From the Mid-1990s to Today: The Past Quarter Century of Tiger Football
Woody Weaver retired from coaching after the 1993 season or did he? Steve McCord coached just one year at THS - the "I Believe" season of 1984. Both would come back and the 1900s would end with a new coach and one of Tallassee's greatest seasons.
With Weaver's departure from the head coaching ranks after a 1-9 campaign in 1993, the door was open for his replacement. The program brought in a coach that people knew in McCord. He led the Tigers to the semifinals in his only season in Tallassee in 1984.
In retrospect, McCord said his decision to leave Tallassee after one year in '84 for his alma mater at Marbury was one that he wished he could have back.
"Looking back, it was my mistake. I should've stayed."
McCord coached seven years at the Class 1A program going 48-31. He had two 10-win teams in 1989 and '90. The '90 unit reached the quarterfinals. Like Tallassee under Weaver in '93, he went just 1-9.
The first season back at Tallassee in 1994, McCord went 3-7. The '95 team finished 5-5. In '96, the Tigers were 9-3.
"The situation was similar," McCord said of the state of the program when he made his return to Tallassee, "but we weren't quite as talented as in '84. In '96 we made it to the second round of the playoffs."
The Tigers had two regular season losses in in 1996; Wetumpka (34-6) and Stanhope Elmore (31-7). Both were Class 5A programs. Tallassee finished at No. 8 in the ASWA Class 4A rankings.
In the playoffs, Tallassee beat Pike County 34-14 but fell at T.R. Miller 39-13.
After his second stint at Tallassee in the mid-90s, McCord left again taking the head position at Jemison.
"I had some regrets about leaving again, but it's just part of life. Maybe things would've been different with my career if I had stayed and finished up there."
It looked like Tallassee had McCord's replacement in state championship coach Danny Horn from Clay County. At the time, Horn had won the previous three state Class 2A titles in Ashland. The team had a 55-game win streak during his tenure.
After Horn turned down Tallassee's offer, they turned to another former head coach, according to Carl Stewart.
"I called (Woody Weaver) and said, 'Coach, what do you think about one more time?' He said, 'I don't know any of these kids.' He said, 'No.' I called him that morning again. He said, 'If you'll do it, I'll do it.'"
Stewart, who was serving as assistant principal at the time, partnered with Weaver to coach in 1997. Tallassee went 4-7.
The door was open again for a change in 1998. Mark Rose played college football for Pat Dye at Auburn from 1986-89.
"I was drawn to Coach Dye. What a great man. A lot of things I patterned after him. No. 1, let's raise good men and hold them to a standard. I didn't ever want to let him down. He was a father figure. The first day I was in Tallassee, he rode up with Wilson Jolly. He came up and talked to the (players)."
After Rose's playing days he served as a graduate assistant with Dye's Auburn staff for a year and a half. He then took assistant coaching positions on the high school level and Demopolis and Smiths Station. He interviewed at Tallassee for the head coaching job in 1998.
"Carl Stewart is one of my favorite guys that I've ever worked with. He has the same kind of heart for kids that I have," Rose said of the THS principal at the time of his hiring. "Coach Stewart called Joe Whitt at Auburn and asked him about Mark Rose. Coach Whitt told him, 'You better hire him.' I think Joe Whitt helped me get in with his relationship with Coach Stewart."
In 1998, Tallassee offered Rose his first head coaching job. He accepted and went 7-5 in his first season. Tallassee beat Greensboro 20-12 in the first round of the playoffs and lost to T.R. Miller 37-8.
"I thought we had a positive first year. We won the first round game that gave our guys a taste of it. We went down to T.R. Miller and was 6-0 at the half. T.R. Miller was a power at that time. I encouraged our guys. I said, 'It's not our fault. They've been in the weight room for six years and we've been in there for six months, but I know how to fix it."
Rose fixed it. The 1999 Tigers put up their first undefeated regular season since the O'Brien era dating back to 1946. It was the first season with a 10-0 regular season record in program history.
The Tiger Tracks yearbook recapped the 1999 campaign.
"When the 1999 football season began, the Tallassee Tigers were not expected to make much noise. The team quickly proved the skeptics wrong. They were the most outstanding team to ever put on a purple uniform."
Jack Venable's scoreboard shot from the Tallassee Tribune as the Tigers celebrate the Dadeville win and 10-0
"The next year in the semifinals, we were still playing and (T.R. Miller) wasn't. It was a hungry group of kids."
Derrick Ansley was a senior for the Tigers during the '99 season. He was a first-team all-state selection and played in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game. Ansley went on to play collegiately at Troy. He has coached at Huntingdon, Alabama, Kentucky and now serves as Tennessee's defensive coordinator.
"It's unbelievable how fast he's risen in the coaching ranks," Rose said of Ansley. "He's a winner. We had a few run-ins the first few months. He bought in and the rest is history. He was a great leader for us. We got a championship standard. It was on the field, off the field. If you've never been exposed to that kind of standard like Coach Dye taught us, you can't stay around Nick Saban, John Gruden, Jeremey Pruitt, those guys he's been around. My high school coach did it for me."
Ansley spoke of his bond with Rose.
"Coach Rose came in '98," Ansley said. "We set the foundation of what kind of football team we wanted to have. The first was always toughness. He instilled that menatality. We bought into it and had really good leadership. That carried over to '99. We felt like we had a chance to be pretty good."
Rose remembers a visit at practice prior to the '99 season opener from former O'Brien era star Davis Melton.
"He came out to practice and we were doing pursuit drills. The effort was absolutely unbelievable. I remember coach Melton looking at me and smiling, 'Coach, we might have something.' I said, 'Well, what you don't know is we're four hours and 45 minutes into practice.' He smiled wide and said, 'Yeah, we might have a chance.'"
The team was limited in numbers, but that did not matter Ansley noted.
"I think we had 28 guys. A lot of guys played both ways. That's a different mindset. When a guys plays tailback and corner like Justin Williams. Ron Griffin plays wingback with Chris Thompson to linebacker and defensive end. Brad Peters played fullback and linebacker. Jared Blair played tight end and linebacker. Our guys never came off the field.
"You don't need a lot of guys if you've got the right formula, chemistry, leadership and personality. All of those things gelled in '99. We had a good group of guys, not a lot of guys but the right guys."
Ansley was among those warriors as a quarterback and defensive back.
"I contribute the defensive back play to coach Sylvester Atkins, the defensive coordinator. When he came in with coach Rose he said, 'If you want to go to college, you better play defensive back.' That kind of stuck with me. I was a decent quarterback. We had a really good running game and did a lot of play action. I had the luxury of seeing what good quarterback play looked like at Tallassee growing up watching Jonathan Rivers and Brent Timmerman. I kind of looked up to those guys.
"Flipping over to play defensive back, that's something I did growing up in the neighborhood - reading the quarterback's eyes and thinking like a quarterback.
Ansley intercepted 12 balls as a senior. He had 23 picks in his career in the THS secondary. In college he followed suit with 19 career interceptions.
