MEET THE WESTMINISTER WILDCATS

For three seasons the Wildcats competed in Class 2A, but last year there was a major move, not only to 3A but into the fire of Region 8.

"This region is tougher," Coach Stephen Hooks said. "It is a physical, well-coached region with a challenge every single week. If you can emerge out of our region you have a great shot at making a run deep into the playoffs."

In 2012 Westminster finished 6-4 but did not reach the playoffs. Players who graduated from that team include standout running back Jordan Lake. (1,172 yards, 11 TDs), who was also a first-team All-State punter.

 "Jordan was the stalwart of our team last year," Hooks said. "He is the epitome of what we want to produce: Solid character, hard-working in the weight room, and just a great kid. You don't replace that type of young men, but instead you ask younger players to follow the legacy that he set."

Key to 2013 will be a senior class that consist of players who have been under assistant coach Garrett Keith's strength and conditioning program for four years. That group includes Jacob Parker at quarterback, Josh Riley at center, James Bray at tight end, and others that include Johnny Knox, Daniel McFadden, Khalil Norman, Scott Maguire, Ryan Kaigler, Peter Lott, Nathan Sell, Nick Hammond, and Vincent Hill.

One coaching adjustment this year has Keith taking over as Westminster's defensive coordinator.
Source: al.com

Player to watch:
Jacob Parker, Westminster Christian, quarterback

And he's not afraid to call his own number, rushing for 399 yards and nine scores. With 1,000-yard rusher Jordan Lake serving as a workhorse last season, Parker didn't have to throw often, completing 57 of 83 attempts for 814 yards and nine TDs. Lake graduated, so the Wildcats may look to Parker for more production. Don't expect him to shy away from the challenge. Parker has started since he was a freshman.

ROSTER:

No Name Gd 1 Smith, Jared 10 2 Knight, Daniel 11 3 Kaigler, Ryan 12 4 McFadden, Daniel 12 5 King, Brandon 10 6 Hightower, Chip 11 7 Parker, Jacob 12 8 McCoy, Ryan 10 9 Fikes, William 11 10 Garrett, Tavian-IE 9 11 Murphree, Caleb 10 12 Bray, James 12 13 Knox, Johnny 12 15 Farris, Jackson 9 16 Hamm, Luke 12 17 Byrd, Logan 9 19 Plott, Hunter 11 20 Hammond, Nick 12 21 Cawthorn, Mikal 11 22 Terry, Michael 9 23 Matthewson, Jonathon 12 24 Batchelder, Davis 10 25 Lorick, John Carl 9 27 Bartley, Jonathan-IE 11 28 Bartley, Matthew-IE 9 29 Gonder, Jordan 9 30 Kimrey, Andrew 11 33 Bumpas, Graham 10 34 Hill, Vincent 12 37 Parker, John 10 38 Lauderdale, Greyson 11 44 Simerly, Nick 12 48 Theis, Quintin 11 50 Gilbert, Micah 10 52 Farr, Kendall 9 55 Norman, Khalil 12 56 Edwards, Matt 10 60 Leutchefield, Adam 9 61 McDaris, Conner 11 63 Deerman, Micah 9 64 Troyankek, Luke 9 68 Maguire, Scott 12 70 Baker, Skyler 9 71 Milby, Cole 10 72 Riley, Josh 12 73 Lott, Peter 12 74 Thorne, Trey 9 75 Donegan, Austin 11 76 Willis, Zac 11 77 Eno, Neil 9 78 Sell, Nathan 12 79 Cartwright, Jeremiah 10 80 Lacy, Marcus 9 81 Singles, Reid 10 84 Poslajko, Conner 10 85 Funk, Jeffrey 10 86 Toon, Greyson 10 87 Breazele, Matt 9 88 Miles, Gannon 10 99 Teitge, David 11

Maxpreps site:

In Friday's league game, the Deshler Tigers football team smashed the host Westminster Christian Wildcats (Huntsville, AL), by a score of 35-0. The Wildcats now sport a 1-1 record. They take the field next when they travel to Elkmont (0-2) for a 3A Region 8 game on Friday, September 13. Westminster Christian will battle a Red Devils team coming off a 42-17 league loss to Colbert County (Leighton, AL).

Sep 06 @ 7:00 - Football Box Score

Box Score	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Final
Deshler	21	7	0	7	35
Westminster Christian	0	0	0	0	0

The Westminster Christian Wildcats football squad scored 24 points and restricted the host Pope John Paul II Falcons to 7 in the Wildcats non-league victory on Friday.

