Adams Football and the climbBy Darron Thomas, Southern Sports & Travel
Not many people root against an underdog. There’s just something about events in our lives that pit a giant against an also-ran, a David and Goliath story, if you will. Whether it’s a personal accomplishment or the witnessing of a group of people reaching a plateau that seemed improbable, the underdog seems to instill raw emotion in the participants and well as those that watch from afar. In the past 35 years of pop history in America the term underdog is associated most with the 1976 classic motion picture “Rocky”. A struggling athlete muddled in despair with hopes of glory fading. Then when all seemed lost and pointless a glimmer of hope is presented and the fighter rises to the challenge when all had counted him finished.
If you like an underdog story you need to look no further than Natchez, Mississippi. The Adams County Christian School Rebels have taken on an underdog label this season. Even as they sit at 4-1 on the season you only need to look back a few years to see just where this modern day Rocky was to appreciate where they are now at the midway point of the 2009 MAIS football season.
Paul Hayles took over as head football coach at ACCS in 2007, just one season after the Rebels posted a 6-6 record and a playoff appearance. He also took over a team that was senior laden the previous year which meant the building process was going to be a long and arduous one. The 2007 season for Rebel fans and supporters was one that seemed to have no end as Adams went winless in an eleven game schedule. Not only did they post a season mark of 0-11 they also only managed 3 points a game while giving up 32 to opponents. They were shutout six times and never scored more than 8 points in a game. Holding a team together after being outscored 350-33 on the season is done only by those with the discipline to remain focused.
The following season there were signs of gradual improvement. While the Rebels still struggled defensively they increased their scoring output to 14 points a game and suffered no shutouts but after eight weeks they had yet to win a game. Then in week nine Adams edged Prairie View 20-16 in Batsrop to win their first game since November 3, 2006. To most teams a 1-10 finish deserves little recognition but this win was a huge stepping stone in the rebuilding process.
The speculation as to which teams would contend in their respective districts in 2009 included little, if any, chatter involving Adams Christian. I’ll insert myself into that group. “We believed that we could have a good year. Our talent had matured, and this team had shown leadership that had not been present in the previous two years,” Hayles said. Had it not been for sloppy care of the football during a week two encounter with Hillcrest the Rebels would be sitting at 5-0, but as they prepare to face the toughest stretch of their schedule the thoughts of not only a winning season but a playoff appearance most certainly have to enter the heads of fans and supporters. I asked Coach Hayles what areas the team must focus on during the next six weeks? “Discipline and ball handling. With discipline we will not lose focus on maintaining and improving our strengths. Ball handling has been our greatest obstacle (fumbles),” said Hayles. And when it comes to whom the underclassmen look to for leadership? “My seniors, each one, serve as an example in some form or another."
If you like an underdog story you need to look no further than Natchez, Mississippi. The Adams County Christian School Rebels have taken on an underdog label this season. Even as they sit at 4-1 on the season you only need to look back a few years to see just where this modern day Rocky was to appreciate where they are now at the midway point of the 2009 MAIS football season.
Paul Hayles took over as head football coach at ACCS in 2007, just one season after the Rebels posted a 6-6 record and a playoff appearance. He also took over a team that was senior laden the previous year which meant the building process was going to be a long and arduous one. The 2007 season for Rebel fans and supporters was one that seemed to have no end as Adams went winless in an eleven game schedule. Not only did they post a season mark of 0-11 they also only managed 3 points a game while giving up 32 to opponents. They were shutout six times and never scored more than 8 points in a game. Holding a team together after being outscored 350-33 on the season is done only by those with the discipline to remain focused.
The following season there were signs of gradual improvement. While the Rebels still struggled defensively they increased their scoring output to 14 points a game and suffered no shutouts but after eight weeks they had yet to win a game. Then in week nine Adams edged Prairie View 20-16 in Batsrop to win their first game since November 3, 2006. To most teams a 1-10 finish deserves little recognition but this win was a huge stepping stone in the rebuilding process.
The speculation as to which teams would contend in their respective districts in 2009 included little, if any, chatter involving Adams Christian. I’ll insert myself into that group. “We believed that we could have a good year. Our talent had matured, and this team had shown leadership that had not been present in the previous two years,” Hayles said. Had it not been for sloppy care of the football during a week two encounter with Hillcrest the Rebels would be sitting at 5-0, but as they prepare to face the toughest stretch of their schedule the thoughts of not only a winning season but a playoff appearance most certainly have to enter the heads of fans and supporters. I asked Coach Hayles what areas the team must focus on during the next six weeks? “Discipline and ball handling. With discipline we will not lose focus on maintaining and improving our strengths. Ball handling has been our greatest obstacle (fumbles),” said Hayles. And when it comes to whom the underclassmen look to for leadership? “My seniors, each one, serve as an example in some form or another."
So as the 2009 MAIS football season quickly marches on, the “Rocky” of AA football prepares for another round with a roster consisting of 10 seniors, 11 juniors and 5 sophomores. Those 10 seniors that endured the 2007 and 2008 seasons deserve much praise but the thing that I was most curious about was how do you motivate a group of kids after two very difficult football campaigns? “What does not kill us makes us stronger and these guys have always given what they have, and that is all you can ask for,” said Hayles.
Round six begins Friday night as the Rebels travel to McComb to take on AAA Parklane.
