the Coaches Breakfast here.
High atop the North Alabama Medical Center at the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic.
Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you.
Overlooking the city of Florence, out the windows here.
And, man, again, best of luck to all the teams playing this tonight.
UNA playing on the road at Southeast Louisiana.
And, by the way, that Alabama-Kentucky game pregame starts at 11.30.
I cheated us an hour.
It starts at 11.30, a three-hour pregame before that 2.30 kick.
And you'll hear that right here on 93.9 to score.
If I don't get that right, Chris Stewart may be calling me up and getting on to me.
So, I don't want him to be calling me and getting on to me about cheating him an hour on his pregame.
That's for sure.
Joined now by the head coach of the Rogers Pirates, Coach Daniel Garrett, whose team last night took on the Colts.
And the Colts fell to the Pirates, 48-7.
Coach, first of all, congratulations, a big win last night.
Any Friday night can bring anything.
Your team handled business last night, and you had to feel really good about it.
Yeah, I thought we came in with the right mindset, and I thought that we had a good week of preparation.
You know, we didn't let any distractions kind of get in our way, and we just went over there and did what we were supposed to do.
On the road, the white jerseys, but it's a turf field now that Clements used to be, didn't have the turf field.
It's nice to play on that turf field.
Did you have weather last night?
Did you have rain or lightning delay or anything like that?
Yeah, so it rained.
I mean, we didn't have any delays, but it rained, you know, all during warm-ups in probably the first 15, 20 minutes of the game.
That excites our kids.
Our kids really like playing in the rain.
Okay, that's good.
I was going to say, do you change things up because of the rain?
Does it change how you do as a coach, or do you say just to embrace it?
Yeah, we just kind of, as long as it's not raining just super hard, which it wasn't, we just kind of went with it.
And we have our own little, you know, procedures for the rain as far as, you know, we kind of got like four garbage bags with two footballs and two towels in each,
and each quarter you break out two new ones.
There you go.
Leave a couple in the locker room for the second half.
Yeah, so you just kind of got to make sure you got all that taken care of.
And, you know, our coaches do a good job getting all that prepared.
So, you know, whatever happens, we'll be prepared.
Well, you go to 3-0 in the season, 2-0 in Class 3A Region 7, knocking off Clements last night, 48-7.
Did you get off to a fast start last night?
Well, you know, they got the ball first and drove down and scored.
There we go again.
I went the wrong direction on that, so they go down and score.
Well, you know, we had a penalty, you know, they did a good job.
And then after that, we started to, you know, kind of take control of the game.
You know, we drove down and scored, then we got to stop, and we scored again and so on and so forth.
So I really thought that our guys, you know, handled themselves very well.
Thought we played very well in defense, you know.
And then offensively, I felt like we had a lot of just pretty, you know, especially offensive line-wise, we just dominated the game, I felt like.
I felt like they really did a good job of, you know, just kind of establishing the line of scrimmage.
You know, they've got some really big kids up on the defensive line, you know.
And if you stand up with them, when your pad level's high, that's a bad deal.
But I felt like we did a decent job of what we were supposed to do.
And the results, you know, took care of themselves.
In a game like that, when you see your offense line take control, does it go in your mind, the weight room of the offseason and where you work?
Because I know you're all about weights in the weight room and getting your team in shape and really building that strength.
Yeah, I think that's a big part of it, I think.
I really feel like what we do in the offseason and with our strength and conditioning program is top-notch.
You know, we – what's the word?
We, you know, kind of mark it out to – you know, we have an analyst that we work with that's in Missouri that was a former Missouri, you know, Tiger strength coach.
And he helps us with, you know, that.
And he's got like three schools that he works with.
And so he's kind of a consultant for us.
And so we feel like we're at the, you know, kind of the cutting edge on some of the stuff that we do.
And then we're also on some of the stuff as far as getting prepared for the game in terms of, you know, hydration
and making sure the guys have enough, you know, electrolytes and all that stuff throughout the week, you know,
our protein intake and all that, all the stuff that we try to really invest in.
We spend a lot of money on things like that to, you know,
hopefully have our guys in the physical condition to be the best that they can be on Friday night.
So we feel like all of that kind of pays dividends on it.
And, you know, hopefully it will keep working.
Great insight.
And I guarantee if there's anybody that's going to be on the cutting edge, it's Daniel Garrett as head coach.
You're very much that.
As a young coach, you've done this for a couple of years now and you get it.
And I think one of the things that stands out to me is how hard your team plays.
Your team plays hard as a team.
I hear so many people say, man, when you play Rodgers, you know what you're going to get.
But you're also starting to develop where a lot of these kids now can develop their own talent.
And you're spreading it out a few times here and there.
Who played well for you last night?