"It really wasn't my doing," he said. "In high school, nobody could run the ball on us with Dan Williams and Eric Cagle inside, Chris Thompson and (Brandon) "Bouke" Peters on the edge and Jared Blair and Brad Peters inside. Nobody could run the ball, so they had to throw the ball to try and move the ball. That played into my hands. We had Justin Williams at the corner and Cody Goodman at the other corner. I just kind or roamed around and read the quarterback. If you can stop the run, you can make the quarterback play left-handed.
"That carried over to Troy. I had the luxury of playing with a lot of good defensive linemen down there, Osi Umenyiora and Demarcus Ware. That made my job easy."
'99 Tigers
One of the Tigers' toughest games came in Hanover vs. Central Coosa. It was the fourth game of the season and Tallassee had yet to be challenged. THS escaped with a 16-14 win.
"Coosa beat us in '98," Ansley remembered. "The '99 game goes back to having the right guys. They didn't have a lot of ball players. We all know Central is known for basketball. They had Justin Tuck playing defensive end and tight end. (He) went on to play at Notre Dame and played ten plus years in the NFL. They were a really good football team, one of the toughest teams we played outside of Reeltown."
As for the Reeltown game, Tallassee won 37-20 in Reeltown the week after the Coosa game.
"I played in the game three years," Ansley said. "Every game was tough. I remember the '99 game particulary because Reeltown was young. They had L.A. O'Neal (and) Joe Mack Hutcherson. They were tenth graders. They played us toe to toe. I knew they were going to be really good the next two years. In 2001, they won the state championship. Anytime you play against your rivals, your friends, your relatives, that's going to be a knockdown, dragout fight no matter how big the schools are or how many people on the team. You only put 11 out there at a time."
The win in '99 was the Tigers' fourth straight since the renewal of the series in 1996. It is also Tallassee's last win against the Rebels in the series that has not been played since 2003. The game returns to kick off the 2020 season.
"It's something that needed to happen a long time ago," Ansley said. "It's tragic that we missed a generation of kids playing against each other. It's very healthy when you have people that know each other that are so closely located in living and related as far as relationships. You're always going to have that rivalry. I'm glad they brought it back. It needed to be done. I'm excited to see it come back. Hopefully we'll keep that tradition going every year."
Justin Williams went off against Booker T. Washington in Tuskegee after a 21-6 win over Handley the prior week.
"We got beat by Booker T. my first year (in) a one-point game, so we were champing at the bit to get a hold of them the second year," Rose said. "I think (Justin) had 34 carries for 377 yards. He was unbelievable. He was always going to find a crease in there somewhere."
Assistant coach Leslie Waters talked about Tallassee's gameplan at BTW.
"We're going to run right at them," Waters said. "We give the ball to Justin and he'd get 20 yards, boom, 20 yards, boom, 20 yards. We ran basically one play all night long. The kids were telling them, 'We're coming right here and you can't stop us.' They took pride in that."
Williams' total against the Eagles was a single-game record at the time. He broke his own single-season rushing record of 2,051 yards from the previous season with 2,517 yards in '99 and added a record 37 touchdowns.
"Justin Williams didn't say a whole lot. He led by his perfomance," Rose said. "I remember watching film with him in there at the tail end of his sophomore career. I said, 'This guy's got a little bit of ability. I don't think he had but about 200 yards the whole season, but he had one good game toward the end of the year.
"You talk about tough. He weighed about 160. He was special. He's one of the best players I've ever coached."
Waters agreed.
"I can't remember what game it was, but Justin split his lip. They carried him into the locker room and stapled it with a regular stapler. He played the rest of the game and then got his stitches."
Waters said in his 25 years of coaching that the 1999 squad epitomized toughest like none other.
"The '99 team was the toughest. The toughest group I've ever been around. It started with the kids. We'd get to the gym and Derrick Ansley aleady had them up running sprints.
Tallassee Tribune front page after Tallassee's quarterfinal win at St. Paul's
Tallassee outscored its opponents 454-176 in '99 averaging 32.4 points per game and allowing 12.6.
After beating Dadeville 21-16 in the regular season finale, Tallassee reached No. 3 in ASWA Class 4A poll - the highest ranking since Jackie Davis' Tigers peaked at No. 3 in 1960.
"When we got to Dadeville, everybody knows Dadeville is always fast. They were tough and big," said Ansley. "We ended up winning the game late finishing 10-0. Sitting at 9-0 with a chance to make history playing Dadeville at home, we weren't going to lose that game."
Rose talked about how close the Tigers were to losing the tenth game of the season.
"We were down 10-0. I called a timeout. I think they expected me to give them a pretty good blistering, but I really didn't. We were just a little overly excited. I said, 'Look, I believe in y'all. Let's calm down and play ball. We fought back and won the game. It was a special year."
The Tigers won the first-round playoff game ove Dale County 42-13. In round two, they blew out Dadeville in a rematch 31-0.
"Dadeville was a rivalry. I told them when we played Dadeville in the second round (that) they were one play away from beating us. If we'd blown them out the first time, it'd been hard to make them to believe that they could beat us."
Then in the quarters, the Tigers had a thriller in Mobile vs. St. Paul's.
"That was a heavyweight fight. It was a real atmosphere," Ansley said. "St. Paul's (has) a lot of tradition. A lot of great players come out of there; Mark Barron, A.J. McCarron. They're well coached and tough. They tried to intimidate us before the game. They were chanting and we were warming up. That intimidation factor was real."
Rose agreed.
"We were on the field warming up. Their team came down that hill hooting and hollering, mocking us and making fun of our poor, little squad. I told my players, 'Don't say a word.' They charged us up and we got off to a fast start with a lot of emotion. We felt like we were disrespected."
Ansley remembers the preparation leading up to the Friday night tilt.
"They had a really good tailback in Beau Flemming, a really good quarterback in Tiger Jones. They were very similar to us built from the running game. I remember we worked on a particular drag route that they ran a lot. We put in a special coverage. The free safety, which was me, jumps the crossing route. They ran that route and I ran it back a long way. It was a big play in the game. I never would've made that play if it wasn't for coach Atkins recognizing the play."
Rose talked about the key play in the game.
"I had about seven films on them. I didn't see a single incompletion that deep drag. I said, 'We'll let Justin Williams cover the wing man and Derrick's going to rob that drag route. The first time they threw it Derrick caught it in stride and ran down the sideline and got knocked out at the three- or four-yard line. That was a huge start to the ball game."
Tallassee won 21-19 when the Saints' last-second fied goal attempt sailed wide of the uprights.
The team might have celebrated a bit prematurely after the miss as time had not yet expired.
"I couldn't yell at the kids for running onto the field," Rose was quoted saying in a Tallassee Tribune article, "because I was the first one out there."
The Tigers picked up a 15-yard penatly but then took a knee to end the game.
"That was rather nerve wracking because the guy had the leg to do it," Rose said. "Fortunately we got out to a lead and he missed it wide right. What a huge win on the road for a little old team that not a lot of people had a lot of high expectations except the coaches and players in that locker room."
Ansley being presented a "Key to the City" by Tallassee mayor Johnny Hammock in 2018.
"We got stops when we needed," Ansley added, "got a couple of turnovers, converted some fourth downs. It was back and forth. It was a huge win."
