ELKMONT HAS FUN ON THEIR TIGER HUNT

Preparation for the tiger hunt  yesterday started out early as Elkmont and Ardmore students exchanged gifts of affection at the high schools.  Ardmore wins the first round this year.  Hill Spirit loves the excitement and fun that comes with the annual Elkmont/Ardmore season opener.

After the morning fun, came the Elkmont Pep Rally at the end of the school day.  Everyone gets into the pregame spirit.

However, the best part of the day is when Elkmont brings home a Tiger tied up in a bow, a big bow!!

Great action shots by Down Home Portraits - 253 of them.  Click on link to see them and then message Down Home if you would like to order some prints.  Hill Spirit wishes Robby had been around when the younger Hill Spirits were playing. Love his work.

ELKMONT BAG TIGERS

Grab a Decatur Daily today.  It has an article on the game for you scrapbookers.

Highlights:

Eli Hobbs and Michael Tucker combined for 276 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries as Elkmont opened the 2014 season with a win over Class 5A Ardmore.

The teams exchanged rushing touchdowns in the first half, with Hobbs staking Elkmont to an early lead with a 20-yard scoring run midway through the first quarter. Ardmore tied the game early in the second when quarterback Garrett Miller scored from four yards out.

Tucker scored on a 22-yard run less than a minute later and Miller tied the game again with two minutes to play in the half with a 21-yard run.

Jared Bailey pushed Elkmont out front on a 3-yard scoring run with less than minute left in the half and the Red Devils seized control of the game when Jordan Nelson scored from a yard out on the first drive of the second half.

Miller's third touchdown run of the game cut into Elkmont's lead with 5:31 left in the third before Zeb Pankey pushed the lead back to two touchdowns with a 16-yard rushing touchdown with three minutes left in the quarter.

Ricky Lowery gave Ardmore hope late with a 1-yard touchdown run with just over seven minutes top play before Elkmont put the game away with rushing touchdowns from Hobbs and Bailey in the game's final five minutes.

Hobbs finished with a game-high 151 yards on six carries, while Tucker added 125 yards on nine carries. The Red Devils finished with 383 yards and seven touchdowns on 35 carries.

The Athens News Courier also has an article with pictures that makes today's issue worth picking up at the gas station and the Pig.

Highlights:

Ardmore knew what was coming and the Tigers still couldn’t stop it. Elkmont ran the ball over and over again, throwing just two passes in its 49-27 victory Friday.

“We’ve been working on the Wing-T for a year,” Elkmont head coach Sean Holt said about his team’s offseason preparation. “Our offensive line are in their third year in the system, the backs are all older. We’ve worked all summer on becoming a physical team and it paid off tonight.”

Ardmore had no answer for the rushing trio of

Mike Tucker, Eli Hobbs and Zeb Pankey. The Elkmont trio broke tackle after tackle and combined to ground out 363 yards in the season opener.
“I give all the credit to my offensive line,” said Pankey, who had seven carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. “This win was all about redemption. This is a new year.”

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE ARDMORE TIGERS?

Preparing for the upcoming season, Clint Legg had to spend a little extra time getting to know some of Ardmore High's opponents.  The Tigers are heading into a new horizon, moving up to Class 5A for the first time in program history.
 
Because of Alabama High School Athletic Association realignment, Ardmore's new home is Class 5A, Region 8.  "So, the teams we're playing are going to be a little bit new," Legg said. "Some of the teams we've played before. Some of them we haven't. But what I do know is there are several teams that expect to be competing for playoff spots."

 

Ardmore is one of the teams expecting to be in contention. The Tigers return several key starters from a Class 4A playoff team, including a veteran offensive line with lots of starts on its resume.

 

Offense

Even though Ardmore moved up in classification, Legg isn't changing his team's identity, adopting any of the trendy spread offensive schemes that are typical in large-school football. "That's not who I am, and that's not who this team is," Legg said. "We're a power football team. We're going to run the football and try to run the clock. That's who we are."

Ardmore's personnel fits the mold.

Three years ago, Ardmore made a long-term investment by starting a group of freshmen offensive linemen. Now those players are juniors who are a little bit bigger, stronger and seasoned with experience.  "And a lot of our success rests on their shoulders," Legg said. "For us to be successful, we have to win the line-of-scrimmage. That's the backbone of our team."

Like last season, Legg expects to use multiple running backs, led by Rickey Lowery.  Even though the running game is a prominent piece of Ardmore's offense, the Tigers return a four-year starter at quarterback in Garrett Miller. As a junior, he passed for more than 1,000 yards. Ardmore also returns a potential big-play receiver in Dominic Clemons — a 6-foot-1 and 190-pound senior. "A lot of us here have played a whole lot of varsity football," Miller said. "Making the step up (to Class 5A) is going to be challenging, but I think we're up for it."