Well, I thought that Cain and Easter, these are tied in.
I mean, he had some absolutely just killer blocks.
I mean, just did a really good job.
Once again, Hunter Bacon played very well on defense, like Cooper Ballantyne played well on defense.
You know, Mason Tardo, you know, played well on defense and offense, I felt like.
Carson Springer is a really good offensive lineman for us.
You know, had a kid come back from injury, he played with a cast, boom, broadfoot.
He had some good – he did some good things.
Braden Reed, you know, he kind of – just a fanat – just awesome one-handed touchdown catch.
It was really good on a two-minute drive.
And then, of course, our quarterback, CJ, he played really well as well.
CJ is just a really good player.
He's a really good player.
And, you know, I thought we just had – you know, had a lot of guys do a lot of good things.
And, you know, one thing I was really proud of, I felt like we were physical.
I feel like that's the most physical game we've played in a while.
And I hope that, you know, within the – and the thing is, to me, there's a difference in being physical and being cheap and dirty.
That's right.
And, you know, it's been very important to me that we're not that way.
We don't want to cross that line.
We don't want to get unsportsmanlike penalties, you know, and stuff like that.
And we got one on the sideline over there that, you know, just can kind of run in our mouth a little bit.
And I didn't like that.
But I felt like, you know, we played the right way but we're super physical.
And that's what I like to see.
And that's what I want our reputation to be.
And I'm glad our reputation is that we play hard because that's very important to me.
And, you know, you talk about, you know, everybody kind of creating their identity.
And we want our kids to be the best that they can be and create value for themselves.
Yes.
And if they do that, then that creates value for the team.
So, you know, all that kind of comes together.
And, you know, the kind of thing is, hey, look, be your best version of yourself.
And if you can do that, then we're going to have a good football team.
Every Saturday morning, I just feel like I learn more and more about coaching.
I mean, I really do.
I've done this for years.
And I just – every time I'm – you know, you learn more about the value of yourself.
And the value of yourself means that then you have more value for your team.
I think that's a great line there as we speak with Daniel Garrett of the Rogers Pirates,
whose team last night wins it 48-7.
Hey, any defensive touchdowns last night?
Sometimes that defense comes up big for you.
I'm just making sure.
No, we had a couple opportunities at some interceptions.
But, no, we didn't have any.
Okay.
Who do you have this next week and where?
We've got Calver Heights at Calver Heights.
On the road, again.
So, early on, you're traveling a good bit.
The white jerseys.
Has your team responded to playing well on the road so far?
I feel like we've taken, you know, what we're supposed to do.
I feel like the routine and everything's been good.
I feel like we've, you know, started pretty well and been, you know,
just had the right mindset going into it.
So, hopefully it'll be another good night.
What's the DNA of this team so far?
Of us?
Yeah.
You know, I think that's a tough question.
But, you know, I just think we've got a bunch of kids that, you know,
care about each other.
And they don't mind being pushed because I'm super hard on them.
And they don't mind to be pushed and they want to be pushed.
I felt like last week I really pushed.
I mean, I got onto them pretty hard.
I didn't feel like we played to our potential.
And they responded.
And to me, that's a sign of your team is when they respond to you, you know,
and how you are trying to push them.
Because some people say, well, you're being hard on them.
You mean this, you mean that.
Well, there's a reason.
Yeah.
It's not because, you know, I get off on that type of stuff.
It's because I see where we can go.
And I want us to reach our potential.
And I think they see that, too.
And they see the potential of the team collectively.
But, like, we just got a good group of kids that, you know,
they care about each other.
And we all want the same thing.
And if we can just keep that identity, then, you know,
things are going to work out really well for us.
Rogers Pirates 3-0 on the season.
But the ceiling has not been touched yet, that is for sure.
Coach Daniel Garrett, best of luck next week at Carbert Heights.
Congratulations on the great start, okay?
Thank you.
The head coach of the Pirates.
We're back with more after this one-minute timeout.
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Welcome back to The Coach's Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score.
Kevin Johnson, glad to be with you today.
As we get to the top of the hour, 9 a.m., some of you getting up,
some of you getting that third cup of coffee going, that's all right.
Getting ready for college football today, doing a little yard work, got the headsets on.
Listening to our broadcast, we appreciate you listening in to The Coach's Breakfast
each and every Saturday morning.
Man, did they have a good one last night.
Central and Lauderdale County.
Two county teams went at it.
The Wildcats win a wild one by 21-20 score over Lauderdale County to go 3-0 this season.
And we're joined now by the head coach, Coach Heathwood of the Wildcats.
Breathe, Coach, breathe.
That was one of those.
That was a great high school game.
Definitely, definitely was.
You know, four quarters of football for sure.
