County coaches, players take the stage at Football in the South Media Days
High school football teams all across north Alabama gathered at the Lauderdale County Workforce Development Center last Tuesday and Wednesday, July 14 and 15, for the 5th annual Football in the South Media Days, a popular event both for the teams and the local media that covers them.
The Franklin Free Press was in attendance both days as five of Franklin County’s six football programs—Belgreen, Phil Campbell, Red Bay, Russellville and Tharptown—made the trip to Florence to face questions from the media. Each team, represented by the head coach and a handful of select players, participated in a 10-minute press conference.
While 10 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot of time, many questions were asked and a lot was said. Here we’ll hit the highlights from each county team’s press conference.
Russellville High School seniors Patrick Johnson (0), Keifer Hallmark (10), Sam Wilson (75) and Aiden Hamby (74) at the Football in the South Media Days. (Courtesy Football in the South Scoreboard Show/Facebook)
Russellville Golden Tigers
Russellville was the first of the five participating county teams to hit the stage, taking part in the media days on Tuesday morning.
Joining RHS head coach Darrell Higgins at the event were seniors Patrick Johnson, Keifer Hallmark, Aiden Hamby and Sam Wilson.
One theme of the presser was, as one might imagine, Higgins’ arrival and what he’s seen from his team so far this summer. The first-year RHS coach said his players have both adapted well and have been working hard this offseason.
“Everybody’s new to me…so it’s been a lot of new players all trying to learn how we do things and in our way, and they’ve done a great job of adapting. Everybody has,” Higgins said.
“There are a lot of what I call ‘my kind of guys,’” he added later. “Just hard-working guys that like to clock in, get to work, be a great teammate, support each other and have a lot of fun while we’re out here working.”
From the players’ perspective, the offseason regime under Higgins could be described as difficult and challenging but very rewarding.
“It’s been tough, but it’s been great,” the offensive and defensive lineman Hamby said. “We’ve developed so much, we’re getting stronger, we’re getting faster, we’re building more grit, and we’re learning how to win no matter what happens.”
“I think Coach Higgins is a great coach, and the rest of the coaching staff, they’re amazing to us,” Wilson added. “I feel like it’s going to be a great year this year, and I just thank Coach Higgins for getting us better every day.”
Another major subject was Russellville’s new region after the recent realignment. Players commented on that, as well, telling reporters they’re looking forward to facing some of the best competition in the state this season.
“In my eyes this (Class 5A Region 7) is one of the toughest regions in the state, but I love competition and I wouldn’t want to face anybody that’s not the best,” Hallmark said. “I think we can compete in this region.”
Hamby and Johnson also weighed in:
“I think a lot of people are underestimating us,” Hamby said. “I think they don’t see the work that we’re putting in. They believe we’re just going to lay down, but we’ve been taught and we’ve been learning how to win it all no matter what.”
“The plan is to shock people in this region,” Johnson added.
The Golden Tigers kick off their 2026 campaign at home against Deshler on August 21.
Phil Campbell High School seniors Hayston Scott (0), Brady Williams (52), Cody Sneed (34), Devonte Smith (1) and Austin Elliott (2) at the Football in the South Media Days. (Courtesy Football in the South Scoreboard Show/Facebook)
Phil Campbell Bobcats
Phil Campbell was the next county team to speak and was the first team to face questions on day two of the media days on Wednesday.
PCHS head coach Jacob Hamilton, entering his fourth season with the Bobcats, was flanked by five seniors, quarterback Hayston Scott, defensive end Devonte Smith, wide receiver Austin Elliott, linebacker Cody Sneed and offensive lineman Brady Williams.
Phil Campbell is one of the many teams to drop down a classification this year; that was one of the first things Hamilton touched on at the beginning of their time.
“We’re really excited about it,” he said. “We get to be in a new region (Class 2A Region 7) and also traveling time (for road games) is going to be so much better.
