Pre-season Power Poll #5
#5 – Oxford Yellow Jackets
Head Coach: John Grass
2007 Record: 10-0 [3-7 after the forfeiture of games]
Key Dates in ’08 – Gadsden City – Week 4, Huntsville – Week 5, Clay-Chalkville – Week 7, Pell City – Week 9, Tuscaloosa County – Week 10.
Star to Watch: Ty Martin – Wide Receiver
You know the story by now. Oxford was red flagged for an ineligible player in 2007 and they forfeited seven games. That is behind them.
With the exception of a few key seniors, the Oxford Yellow Jackets return mostly intact from a team that dominated its’ opposition on the field in 2007. This group of returning starters has the town in a frenzy of expectations. Some are even talking state championship.
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Championships are a tall order on the Class 6A level and they know it. After all, they waltzed to the Region 7 crown last season. Their seemingly effortless run through region counterparts included a 31-14 drubbing of Gadsden City. I know the term “drubbing” doesn’t seem to fit a 17-point win, but it does in this case considering Gadsden City’s only scores came by way of a deep pass in the first quarter and an interception return in the second half by Dre’ Kirkpatrick.
If you put two and two together [referring to the August issue of the Sports Report] you’ll notice that we picked Oxford to win Region 7 again in 2008. Using last year’s game as an indicator, the Yellow Jackets have proven to be the best team out of the eight vying for the title.
You’ll also notice that we haven’t mentioned Gadsden City yet in this poll. That’s because while Oxford may be the best team head-to-head with others in this region, we expect Gadsden City to match up better down the stretch with some of the other top teams in the classification. Both teams will make solid playoff runs.
First year head coach John Grass is obviously a capable coach. Leading Spain Park to the 6A State Championship for the first time in school history is reason to believe he can do the same with Oxford either this season or in the near future. But in considering the change, understand that Grass has never won 10 games his first year with any team he’s coached. His best first season was with his only with Albertville when he led the Aggies to a 9-4 record.
2008 Schedule:
8/29 – Benjamin Russell [A]
9/5 – Pinson Valley [H]
9/12 – Huffman [H]
9/19 – Gadsden City [A]
9/26 – Huntsville [H]
10/3 – Hewitt-Trussville [A]
10/10 – Clay-Chalkville [A]
10/17 – Shades Valley [H]
10/24 – Pell City [H]
10/30 – Tuscaloosa County [A]