The semifinal match would be in Tallassee. It was just the second time in school history that Tallassee had reached the fourth round. In 1984 THS traveled to Brewton in the semis and lost 17-7 to T.R. Miller. Getting a semifinal game at home set the stage for a huge crowd J. E. "Hot" O'Brien Stadium.
The entire day was an event with Tallassee hosting a fourth-round game, one win away from reaching the championship match. Sports writer Timm Timmerman wrote about the time leading up to the game in the Tallassee Tribune.
"The day after Thanksgiving was a festive day in Tallassee," Timmerman wrote. "The first tailgater arrived at 8:30. Tallassee coaches arrived at noon. By 2 p.m. the lot was filling fast. Beginning at 3:50, a steady stream of fans filed into the fabled O'Brien Stadium. By 7 p.m., there were spectators in every conceivable location, even on some structures outside."
It is estimated that approximately 5,000 fans attended the game. The population of Tallassee is about the same. It was likely the highest attendance ever at any event in the city's history.
"You have to be a complete team to make a run in the playoffs. You've got to be able to beat them in the air and on the ground," said Ansley. "I've had the luxury of coaching in some big games; SEC Championship, playoff games, National Championship games, coaching in the NFL on Monday Night Football, in London. I go back to that game on Friday night, nothing like that atmosphere.
"Coming out of the locker room and not really being able to breathe because there were so many people in one small location. The atmosphere of having Reeltown, Elmore County and Dadeville people there to support you. It was surreal. To me in my career playing or coaching, it's top two or three that I've ever been a part of."
Rose also spoke of the setting that night.
"There wasn't an empty seat. They were lined up down the streets. What an atmosphere for those kids. They earned and they deserved it. It was a great experience."
Steve McCord has been on the sidelines for both of Tallassee's semifinal games, once as the Tigers' coach and the other as the opponent's coach. It did not go Tallassee's way either time.
"Jemison had been down a while and had never experienced anything like that," McCord said. "That year, kind of like the '84 year, we got on a roll at the right time. Coach Rose had done a great job, had a super running back in (Justin) Williams and a really fine team."
Jemison entered the game at 12-1. Tallassee had already broken its single season record for wins and was 13-0 under Mark Rose.
"They led most of the first half," Rose remembered. "I think we tied it up with the touchdown pass to Brad Peters right before the half. Probably, they had a little more depth and talent. (We) played our guts out for 48 minutes. It's still one of the greatest memories I have in my coaching career."
1999
at LaFayette W 44-18
vs. Central Hayneville W 43-0
vs. Dallas County W 46-22
at Central Coosa W 16-14
at Reeltown W 37-20
vs. Bullock County W 62-14
vs. Handley W 21-6
at B.T. Washington W 28-6
at Elmore County W 28-0
vs. Dadeville W 21-16
vs. Dale County W 42-13
vs. Dadeville W 31-0
at St. Paul's W 21-19
vs. Jemison L 28-14
The Panthers ended Tallassee's perfect season 28-14 in front of a capacity crowd at O'Brien Stadium.
"We just had a good night," McCord said. "I thought it was our best night. People ask me if it was some kind of sweet revenge. It had nothing to do with that. It was just another game for me. I really respected the people in Tallassee and the players. It was quite an experience to have that many people there. It was a huge crowd. Everybody was extremely pumped. It was very noisy, the way it should be in high school football."
Along with Ansley, Justin Williams and Ryan Johnson were all-state picks. Williams was named 4A Back of the Year and made the ASWA Super 12 team. He also broke the career rushing record at Tallassee.
Senior Ron Griffin was quoted in the Tigers Tracks yearbook after the historic season.
"It felt great to know that one day, (I'll) be able to look back and share this historical experience with my kids."
After just two seasons in Tallassee, Rose received an offer from North Jackson.
"I had a friend approach me who was actually at Troy. He asked me about that job up there. They basically put an offer that I could not refuse.
"They're a similar community. It's so rewarding. There are a lot of kids I have a thread with. That's what it's all about to me. So much of those kids started off with not much of a chance in life. It's not a job to me. It's a calling, stepping in and teaching kids that may be hurting from a bad situation."
Rose was immediately successful in Stevenson. In just his third year the Chiefs were in the Class 4A championship game at Legion Field in Birmingham. They lost a heartbreaker 7-3 to UMS-Wright.
Lineman Travis Thornell
"It still haunts me. We were up 3-0 with five minutes to go in the game. We picked up a first down and fumbled the ball. They went down and made a diving catch. We had them. That's a hard one to swallow. I took up for my running back that fumbled. We wouldn't have been there if it hadn't been for him. It wasn't on him. We had 100 plays we could've made a play to win the game. Our guys laid it on the line. That's all I could ask of them."
Rose coached at North Jackson for eight seasons before accepting the Smiths Station job. He was there for six seasons and then returned to North Jackson. In 2019, Rose took the head coaching position at Russell County. The Warriors have not had a winning season since 1998, the year Rose got his first head coaching gig at Tallassee 22 years ago.
"These guys are as hungry as any kids I've ever been around. Our kids have bought in. I've got no doubt in my mind that we will get there. It means so much to them. They're just going to explode when we get this thing done."
Rose was scheduled to meet Tallassee in a spring football game this year but the coronavirus ended spring practice before it started.
"I've been friends for a long time with coach (Mike) Battles. I'm sure we'll bring it back next spring. Tallassee's a great place. I still have a lot of friends there."
The New Millennium
The Tallassee High School football program ended the 1900s with arguably its best season in 80 seasons of football. The 1999 team broke the single-season record for wins going 13-1. And, the team reached the semifinals for just the second time in school history.
However, a new millenium meant change in more ways than just entering the 2000s. The head football coach was leaving.
Mark Rose accepted the head coaching position at North Jackson after just two years in Tallassee.
"They basically put an offer that I could not refuse," Rose said. So, he left for the northern part of the state.
Jared Jones became the choice as Rose's replacement. He was an assistant on Rose's staff. A THS grad, Jones played from 1984-86.
"I went through spring training with coach (Marc) Rice. As summer weights started, he called us in and told us he was moving to Muscle Shoals," Jones said of his time as a player in the 1980s. "Coach (Steve) McCord came in mid-summer. He was here one year. Coach (Billy) Beck was here for two years."
After his college years at Troy, Jones was working in the Tallassee Industrial Park when the opportunity to return to THS and join Woody Weaver's staff came in 1992.
Jones lifting state champ DJ Rivers with Mask during Tallassee's state champion season in 2014. Rivers was a standout in football as well and played in the AHSAA All-Star Game.
"I was working third shift," Jones remembered. "Rob Johnson called my mom and got my number. He said, 'We've got a position. It doesn't pay a lot - teacher's aide.' I said, 'I'll take it.' Coach Weaver moved over to the third/fourth grade wing to be the administrator while he was the head coach. I helped with his classes. I helped coach Goodman with junior football and started coaching wrestling."
Like with baseball under Ronnie Baynes and John Goodman in the 1980s and 90s, wrestling would take off with Jones and John Mask in the 2000s. The two served as co-head coaches for some of that period.
"I think the (program) started in 1985," Jones said. "Coach (Rodney) Dollar asked me one time, 'Why is wrestling so successful here?' I think the biggest thing is since '92 when I came, to 2020, there have been two coaches - me and coach Mask. Parents know what they're getting. We both relate well with kids."