 

Defense

With seven starters returning, Ardmore expects to make improvement on defense.  Last season, the Tigers gave up 30.7 points per game, which aided a four-game losing skid to end the season.  "We didn't do a very good job of stopping people, especially in the second half of the season," Legg said. "If we don't get better, play more physical and have that competitive instinct, then we're not going to take that next step."

 

Extra points

Since taking over as Ardmore's football coach last year, Legg has taken an outside-the-box approach to the offseason, scheduling one event that is supposed to be fun while challenging student-athletes to think about big-picture life lessons."

This summer, Legg's teaching platform was a group of U.S. Marines, who not only spoke to the team, but also helped the team with some strength and conditioning work.

"The idea was to help our guys get a little tougher, both mentally and physically," Legg said. "And at the same time, our guys got a valuable lesson in just how fortunate they are to have the things they're blessed with, and why it's important to take pride in that fact."  Don't be surprised if Miller passes for 12 or more touchdowns.

 

Quick hits

• Ardmore is trying for its third straight winning season. That hasn't happened since the early 1980s.
• Because of reclassification, an old rival returns to the schedule. Ardmore is playing East Limestone for the first time since 2009.
• During the first half of the season, Ardmore is spending a lot of time away from Cooper Field. The Tigers only have two home games before Oct. 10, including three straight road trips to Russellville, Clements and Pope John Paul II.
• The Tigers return seven starters on each side of the ball.

source: Decatur Daily 

Decatur Daily Prediction:
Elkmont at Ardmore
Where: Cooper Field
What: Non-region game
Records: Elkmont (0-0); Ardmore (0-0)
 

Last meeting: Ardmore won 25-14 in 2013.
The skinny: Ardmore and Elkmont are renewing a longstanding Limestone County rivalry. Ardmore leads the series 41-26. … With a big, veteran offensive line, a four-year starter at quarterback in Garrett Miller and a veteran power running back in Rickey Lowrey, Ardmore enters its first season in Class 5A with postseason aspirations. … Clint Legg is heading into his second season as Ardmore’s head football coach. … Elkmont returns several key skill players in its wing-T offense. Zeb Pankey, Jared Bailey, Jordan Nelson and Eli Hobbs combined last season for more than 2,000 rushing yards.

The Daily picks: Ardmore 21, Elkmont 14

Ardmore Tigers 2014 Roster

NAME	POS1	POS2	HT	WT	GRD
Ayala-Cardona, Armando	WR	CB	5' 7"	148	9th
Barnett, Noah	QB	S	5' 9"	150	8th
Carter, Curtis (Levi)	OL	DL	5' 9"	234	11th
Clemons, Dominic	WR	S	6' 2"	188	12th
Clemons, Zachary	WR	S	6' 0"	178	10th
Cooper, Tobi	OL	DL	5' 10"	287	10th
Coulter, Tristan	FB	LB	5' 9"	145	9th
Davis, Charles (Adam)	OL	DL	5' 10"	176	12th
Douthit, Joe	RB	S	5' 9"	151	8th
Edwards, Braydon	RB	LB	5' 9"	160	11th
Eubanks, Joseph	FB	DL	6' 0"	243	10th
Fox, William (Cody)	RB	LB	5' 8"	178	11th
Free, Zachery	TE	LB	6' 1"	176	11th
Goldsmith, Carson	OL	DL	5' 8"	204	8th
Graham, Mason	OL	DL	6' 0"	254	9th
Hall, James (Dylan)	TE	DL	5' 9"	160	8th
Hemphill, Johnnie (Dwayne)	OL	DL	6' 2"	180	9th
Hogan, Garrett	OL	DL	6' 0"	280	11th
Holland, Garrett	RB	LB	5' 6"	143	9th
Hughes, Christopher (Austin)	OL	DL	6' 0"	182	10th
Johnson, Casey	WR	LB	5' 8"	159	11th
Jones, Austin	TE	DL	6' 1"	188	9th
Kearns, Jordan	WR	S	5' 9"	148	11th
Kellum, James	WR	CB	5' 8"	155	12th
Kuespert, Stanley (Jordan)	OL	DL	5' 10"	194	10th
Kuncho, Kodee	OL	DL	6' 2"	281	11th
Lay, Phillip (Chase)	RB	LB	5' 10"	152	8th
Lewis, Derrick	TE	LB	6' 1"	180	10th
Lowery, Ricky	RB	LB	5' 9"	221	12th
Magnusson, Benjamin (Ben)	TE	DE	5' 11"	238	11th
Meloon, Joshua	RB	CB	5' 9"	157	11th
Potter, Robert (Keegan)	WR	CB	5' 7"	139	10th
Pugh, Austin	RB	CB	5' 7"	147	10th
Repasky, Matthew (Hunter)	OL	DL	6' 1"	294	12th
Roberts, Nicolos	OL	DL	5' 6"	183	10th
Schrimsher, Tyler	RB	S	5' 9"	150	8th
Scott, Thomas (Kyle)	OL	DL	5' 10"	184	9th
Smith, Logan	OL	DL	5' 7"	208	9th
Smith, Michael	FB	LB	5' 10"	145	10th
Stafford, Tylor	FB	LB	5' 9"	187	12th
Teeples, Joseph (Barrett)	WR	QB	5' 8"	158	10th
Welling, Christopher	FB	LB	5' 11"	237	12th
West, Jacob	OL	DL	5' 10"	187	11th
Whyel, Adam JR	OL	DL	5' 10"	248	9th
Winton, Austin	TE		5' 8"	160	9th