You know, we talked about that all week.
And any time you play Lauderdale County, look at, you know, last few years we've played them.
It's been four quarters and really close games.
And, you know, we knew that going into the game last night.
And those guys really played hard on that side from up there, Lauderdale County.
So, you know, hats off to those guys with the effort they played with.
Definitely proud of our guys and how hard we played.
Was that your home opener last night?
It was.
Home opener?
Hey, listen, I'm going to tell you a little secret.
Drove out there to see that new scoreboard.
I just wanted to see it.
Man, that big jumbotron scoreboard.
That was pretty nice, isn't it?
Yeah, it was something for sure, yeah.
I mean, that's pretty good to say.
I know the kids are excited about things like that.
Oh, yeah.
And it brings a lot of things to the community.
But also, your team is starting to really gel.
You're 3-0 in the season.
And last night, you had a tough opponent.
But, again, you showed a lot of character.
I think that was one of the things that come out for this game.
Yeah.
You know, looking, you know, trying to figure out, you know, building, you know,
trying to get the team to grow from week to week and different things.
We talked about being the experience to begin the season.
You know, we're gaining experience each and every week.
But I felt like last night, you know, we made some real strides
because we were behind at halftime.
And that's the first time that we've had to play from behind.
Right.
At half.
And I thought the players really handled that well.
You know, not panicking and going back out the second half
and sticking with the game plan and doing what we asked them to do.
So, to me, you know, I felt like we grew as a team being able to do that
because, you know, we do have – you know, we're getting experience each and every week.
You know, we've got three games under us now.
But that's, again, the first time we've had to play from behind.
And I was really pleased with the effort.
And the adversity they paid off, they responded to it well.
Exactly.
At halftime, do you go in and draw things on the whiteboard
or is it more just talk to the kids?
You know, I went in and talked to them.
I've got – you know, Coach Gene does that offense
and Coach Manson does that defense.
Those guys are in there with the other assistants getting things –
getting the game plans together, you know.
So, I'm going in there and just trying to get everything under control, you know,
so we can get off the panic button a little bit because we were behind, you know.
I felt like we played like that a little bit during that second quarter.
But, again, the kids responded well and went out, stuck to the game plan
and was able to get it in the end.
I make sure I get these right.
I think Lucas Price, if I'm not mistaken, had a big game for you last night.
Yeah.
170 yards, 19 carries, including a big 40-yard touchdown.
What makes him a special back?
Yeah, you know, Lucas has got good vision, great speed, you know,
and trust those linemen.
You know, I think we talked about him a couple weeks ago.
You start talking about Lucas.
He would give that credit to the offensive line first and foremost
because you can't do anything by yourself.
But he does have that game.
Very talented.
Let's talk about some of those offensive linemen.
Those big boys need a little credit.
I've met a couple of them before from out there.
There's some big kids you've got out there.
Let's talk about that offensive line.
Who are some of the guys that are leaders on that big front line?
Yeah, they all are.
You know, when you start talking about returning starters on that offensive line,
you know, very few, if that makes sense.
So those guys have grown throughout the year.
If you were to say it's the first day or so of practice, you'd be like, wow.
So, you know, they're out there working and trying to get better every day,
and hopefully from week to week we're continuing to grow as a team.
Well, it sounds like it because your team responded to the adversity being down at the half.
What do you think was the key maybe turning point in the third or fourth quarter there for your team?
Was it the big touchdown to take the lead back?
You know, we ended up getting a turnover there shortly after halftime,
and we were able to go down there and score with that ball.
So I think that was probably a momentum change there.
I may put you on the spot, but tell us a little bit about the turnover.
You remember, was it an interception, fumble return?
It was a fumble.
Fumble recovery?
Yeah, around midfield there.
Is it a process still with defenses to have, I call it, times of practice
where they learn how to strip the ball and taking the ball away?
Is that something that's still taught a whole lot?
Yeah, yeah.
We run the low drills every day, you know, at least once or twice a week.
Well, it must have paid off, whatever it was, because he got the ball.
And then, hey, it's one thing to get the turnover,
but then that offense has to take care of it from there.
That was a big thing to turn the momentum into something big.
Talk about how your team sort of embraced momentum.
Yeah, you know, the first thing is go back out there,
because, you know, we were back on defense again.
We were behind and made some adjustments at halftime.
I thought the assistant coach did a great job making adjustments
on both sides of the ball.
But, you know, being able to get that turnover
and then do what we needed to do with it was, you know,
that kind of changed a lot of things.
Well, it was right down to the wire.
Lauderdale County comes back and has a chance to win it.
The extra point is no good.
You know, it could have been.
I don't know what happened on the extra point, but no good.
But you had to put it away.
What did you do?