From 1993-2020, Tallassee wrestlers have placed in the state finals 112 times. There have been 30 individual titles during that span. Tallassee won the overall team state championship in 2014.
"Coach Jones was the new head (football) coach and AD when I was interviewing," Mask said of when Jones brought him aboard in 2000. "I remember him asking me if I would help with wrestling. I said, 'What's that?'"
State Championship Moment in 2014 (left to right): Mask, Josh Epperson, Robi Rygiel, B.J. Thomas, Greg Bianchi, D.J. Rivers, Davontae McKenzie, Drew Baker, Jones.
Mask believes that success on the mats correlates on the football field.
"Most did play football," he said. "John Madden and Ray Lewis and different players and coaches will tell you that wrestling really helps out with football. I try to use that to recruit. You're the best open-field tacklers if you can wrestle. I think they go hand in hand."
Jones concurred.
"When you get the bigger, more athletic kids out for wrestling it makes them better football players - especially defensively. They're so good with their hands. They're such good tacklers because a double-leg takedown in wrestling is basically a tackle in football."
So, how did the head football job come for the head wrestling coach and football assistant?
"Coach Rose said, 'Look coach, I want you to have this. I'm not going to have a say in it, but they're probably going to wait until after spring training.' So, I did spring training - kind of on-the-job training. They made the decision a couple of weeks after spring training. I remember telling the seniors to just pray that the best decision is made. It worked out."
Following the special 13-1 season from a year prior was a tough act to follow, Jones admitted.
"It was a good crew coming back, but we had lost a lot of talent too."
One of the returning players for Jones was Eric Cagle, who was a starter in ninth grade.
"When coach Rose came in I was a freshman," Cagle said. "It was eye opening. I've never been in better physical condition. I went into the Air Guard after high school. When I got to basic training, I can honestly say it was a cakewalk.
"(1999) was a fun season. The season was the reward. We had already paid the price for the season well before it got there. Today when I see the guys that were on that team, I have a different respect for them. When you work hard for something it does pay off most of the time. You appreciate it more. That's what that season was about."
Cagle talked about the 2000 and 20001 seasons under Jones as an upperclassman.
"Coach Jones did a good job. The old saying that you can't make chicken salad without chicken, you just can't. After a lot of our skill guys left, we had a lot of injuries. We were down to fourth and fifth string quarterback. I really enjoyed my last two years there."
Jones spoke of the transition.
"We had our ups and downs. We had some big wins that season but some really close and sometimes bad losses. The one that haunts me the most was the Handley game."
Tallassee lost at Roanoke 17-14 in overtime.
"Coach (Bruce) Dean did a lot of playcalling for me that year," Jones said. "We probably had 350 yards rushing. (We) were inside the 20 four times but only had 14. We fumbled inside the 1. That was probably the most devastating loss to me. That game ended up costing us the playoffs."
James Holley was Handley's head coach, who had some consoling words for Tallassee's first-year skipper.
"He avoided everybody and came up to me. He knew I was a young coach. He said, 'Coach, I just want you to know, y'all deserved to win this game.' I remember that feeling. Then we came back and beat St. James and Trinity who were ranked at the time."
Tallassee was 5-5 in Jones' first year. The 26-7 James win over St. James might have been the most impressive in the 2000 season.
"That was probably my favorite win with that team as head coach," said Jones. "That was homecoming. Dan Wilbanks, John Denton and some of that crew came and spoke to that team after the pep rally. After the game, four or five of those guys met us at the fence coming into the locker room. Dan said that's the first game he had been to in years. That was so exciting to me because I remember as a kid watching Dan and them play. Then they're coming and celebrating with the team."
The "Cru" of '92's banner on the THS campus for homecoming week in 2001
The following season, the Tigers were 5-5 again under Jones but did make the playoffs.
"We were probably not as talented that year. We were 4-1 at the mid-part of the season. We had a really good running back with Kelvin (Anderson). Britt Clayton moved over to quarterback. Britt got hurt later in that year. It was not a good time for him to be hurt. We ended up beating Lanett, who was ranked in 3A."
In addition to the 7-6 victory over Lanett, the Tigers also won against Central Hayneville with a late field goal by German exchange student Niko Wurth.
"He had never been a part of football," Jones said. "He might have been living with one of our former player's parents. They brought him up and introduced him to us. He just started kicking extra points for us, but he did end up kicking a field goal late in that game. That was huge for him."
Reaching the post-season is always a goal, but the Tigers would face the No. 1 team in UMS-Wright in Mobile.
"We had the long trip to UMS," Jones said. "That didn't end well."
Tallassee lost 61-7, giving up the most points ever by a THS team. The Bulldogs went on to win the Class 4A state title.
Cagle was named first-team all-state as an offensive lineman. A four-year varsity player, he also won two state wrestling titles.
"He should've been a three-time champion," Jones added. "His sophomore year he lost in double overtime in the semifinals. We talk about every time we get together. He lost to Harold Wisdom who went to Jacksonville State to play linebacker. Harold Wisdom's son wrestled this year. I ran into Harold. I said, 'Did you wrestle for Deshler?' He said, 'Yeah.' I said, 'I'm from Tallassee.' He started laughing and said, 'You coached Eric Cagle.' I made a picture with him and sent it to Eric and said, 'This is your biggest nemesis.'"
Cagle talked about the title that eluded him his sophomore season.
"I met Harold in the semifinal at state. We went into double overtime. The first takedown wins then. I ended up getting a takedown on him. Everybody jumps up and is happy that I won. They teched me because when I got behind him my thumb got caught in (his) singlet. They gave him a point. I lost the match. It was disappointing, but I came back the next two years and got it done. Could've been a three-time, but you know how that goes - shoulda, coulda, woulda."
There was a reunion for Cagle with a former teammate after his high school career.
"When I got to Huntingdon and started playing ball there, guess who came in to be DB's coach my second year there? Derrick Ansley. I came out of playing with Derrick in high school to him graduating from Troy and being a coach down at Huntingdon. I said, 'Now look, don't think you're going to tell me what to do.' All those guys on that team, all 30 of them, if I had to go to war I think I'd call all 30 of them and they'd be my choice to this day - Derrick included. Derrick's always been one of my favorite guys. I still talk to him about once a month. He's a great guy."
Ansley is now the defensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee. Cagle has gone the coaching route as well at Tallassee.
"In 2008, I met with coach (Rodney) Dollar. He asked me to help with the defense. That's how it got started. Then I coached with coach Jones and coach Battles. I put ten years in and wouldn't trade it for the world. Last year, I coached a girl's son who went to school with me. You know you're getting old when that happens."
2001 ended Jared Jones' two-year stint for the moment at Tallassee. But like Weaver who hired him and McCord, whom he played and coached with, Jones would return to the sidelines for the purple and gold.
Jones joined the staff at Oak Mountain for four years. Coach Phil Lindsey, his replacement at Tallassee, gave him an opportunity to rejoin his alma mater in 2006.
"Dr. (Kenneth) Varner called me and said, 'We're going to have an opening at the middle school.' He said he had talked to coach Lindsey. Coach Lindsey and I had spoken a couple of times. (He) needed a line coach. It was an opportunity for me to come back."
