As Addison head coach David Smothers enters his tenth year at the helm of his alma mater, plenty of challenges await his team for the 2021 season.
After securing their 11th consecutive playoff berth and advancing to the second round of the Class 2A playoffs, the Bulldogs saw a large senior class graduate, leaving many starting roles to be filled.
Smothers has expressed pride in his team’s work during the preseason and feels his players are happy to see action.
“We’ve had a good summer, though the past few days hasn’t been very productive as I things our guys are tired of seeing each other lined-up across from them; they’re ready to get started,” Smothers said. “Hitting the same guy every day tends to get you in a lull and at that point, you know the team is ready mentally for action.”
Of importance for Smothers was filling graduation losses at center and at both inside linebacker positions. He commends the work of Lucas Crow under center, as well as Bobby Williams, both of whom will split playing time at the role. A trio of seniors, Ross Steele, Zack Thompson and Jack Wilson have worked hard to solidify the spot, Smothers reported.
“”We have some good talent and experience coming back, but we lost a lot of our point-makers last year,” Smothers said. “We’re going to be looking for guys to get into the endzone for us.”
A tough region and non-region slate awaits Addison in 2021. Class 4A playoff teams Haleyville, Good Hope and Hamilton return on the schedule, along with in-county rival Lynn. The Bulldogs will have key region matchups against Aliceville, Winston County and Lamar County.
“If you want your team to play at a high level, you have to play quality competition, and we have it both in region and non-region play,” Smothers said.
