Renfrow: Vina football team out to prove 2024 season not a ‘one-off’
After a campaign that saw the Vina High School varsity football team end a 35-year winning season drought with a final 6-4 record last season, the Red Devils return to the gridiron in 2025 with as much optimism and determination as ever.
Despite the first six-win season for the program since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Red Devils just missed out on the postseason, and there’s still belief that the Vina football program still has more to prove.
“I feel like we have a very motivated group coming back this year,” said Vina head coach Cody Renfrow, who is entering his third season in charge of the Red Devils. “They (the players) still have a chip on their shoulder, and they want to show that last season wasn’t just a one-off year. So, the motivation is there, and we’re really excited to get back at it.”
Like last year, Renfrow said he will be relying on his seniors to carry the torch and help continue what the previous group began.
“We’re really going to rely on our seniors again this year. I like leaning on my seniors, and I really value their input about what’s going on,” Renfrow said.
But there were a few specific players that came to Renfrow’s mind when asked who would be crucial to Vina’s success this year. Lane Easterling and Bryson Finch were the first two.
Easterling, a standout linebacker for the Red Devils last year, will return there as one of the leaders defensively; offensively Easterling could be making an unusual position change.
“Lane Easterling is one of the first that comes to mind when I think about leadership. He was our second-leading tackler last season and he’ll return at middle linebacker,” Renfrow said. “On offense we’re looking at moving him from the offensive line to the backfield, and you don’t really see a whole lot of that. But we know what we’ve got with him. He’s a high-motor kid and his effort’s through the roof. He’s somebody that we’ll really lean on.”
Bryson Finch, another linebacker, also got a shoutout from his head coach.
“(Finch) has great effort and he’s a good kid. We’re really going to be relying on him for leadership,” Renfrow said.
A third key player Renfrow mentioned was sophomore Branson Vick.
“Branson Vick is a very athletic kid with a good head on his shoulders, and he’s another that we’ll be relying on,” he said.
Vick, a much targeted wide receiver for the Red Devils last season, like Easterling, could be making a switch of position, going from catching footballs to throwing them. Heading into fall camp, Vick was QB1.
With the quarterback position and a couple others Renfrow is letting the process play itself out.
“There’s a couple positions that we’re not really set on. There’s a few guys at two or three different skill positions that we’re looking at,” Renfrow said. “Since we have that early bye week (on August 22), we’re going to take that time to really iron out those skill groups.”
While some players at some positions may be changing, Vina’s approach to scoring points won’t be. A run-heavy offense, led by a trio of standout senior ball-carriers, saw the Red Devils have success last season; it’s still an approach—with a philosophy behind it—Renfrow trusts.
“We believe in the run, and that’s how we believe we’ll be able to be successful,” he said. “As one of the smaller (Class) 1A teams in the state, we’re not always going to be the most talented teams every Friday night. We believe you’ve got to play tough, you’ve got to play physical on both sides of the ball, and it all starts with the run—offensively and defensively.
“To be successful offensively, it all starts with running the football; defensively, especially in 1A and in our region, it starts with stopping the run,” he added. “Physicality is going to be the name of our game.”
Offensively, the success of any rushing attack will be determined in large part by the offensive line, a group that Renfrow did share some concern about. Whether the Red Devils can see the same success this year as they did last year on the ground will come down to VHS hammering out its personnel questions.
“It’s one of those position groups that could go one way or the other,” Renfrow said. “We’ve got a couple seniors that we may convert from the line to backfield, and if we do then we’re going to have to rely on a couple of younger guys to step in and fill those roles.
“If we don’t have a successful offensive line then we can’t do what we want to do, which is run the football. And we can’t be physical if we can’t lean on that offensive line,” he added.
Looking at Vina’s schedule, the Red Devils play an identical one to last season. After finishing fifth in Class 1A Region 7 and just missing out on the playoffs last campaign, Vina would enjoy getting over the line this go around. But the Red Devils’ region is no pushover. At the top sits Hackleburg, which went 12-2 last season and were 1A semifinalists; then there’s Meek, Cherokee, and Addison, the three teams ahead of Vina in the region race last season and who defeated the Red Devils by an average of 35 points.
Renfrow doesn’t deny the competition is fierce atop the region, but he feels that fourth spot is there for the team that wants it. He’s confident Vina can be that team this year.
“The top of the region’s very stout. There are some great programs with Hackleburg year in and year out, Addison, and Meek—all three of those programs are very well run and you know they’re going to be very tough,” Renfrow said. “But I do feel like that fourth spot is wide open in our region, and I truly believe this year is the year we can push through as long as we stay healthy and do the things that we need to do and stick to our process. I truly believe this is the year that we break through and hopefully make the playoffs.”
So, the postseason is one goal. If this year’s Red Devils can achieve it, they would be the first Vina playoff team since 2019. Another goal for this team, Renfrow said, is to carry the momentum from last year to earn another winning season. If this Vina squad can do that, it would be the first to have back-to-back winning seasons since 1975-76.
After over 40 years of “one-off” seasons, is this the year Vina turns the turnaround into something lasting?
The Red Devils kick off their campaign on the road at Brindlee Mountain on Friday, August 29.
2025 VINA SCHEDULE
8/29 @ Brindlee Mountain
9/5 vs. Phillips Bear Creek*
9/12 @ Shoals Christian*
9/19 vs. Cherokee*^
9/25 @ Tharptown
10/3 @ Hackleburg*
10/10 @ Waterloo*
10/17 vs. Addison*
10/24 @ Meek*
10/31 vs. Belgreen
* - denotes region game
^ - Homecoming