Jones served on Lindsey's staff and afterward with head coach Rodney Dollar. He returned to the head coaching position on an interim level in 2011.
"I was actually on the (hiring) committee," Jones remembered. "We just didn't have a lot of really good applicants. The one that we felt like would be a good choice was (Jeff) Foshee. He ended up dropping out. We went to meet and make a decision. Dr. (Jim) Jeffers asked me to excuse myself. He came back and said, 'We would like to do this again next year. Would you do this for one year?' That's kind of how that ended up."
Mike Battles took over the next season.
"Battles asked me to stay on and coach D-line. I decided to step back and do junior high."
Jones took a position shortly after with Norman Dean at Elmore County. He also took over the Panthers' wrestling program.
"When I did coach against Tallassee I definitely wanted to win. There was never any hatred there. Coach Mask and I are still real good friends."
Jones retired from the education system in June. He is now working again with one of his former coaching assistants, Bruce Dean.
"I'm selling mobile homes for Coach Dean now," he said. "We reminisce a lot. It's fun. Both of us have places on the lake. We still hang out."
Jones returned to his alma mater and led the Tigers on the field for the first game in the newly renovated and expanded O'Brien Stadium vs. Benjamin Russell on Aug. 27, 2010. Tallassee won 19-17.
The 2010s
Rodney Dollar was a three-sport star at Central Phenix City High School in the late 1970s. He played football, baseball and basketball.
"I played everything. My favorite sport at the time was basketball," Dollar said. "I had a chance to sign with Larry Chapman (at AUM). I played one summer of AAU. They didn't play any zone, so I couldn't get a shot off. Everybody else was so quick. I decided I'd better go with a slow white man's sport."
That sport was baseball. Dollar was quite successful on the diamond in college which led to a contract with the Houston Astros organization.
Drum Major Tyler Sayers performs "Ice Ice Baby" at halftime
"I led the nation in hitting at Wallace of Dothan a long time ago. I signed at Auburn after that. We weren't very good at Auburn, but I wouldn't trade those years for anything.
"God gave me a lot of ability, but I was nothing compared to those 15- and 16-year-old Dominicans that were coming over. They were phenomenal. It's unreal the things they could do."
During Dollar's playing days he roomed with a couple of notable players; Charles Barkley, who went on to become an NBA superstar and Shawon Dunston, who excelled in the Major Leagues.
"Shawon ended up being pretty good. The thing I remember most about him is standing behind home plate at the backstop and throwing the ball over the center field wall which was about 435 or 440 feet in rookie ball. He had one of the best arms I've ever seen.
"Charles (was) a suitemate at Auburn. (There) was a lot of eating going on, a lot of cards being played and gambling. We had a few one on ones that were ugly."
Hunter Mullins was a placekicker and punter during Dollar's time in Tallassee
In 1986 when a coaching opportunity came for Dollar, it was in football.
"My first year at Carroll High School in Ozark, the coach told me, 'You've got the B-team.' I said, 'Are we going to go over stuff?' He said, 'No. We're going to film it. I'll tell you what you did right and wrong.' That's how I learned to coach."
After one year in Ozark as an assistant, Dollar was offered his first head coaching assignment in his hometown of Phenix City at Woodland Christian.
"I beat Glenwood, which was the big private school in Phenix City. That win propelled me to jobs after that."
The next job would come in 1988 at Glenwood. He coached there two seasons. His '89 club reached the championship game coming up a hair short to Morgan Academy, 14-10.
Dollar's next position came in the public school ranks at Headland High School in 1990. There were just eight wins in the three-year stint.
"If you look at my whole career, it's the only place that I was not successful. We didn't have a lot of talent, and I wasn't a very good coach at that time. I probably learned more from that job than any other job. After three years it was time to move on."
After Headland, Dollar spent only one season at Samson in 1994, but it was a good one.
"I wish we could've stayed longer. We went 10-2 with just three seniors. That led to probably one of my favorite jobs of all in Frisco City. That's as close to "Friday Night Lights" that you'll ever see. The whole town packs up and goes with you on Friday night."
The Whippetts made the playoffs all three years under Dollar. He was 25-11 from 1996-98. The '98 squad reached the third round of the post-season falling to Notasulga 27-21.
The next year, Dollar was off to Dothan and Houston Academy. His eight seasons brought a lot of wins to the school in the "Wiregrass," but winning did not come easy early.
"They were actually about to close the program down. The first night of practice I came home and told Kim, 'We've made a mistake.' That was the worst brand of football I've ever seen."
The Raiders were 1-8 the year before Dollar arrived. His first team also went 1-8, but the turnaround came shortly after. From 2001-2006, Houston Academy was 59-14.
"Things started happening. Our last two years we were 11-1 and 12-1. We won a lot of football games. That's probably the best move I made in my whole career. (It) led me to the big job, the job I wish I was still at - Tallassee. I still have tremendous friends in Tallassee."
Dollar landed at THS in 2007, but it could have happened earlier. He applied for the vacancy at Tallassee in 2002 as well. Steve Stokes served on the hiring committee when Tallassee chose Phil Lindsey that year.
"Carl Stewart was a big Rodney Dollar fan," Stokes said of Stewart, who was principal at the time. "When we hired Phil, Dollar was on the list too."
Dollar remembered the first interest in Tallassee.
"Because of that time, that's the only reason I interviewed the next time. I was quite impressed the first time I interviewed. I told Kim, 'That's a place I think I'd love to coach.' It was a very good place to study football and grow as a family also."
Tallassee did not pass on Dollar the second time. He was hired in 2007.
Dollar had high hopes right from the start.
"The football team can be 9-1. And, I'm not saying we can't beat Eufaula," he said after taking the THS job. "When I first got there we had just got to 5A. You would've thought that the sky was falling. 'What are we going to do?' I said, 'We'll just get in the weight room and work harder.' The kids bought in."
A nine-win season was off the mark initially. Tallassee was 4-6 in Dollar's first season, but the next three produced winning seasons and playoff berths.
Mike Smith was a big part of the success. He was named all-state in 2009.
"Smitty Grider, who was the coach at Beauregard at the time, is now the coach at the new Dothan High School," Dollar said. "He and I have had lunch a couple of times. Smitty always tells me I wasn't a good coach. I just had a good player. He's speaking of Mike Smith. Mike was a major difference in whoever we played at the time. If he broke it, he was gone."
Smith was the "Lightning" in the Tigers' "Thunder and Lightning" backfield with Quan Williams.
"I had other good players too," Dollar added, "Trey Cochran-Gill, Davis Knapp, Jonathan Haynes. I had some real cerebral players too along with great talent.
"There are so many times people say the coaches win or lose or quarterbacks win or lose. I was not near the coach I was without Trey Cochran-Gill. I do remember when I had to go to parents, I wasn't going to start him when I first got there. They let me put him in as a ninth grader. When he was on the field, he was never flustered. He was fantastic."
Seniors in 2011 (seated): Megan Mann. (Kneeling, left to right): Caleb Parker, Trey Cochran-Gill, T.C. Robinson. (Standing, left to right): Laken Pitchford, Tyler Sayers, Carly Garnett.
