200th Career Win Puts Sand Rock Coach In Spotlight
When Sand Rock downed Spring Garden 30-0 last Thursday night, Coach Russell Jacoway recorded the 200th win of his long career.
He picked up his 199th victory in Week 7 but had to wait until Week 10 to finally record the milestone win.
For Jacoway, number 200 was less difficult to attain than win No. 1.
“I went 0-10 my first year here in 1983,” said Jacoway, who has spent his entire head-coaching career at the Cherokee County school located midway between Gadsden and south of Fort Payne.
Futility didn’t last long for the Wildcats, however. In just three short years Jacoway’s team went from winless to undefeated, finishing 15-0 to claim Sand Rock’s one and only Class 1A state championship. The Wildcats beat Repton 14-6 in the 1985 state finals.
Sand Rock returned to the finals in 1997 as Luverne won the 2A crown with a 51-14 win in the Super 6 Championships in Birmingham. Jacoway, who grabbed the AHSAA Prep Spotlight for his milestone win in week 10, has remained at the school his entire head-coaching career.
“We fell in love with Sand Rock,” he said. He now lives on an 80-acre farm, has a daughter teaching at the school and has comfirmed where knows he was meant to be. “This is a great community, a great place to raise a family.”
Sand Rock finished the season 6-4 – after going 9-2 in 2008 – but narrowly missed the Class 2A state playoffs. He became the second coach in three weeks to win the magic 200th victory. Terry Curtis of UMS-Wright of Mobile won his 200th in Week 7 with a 52-0 win over W.S. Neal. Curtis’ Bulldogs begin defense of their Class 4A state crown this Friday at home against St. James.
In another coaching highlight at Elba, coach Scott Rials’ Tigers polished off Zion Chapel 42-6 to close out the regular season at 10-0 for the first time in 54 years.
OTHER PREP HIGHLIGHTS
J TRIBBLE, ARDMORE: Tribble, who goes by the letter “J” as his first name, wrote that moniker into the AHSAA prep football record book last Thursday night with a 35-of-65 passing performance in a 35-17 loss to West Limestone to close out the Tigers’ 2009 season. He totaled 340 yards and one TD in the setback as Ardmore finished its season. Tribble’s 65 attempts ranked second all time behind Robert Nomberg’s 68 attempts in 1987 for Northview against Greenville.
It also moved Tribble ahead of Brian Park of Westminster, who had 62 attempts in a game last year. Tribble wound up 213-of-365 for 2,174 yards on the year with 14 TD passes. His 213 completions ranks 13th in a season in the AHSAA and his 365 attempts rank 10th. Tribble was 30-of-43 passing for 266 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-27 win over Lawrence County in Week 9. The quarterback’s favorite target was Matt Teeples. The combo accounted for 77 completions for 965 yards and 11 of those scores.
KYLE GARMON, SARDIS: The senior quarterback/linebacker, son of Sardis head coach Chris Garmon, became the state’s career tackles leader as the Lions lost to Vinemont 28-20. Garmon rushed for 125 yards on 19 carries while completing 8-of-13 passes for 52 yards. Defensively, he improved his season tackle total to 81, giving him 628 tackles for his career and moving him past previous leader Demarco McNeil of Blount, who had 622 tackles from 196-98 for the Bobcats before moving on to an outstanding career at Auburn University He has also managed 16 interceptions, 41 sacks, forced 12 fumbles and has recovered four.
Garmon, who has played on the Sardis varsity since the seventh grade, had 157 tackles as a junior, 142 as a sophomore and 132 as a freshman. His 31 tackles in one game as a sophomore ranks him in a tie for second with Melvin Cotton of Holt (1998). The Lions enter the 3A playoffs Friday with a home game against Glencoe.
Daniel Manning, Satsuma: The senior running back helped the Gators snap an eight-game losing streak as he ran for 227 yards on 26 carries and had TD runs from 1 and 19 yards out in a 34-21 win over Baker.
Solomon Patton, Murphy: The Florida commitment caught seven passes for 130 yards, including a 63-yard catch-and-run, to lead Murphy to a 24-17 victory over McGill-Toolen.
JONATHAN REDD, MOBILE CHRISTIAN: From the QB position he accounted for 405 yards of total offense, throwing for 335 yards and two TDs in a 27-8 victory over Cottage Hill Christian.
Jeremy Williams, Faith Academy: The running back rushed 17 times for 273 yards and four touchdowns in Faith Academy’s 41-28 win over St. James. Williams scored on runs of 15, 30, 38 and 58 yards.
Coty Blanchard, Cherokee County: The senior quarterback was 21-of-28 passing for 338 yards and four touchdowns as the Warriors closed out a second straight 10-0 regular season with a 34-0 win over Scottsboro.
Cameron Smallwood, Millry: The multi-purpose back scored five touchdowns in a 48-6 victory over John Essex. Smallwood scored on runs of 12 and 36 yards and also caught TD passes of 52, 25 and 34 yards from QB Dylan Whitsett, who surpassed 2,000 yards passing for the season.
Chris Dukes, UMS-Wright: The junior running back carried 31 times for 221 yards with TD runs of 5, 6 and 54 yards. He also caught a 32-yard touchdown pass in a 31-21 victory over St. Paul’s. The win clinched the Class 4A, Region 1 title in a tie breaker finish with Jackson and Thomasville.
Kyle Crane, Cedar Bluff: The quarterback was 19-of-24 passing for 293 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 50 yards and three more scores on 12 carries as Cedar Bluff beat Randolph County 48-14.
KELSEY POPE, SYLACAUGA: The Aggies quarterback ran 11 times for 186 yards and three touchdowns in a 41-13 win over B.B. Comer to close the season. He had 170 yards at the half and played just two minutes after intermission.
Taylor Thrash, Fyffe: The senior running back became his school's all-time leading rusher in a 54-21 victory over West End in Week 9. Thrash carried 13 times for 166 yards (12.8 per carry) and two touchdowns of 52 and 29 yards. Thrash totaled 4,252 career yards after the win.