Phil Campbell looking to take next step in head coach Hamilton’s second year

One of the first things you notice about Phil Campbell football’s second-year head coach Jacob Hamilton is his energy. Entering the conference room for the Football in the South Scoreboard Show Media Day in late July, Hamilton exuded that energy and, in his opening statement, quickly put everyone else on notice about what the Bobcats would be this season.

“Starting in the offseason in January…I started referencing this day in the weightroom because I said I’ll tell you in July, when I get on stage and they stick a microphone in front of my face…or any newspaper wants to talk to me, I’m going to say we’re the hardest-working in our region; we’re going to be the hardest working team in 3A; we’re going to be the hardest working team in the state,” Hamilton began. “I’m not trying to be, you know, cocky or arrogant when I say that, but I do believe we’re the hardest working team in our region, and I wanted to say that at media day. These guys have bought into that. They’ve gotten a lot stronger, a lot better. We’re confident. We finally got a little swagger about ourselves.”

All that hard work will, hopefully, translate to a 2024 campaign that sees Bobcats overcome the obstacles that stand in their way. One hurdle Phil Campbell would like to leap this season is in the playoffs. Although the Bobcats have made the postseason in each of the last four campaigns, they haven’t gotten out of the first round. The Bobcats haven’t advanced to the second round since the year 2000.

“We’re not going to be satisfied with a first round playoff game,” Hamilton said. “We want double-digit wins and we’re going to fight tooth and nail to get it.

“Things have got to go our way and we’ve got to do the right things. We’ve got to prepare and practice well, and we’ve got to play hard, and we’ve got to stay healthy; but if things go our way I’m very confident that we can reach those goals and have what we would consider a successful season,” he added.

In order to get over the hump, Hamilton said Phil Campbell has made some changes including to a revamped offense, led by returning sophomore quarterback Hayston Scott.

“We’ve completely revitalized our offense. We’ve totally changed our offensive game plan and how we’re doing things, and that’s just because I think we have the athletes to be able to do different things and spread things out,” Hamilton said. “We had a freshman quarterback last year and now we’ve had a chance to work with him all offseason. Now he’s a sophomore and much more prepared. We’ve revitalized the offense and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Phil Campbell, in addition to Scott, are returning a ton of experience on offense this season, raising the bar for what the Bobcats can do on the attack.

“Expectations are much higher because we’ve got all 11 guys for us on offense who played in game or started last year. We had to replace some seniors. Like we had to replace our center, but we replaced him with a guy that started six games for us at left tackle. And then we had a guy that was injured last year that played four week at right tackle; he’s back. We’ve got three guys that play running back and receiver that played all around for us last year.

“We’ve got 11 guys back for us on offense that have all put in the work, they’ve put on muscle and gotten stronger in the weight room, so our expectations there have gotten higher.”

The Bobcats have all five offensive linemen coming back, including senior Johan Vasquez, who was named the team MVP last season. 

“When you see team MVP you usually think quarterback or running back, but for us last season it was our right guard and defensive tackle. He’s a great player,” Hamilton said.

Running behind them will be senior Hayden Wingo, who will no doubt receive plenty of touches.

“He led us in yards and touchdowns last year, so when you’re returning your leading producer, that’s always great,” Hamilton said.

Other offensive players to keep an eye on, Hamilton said, are Braxton Mayfield and Noah Raper.

Like the offense, the defense is also returning a number of key starters, including some names already mentioned.

“Johan Vasquez is an absolute force at defensive tackle. His technique is great. He’s strong, he’s mean,” Hamilton said. “We’re also returning our two-time defensive MVP linebacker Mason Weeks. He led us in tackles last year. He’s a senior and he’s a true four-year starter with tons of experience.

“We’ll get Noah (Raper) back at safety and he’s going to be a force back there,” Hamilton added. “We’ve also got rising stars in Ethan Hallman and Logan Cooper on the defensive side. Logan Cooper was our most improved defensive player last year. Ethan Hallman has really bought into the offseason program and has put on weight and gotten bigger and stronger.”

As expectations have risen, preparation has also kicked up a notch.

“We’re trying to do practice and preparation like you would in college,” Hamilton said. “We’re having team meetings, we’re having position meetings, we’re having scheduled film time and prep time. I go over the game plan at practice with the kids so they’re aware of the time crunch and the tight schedule that we’re on. They get the script so they know what we’re doing. I’m trying to get them to treat this like a job, like it’s more than a game. If I’m prepared then they’re prepared and I feel like that’s going to translate well for us in the season.”

Looking at the schedule, Phil Campbell, which moved into Class 3A Region 5 after two decades in Region 8, will face the likes of Vinemont, Oakman, Winfield, Midfield, Carbon Hill, Hanceville, and preseason No. 4 Gordo, the team that eliminated the Bobcats from the playoffs last season, in region play.

“I’ve said it a few times, but 3A is an absolute gauntlet,” Hamilton said. “We’re excited about the new region,” he said. “Gordo and Winfield, they’re very tough competition—all of 3A is tough competition—but Gordo and Winfield was at the top of that and we believe they’re going to be very good.

“Some of these teams we don’t know much about, but they don’t know about us, either,” Hamilton added.

The Bobcats start the season hosting Class 4A Hamilton, who Phil Campbell hasn’t played since 2005 and hasn’t beaten since 1986. Hamilton said it’s important to get the season off to a good start, and a win over the Aggies would be a great way to kick off.

“Hamilton is going to bring a crowd and I know we’re going to have a great crowd, and to get it at home is huge,” Hamilton said. “They’ve got a quarterback that can sling it around so it’ll be a test for our defense. It’ll be a test for our offense, too. It’ll get good to get those jitters out and show everyone that we can put up points.

“It’s a level up in competition for us, and we’re excited to play them,” he added. “It’ll be a really good test and I believe we’re up to it.”

The season opener against Hamilton will be just the first measure of what this Bobcat team, high with expectations, can achieve this season. Hamilton has set team goals including winning the region and, most importantly, winning in the first round of the playoffs. Of course only time will tell if the Bobcats can reach those heights, but one thing is certain:

“Our confidence is much higher, our standard is much higher, our expectations are much higher,” Hamilton said. “We set these goals because we believe we can achieve them, and we’re going to fight hard and work hard to do it.”