Cochran-Gill remembers when his opportunity came as a ninth grader.
"We were about three games into the season and coach Dollar came to me and said, 'I want to start you at quarterback. Do you think you're ready for it?' I was like, 'Yes sir. Let's do it. I jumped in there. Having so many great guys around you, made it a lot easier. My freshman year and sophomore year we were super talented.'
That first start for Cochran-Gill came against at Carroll of Ozark, the program that gave Dollar his first coaching job two decades prior. It became one of the biggest comebacks in Tallassee football history.
Tallassee trailed 21-0 at halftime, but caught fire in the second half. Jonathan Haynes had a career night in the 35-34 Tigers win.
"It was one of the more exciting games in my career," Dollar said. "We could do no wrong offensively and could not stop a pee wee team defensively."
Smith, Cochran-Gill and Hunter Mullins were all-state first-teamers during Dollar's time as head coach at Tallassee. Mullins was a two-time first-team pick.
Similar to Derrick Ansley, another THS quarterback, Cochran-Gill was recognized for his defensive position not offense by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
"I was a free safety," he said. "I was always around the ball."
Trey Cochran-Gill
Other ASWA first-team choices from 2007-10 were; Chris Stice, Tyler Grant and T.C. Robinson. Robinson played in the 2010 AHSAA All-Star Game.
Mullins played played college football at UAB. Cochran-Gill went the baseball route to Auburn. Knapp also played baseball at South Alabama.
"Trey and Davis always clicked," said Dollar of the tandem. "We had Mike and Quan. Somebody was going to make a play. You didn't have to worry. They took over. It had nothing to do with me."
Cochran-Gill said he enjoyed both sports.
"I would've loved to play football, but I'm only like 5-10. If I could've had a few more inches. I still miss it. I still enjoy throwing the football. It would've been nice to go to college and play both."
Now a member of the Oakland A's organization, Cochran-Gill has his sights on reaching the big leagues. The success in football has in Cochran-Gill's mind aided on the baseball diamond and vice versa.
"You're competing against a batter, but really it's just you and that mitt. I think that carried over to football as well. Stick to the basics. Do the best you can. Manage the time. Try to put the guys in the right position to come out on top."
Dollar and the coaching staff (left to right): Jared Jones, Rick Golden, Scott Justiss, John Mask, Charlie Winchester, Leslie Waters, Adam Clayton, Terrel Brown, Danny Worley, Kenny Peters.
Tallassee beat No. 1 Eufaula 20-17 in 2008 with Cochran-Gill as the field general. Brian Simpson returned a kick for a 99-yard touchdown. Hunter Mullins kicked a 33-yard field goal that put the Tigers on top.
"Hunter got us out of a lot of problems," said Dollar. "At Eufaula, Dan (Klages) had some really good athletes. That's always special when you can beat number one."
Cochran-Gill said the 2008 team might have been the best during his four years with the program.
"I think that team was probably the most talented team that I played on. You had Mike Smith and Quan Williams at running back. The receivers could catch and fly. Good defense. Good line. All the way around the board, that was a solid team right there."
Miles Hathcock of WTLS interviews Coach Rodney Dollar after the Tigers' overtime win in Valley to clinch the 2009 region title.
Tallassee won its first region title in 5A football in 2009 with a 17-14 overtime win at Valley.
"The one thing I do remember about that game is they scheduled us for homecoming," Cochran-Gill said. "That kind of lit a fire under us and gave us a little extra motivation."
The Tigers made a stop in the extra frame to preserve the victory, but the chance would not have come if not for a blocked field goal by Davis Knapp late in the fourth quarter.
"I went out on the field," said Dollar. "Davis Knapp runs up to me and says, 'I think I can block it coach.' I said, 'Block it.' He figured some way (to) beat that corner and he did.
"That was the biggest win we had. It meant the most. That was a good night. We came back listening to the "Scoreboard Show" on the bus."
WTLS Scoreboard Show host Trey Taylor remembers Dollar's wife Kim calling in.
"She wanted to hear, "No Parking on the Dance Floor." Kudos to Kim. We jammed it."
Tallassee made its first appearance in the ASWA poll as a 5A team prior to the 2010 season at No. 10. ONe of Tallassee largest crowds came in the 2010 season opener vs. Benjamin Russell. J. E. "Hot" O'Brien Stadium had undergone renovations with seating expansion in the off-season including flipping the the home side stands to the west side of the playing field.
"The atmosphere was great," Cochran-Gill said. "The fans came out and rooted us on. That's one of the great things about Friday night; coming out of the new fieldhouse, the walk through into a full stadium, underneath the lights. That was good to see that turnout."
Tallassee won the game 19-17. After winning at Troy vs. Charles Henderson 28-27, Tallassee climbed to No. 9 in the rankings.
The new home stands at J.E. "Hot" O'Brien Stadium after stadium expansion in 2010
Game three of 2010 would become an instant classic vs. Eufaula - although it ended as a loss. Cochran-Gill orchestrated one of the most memorable last-minute drives. The Tigers drove 92 yards to score and cut the deficit to a single point with just 6.9 seconds remaining. The extra-point attempt was missed and the Tigers lost 14-13.
"We lost yards on first down," Cochran-Gill recalled of the sack on the first down play that put Tallasee on its own one-yard line. "Coach Dollar and coach (Jared) Jones did a really good job of preparing us for that type of drive. At the end of practice we would always do a two-minute drill. Basically, we just had to go out and execute it.
Cheerleaders during "Tiger Night" prior the 2010 season. Tiger Night was started during Dollar's tenure.
"We were running our spread package, throwing the ball around. We had guys that could catch it. We just drove down the field. That drive was crazy. We were definitely prepared. We were confident we could get down and score."
Jones gave his take on that night.
"It's one of the classic drives I've ever been a part of. I remember we didn't have a timeout to take," Jones said. "I remember Coach Dollar looking at us. Do we want to go for two? We didn't really say. Chris Adams, who was the kicker, was standing over there waiting for us to make the call. Davis was the holder and ended up taking the kick. Coach Dollar said if I had it to do over again I would've taken the five-yard penalty and let everybody settle down. It was so climactic of a drive and then missed that extra point."
Cochran-Gill liked the Tigers' chances with a two-point play.
"We had a really good one with T.C. Robinson. He was on the line back side and would just kind of flare out. We might have run it once. Every time we would run it in practice it would always get the defense. We had a good one. I just think we ran into a little confusion right there at the end."
The one-point defeat cost the Tigers a perfect regular season.
2010
vs. Benjamin Russell W 19-17
at Charles Henderson W 28-27
vs. Eufaula L 14-13
at Rehobeth W 40-10
vs. Elmore County W 28-14
vs. Caroll Ozark W 41-17
at Russell County W 21-20
at B.T. Washington W 37-26
vs. Valley W 28-23
at Beauregard W 28-16
vs. Spanish Fort L 34-21
"It could've been another 10-0 season. Coach Dollar told me early in the summer, we don't have Mike Smith. We're going to have to throw it 20 times a game. I looked at him like, 'Coach, you're crazy.' Coach Dollar was not a throw it around guy either. If Trey could've been three inches taller, he could've easily been a college quarterback."