Did you have to have a hands team to recover it?
No, no, no.
We were kind of back and forth there a little bit.
There was still quite a bit of time on the clock on the scores.
So you had to just take care of the football.
Do you then manage time a little bit in the fourth quarter
in a game like that?
You're up one.
Has that become a thing that you watch?
Yes, yes.
Coach Gene did a great job doing that last night,
him and the quarterback.
So, yeah, definitely proud of the coaching staff.
on both sides.
The special teams played well last night.
Coach Seth, those guys did a great job with that, too.
Well, any time you beat Lauderdale County, it's a big game.
You know what I'm talking about.
Yes.
Anybody that's played Lauderdale County knows the history of Lauderdale County football.
I mean, it's still there.
Yeah.
Those guys are always a tough competition and, you know, physical, big team.
And, you know, that's what it was last night.
And, you know, if you're going to beat them, it's going to take four quarters to beat them
for sure.
And we were able to do that last night and super proud of the players and what they put
in last week in practice and prep and the assistant coaches getting on the game plan together
last Sunday and, you know, going out and executing it last night.
Can't say enough about my assistant coaches and how proud I am of the players for playing
hard.
And we're talking about that adversity last night, being able to overcome that.
So, well, I'm proud of everybody.
It's just an amazing game last night.
It's Central Wednesday, 21-20.
You go to 3-0 on the season, 2-0 in Class 3A, Region 7 play.
Who do you have next week and where?
We got Elkmont at home.
Elkmont at home.
Not homecoming, is it?
It is.
See, I just had that feeling, Coach.
I could see in your eyes it's homecoming.
Do y'all do the parade?
Do y'all do bonfires?
Do y'all do everything like that, too?
Yeah, we typically do, you know, depending on the weather.
You know, that is the thing.
You start looking four or five days.
Are you one of those, too, like me?
I look four or five days and say, what's the weather going to be on Friday night?
Yeah, I try to look 10.
The way that heat's been.
You look 10.
Yeah, I'll be looking 10, 14 days.
But, again, when's this thing going to cool off?
I love it.
That is the most honest answer ever.
It'll look two months ahead.
Find some cool weather to come down here.
When's that snow coming?
I like that.
You get ready to take out my own homecoming.
But that's special for Central High School to have all these people come back, the alumni.
It'll be a huge crowd around.
Oh, yeah, for sure.
You know, in our community, it was out last night.
You know, couldn't, you know, the support we get from our community and our school is just, it's like no other place, I think.
So, you got to be next week's homecoming.
I look for, you know, we look for big support again next week.
Well, I think it'll be a huge game.
Homecoming next week, the Cats will be at home.
And, boy, the Wildcats are rolling right now.
Coach, congratulations on the thrilling win last night over Lauderdale County.
And let's get it to 4-0 next week with a homecoming victory, okay?
Yeah, thank you guys for having us on.
Coach Heathwood, one of the good guys in coaching from the Central Wildcats.
We come back more from the Coach's Breakfast after this one-minute timeout.
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A little old-school music to bring us in to the next guest here on the Coach's Breakfast from the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic, Kevin Johnson.
Glad to be with you.
And speaking of old-school, how about my good friend, assistant coach of Marcel's, Coach Stephen Cohen, whose team last night, the Panthers, win it over Solskristian.
And a big win last night, they knocked off the flame by a score of 44-0.
Coach Cohen, big win for you last night.
I know your team and everybody's excited about getting the victory.
Oh, yeah.
A big kind of cross-town rival there last night.
Shoals, Christian, Morris Hill got together again after a few years' absence, I'm sure.
Hadn't played in a while, and Coach Hill and Coach Ryan, Derek, had this really good spirit all week.
And we knew Coach Hill was stressed all week after we got back from Westbrook.
You know, we got to find our identity again and keep working hard.
And they had a good week of practice.
And Westbrook was a long trip, and we played real well the second half.
And left a lot of things on the table last week, so we had a lot to come back on.
So I think we had a really good week of practice.
Everybody kind of buckled down.
And we got back on a good track last night.
Absolutely.
As you win it last night, 44-0 to go to 2-2 on the season and 1-1 in region play in private school 1A, region 4.
And Coach, the Strickland boys were pretty good last night.
Those Strickland boys came up big.
Gus had 149 yards passing, and Jack had 89 yards receiving, and an interception.
And I was going to ask you, is that a couple of brothers there?
Yeah.
Yeah.
They're bringing a lot of energy for us, and they're really good.
Let's talk about your team.
Who played well for you last night?
Oh, I mean, we played a lot of young kids.
The starters didn't play a whole lot this first half, and then we played a lot of Titus.
Titus Cosby's getting better at the quarterback position every week.
