SULLIGENT, Ala. — Scott Marchant looks good in blue.
After spending the past nine years wearing the cardinal, black, and white of Pickens County High School, Marchant now patrols the sidelines at Sulligent High wearing royal blue.
“I am excited about being at Sulligent,” Marchant said. “I am excited about the opportunity here. It is a great community, great kids, great coaching staff. I am just looking forward to getting the season under way.”
Marchant spent the past two seasons as head coach at Pickens County, where he led the Tornadoes to a 12-2 finish in 2009 and a 7-5 mark last season. He also spent six years as defensive coordinator at the school.
Marchant, who was athletic director and a History teacher at Pickens County High, will teach physical education at Sulligent High. He takes over for Ronnie Hubbert, who guided the Blue Devils to the third round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 2A playoffs and an 11-3 record.
Marchant still lives in Gordo and makes the hour drive to the school. He said he enjoyed his time at Pickens County and everything associated with the school and the community. He said the Sulligent job offers a similar yet different challenge. The school is a little bigger, but Marchant feels the number of athletes is comparable at both schools.
The difference for the players is Marchant has brought a new mind-set from Pickens County to Sulligent.
“He is a good coach,” senior Peter Swanigan said. “He is making us work harder and making me work harder than I ever have. He is an up-tempo coach. He has a lot of energy all day at practice.”
Swanigan admitted the Blue Devils didn”t like Marchant”s style and his tempo, but he said everyone has adjusted to hearing Marchant in their ear all of the time. He said they have come to realize Marchant only wants to help them become the best they can be.
Swanigan, a 6-1, 185-pound senior wide receiver/running back/free safety, said he also is excited about playing in Marchant”s spread offense. One year after Sulligent relied on running backs Tony Johnson (middle linebacker) and Ishmael Riggins and a bruising ground game, Swanigan said the Blue Devils should have the potential to have plenty of weapons and a more balanced attack.
“You never know what we”re going to do,” Swanigan said. “It just opens it up in space for us because they don”t know what we”re going to do.”
Senior quarterback John Potmesil also is eager to get started. Sulligent will compete Friday in a jamboree at South Lamar High. A member of the varsity team since the ninth grade, the 6-foot, 167-pounder is confident the team can make up for what it lost last season. The Blue Devils will have to replace four senior starters on the offensive line, in addition to Johnson and Riggins.
Potmesil said Marchant”s high-scoring philosophy and his hungry attitude will help drive the Blue Devils.
“We have never had the coaches to push us,” Potmesil said. “We have some people who have attitudes and they”re just going to have to get over it. Like coach Marchant said, ”If you don”t want to, it isn”t like we have to have you.” He pushes us to the limit and tries to make everybody better. I respect coach Marchant for that, and everybody else should have the same attitude I do.”
Potmesil said Marchant has used “tough love” to drive his points home. It hasn”t fazed Potmesil, who doesn”t hesitate to say the Blue Devils can win a state title.
Lineman Jalen Martinez agrees and said the big difference in tempo in the no-huddle offense and work ethic in practice will pay big dividends.
“The mentality is just go get, go get it, go get it,” said Martinez, a 6-4 1/2, 265-pounder. “It is physical. We never skip a beat. We”re always going hard. It is amazing to come into an offense and a defense as fast as this compared to last year. We have to be on top of our game because it is very fast.
“I think we”re going to be pretty good. We have a few things we need to work on, but when it is all said and done I think we”re going to be pretty good. If we can keep our heads on straight and keep doing what coach asks us to do we”ll be fine.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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