ALICEVILLE, Ala. — Charles Moody admits he grew a lot in his first season as Aliceville High School football coach.
Now, Moody hopes the Yellow Jackets will grow with him.
Moody’s second edition will open the season at 7 p.m. Thursday against Gordo High.
“We did not achieve to our fullest potential last year,” said Moody, a former Alabama A&M All-American. “We do have a lot of leaders back from that team. They have put in the hard work during the offseason to make sure we are much improved.
“We were good in some areas, but our attention to detail was not good enough. Hopefully, we have taken the proper steps to correct most of that.”
A season ago, Aliceville possessed a high-octane offense that scored caused nightmares for opposing coaches. It also caused problems for itself, averaging six turnovers per game, including one game with nine giveaways and another with eight. The turnovers contributed to the defense allowing a school-record 319 points.
“I think we are going to be a better team this year,” senior defensive end/tight end Gerald Sterling said. “Last year, we were learning a new coach and a new system. We would get some things going and then make some mistakes. We played hard and we did what we were supposed to do.
“It just didn’t work out to as many wins as we should have had. I think this year is going to be better because we know what is expected of us.”
Aliceville finished 5-6 last season. The Yellow Jackets qualified for the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A playoffs and lost to Washington County 56-28 in the first round. The Yellow Jackets held their own on paper but committed five turnovers.
It was Aliceville’s first home playoff game since 2006.
“That was an accomplishment, but the bottom line is we have to do a better job of taking care of the football,” Moody said. “Do we need to play better on defense? Yes. In any game you will have missed assignments and missed tackles. However, when your offense is not helping your defense out, it places them in a bad position.”
“We have to control the ball better. We need better offensive production. However, if we run more plays last year and do a better of keeping the ball, we win more games.”
Aliceville returns seven starters on offense. Leading the charge will be senior Jocarious Spruill (6-foot-1, 175 pounds), who will take over at quarterback. Last season’s starter, junior Chris Crowell (6-0, 175) shifts to wide receiver. Crowell threw for 1,767 yards and 20 touchdowns last season.
Sterling (6-5, 235) returns as a tight end, while sophomore running back Jeremy McMullen (5-11, 245) is back, as well as junior receiver Joe Robinson (6-5, 175). Returning linemen include junior center Victor Windham (5-11, 303), senior tackle Demetrious Bell (6-1, 240) and sophomore tackle/guard Isaiah Wilder (5-10, 265).
McMullen ran for a team-high 534 yards with seven touchdowns last season. Robinson had 531 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
“We have some experience on the offensive line, even though it is still going to be a young line,” Moody said. “In the backfield, we have some depth. You should see as many as five or six backs getting some carries. Jocarious has stepped in and done a good job with the offense during fall practice. There is a lot of potential in this group.”
The Yellow Jackets will look to replace the leadership and offensive production from Terry Mayhew, who ran for close to 500 yards and seven touchdowns. He also was one of the team’s top tacklers. His leadership skills helped him earn West Alabama Player of the Year honors from The Dispatch a season ago.
“Terry was our undisputed leader,” Moody said. “I think he and the other seniors did a fine job of establishing how hard we are going to work around here. That is what we are looking for now. We are looking for the next group of leaders to emerge.
“Offensively, we have some playmakers. We plan to give our opponents lots of formations. We have a lot of weapons. Our job as coaches is to get the best threats on the field. I think we can be diverse and do a lot of different things this year.”
Aliceville also return seven starters on defense, including Sterling at defensive end, junior linebacker Marquez Marshall (5-11, 190), sophomore cornerback Stephon Dunner (5-10, 165), and senior cornerback Thomas Colvin (5-11, 160).
“We have to become a better tackling team,” Moody said. “We did a good job of getting to the ball a year ago but we were not as good as wrapping up and making plays for losses. Our secondary needs to worry about making deflections and breaking up passes, instead of trying to make the great interception on every play.”
Realignment also should give the Yellow Jackets a boost. For the next two seasons, Aliceville will compete as an AHSAA Class 2A school. New division rivals include Hale County, Sulligent, Cold Springs, Lamar County, R.C. Hatch, Oakman, and Frances Marion.
“The expectations are really high this year,” Sterling said. “Last season, we got a taste of what we can do when everybody has their attitude right and we play together as a team. We have to find a way to bring that type of effort every Friday night. If we can do that, we can get back to the playoffs and make some noise.”
Tavaris Lacy (offensive line/defensive line), Harry McCaa (linebackers), Quienton Prude (defensive backs), Billy Sterling (offensive backs), Alphonzia Wilder (offensive line/defensive line), and Fred Woods (defensive coordinator) will work as assistant coaches.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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