“Honestly we’ve been having 2A numbers pretty close for the past four years,” he added. “You’re going from being the second or third smallest 3A to the top five biggest 2As, so that’s a big advantage for us, we feel like, and we’re excited about it.
“We’re still going to take our opponents week in and week out. You can live me up against whoever, we’re going to play. But we’re excited about this new region, we’re excited to not have to travel as much, and we’re excited to compete.”
The Bobcats will enter the season after spending a “locked in” summer working out and preparing. Scott, the quarterback, feels this year’s senior class has the leadership ability that can push the Bobcats to new heights.
“I think summer workouts are a lot different this year than it always has been,” he said. “We’ve got the seniors this year who actually want it.
“I’m not just sitting over here pushing seniors and juniors, I’m pushing the seventh- and eighth-graders. We’re inspiring them to set the program how it should have been set a few years ago and stuff like that,” Scott added.
“It’s been a lot more locked in than the summers before just because we’re so much more locked in this year.”
Hamilton closed out the presser answering a question on his expectations for the 2026 season.
“We’ve got a great schedule, and I told our kids what’s great about our schedule is everybody on our schedule can beat us but we can also beat everybody on our schedule,” he said. “There’s nobody that’s glooming or that we’re afraid of. We’re confident and so our expectation is to every single week get better. We want to win. We want to take it game by game and we want to win.
“Our goal is a region championship. Phil Campbell has won five region championships in 100 years…and we want to change that,” he added. “The best season in school history is 11 wins; we want to change that.
“If there was ever a year for us to be able to accomplish the things that we’ve always wanted to accomplish, this would be it. But the thing is it’s not going to be given to us, we’ve got to work. These kids understand that, they have that goal, and they do put in the work.”
Phil Campbell begins its season on August 21 at Red Bay.
Red Bay High School seniors Jaxon Swann (2), Jamyce Anderson (57), Landon Petree (6) and Braxton Payne (33) at the Football in the South Media Days. (Courtesy Football in the South Scoreboard Show/Facebook)
Red Bay Tigers
The Tigers of Red Bay followed right behind Phil Campbell.
Led by second-year head coach Tyler Jeffreys, who guided the Tigers to one of their best years in recent memory last season, seniors Jaxon Swann, Landon Petree, Braxton Payne and Jamyce Anderson found the stage.
Jeffreys started by describing the Tigers’ offseason prep as “a good one,” adding that his players have worked hard in the weight room and on conditioning. He then fielded a question on his team’s reclassification, dropping from Class 2A to 1A.
Despite the drop in classification, Jeffreys said there wouldn’t be much of a drop in quality in 1A Region 7.
“I don’t think it changes a whole lot. We still play a lot of good teams,” he said. “Probably the number one team in our region is Addison; they went to the (1A) semifinals last year. So, at the end of the day, I think the only way to be able to compete with those guys is to try to get better each day and not worry about the outcome of things and just take it day by day.”
Players also drew questions, specifically about community support and how it feels to play for Red Bay High School.
“The fans, every game, have (the stadium) packed out, away or home,” the wide receiver and defensive back Swann said of Tiger fans. “The community support’s really good, and they’re very good to us.”
On wearing the jersey on Friday nights, the senior tight end Payne called it a “privilege” while his teammate Anderson said it was an opportunity to be an example for younger fans.
“I love playing really good football, and I just love going out there on Friday nights showing how hard I work—showing the kids if they work hard then they can be here,” Anderson said.
Red Bay hosts Phil Campbell to start the 2026 season on August 21.
Tharptown High School players Zach May (35), Daryan McCaig (52), Brian Juan (40), Wyatt Harrell (7) and Cody McCluskey (11) at the Football in the South Media Days. (Courtesy Football in the South Scoreboard Show/Facebook)
Tharptown Wildcats
The penultimate Franklin County team to appear on the Football in the South Media Days stage was Tharptown, led by second-year head coach Brian White. The THS group also included freshman Wyatt Harrell, junior Cody McCluskey, sophomore Zach May, freshman Brian Juan, and sophomore Daryan McCaig.