And our running back, you know, Christian O'Rear's had a great season so far.
He's really running hard.
And the defense kind of has been the mainstay.
You know, Samuel Spiller and just, you know, Jesse Parker's just going to lead off.
Jesse Parker's a big senior for us.
He leads, big leader for us.
And, you know, can't forget Matthew McIntyre.
So, I mean, Matthew McIntyre, he's been, you know, he's committed to Jacksonville State.
Big tight end, defensive end for us.
And Harrison Chandler, he's didn't, you know, Harrison Chandler's had a big on defense.
So, he's done real well.
That is a big part of that as well is we speak with Stephen Cohen of Mars Hill, who wins it last night 44-0.
And, Coach, you know, you played a lot of players.
That was a big thing to you.
And, you know, really probably had – shows Christian outmanned a little bit.
So, you got to play a lot of your guys.
That's important in games like this for you, though, isn't it?
Oh, yeah, Coach Hill and Coach Derrick's got – you know, we kind of get built in depth with the junior high team.
And we all – what Coach Hill brings, we practice the junior high and the varsity together.
So, we're having 22 periods all day.
So, we have a long practice.
We do the junior high and the varsity together.
So, it kind of feeds each other together.
They get to – well, the young guys get to watch the old guys work, and they get their work habits from them.
So, it's really good.
Getting the work habits from them is a great example of what it is in coaching.
Coach, who do you have next week?
Nor do you all play.
We've got to go back to Gadsden.
We've got Coosa Christian.
So, we've got a long trip.
So, we've got to see how it goes.
And, I know Coosa, they won the state championship last year.
So, I know we're looking at them, and I know they'll be a good team.
So, we'll have to be ready.
The region's pretty tough.
So, we've got several good trips on there.
Is that a region game again?
Yeah, it does.
Yes, sir.
Wow.
So, in this private region, boy, you go a lot.
The travel's a big part of that for private schools now.
Yeah.
But, you know, you're also looking at teams that are very competitive.
You're a competitive team.
You've already faced Warren down there in Gadsden, about to face Coosa Christian.
And – but what are you learning about your team?
Yeah, this – they're getting the identity now.
Coach Hill's – you know, this is – he's getting the system in.
He wants to do it offensively.
And defense is – you know, we've always played real hard defense.
And Ryan's – Coach Derrick's come in and did a good job with simplifying it and playing, you know,
you know, kind of – our motto is kind of, you know, clear mind, fast legs, you know.
Yeah.
So, he's got that – bring that mentality to us and running the football and playing good defense.
So, it's kind of – it's getting better.
I think we think – we think we're on the right track.
We're getting better every week.
And we still think we've got a lot to play for, you know.
We've got a big season ahead.
Did you get some turnovers last night or any defensive touchdowns?
We – we didn't get a scoop and score, but we got a – we did get an interception late.
Okay.
That's always good to have that.
Well, you get to play a lot of players last night.
You get the win.
And, you know, you're starting to find out your identity.
But now you're about to play a really, really excellent team.
In practice, is it – it's not too difficult to keep these kids focused when they know the opponents they're about to play
are some of the top teams in the state.
Oh, yeah.
It's definitely – it's definitely – it's an adjustment.
The private skill thing is an adjustment.
And the thing is, each week is – get different challenges, you know.
We've got different formations, different things to look at each week.
So, it's different.
It's kind of a learning curve this year.
Has the game changed a lot since you started coaching?
Yeah.
I mean, back in the old days when I was at Cortland all those years, we were running the football.
I was under center a lot.
So, now it's – you know, it's spread and throwing it around.
And defense still carries, though.
I mean, even back in our old Cortland teams, we had good defense.
So, I think defense still carries.
It's still about blocking and tackling.
Blocking and tackling.
Yes, Kevin.
Coach Steven Cohen, the assistant coach at Morris Hill.
They win it last night over Scholes Christian to go 2-2 on the season.
They go on the road to Coosa Christian all the way down to the east side of Alabama and Gadsden next Friday night.
Safe travels to the Panthers and best of luck.
And, Coach, congratulations on the big win, okay?
Thank you, Kevin.
Assistant coach of the Morris Hill Panthers, Coach Steven Cohen.
We come back.
Kenny Morrison, the head coach of the Florence Falcons.
This is the Coach's Breakfast.
We're back in one minute.
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Welcome back to the Coaches Breakfast here on 93.9 The Score.
Hope you're getting ready for a big day of college football, Alabama, Kentucky.
Pre-game starting at 11.30, kickoff at 2.30.
You'll hear it right here on 93.9 The Score.
You know, I think you've got a couple other big games coming up today as well.
I believe it's Auburn, of course, getting ready to host Southern Miss tonight.
That will be a good one.
