As usual, the high school football offseason has been filled with coaching changes throughout the state – maybe more than most years.
Pike Road went 14-0 and averaged 46 points a game a year ago, but coach Patrick Browning left for Greenville and star players Iverson Hooks, Quinshon Judkins and Khurtiss Perry will be playing on Saturdays this fall. Rigby comes in after a successful stint at Eufaula and does have talent returning, including sophomore running back Anthony Rogers and senior offensive tackle Vysen Lang.
Orange Beach head coach Chase Smith in action during a 7-on-7 prep football tournament at University of South Alabama on Tuesday, June 15, 2021, in Mobile, Ala. Smith returns to The Hill after having spent four years as an assistant there under current UAB coach Bryant Vincent from 2007-2010. The Toros have won four state championships since 2010. Every coach since Vincent’s 2010 title has won at least one. Mark Freeman won two. Ben Blackmon won another.
Pike Road head coach Patrick Browning paces the sidelines during the first half of the Greenville at Pike Road high-school football game, Friday, Oct. 22, 2021, in Pike Road, Ala. Browning spent the last six years at Pike Road, building the program from its infancy to the Class 5A state championship in 2021. In four varsity seasons, the Patriots went 42-7 overall, including a 36-2 mark in the last three seasons.