Many of the questions surrounding the Wildcats were their improvements from last year to this year now that White has had a full season and offseason to implement his ideas.
One key focus for White and his staff has been working out, strength training and speed training.
“If you were here last year at this (media day) you saw some kind of small guys, but if you look at us right now you can see we’re obviously a little bigger than we were last year,” White said. “We spent a lot of time in the weightroom getting bigger, stronger. We’ve done a lot of plyometrics, working on speed and explosive energy. That’s what most of our time has been focused on, creating bigger, stronger, faster athletes.”
But schematically, the Wildcats are hoping to develop even more this year, too. After getting “back to the basics” in his first season in charge, White hopes to be able to broaden offensive and defensive concepts in year two.
“We’re a lot stronger this year and a lot faster so defensively we’re going to be a little bit more aggressive,” he said. “Then offensively, it’s a similar mindset but it’s going to be more multi-formational, a little bit more passing and throwing with the RPOs (run-pass option) and stuff like that.
“It’s a high level offense we’re going to be running, but the kids have learned to have a high football IQ in the process of the transition into this, and they understand what we’re doing,” White added. “They’re looking for a big season and we are, too.”
One change from last year is that Tharptown has declared as independent and will not play a region schedule for the next two years. White believes this decision will better help the program grow and be better for a future season when THS returns to region play.
“We’ve not declared for region play to give us a two-year window to grow and develop the program,” he said. “(The players) understand the process we’re going through and they’ve really taken it on, and they’re growing with the process just like we expected them to.”
Tharptown currently has a nine-game schedule and will kick off the year with a road game at Cherokee on August 21.
Belgreen High School players Rush Berryman (3), Angel Morales (78), Carlos Alban (15) and Logan Alexander (21) at the Football in the South Media Days. (Courtesy Football in the South Scoreboard Show/Facebook)
Belgreen Bulldogs
Finishing things out for Franklin County at the media event was Belgreen High School.
The head coach of the Bulldogs is Jonathan Raper, entering his third season. Raper was joined on the platform by juniors Rush Berryman and Logan Alexander and seniors Carlos Alban and Angel Morales.
Belgreen is entering its first season as a championship-eligible squad, joining Class 1A Region 7 after dropping down from Class 2A. Naturally, the first question posed to the Bulldogs was about the enthusiasm surrounding this new era of BHS football.
“We’re excited. For the first time we’re competing in a region, and we have a chance to make the playoffs. We had not had that before so you have something to play for every Friday night,” Raper said. “That makes it easier for the players and even the fans to get excited about every Friday night and have something to work towards.
“Everybody, the faculty and staff at the school and everybody in the community is looking forward to this coming season,” he added.
The newcomers to region play, facing opponents like Hackleburg, Addison, Meek and Red Bay, will not have any easy path if they are to make a first-ever run to the playoffs. Raper believes there will definitely be some “bumps and bruises” along the way, but that hasn’t stopped him and the Bulldogs from setting a high bar early.
“We expect to win,” Raper said frankly. “We want to be in the playoffs. We expect to win every game. That’s what we’re here working for.
“Our goal is to win the region and if we don’t win the region then make the playoffs,” he added. “We expect to show up every Friday night and give it the best shot we’ve got and compete.”
The players came out of the press conference seeming just as confident. When asked about changing outsiders’ idea of BHS from that of a “basketball school” to one that can compete in football, too, the quarterback and defensive end Berryman said this:
“Last year our goal was to have a winning record and compete and show everybody that we can play football. I think a lot of people looked down at us because it was our second year, third year playing, but maybe making the playoffs this year will be our way of showing that we’ve stepped up and have a good football program.”
Belgreen starts its season on August 21 with a road contest at Woodville.
The Franklin Free Press will be publishing full season previews for each Franklin County team in the coming weeks.