MEET THE 2014 ELKMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL CHEERLEADERS

The Elkmont Alabama Blog is proud to introduce the 2014 Middle School Elkmont Red Devils cheerleaders.  These lovely ladies have been practicing all summer and are looking forward to cheering for our Middle School teams.  Elkmont Middle School football season starts, September 2.  The Red Devils will be traveling to Tanner.

Back row:
Magan Smith, Gracey Norman, Abby Curnutt, Cassidy Ridgeway, Layla Norton, Aubrie Harwell, Claudia Allen

Front row:
Madison Pepper, Maddie Thompson, Gracie Turner, Kiley Miller, Maddie Hewett

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS START TOMORROW

Ten miles. That is about how much distance separates the campuses at Ardmore High and Elkmont.  Being that close means there are few strangers in the two communities. A few of the football players are related. Lots of them are friends.

And when the two schools lineup for the 69th kickoff, one of Limestone County’s oldest rivalries, as usual, emotions will run high.   Elkmont travels to Ardmore tomorrow, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The rivals have been playing football since 1936, with Ardmore owning a 42-26 series lead, according to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society’s website.  Elkmont lost 24 straight from 1939 to 1973( did not play in the 40's and 1954).
 

Each year we look forward to this game.  This is always one of our biggest games.  The stands will be packed. Almost everyone from both communities will be there. The atmosphere will be electric — what high school football is all about.

The game will be broadcast on WSLV 1110 AM  or  click on link to wslvradio.com 

To help you get ready for Friday night, here is the video from the 2011 game. Click on video title below to get to the game.

2011 Elkmont vs Ardmore 

*SEATS WILL DISAPPEAR FAST TOMORROW.  DON'T GET THERE LATER THAN 6:15 IF YOU WANT TO HAVE A SEAT.

It's time for some Friday Night Football!  No...it's actually time for Mr. Electric's Game of the Week, PLUS Friday Night Football!  Each Friday night, we're teaming with WAFF 48 and to bring some pre-game fun to an area high school.  Catch a limited edition football and win prizes  with WAFF 48, Today's Lite 96.9 and Mr. Electric...where they have the POWER to make things better! 

And, with the flip of the coin....it's Elkmont taking on Ardmore this Friday, August 29!

ELKMONT AT THE JAMBOREE

Some fantastic action shots by Down Home Portraits; visit their site to order some of your favorite player or cheerleader.

MOTHER NATURE AT THE YOUTH FOOTBALL JAMBOREE

Mother Nature stole the show at the 2014 Youth Football Jamboree.  Battling a heat index of 105, the Pee Wee Red Devils never found their groove in their first game against East Limestone, falling 13-0 to a bigger and faster team. 

Just prior to the Red Devils'  kickoff against the Clements Colts, the bottom fell out and Mother Nature put on a fabulous lightning show that resulted in the rest of the Jamboree games being cancelled due to weather.  The Youth Football regular season opens on September 6 at Athens Middle School - hopefully to cooler fall weather.

ELKMONT FOOTBALL SHIRTS

It's time to order your Elkmont football shirt.  All shirts are dry-fit loose material.  They are dark grey with red and white writing.  They will be just like the spirit pack shirts the players have.  There will be no numbers on the back.  All orders need to be pre-paid.


FOOTBALL SHIRT ORDER FORM LINK

YOUNG DEVILS ARE ON THE FIELD

Our high school varsity Red Devils football teams are hard at work getting ready for their opening game vs Ardmore, August 29.  Our youth football program is up and running as well.  They will be playing this weekend in the Jamboree.  Wish them the best of luck this Saturday.