So, you know, just some big games going around.
Texas and Arizona State.
Texas A&M, Arizona State, and then Texas, Ohio State.
So, some big college games to enjoy the day of college football.
Last night was a night to enjoy high school football.
And you heard this game on 93.9 The Score.
The Florence Falcons traveled to Russellville for the first time in about 15 years
on the Golden Tigers before a packed house.
And Florence comes away with a 35-21 victory.
We're joined now by the head coach of the Falcons, Coach Kenny Marson.
Coach, breathe a little bit.
Man, what a game last night.
Yeah, we're still trying to catch our breath.
It was an awesome atmosphere.
Just a great, great game to play in front of that crowd.
We didn't have a lot of excitement on our end.
We were still riddling a little bit from us' shows.
But it was one that turned out well for us.
Well, I do want to say the atmosphere was great.
It's a beautiful stadium.
And just, it was really, you could tell, friends on both sides of the ball.
Afterwards, the sportsmanship was outstanding from coaches and players.
Respect was there.
And I think the respect was from the players after playing each other.
Both teams, like, man, we're playing pretty good teams here.
And it was a lot of respect both ways.
That's important in high school football.
Very much so.
And glad to see it.
I know there's a black eye from the Russellville-Florence game years and years ago over the brawlet, brawly, they call it.
That was about, I was not in there.
I was there, but I wasn't in it.
I'll put it that way.
But, yeah, it was two coaching staffs that really thank a lot of each other.
I thank a lot of Coach Higgins and Coach Bial and Will Kilpatrick was on our staff at one time at Florence.
And those guys do a phenomenal job over there.
And they've got their guys believing, got their guys playing really hard.
And what a class act they were.
There was not a lot of mess throughout the game.
None of the chirping mess and talking and all that kind of stuff, which is good to see in high school football.
Because I know we preach it, and I know Coach Higgins does, too.
There's no place for it in the game.
And last night, it was just a hard-nosed football game.
Tied at 14 at the half.
They hit you early.
The Tigers early on over the top, go up 7-0 after about three or four plays.
And your team responded after adversity.
Early on, they held it together and responded in adversity.
Boy, he threw some wrinkles at us.
We really felt like we were super prepared for the wing tee.
And, again, at the end of the day, Coach Wisdom did a great job getting our guys prepared.
We gave up 14 points.
One of them was a really big play.
And the other one, you know, it was some miscues along the way, and they capitalized on it.
It was a great drive for them to go up 14-7 on us.
And they definitely had some wrinkles, for sure.
And we adjusted at halftime and settled in.
All right.
Let's talk about two things.
One is, one, that drive for Russell aided by penalties.
I know that's something you're going to talk about to your team.
Penalties is something that's been raising its head a little bit.
You've got to just – how do you even get that under control a little bit?
Well, they weren't unsportsmanlike.
They weren't personal fouls.
It's just stupid penalties.
I mean, we're lining up offsides on defense.
We're not checking the football.
When we line up, you know, we're off the ball on offense.
We didn't have enough men on the line of scrimmage.
Cost us a timeout one time early in the game, which is aggravating when you have to waste a timeout for that.
And, you know, the pass interference, Tim Olinger was the back judge,
and that was a Decatur crew that I had coached while they were officiating a lot of years,
and it was good to see those guys.
They did a phenomenal job.
Five-man crew, too.
Five-man crew.
What a great job they did.
They let the kids play, and they called what was there.
And I was clapping at Tim as the back judge over there, and he looked at me kind of funny.
I said, no, that was a good call on the pass interference, the three of them that we had.
We did every one of them.
And I told him, I said, before this is over with you, you may have to ice your shoulder from throwing that yellow flag.
But we were holding on offense the times that we missed.
It was obvious.
There was not a bad call that I saw the whole night.
They did a phenomenal job.
Pretty impressive for our five-man crew.
Florence wins at 35-21, but it's tied at 14 at the half.
Coach, if you can, what did you say at halftime?
Well, you know, everybody's asked me that, and everybody thinks, I guess, when you have a turnaround like that,
and you come back out and you score 21 points, that you did a lot of hollering and fussing and screaming at halftime.
And it wasn't that.
It was just we walked in, we said, guys, we've got to tackle better.
We've got to play cover three like we're supposed to play cover three and stay in your third.
And it was all eye discipline.
You know, with the wing tee, the ball's moving, and we did some no-ball wing tee stuff during the week
and trying to teach eye discipline to those guys and not look in the backfield, and we couldn't do it.
And we were not very disciplined in that area, and we just said, you know, settle in, tackle them, make them keep snapping it.
And, you know, offensively, we said, keep doing what you're doing.
We're moving the ball.
You know, no stupid penalties that keep backing us up.