The one blemish against Eufaula made Tallassee a No. 2 seed entering the post-season. Spanish Fort, an unlikely No. 3 seed, beat Tallassee 34-21 and went on to win the Class 5A state title.
"I think if we would've gotten past them, we would've had a good shot," Cochran-Gill said. "We had the momentum, were driving on them and had a fumble at midfield. (We) turned it over and they scored again. They kind of took the air out of us."
Dollar talked about the scene throughout the week.
"I'll never forget that last game in the playoffs. That whole week. T-shirts were selling. The crowds were unreal. That crowd that last game was unreal. It was just electric. I've never seen anything like that in high school to this day."
The Tigers fell in the first round of the playffs in 2008, '09 and '10.
"We had a lot of talent. It was just getting past that first round," Cochran-Gill noted. "We always matched up with that Mobile region. Any of those teams could've been the No. 1 seed."
Spanish Fort beat Tallassee in 28-13 in 2008. Gulf Shores topped the Tigers 17-13 in 2009. The rematch with the Toros in 2010, a 34-21 setback, would be Dollar's last game at THS.
"You always say, 'I want to go back.' You can never go back. Once it's done, it's done. You've got a life of memories. I miss that."
Dollar and the THS football program put on a Punt, Pass and Kick contest in 2010 at O'Brien Stadium
As athletic director, Dollar started the Tallassee High School soccer program in 2008.
"I always wanted the kids to be involved in everything possible. Soccer helps the special teams portion of football."
Not only did soccer help with football, so did wrestling.
"The most important part of the (football) program was wrestling. (It) was phenomenal. You could not come close to blocking our wrestlers because you couldn't get to their legs. I first thought it was 'wrasslin' and never saw anyone get slammed with a chair."
Dollar with asssitants John Mask and Rick Golden
After Tallassee, Dollar coached four games at Pike County in 2011 but stepped down due to health issues. He returned as a head coach at Carbon Hill in 2013 for one season.
"I had a stroke in 2013. If you were to see me now you would never know that anything ever happened. I'm working my way back."
Dollar is back in Headland again in semi-retirement.
"All of my ex-players are great friends of mine now. We still go out and do things together."
The now grandfather of three still says a return to coaching is a strong possibility.
"The last four months, I can't tell you how many jobs I've applied for. I've interviewed for seven or eight of them. Being out for seven years, people are questioning whether I can do it again. Somebody's going to take a chance on me. I'm going to come back and beat a lot of people when that happens."
The Mike Battles Era
Mike Battles, Jr. enters his ninth season as head coach at Tallassee in 2020 making him second only to J. E. "Hot" O'Brien in the longest coaching tenures at THS. O'Brien coached the purple and gold for 19 years.
The past decade, of which Battles has coached eight of the ten, ranks second in number of wins behind only O'Brien and his incredible run in the 1940s.
Tallassee was 75-10-6 under O'Brien from 1940-49. The Tigers have a record of 73-39 from 2010-19 under Battles, Rodney Dollar and Jared Jones.
Jones, who coached in 2000 and 2001 and returned in an interim role in 2011 prior to Battles arrival, thinks the recent success is connected to continuity.
"He's a great coach," Jones said. "It's been a great hire. The hire was so big because he's (still) here and staying. Just having that is big."
What has kept Battles around?
"The biggest thing is this is a wonderful place," Battles said. "The kids are great. You hear people say 'good fit.' It just worked out that my personality and the way we like to do things fits here. We love this town. The kids like it."
Battles is the son of a coach.
"I grew up in a fieldhouse. I was cutting the football field when I was five. I've never known anything different."
Former Tallassee coach Frank Autery remembers five-year-old "Little Mike" hanging around Mike Sr.
"I knew him when he was a small child," Autery said. "I coached in Georgia and his dad coached in Georgia. His dad won a state championship at Irwin County. Each Saturday morning we'd take our films to the same processing place. (He'd) be out there in his daddy's car asleep."
When Battles took the Tallassee job, his first residence was in a house owned by Autery.
"I introduced myself, 'I'm Mike Battles Jr.' He said, 'I'm Frank Autery. I know you. It's been a few years.' It's a small world."
Battles and his wife Tara have two sons, Thomas and Mason. Thomas will be a senior this season.
"That was important for me with Thomas that he gets to finish up with his friends."
The senior Battles coached at Walter Wellborn during his son's high school years. He won 90 games in 13 years in Anniston.
"It was some of the best times. You really don't appreciate your playing days until they're gone. We had great teams. If there was a four-year period in my life where I could go back and do it again, that's the only one."
During those four seasons from 1986-89, the Panthers went 32-11. In Battles' junior and senior seasons, they won 21 games falling to the eventual state champion Oxford both years.
"We lost to them twice both years - in the regular season and quarterfinals."
Oxford won 14-13 in 1988 and 14-0 in '89. The '88 game came down to a 50-yard field goal try by Battles.
"We're down to three seconds left. It's on the 33-yard line. Dad grabs me and says let's go try it. Perfect snap. I hit the ball dead center. It fell right under the crossbar. I hit it the next day."
Battles was named the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 5A Player of the Year as a senior. He was Super 12 pick by the ASWA and played in the Alabama/Mississippi All-Star Game. The Birmingham News named him all-state as a linebacker. The ASWA put him on the first team as a placekicker.
"I'm probably one of the few players that played linebacker in a square-toed cleat. I wore it the whole time. I never came off the field. I played guard and tackle on offense."
Battles played college football at Samford under a couple of notable coaches, Terry Bowden and Chan Gailey.
"Two things I learned, one from each coach. We did not waste a moment at a Terry Bowden practice. Everything was orchestrated. A horn went off every five minutes - as organized as anything I've ever been around. When my dad came and watched me practice he said, 'I've never seen anything like it.'
"When Chan Gailey got there my senior year. He was coming off having coached (with) the Denver Broncos. He was a players' coach. The first thing he did was set up 15-minute meetings. We never talked about football. He said, 'What do you want to do with your life?' That really affected me."
After college it appeared that Battles would join his father at Hueytown as a coach. It did not happen due to nepotism rules, so the younger Battles ended up as an assistant across town at Oak Grove.
"My first coaching interview was at a fireworks stand with Gene Rogers. I coached for a year. Loved the place."
The next year, Battles Sr. moved to Gautier, Miss. and asked his son to join him. Once again, the hire was nixed due to a nepotism rule. So, Battles Jr. joined the staff at nearby Pascagoula.
"They're separated by the Pascagoula River. Bill Matthews, Shane Mattews dad, was the head coach."
The two Battles never coached on the same staff together.
"We used to have a running thing," Battles said of his dad. "On the first day of two-a-days, we would call each other to see who was up first."
Battles and Battles have only faced off as head coaches twice - in exhibitions only.
"We played (Handley) when I was at Bibb in spring games. They weren't typical spring games. It turns out my dad is about seven points better as a coach than I've ever been. The first time they beat us 21-14. The next time they beat us 21-14. The year we played at Bibb was the year they won the state. They were 3A. We got beat by Jackson. Jackson won the state in 4A."
Earlier this year, Battles, Sr. was presented the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Montgomery. He retired in 2017 after 47 years of coaching,
"If they called him tomorrow he'd be gone in a heartbeat. That's what my mom is scared of. She's enjoyed him being retired."