Aug 30 - Football Box Score

Westminster Christian					24
Pope John Paul II					7

FINAL STATS FROM COLBERT COUNTY GAME

Colbert County scored on its first three possessions of the game. Elkmont got on the scoreboard with 5:27 left in 2nd quarter when Alexis Hernandez hit a 42 yard field goal.  The Red Devils scored again when running back, Jared Bailey, ran it in from 33 yards out.  The PAT (point after touchdown) was good by Alexis s with 3:17 left in 2nd quarter. Colbert Co. would score again with 1:07 left in the quarter making the half time score,  35-10.  

During the 2nd half, each team only scored once. Elkmont scored with 3:12 left in 4th quarter when senior running back, Kris Gooch ran it in from one yard out.  The PAT was good, making the final score -  Colbert County  42,  Elkmont 17.

Leading Rusher:
Mike Tucker had 126 yards on 11 carries

Leading tackler:  Zeb Pankey with 5 tackles

Athens News Courier Article:

The Indian’s Ryan Carpenter took a run play 80 yards on the first play from scrimmage to put the hosts up 7-0 with only 15 seconds off the clock.  After Elkmont went three and out, Colbert County again scored on its first offensive play of the drive when Tyler Jeffreys connected with Anthony West for one of his two touchdown passes of the night.

The Red Devil’s next possession ended in a blocked punt that was recovered in the endzone by Colbert County and with 7:48 left in the first quarter the visitors found themselves in a 21-0 hole.  Jeffreys connected with Tobias Qualls on a 58-yard touchdown with 5:35 left in the opening quarter.

Elkmont junior Mike Tucker started picking up steam to close out the first quarter and ripped off nearly half of his 121 yards in the second quarter.  Late in the first half the Red Devils moved the ball successfully behind strong running by Tucker and Junior Jared Bailey.  Junior kicker Alexis Hernandez kicked a 41-yard field goal to get Elkmont on the board.  Two minutes later Bailey scored on a busted play when he swapped directions and scampered for 33 yards and the touchdown.

Just before half the Indians six plays for 54 yards and notched another touchdown to make the halftime score 35-10.

Each team scored a touchdown a piece in a second half of play which saw both teams run predominantly and succumb to the muggy night.  Colbert County struck first with 6:53 left in the third quarter when Carpenter slipped down the sideline for 34 yards and the score.

Elkmont returned fire with 3:12 left in the game when senior Kris Gooch found pay dirt after an eight-play, 76-yard drive.

ELKMONT MIDGET FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Elkmont Midget Schedule

All games played at Athens Middle School

9/14/2013            7:00 pm                Elkmont v. Athens 2

9/21/2013            5:00 pm                Elkmont v. West

9/28/2013            7:00 pm                Athens 1 v. Elkmont

10/5/2013            4:00 pm                East 1 v. Elkmont

10/12/2013         4:00 pm                Elkmont v. East 2

10/19/2013         4:00 pm                Tanner v. Elkmont

10/26/2013         5:00 pm                Elkmont v. Clements

11/2/2013            1:00 pm                Playoff, #2 v. #3

                            2:00 pm                Playoff, #1 v. #4

11/9/2013            noon                     Championship game

ELKMONT MIDGET RED DEVILS JAMBOREE

The Elkmont midget football team played in the 2013 Jamboree on Saturday, losing 7-0 to East Limestone 2 and playing Clements to a 0-0 tie.  

The Midget Red Devils gave up one long run to East 2, resulting in East 2's only score. The Midgets outgained Clements but never could find the end zone, despite coming close on two occasions. The regular season opens on September 14.  Good luck Midget Devils!!!

MICRO SCRIMMAGE VS WEST LIMESTONE

Final scrimmage score was tied at 30-30.

Noah Holt, running back, ran for 4 touchdowns. JD Lagano, quarterback, added another seven points to the score by scampering into the end zone. 

Elkmont youth football will be kicking off their season with the Jamboree games tomorrow starting at 9 am; Athens Middle school. 

ELKMONT MIDDLE SCHOOL VS SOUTH LINCOLN - GAME IN PICTURES

Elkmont still looking for their first win.  South Lincoln took this year's meeting,  34 - 14. 

