Pigskin Roundup 2017 | Page 44

ETOWAH BLUE DEVILS
Class, Region: Class 5A, Region 7 Head Coach: Drew Noles
2016 Record: 9-3 2016 Playoffs: Lost on the road at Mortimer Jordan of Morris 44-30 in the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

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2016 Rewind: The Blue Devils were again the runner-up in Class 5A, Region 7 and advanced to the Class 5A playoffs for the seventh straight year. It was the first time Etowah advanced to the second round since 2011.
Key Losses: Quarterback Daulton Hyatt is off to the Arkansas Razorbacks and Pigskin Roundup All-Star
Caleb Horton lineman Peyton Nance is now in Auburn. Graduation also took away All-State receiver Andy Noles, RB Tyrell Boley, WR Lee Green, and WR Malik Wilson.
Players to Watch: Etowah again has a great one / two punch in the backfield with senior running backs Cory Thomas( 1,500 yard rusher in 2016) and Caleb Horton( 1,200 rusher last season). Junior receiver Emil Smith will be one of the tops at his position in 5A football. There will be a threeway battle for quarterback between Ricky Wright, Jacob Jones, and Brody Troup. Tray Cole( 5’ 11, 290 Jr.) will anchor the offensive line. Defensive stars include cornerbacks Justin Harris and Emje Graves, Southside transfer Jaron Wright( 5’ 10, 180 LB), big defensive end Jamin Graham( 6’ 6, 240 Jr.), and Guntersville transfer Jesse Altman
( 6’ 2, 310 Jr.). Raul Hernandez returns at placekicker.
2017 Roundup: The Devils return seven starters on offense and eight on defense within a total roster of 50 players. The Blue Devils lost three All-State selections and will be mostly a junior team. Coach Drew Noles points out that Etowah will be really vanilla on offense with a new QB and some new linemen. Noles says the schedule is tough, especially a mid-season stretch that includes Guntersville, Alexandria, Fort Payne, and Arab.
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Did You Know? Etowah has strung together seven straight winning seasons that included seven consecutive playoff berths. The last time the Blue Devils had a losing record and missed the playoffs was in 2009.
GADSDEN CITY TITANS
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Class, Region: Class 7A, Region 4 Head Coach: Bart Sessions
2016 Record: 7-6 2016 Playoffs: Advanced to the Class 7A semi-finals before falling at home to eventual 7A champion Hoover 42-14.
2016 Rewind: Gadsden City started the season 0-4 and lost five of their first six games before they found their groove and made an impressive run. The Titans won four straight games to secure a spot in the playoffs. The team then claimed two road playoff victories( over Mountain Brook and Hewitt-Trussville) to advance to the semifinals where they fell to eventual state champion Hoover in the Class 7A semifinals.
Jaelyn Fleming
Key Losses: The Titans said goodbye to a very talented class of seniors that made the late-season charge. Eight former Gadsden City stars signed with colleges on National Signing Day including OL Toryque Bateman( Louisville), RB Damon Williams( Arizona Western College), OL Gregory Collins( Miles), LB C. J. Winston( Chattanooga) and DL TreVonte Carter( West Alabama).
Players to Watch: Senior QB Ryan Sparks is back under center as the Titans’ second-year starter. His production was instrumental last season in leading the offense to an average of 42.8 points per game in Gadsden City’ s victories last season. WR / RB Jaelyn Fleming( Troy verbal commit) and WR LaRay Mostella return as two of the Titans’ top weapons. Twin brothers Jamontez Woods( RB) and Jamontavius Woods( WR) are also expected to make an impact. Defensively, look for DE Elijah Campbell( Georgia Southern commit), LB Jakobe Griffin, LB Jabraun McNeal, and CB Ahmad Bell to play key roles.

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2017 Roundup: There is a lot of optimism in Gadsden as the Titans start the 2017 season. Following last year’ s playoff run, the Titans introduced new Head Coach Bart Sessions this offseason. Sessions has a proven track record compiling a 34-5 record at McGill-Toolen( 2011-13) and enters a program with a consistently talented locker room.“ I have been really pleased so far. They are really working hard,” Sessions said.“ They understand the amount of work it’ s going to take to compete at our level and they have really taken that challenge and ran with it.” With six starters back on both offense and defense, expect the Titans to play with a lot of confidence and enthusiasm this fall.
Did You Know?: Bart Sessions is the third coach in the program’ s 12 year history. Joe Billingsley( 2006-12) and Matt Scott( 2013-16) made the playoffs a combined 11 times.
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Jason Ellen
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42 | 2017 Pigskin Roundup the Magazine