Let's just keep playing.
And we just talked and said, get with your coaches and hats off to our staff and really to our kids, too.
I said this on the TV last night after the game.
Our coaches did a phenomenal job of getting those guys together, getting them on the board.
They spent a good bit of time when I was trying to talk to them and give our coaches time to meet outside
and discuss the adjustments, and they got in there, went straight at it.
Our kids were quiet, they listened, and they paid attention, and they went out and executed the halftime adjustments.
And what a phenomenal job for our coaches and the kids, too, take coaching at halftime.
We want to hear more from Coach Kenny Marson, but let's take a 30-second timeout.
You're listening to The Coach's Breakfast.
More from Coach Kenny Marson after this 30-second break.
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.
Back on The Coach's Breakfast, Kevin Johnson with you.
We're here now with Coach Kenny Marson recapping last night's win over Russell 35-21.
And, Coach, you tied at 14.
You make adjustments.
You come out, and you won the toss at the beginning of the game.
Deferred.
You get to the second half, and your offense does what you want your offense to do,
set the tone to start the third quarter.
Yeah, we actually got a very fortunate call there.
We had a screen pass called, and they covered it perfectly.
We couldn't dump it to the back, and we ended up scrambling.
And, oh, my goodness, we're back about the 10 or 5, somewhere way back there.
And somehow Mahan kept his feet and just chunked one downfield.
And Nelson Elliott made a great catch and extra yards there.
We might have had five offensive linemen downfield on that play.
I bragged on the officials, but they might have just missed that one.
It went in our favor, and I won't complain.
I went back and watched it last night.
And I was like, first of all, on my call from the broadcaster, I couldn't see where he was.
So I said he was sacked.
And all of a sudden, the ball goes flying through the air, and there's Elliott catching down the field.
And I was like, how did he do that with two men on?
It was an incredible play by Mahan.
But I went back and watched it on film, and it was so strange.
Believe it or not, your linemen actually sort of stayed within that two- to three-yard range.
They didn't go down the field, and I don't know why they didn't, but they really didn't.
So hats off to them.
But it was an incredible play by Mahan.
And maybe the play-changing game of the game right there was to make that play that could have been the momentum for Russell,
and then flip the field, and then the drive continues, and you go down and score.
Yeah, that was a big score.
We needed that one, and we told our defensive guys, look, we get this first score coming out here.
Get one stop.
All we need is one stop and give it back to us, and that put it on a two-score deal
and kept it at a two-score separation there, which was big, really big for us.
And we got that other one in later to go up three scores.
But the two-score deal to keep it like that was really big, especially with that block punt we had.
Or they had, and we didn't handle very well.
But our defense shut it down after that as well.
Kayon Williams, we talk about every week, the sophomore is amazing.
But Mr. DeCarson Johnson said to Kayon, hey, man, you're great, but let me have a little time last night.
And that was number zero.
I call him the goose because he wears zero.
He's like a goose egg.
So the goose was loose last night, and he was running up and down the field.
He made some outstanding plays.
And really, when it was a 21-14 game, he took the ball down the field on his own, two plays,
and put it in the end zone.
Fabulous senior run right there.
He really did.
He did for us last night.
And that, you know, we were down to a two-headed monster last night instead of three.
Elijah Hines is still healing up from Muscle Shoals game.
And then, you know, we were still banged up back there.
And DeCarson just said, hey, let me have it.
And those guys did a phenomenal job for us.
O-line did too.
But I'm going to go to Cade McGuire.
You know, he took a little bit of a playbook from me from the old days of our gap scheme, power counter.
We were running zone, and Russell really prepared well for our wide zone stuff.
And we hit it a few times on some back cuts and stuff.
But the power counter game was the difference in the gap scheme for our guys.
And I don't think they expected us to run that much at it.
And Coach McGuire recognized that early.
We got to go right at them.
Costa Mahan, your sophomore quarterback, his best game of the year, really outstanding, threw it for 100 yards, made the big play we talked about, had at least one touchdown pass.
I know to Justin Kirkman, who also had a coming-out game tonight as a sophomore, two or three catches.
He had a couple of sophomores step up there, actually, too, with Tripp Morris.
Your passing game all of a sudden comes out, and everybody goes, uh-oh, they can throw the ball down the field.
That's pretty good right there.
Well, we, next man up mentality, Kevontae Green went out early with an injury, and then Kirkman just stepped right in.
We never missed a beat.
He did a great job, caught a beautiful fade ball on their sideline over there going the other direction.
And then he caught the touchdown pass that we worked on all week, and Coach McGuire hit it at the right time.
He said all week long, if we get it to this spot, I'm calling it, it's going to be six, and it was.
Great job by him, and calling it.