A shout out to Down Home Portraits for the game photos. If you would like to order pictures from this game, visit their website.  Game Link: South Lincoln

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS - ELKMONT @ COLBERT COUNTY

Elkmont will be traveling to Colbert County tonight.  The Red Devils will have an uphill battle as they play a more experienced, fifteen returning starters, Indian team.  Kickoff: 7 pm. 



Athens New Courier - Fearless Prediction

Preview:  These teams have traded shutouts for the past three seasons with the visiting teams leaving with big wins in those games.  
If Elkmont is going to leave Leighton with a win, the Red Devils will need more of the big plays they used to score against Ardmore last week.

Series History: Colbert County 15 - 6
Last Year: Colbert County won 32 - 0
News Courier Prediction: Colbert County 27, Elkmont 6

Decatur Daily - Prediction
"Elkmont is coming off a loss to rival Ardmore in the season opener, Elkmont lost an important part of its offense when receiver Phett Bailey was lost to a possible season ending injury....Colbert County opened its season last week with a at 42- 0 win against Colbert Heights. Ryan Carpenter led the Indians with three rushing touchdowns.
The Daily pick:
Colbert County 35, Elkmont 13 

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE COLBERT COUNTY INDIANS?

Elkmont is looking for its first win of the season.  Kickoff is at 7 pm vs the Colbert County Indians, September 6.  The Indians are projected to finish in the top four teams in Region 8.

First game vs Colbert Heights: win 42 - 0
TIMES DAILY ARTICLE LINK: INDIANS POUND WILDCATS

COLBERT COUNTY ROSTER:  LINK

Depth is the name of the game for Colbert County.  Though the traditional power saw a spike in the number of players on its football roster last year, experience remained thin at many positions.
That meant seasoned starters had to fight through fatigue and remain on the field longer than coach Dale Jeffreys would have liked.  It showed, when the Indians, after winning their first five games, lost four of their final five to close the regular season, sneaking into the playoffs as Class 3A, Region 8’s No. 4 seed.  They went on to advance to a quarterfinals loss to eventual state champion Madison Academy. With 15 starters plus a host of supporting players back from that run, Jeffreys looks for improvement in his second year back at his alma mater.


“We’re a lot deeper than we were last year,” Jeffreys said. “We’ve got some more kids out. We’re close to 50 kids. We’re pretty much two-deep everywhere and a lot of those guys are going to roll in and out. We aren’t going to have many playing every snap all the time, although there will be a couple guys who may still do that. We’re feeling a lot better about our numbers and depth. “We’re a lot further ahead this year than we were last year. Just simply that we’re a year older. We’ve got 15 starters coming back, so everything is a little bit fresher than it was last year. That was one thing that we struggled with, that everything was so new. It was the third different offense in four years, so that made it difficult.” 

Seven starters return offensively, including senior running back Ryan Carpenter, who had a breakout year with 1,261 yards rushing and 21 touchdowns on 149 carries as a junior.  That was done with a brace on his knee as he continued to recover from an ACL tear that caused him to miss his sophomore season.  Added Jeffreys: “I think Ryan is going to have a really good year. Last year, he was coming back off an ACL injury his sophomore year, when he didn’t play. He wore a brace all last year. This year, he’s got it off. I can tell he’s a lot quicker and faster.”

The Indians will field a new starter at quarterback, technically speaking. Tyler Jeffreys, the coach’s son, takes over at that position after last year’s starter, Sam Howard, transferred to Deshler.
The younger Jeffreys, who saw some action last year, has plenty of experience, though, and is expected to provide a smooth transition at quarterback.
Like at most positions, coach Jeffreys likes the depth at receiver, where he says four or five players who could get the ball on any given play. That includes playmaking 6-foot-3 junior Tobias Qualls. The defense returns eight starters from last season, losing two tackles and a back. However, injuries at those positions throughout last season allowed younger players to step in and develop depth.
Coaches also have tried to simplify some of the defensive system they brought with them last year.
Particularly, coach Jeffreys is looking for an improvement in turnover margin, in which the Indians were minus-25 in their five losses in 2012.

