CENTRE – The Cherokee County Warrior football team is back where it belongs – geographically that is.
The last two seasons, Cherokee County – which is less than 100 miles from the Tennessee border – played in one of the southernmost regions in the state: Class 4A, Region 4. Their first-round playoff games the past two seasons were at Mobile Christian and at Straughn, a high school located in Andalusia.
Following the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s football reclassification last December, the Warriors now move back North and into the new Class 4A, Region 6. That region also features Ashville, Etowah, Fultondale, Good Hope, Hanceville and state runner-up Oneonta.
With current gas prices hovering near the $5 mark, the current reclassification should make playoff travel a little lighter on the team and its fans’ wallets.
“It was an obstacle, but I think in the two years, we handled it pretty good,” Warrior head coach Jacob Kelley said at the Cherokee County football media days at Easy Street restaurant in Centre last Saturday. “We feel like we should’ve won the game against Mobile Christian. We didn’t play great in the first half, but we played lights out in the second half. We got beat 17-14. It went down to the wire.
“This past year, we had to go to Straughn, and we were able to get a (34-26) win in the first round. The thing is our guys are experienced being in the playoffs. Going back to the North, there’s still really, really good teams. We always stay with our backs up against the wall. That’s just how we play. We play with a chip on our shoulder. It doesn’t really change how we go about business on a day-to-day basis. We do what we do and that’s it.”
Kelley and the Warriors know the work toward the playoffs begins in the offseason, particularly the summer months, which is why he’s put such an emphasis on making sure the players have the proper tools to make another push for the postseason.
“I think we’ve almost put $60,000 in the weight room this year, just revamping,” Kelley said. “There is nothing in that field house that looks like it did when I first got here. Just training, if there’s something that we can utilize, something we can get, something we feel like we need, we’re going to get it. We want these guys to be in the best shape they can be in order to be top notch.”
And it’s not just weight room improvements the school has made.
Last year, Warrior Stadium was resurfaced with new turf. Currently, the track around the football field is being renovated, as well as a new floor on the basketball court in the high school gym.
The facility improvements and upgrades aren’t lost on the Warriors.
“When we came in here, we had the same lockers since my brother’s in high school. That was like from five years ago,” senior wide receiver/defensive back Malachi Horton said. “For Coach Kelley to come in and be dedicated as he is to our program, putting in new lockers, new racks, a new basketball court, turf, track, it’s just a blessing.”
“All the new stuff they’ve done in the weight room makes it easier,” senior quarterback Cade Hopper said. “We can put more people in the weight room. We can get a lot more work in than we used to be able to do.”
Horton and Hopper are part of a 10-senior class, Kelley’s first since he took over the football program back in 2019.
“The thing I like about these guys is they hold each other accountable,” Kelley said. “They work extremely hard. They do things the right way. They just compete. They love the success of each other and not just themselves. They’re built a little different from a team standpoint.”
Following a scrimmage with Trion, Ga. on Aug. 12, the Warriors open the 2022 regular season on Aug. 19 at Model High School in Rome, Ga. They host defending Class 3A state champion and rival Piedmont on Aug. 26 before opening Region 6 play at home against Good Hope on Sept. 2.
“It’s a lot different being in the North,” senior wide receiver/safety Jack Amos said. “I think we’re going to like it a lot better, but we’ve still got to work.”
“We’re looking forward to it,” Kelley said. “Every region makeup is going to have teams who are going to be competitive games. We don’t get to pick who we play when it comes to region, but we’re up for the challenge. Each week we’ll be ready to go.”