DEFENSE
Garner and Bice will
anchor a defensive line that
also includes Parker, Bagwell
and Cale Foster.
Tyler Simmons, Bailey
and Payne — all starters
from a year ago — head up
an experienced linebacker
corps. Carson Jennings
could also get in the mix.
Martin, who racked
up All-State, All-Region
and All-County defensive
accolades last season, will
lead a secondary that must
replace a couple of key
contributors in Black and
Ellis.
Martin will be joined
at corner by Speegle,
Chamness, Caden Jennings,
Michael Chambers and
Ryan.
White, Joey Simmons,
Frost and Miguel Gonzalez
will look to fill the holes at
safety.
The Aggies turned in a
strong defensive campaign
in 2019, surrendering just
20.3 points per game.
“Last year’s defensive
group kept surprising us
more and more each week,”
Redding said. “They played
lights out. We don’t want
to take a step back. We’re
certainly looking for some
guys to step up on defense.
But it’s also a good thing
to have experience at each
level.”
Redding’s biggest concern
defensively is tied to his
team’s transition to 5A.
Depth.
“That’s the thing for us,”
he said. “You’ve only got
the guys you have as far as
numbers go. So it’s really
important for us to develop
more kids who can play on
Friday nights.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Jesus Avalos and Elijah
Guyton will handle most of
the kicking duties.
Tyler Simmons returns as
the team’s punter.
Speegle, Frost and White
will be tasked with returning
kicks and punts.
Fairview is looking to keep the good
times rolling this fall.
However, the Aggies must contend
with another promotion to the 5A
ranks.
Awaiting them is a Region 7 that
includes Guntersville, West Point and
Boaz as other top contenders.
A second straight region title isn’t
out of the question.
Redding, however, won’t let himself
look that far ahead just yet.
Especially given Fairview’s most
recent foray into 5A — a 16-23 record
from 2014-17.
“I’m not going to say I’m confident.
Challenged, though? Yes,” he said.
“We’ve accepted that challenge, and
we’re really fired up about it. Have we
been there before? Yes. Do we know
what it’s like? Yes. Were we successful
then? Not like we had hoped. But we
understand what went wrong, and
we’re working as hard as we can to
address those things this time around.”
Redding, though, had no problem
expressing his belief in this particular
squad.
“This team has the capability of
being a really good football team,” he
said. “This team has all the pieces to
not only be successful on the field,
but they can also have an impact off
the field with all that’s going on. This
could be a really special group.”
26 2020 FOOTBALL PREVIEW