“We feel good about that and we feel good about our linebackers,” Dale Jeffreys said. “We’ve got two decent linebackers. We can get some quality rest time with those guys, even if it’s just one series, to help us play hard for four quarters.”  A back-loaded schedule last year didn’t play to the Indians favor, though this year’s will be the same, with games against Lauderdale County, Deshler and Madison Academy all coming in the second half of the season. 
SOURCE ARTICLE: TIMES DAILY

FINAL STATS - ARDMORE GAME

Here are stats from the Ardmore game Friday:
1st Quarter:
Ardmore got on the scoreboard first when Quaterback Garrett Miller hit WR Dominique Clemons for 60 yd touchdown pass at 9:26 in the 1st quarter.. The PAT by Ryan Green was good.  Elkmont got on scoreboard when Jordan Nelson found Wide Receiver Eli Hobbs for 71 yd pass.  PAT by Alexis Hernandez was good with 4:19 left in 1st quarter. 

2nd Quarter:
Ardmore with 6:14 left  scored when QB Garrett Miller run it in from 6 yds out.   PAT was blocked by Eli Hobbs.   Ardmore had the lead at half 13-7.

3rd Quarter:
Elkmont got on scoreboard first when Mike Tucker ran it in from 7 yards.  The PAT was good with 6:45 left.  Ardmore found the endzone again with 3:21 left  when QB Miller found tight end Hayden Durrett on a 24 yd touchdown pass.  The two point conversion was unsuccessful at the end of the quarter, Ardmore 19 - Elkmont 14.
  
4th Quarter:
Ardmore scored one more time with 4:45 to put the game away when running back Rickey Lowery ran it in from 3 yards out.  The two point  conversion was no good .  The final score was Ardmore 25, Elkmont 14.

Team Stats:
Elkmont: 108 yds on 14 carries; 1 TD,  2 fumbles - lost both of them  
Passing:   QB Jordan Nelson finished with 137 yards,  8 completions on 14 attempts;  0 interceptions,  1 TD  
Receiving leader: Eli Hobbs 91 yards, 3 catches, 1 TD  
Rushing leader: Rhett Bailey with 59 yards  Defense: 
Elkmont's  leaders Jared Bailey with 11.5 tackles,  Eli Hobbs with 11 and a blocked PAT, Kris Gooch with 9.5 tackles

ELKMONT YOUTH FOOTBALL JAMBOREE SCHEDULE

2013 Jamboree Schedule - Games will consist of Two - 10 Minute Quarters.
Schedule Finalized: 8/29/13                   Each team has one timeout per game.
Gm #	Date	Time	Home Team	Away Team	Division	Work Schedule
1	9/7/13	8:00 AM	Athens	Elkmont	Mini-Midget	Board
2	9/7/13	8:30 AM	West	Clements	Mini-Midget
3	9/7/13	9:00 AM	East	Athens	Mini-Midget
4	9/7/13	9:30 AM	Elkmont	Ardmore	Mini-Midget	Micro Coach
5	9/7/13	10:00 AM	Clements	East	Mini-Midget
6	9/7/13	10:30 AM	Ardmore	West	Mini-Midget
7	9/7/13	11:00 AM	Athens 1	Tanner	Micro-Mini	Mini Coach
8	9/7/13	11:30 AM	Elkmont	Athens 2	Micro-Mini
9	9/7/13	12:00 PM	Tanner	East	Micro-Mini
10	9/7/13	12:30 PM	West	Athens 1	Micro-Mini
11	9/7/13	1:00 PM	Elkmont	Athens 3	Micro-Mini	Midget Coach
12	9/7/13	1:30 PM	Athens 2	West	Micro-Mini
13	9/7/13	2:00 PM	Athens 3	East	Micro-Mini
14	9/7/13	2:30 PM	East 2	Elkmont	Midget	Micro Coach
15	9/7/13	3:00 PM	West	Tanner	Midget
16	9/7/13	3:30 PM	Elkmont	Clements	Midget
17	9/7/13	4:00 PM	Tanner	Athens 1	Midget
18	9/7/13	4:30 PM	Athens 2	East 2	Midget	Pee Wee Coach
19	9/7/13	5:00 PM	Athens 1	East 1	Midget
20	9/7/13	5:30 PM	Athens 2	West	Midget
21	9/7/13	6:00 PM	East 1	Clements	Midget
22	9/7/13	6:30 PM	West	Athens	Pee Wee	Midget Coach
23	9/7/13	7:00 PM	Tanner	Clements	Pee Wee
24	9/7/13	7:30 PM	East	West	Pee Wee
25	9/7/13	8:00 PM	Athens	Tanner	Pee Wee	Board
26	9/7/13	8:30 PM	Clements	East	Pee Wee