 

 

MEET THE VARSITY FOOTBALL CHEERLEADERS

Seniors: 
Tori Williams, Rachel Adams, Montana Ray   

Juniors: 
Callie Wales, Maddie Hobbs, Koribeth Schmidt, & Jayne Anderson  

Sophomores: 
Chloe Murphy, Olivia Spencer, Madison Scroggins, Hope Hice, Hannah Smith and Leah Seibert (not pictured)

DECATUR DAILY PREP FOOTBALL BLITZ

Coach:
Sean Holt (fourth year, 12-20)
 
Offense:
The Red Devils' base offense will be the Wing-T, with two quarterbacks splitting the duties. They are Jared Bailey (5-11, 195, Sr.) and Jordan Nelson (6-1, 155, Jr.). "They both can run our offense and can do some different things," Holt said. "Playing both of them gives us depth at the position and lets us find who has the hot hand in a game." When Nelson is the QB, Bailey lines up as the lone running back behind him. The wingbacks are Mike Tucker (5-11, 186, Sr.) and Zeb Pankey (5-9, 175, Soph.). Eli Hobbs (5-10, 175, Jr.) is the lone wide receiver. Joshua Carter (6-1, 220, Sr.) is the tight end. When Bailey goes to QB, Pankey moves to running back. Hobbs is a wingback, and Nelson is the wide receiver.

Bailey, Tucker, Pankey and Hobbs combined for more than 2,000 yards rushing last season. Two other candidates at wingback are Preston Rouse (5-11, 180, Sr.) and Aron Moss (5-11, 180, Jr.). Colby Holt (5-11, 195, Jr.) could see time at running back.

"We've had a lot of good competition in the weight room and on the practice field," Holt said. Four seniors start in the offensive line. They are center Hunter Brazeal (5-10, 225), guards Brent Stovall (6-0, 225) and Kody Clark (5-11, 235) and tackle Eli Vining (6-1, 285). The other starting tackle is Travis Riggs (6-0, 270, Jr.). Another senior, Jon Jon Williams (6-3, 280), provides depth at tackle and tight end.

Defense:
Drew Thompson (6-2, 315, Sr.) and Adrian Walker (5-10, 290, Jr.) will be charged with clogging up the middle of the defense. The defensive ends are Carter and Stovall, with Williams helping out. Ethan Wilson (5-7, 240, Jr.) and Austin Moore (5-11, 235, Sr.) provide depth. Bailey and Pankey are the linebackers, with Clark moving around from a linebacker/end position. Holt will be at an outside stopper, along with Jarred Smallwood (6-2, 190, Sr.) and Jacob Anderson (5-10, 165, Sr.). Hobbs is the free safety. Rouse and Kaleb Wallace (6-1, 165, Sr.) man the corner spots. Noah Sharp (5-8, 135, Soph.) provides depth in the backfield.

Extra points
Holt is not excited about Elkmont (292 students) being the sixth-smallest school in Class 4A after the AHSAA reclassification, but there may be a positive. Being 4A for the first time gets the Red Devils out of 3A, Region 8 with the likes of defending state champion Madison Academy, Lauderdale County and Colbert County. Deshler, another power in 3A, made the jump with Elkmont to 4A, Region 8.

Alexis Hernandez (5-11, 175, Sr.) gives the Red Devils a weapon with his kicking leg. He had two 42-yard field goals last season. Holt estimates that half his kickoffs went for touchbacks.

Elkmont will dress about 35 players. Sixteen will be seniors. The last time the Red Devils had a senior class near that size was in 2011. Elkmont went 7-5 and advanced to the playoffs in what was Holt's first season. A junior class of eight gives Elkmont 24 players with lots of experience in a tough region.

Out of region opponents for Elkmont are Ardmore, New Hope and Clements. 
David Elwell
Source:  Decatur Daily - Link to Article

MEET THE ELKMONT PEE WEE FOOTBALL TEAM

The Athens-Limestone Youth Football Jamboree kicks off the 2014 season on August 23, 2014, with the Pee Wee Red Devils playing the East Limestone Indians at 4:00 pm and the Clements Colts at 5:00 pm at the Athens Middle School football stadium. We have a Pee Wee Red Devil Reporter to cover our team and looking forward to reading all about their season. 

