REFORM, Ala — Dominate.
The word greets you when you enter the Pickens County High School football team’s locker room at G.S. Spruill Stadium. Coach Patrick Plott has personalized the message for his Tornadoes by transforming the letter “i” into a number 1, and the letter “a” into an A that signifies that team’s classification — 1A — in the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
Pickens County (14-0) will see if it can deliver that kind of effort on defense at 3 p.m. today when it takes on Maplesville (14-0) for the AHSAA Class 1A state title at Bryant-Denny Stadium at the University of Alabama. This is Pickens County’s first trip to the Super 6 football championship games. While the school’s boys basketball teams won state titles in Class 2A and 1A in 2010-2012, the football team has flirted with trips to the state’s biggest stage. In 2011, Pickens County lost to Sweet Water in the third round. Last season, Pickens County lost to Marion County 42-41 in the state semifinals.
This season, a high-octane offense that has scored 630 points (45 per game) has jelled with a “bend-but-don’t break defense” to move one step from a first state title in the sport. To realize its goal, Pickens County will have to stop a Maplesville team that has scored 734 points (52.4 per game). According to the AHSAA web site, that total is 28 points shy of breaking the state record of 761 set by Demopolis (15-0) in 2004.
Pickens County may have had the best primer for Maplesville going against its first-team offensive in practice. Sophomore defensive lineman Malek Steele said it has been “very tough” going against quarterback Devonte Simon and running back Jermarcus Brown every week. He also laughed when asked if either of those two players has forced him to miss a tackle. Steele hopes those trial runs help him and his linemates have success this afternoon.
“We really come off the ball and hit them in the mouth really well,” Steele said. “We also use our hands well and know how to get off blocks and get 11 men to the ball.”
Second-year offensive/defensive line coach Jermel Bell said the defensive linemen share the aggressive mind-set that has helped the offensive linemen block to the whistle blows. While the offensive linemen have paved the way for Simon and Brown, the defensive linemen have done just as good of a job as stopping players like that.
“I am very proud about having the most inexperienced defensive line,” said Bell, who played offensive line at Miles (Ala.) College. “We had some guys step up big time. My thing from day one is being aggressive, coming off the ball, attacking your man, doing your job, reading your keys, and making good tackles.”
Bell said the defensive line has matured after a slow start and has embraced its No. 1 goal: Stop the run. He said the team’s motto, which is bend but don’t break, will be put the test today against one of the state’s top teams.
“It is going to be high intensity and a lot of emotion. It is going to be our first time making it to the state championship game,” Bell said. “It is new to the guys. My biggest thing is I want them to play hard, leave it on the field, do everything they can do, and do what we have been told to do and what we have done since day one.”
Bell said the biggest word is “dominate.” Steele agrees and said it means not to make any mistakes, to have fun, and to go after it on every play.
Senior Dontae Hughes, who plays both ways for the Tornadoes, said he realized in the preseason the defensive line had the potential to be a special group. He said that hard work in the offseason helped a group that isn’t the biggest collectively help push the team within a victory of a state title.
“I think we have played well as a team,” Hughes said. “I believe in my team, and I believe we will go out there and do what we need to do to win.”
Plott credits Bell for his fine work with the offensive and defensive lines. He said defensive line has consistently dominated the line of scrimmage from start to finish all season. That is even more impressive when you consider Pickens County lost three players from that position group from last season.
“We were very concerned about that because our best defensive players were our D-linemen,” Plott said. “These guys stepped up and did a great job and filled in and played well for us.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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