Tripp Morris, yes, got to get that guy on the field more.
What a phenomenal job.
Big, big comeback route over there for a first down to keep the chains moving to get us to another touchdown late there.
It was a huge possession.
And it was bracket coverage, and Mahan laid that over the top, and Morris went up and got it.
So, sophomore standing out last night.
And Coach, one of the things that really stood out to me, too, is as your team was playing last night,
the confidence was growing, because when you started to be able to throw the ball and run the ball like that,
it was a confidence growing, but it was also realizing, okay, we've got the lead.
Let's milk that clock a little bit.
You started doing a really good job in, as you say, managing the game as a team.
Yes, yes, got to manage the clock.
And Scott Harper was a former O-line coach at UNA and offense coordinator over there.
His son, Jacob Harper, is our center.
And Scott's in the box with us, and he's on the headsets.
And I heard him three or four times say, hey, we'll just raise up and hit this guy out here and throw this ball.
And I won't say what I said about run the ball.
But run the ball.
And I looked at Coach McGuire and said, don't you dare.
I said, keep running it, move this clock, and let's get it in the end zone.
We don't need to put it in the air.
And we didn't.
And we ended up scoring.
But I'm going to go back to something that just hit me.
Carl Prather at Channel 48, we were game of the week,
and he's become one of my close friends through the years.
He's always shown me a lot of love in my coaching career and love him to death.
And he sent me a text on the ride home last night,
and it said one word in bold print with an exclamation point.
It said guts.
And that was what our guys did last night.
They just gutted it out.
It was we were not at our best coming from the Muscle Shows game.
We did not prepare worth a flip all week.
But they went out there, and they played hard, and they gutted it out for us.
And I'm proud of those young men.
Florence wins it 35-21 over Russell with seven wide receivers making catches.
Great game offensively.
Great game defensively, forcing the Tigers to have to drive the field late.
Eight-minute drive, by the way, for them to drive just to get the points on the board with a minute to go.
Let's turn the page.
Next week, now, you go with a 4-0 record back home at Brawley Stadium.
It's homecoming.
That's all I had to say, and you heard that right there, homecoming.
But let's even add to it.
It's your good friends, the Decatur Red Raiders coming to town.
How much fun is that going to be?
It's going to be different.
It's going to be the first time I've lined up on the other sideline from them.
How many years were you at Decatur?
22 years.
22 years.
I retired there the first time.
My boys graduated from there in 19.
And so we spent a lot of years there raising our boys there.
And it was a fun time, special time there.
Coach Adcock was really good to me to prepare me for the seat I'm in right now.
And the guys on staff with us, Rod Lovett, Lee Cagle, Stevie Netherton, those guys, Kevin Lockhart.
Just what a staff we had over there.
Richard Armstrong.
I could just go on and on.
There's some legend coaches over there.
I was very fortunate to be around those guys.
Bob Gotts was there at one time.
Alan Creasy.
I mean, what a line of coaches that came out of there.
And I was very fortunate to be a part of a really good tradition there.
But, hey, on the other side of it, I love what we got going here.
Florence has got something special going on right now.
And you can feel it in the locker room.
You can feel it around the school.
You can feel it in the community.
And, you know, we just got to keep our guys grounded, humble.
And next game up.
And I heard Coach Saban on college game day earlier, before I left the house, he said, don't listen to the rat poison.
And our guys are getting a lot of rat poison, telling them how good they are and talking about these other teams are not that good, this and that.
We got to worry about us.
And that's what Coach Saban said on the show.
It's all about us and who we're playing.
That's what I'd be telling my team.
So, I'm with him.
Well, congratulations on the win.
And best of luck this coming week against the Decatur Red Raiders and homecoming as well.
Okay, Coach?
Thank you so much.
We're going to end it right here today.
It's Florence that wins that one last night against Russell.
You'll hear that Florence-Decatur game this coming Friday night here on 93.9 The Score.
Great coaches breakfast, incredible coaches from all over the northwest Alabama area.
Thank you so much for the coaches being a part of it today.
And we look forward to being with them next Friday night.
Make sure you get out and support high school football.
Great games today.
Alabama-Kentucky pregame at 11.30, kickoff at 2.30.
Should be a good one.
Can Texas knock off Ohio State?
I think Ohio State is going to sneak in there and knock off Texas.
That's my prediction.
But, hey, I'm unusually wrong.
Should be a lot of fun games, though.
Hope you enjoy the day of college football.
That's going to do it for us, for our station manager, Greg Thornton,
James Moody at the 93.9 The Score studios,
and our good friends here at the North Alabama Bone and Joint Clinic,
including my friend Wes Richardson.
I'm Kevin Johnson saying have a great day.
Enjoy the day of college football.
And as always, 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.
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