Elkmont Pee Wee Roster

Head Coach:             Tony Brown

Assistant Coaches:    Marty Burrows

                                    Keith Hanback

                                    Billy Ray Morris  

 

Number                       Name 

5                                  Brody Eckstein

7                                  Jake Beddingfield

12                                Isaiah Sutherland

15                                Hunter Broadway

18                                Austin Malley

20                                Blake Brown

21                                Ben Sanders

22                                Paul Gooch

28                                Jedidiah Sutherland

31                                Masin Morris

32                                Colby Murphy

66                                Josh Burrows

75                                Benjamin Hanback

82                                Logan Mitchell

  

PEE WEE FOOTBALL IS AT ELKMONT PARK

Pee Wee practice is at 6:00 pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays at the Elkmont ball fields (Field 2). We have a great group of kids this year.

ELKMONT REVIVING PAST GLORY - DECATUR DAILY

There is an oak tree next to the Elkmont football field.  It overlooks the football practice field and has an end zone view of the happenings at Boss Hill Stadium on Friday nights. What the view is going to be like this season is always the talk of the town this time of year. Seniors Mike Tucker and Jared Bailey hope the tree has a view of a program that returns to the success the Red Devils experienced from 2007-'11.

 

During that five-year period, Elkmont had 33 wins, one region championship and four playoff appearances. Not bad for a school that before that run last visited the playoffs in 1999.  Don Jacobs was the head coach for the first three years of that success. He had the Red Devils in the playoffs all three years before leaving for Oneonta, a perennial power in 4A.  Tucker and Bailey were managers for the Red Devils during Jacobs' tenure. They remember the excitement in the town, at the school and on the field those seasons.

"The stadium would be packed and all anybody wanted to talk about was Red Devil football," Tucker said. "It was exciting." Bailey remembers how he and Tucker would look up in awe to the players and for what they did in bringing a jolt of excitement to the community. "I couldn't wait for my time to come," Bailey said. "Winning football games and making the playoffs was something we all wanted to be a part of."

David Wilson was the head coach the season after Jacobs left. The Red Devils slumped to 4-6.

Sean Holt took over the next season. The Elkmont native was the defensive coordinator under Jacobs. He got the Red Devils back to the playoffs in 2011 and they won a first-round game.

The Red Devils slumped to two wins in 2012 and three wins in 2013, but enthusiasm is high that better days are ahead in 2014. "We've got 16 seniors this season, and we are determined to make our senior season one to remember," Bailey said. "We've worked hard in the off season and this summer."  Numbers are a big part of football. Key numbers for any team are returning starters and seniors. "We have 35 players and that's a good number," Holt said, "but to have 16 seniors who have played a lot is really big. Actually, counting juniors, we have 24 players with experience returning.

"We've taken our lumps the last couple of years. I'm hoping that experience can pay off for us this season with some success."  Taking their lumps is a polite way of describing Class 3A, Region 8, where Elkmont played for the past two seasons. It was dominated by state champion Madison Academy. Colbert County, Lauderdale County and Deshler have been at worst just a step or two behind the Mustangs.  Nobody at Elkmont will use playing in 3A, Region 8 as an excuse for the last two seasons, but it's hard to find anybody complaining about moving up to 4A, Region 8. Brooks, Central Florence, East Lawrence, Rogers, West Limestone, Wilson and Deshler, which also moves up, will be tough competition for the Red Devils, but it won't be suffocating like the last two years.

Bailey and Tucker will be two key players for Elkmont this season. Bailey plays quarterback and running back. Tucker is a wingback. Bailey, Tucker and returning teammates Zeb Pankey and Eli Hobbs combined for over 2,000 rushing last season.

Elkmont played in a spring jamboree that saw the Red Devils lose to defending 2A state champion Tanner 14-10 in one half of play and beat Hubbard 14-0 in a second half.  "Yes, it was just a spring jamboree, but I think that experience gave us a lot of confidence," Holt said. "That may be what we needed more than anything. We've got the players. We just need players that are confident they can make the plays. We need playmakers."

  Contact David Elwell at 256-340-2395 or David.Elwell@DecaturDaily.com. Follow on Twitter @DD_DavidElwell.

Elkmont football at a glance

League: Class 4A, Region 8

Coach: Sean Holt; fourth season

Last season: Finished 3-7 and missed the 3A state playoffs

Past state titles: None

Past region titles: 1979, 1999, and 2008

Season opener: Aug. 29 at Ardmore

Elkmont schedule

Aug. 29 at Ardmore

Sept. 5 Brooks*

Sept. 12 Wilson*

Sept. 19 at West Limestone*

Sept. 26 New Hope

Oct. 3 at Central Florence*

Oct. 10 Deshler*

Oct. 17 Rogers*

Oct. 24 at East Lawrence*

Oct. 31 at Clements

SOURCE: DECATUR DAILY