ALPHA OMEGA LIONS
Colton Foster Sports Editor
While the football season always brings hopes of ending your season on top , Alpha Omega Academy knew they brought in a youthful roster .
In their second year of 11-man football play , the Lions saw some highs and lows as they would win the first game of the season and vie for respect in their new district . AOA would be competitive in a majority of its games but in some instances , they couldn ’ t get over the hump on a 3-5 season .
“ I thought we were more competitive against our district opponents this year which is a good sign for us ,” Alpha Omega Academy head coach Jeff Norris said . “ We picked up a win over [ Lutheran ] North . We were competitive in all of our games for a half or sometimes three-quarters . I just thought we ran into not having the depth we needed to go a full game .”
AOA saw improvements on several fronts from last season despite missing the playoffs . The Lions were led by three seniors on
16 | HUNTSVILLE LIVING | FOOTBALL REVIEW 2023
Lions able to learn
their already small roster as juniors and sophomores bulked up the roster , especially on the offensive and defensive lines .
While the Lions took some lumps , they went into the final game still able to make the postseason . And now AOA brings back most of those players next year . “ The fact that we had a limited roster and we were still talking playoffs with a week to go in the season was a positive ,” Norris said . “ The other thing about being young is we will bring most of the kids back next year . There ’ s a lot of positives around it .”
While the Lions only had three seniors , they all played pivotal roles in the season . Bailey Hall was one of them .
Hall played multiple positions for AOA and even took over its quarterbacking . In eight games , Hall tossed for 862 yards and six touchdowns . Hall also ran the ball for 438 yards and made 28 tackles for the Lions . But more than that , he was a leader for the Lions . “ Bailey is such a great person to have in our program ,” Norris said . “ He turned into a solid piece of the puzzle and we are really going to miss his attitude , everybody gravitated to him and every-