In 1997, Battles left Mississippi and his father behind to return to Alabama where he started his head coaching career back at Oak Grove.
"I didn't know anything then. Things were different. We had about six plays. Back then they won in spite of me."
Battles coached 11 seasons at Oak Grove compiling a 71-49 record reaching the Class 4A playoffs seven times. The success led to a head position at Bibb County in 2008. Battles was 46-6 in four seasons. He was named the ASWA Class 4A Coach of the Year in 2010.
"Those kids were hungry. We just had some tremendous athletes. It never hurts that first year to have an NFL tailback - Zac Stacey. You're always a better coach. Zac played on a team that won the fewest. We went 10-2 that year. The next three years, we had 14 or 15 players sign (college scholarships)."
Similar to his final two years as player in high school at Walter Wellborn, he lost to the team that would win the state title in his final two seasons in Centreville. Thomasville was the 4A champ in 2010. Jackson won it in 2011.
"Two times we were within a play of probably winning the state championship."
In 2012, Battles inquired about the head coaching vacancy at Tallassee through a former THS coach, Mark Rose.
"I called Mark. He's the only guy I knew that really had a tie. I said, 'What do you think?' He said, 'If you're fortunate enough to get the job you won't regret it.' He told the truth."
The first season in Tallassee was a good one. The Tigers went 9-3. One of the most thrilling wins came early in the season when Nic Mullins lined up for a 45-yard field goal vs. Charles Henderson in Troy. *(Nic Mullins Kick Video)
"There was 59 seconds left. We got the ball on probably about the 30-yard line. Our mindset was let's just make a first down (and) run the clock out. We're going to overtime. It's 14-14. Then Herman (McKenzie) busts one down the sideline. He gets on about their 48. We run two plays and they stop us. On third down, the clock is ticking down. Jed Carter drops back to pass. They rush. They're about to get him. He jukes up, breaks to the ouside and runs down their sideline out of bounds. We had time. Then of course Nic goes out there.
"I've got a picture behind my desk with the ball coming right through the uprights. It was another improbable one. Our boys weren't playing for overtime."
The last game of the 2012 season did go to overtime. After a first-round win over Clarke County 17-14, the Tigers traveled to Dora. Tallassee lost in OT 41-40. Or did they?
"We didn't lose. They called that wrong," Battles said. "They had a good football team. Herman went down in the first quarter. We basically put everything on the shoulders of Dijon Paschal. Dijon kept us in the game. We scored and it was a no brainer. We were going for two. I'm looking on the field and Dijon from about the waist up is laying in the end zone. The head official is about to raise his hands up. Then one runs over and does that.
"What might have happened? Who knows? What if Herman doesn't get hurt in the first quarter? That's just what ifs."
Battles first Tallassee team broke the record for points in a season with 458 outscoring opponents by an average of 38-17.
"There was a lot of talent. It was a great group to come into. I've been very fortunate when I've taken new jobs and come to places, we've had great players. They made us look like good coaches that first year."
For the 2013 season, Tallassee was 8-3 and exited the playoffs with a first round loss at Calera 21-10. Three all-stars shared the backfield in D.J. Rivers, Herman McKenzie and Brandon Baynes. Rivers played in the AHSAA All-Star game. McKenzie was ASWA honorable mention at running back. Baynes was a first-team pick as an athlete by the ASWA.
"I think we all had over 1,000 yards rushing," Baynes said. "With that Notre Dame Box, it was hard for other teams to stop us. We had a great offensive line too."
In 2014, the Tigers went 8-4. Baynes was first team again and the Class 5A Back of the Year. He broke the single-season rushing record at Tallassee with 2,599 yards. The record, held by Justin Williams, was broken in the first round of the playoffs.
"I remember I got Hunter "Oatmeal" Dennis' phone," Baynes recalled. "I got the calculator and typed in how many yards and added that game. I remember I broke it. I ran to Justin Creamer and we started running down the sidelines."
Baynes also broke the single-game mark with 392 yards on the ground at Talladega, a 40-6 win.
"They honored his grandfather Ronnie that night. Ronnie was a three-sport letterman at Talladega," Battles said. "We were playing against one of my high school buddies Robert Herring, "Little" Robert. Big Robert was the coach at Oxford. Jeremy Sewell was a kicker at Oxford. He was one of the assistant coaches. One of the officials was Jason Troupe, a linebacker off that same team. I went out there before the game and handed Troupe a dollar bill and said, 'Hey, try to keep this semi-fair.
"Robert tells the story. In the third or fourth quarter, it was the last time Brandon took off. Robert's yelling, 'That's a clip." Troupe turns around and said, 'It ain't going to make a difference.' Those are things you remember."
Once Baynes hit the open field, short runs became long touchdowns thanks to his exceptional speed. He finished second overall at the 2014 state indoor meet in the Class 1A-4A 60 meters.
Although the record for rushing yards in a game came against Talladega, Baynes said his 380 yards at Lineville vs. Clay County was more impressive.
"Central of Clay was my best game. They were far better than Talladega. It was such a huge game for us."
Tallassee won 31-15 and finished in a three-way tie for the region title. The tiebreaker made them the region's top seed for the playoffs.
After a 49-20 blowout of Rehobeth in the first round, Tallassee hosted Jackson. Battles had been knocked out of the post-season by the Aggies twice while at Bibb County. It would happen again at Tallassee in consecutive seasons, 34-12 in 2014 and 35-7 in 2015.
Truck Griffin carries in the banner prior to kickoff. Griffin signed a college scholarship with Alcorn State University.
The '15 season ended with a 5-6 record, Battles first losing season in nine years. The losing record is still the only time under .500 for Battles during his Tallassee tenure.
The 2016 team rebounded with Battles' deepest run so far at THS. The Tigers reached the third round, but it looked as though the playoffs might elude them.
The team had dropped three straight after a 4-0 start. After a 48-7 win over Holtville, the Tigers headed to Leeds for a pivotal regional game against the two-time defending champions.
"Those three games, we turned it over 15 times. We didn't turn it over 15 times in the previous three years. We decided we would hang on to the football. That was an interesting game because the crowd is on one side. We put in a special defense. We had to do it because they had tremendous speed at the corners. I think it caught them by surprise. That changed the outcome. Our kids were back."
Tallassee won 26-13 and closed out the '16 season with a 56-22 win at Elmore County. The Tigers were the No. 2 seed behind Handley, a team they beat 21-12 in week three of the season. Handley went on to win the 4A championship.
"I'm not real sure if we'd played Handley later in the season if we could've played with them. They were so physically dominant, but we caught them (early). We were in tremendous shape. They were not. I ran into the coach of Clay Central in the playoff meeting that year. Handley beat them (50-29) that Friday night. He said, 'They got in shape.'"
Tallassee squeaked by Hale County on a Jamarcus Miller punt return for a touchdown in the first playoff game 29-26 and then routed St. James in Montgomery, 42-14.
"St. James had a heck of team. They had that linebacker Sterling Jones. He and Casey hit head on in the first quarter. He never returned. Casey played the rest of the game."
The next week in the quarters did not go Tallassee's way in a 51-7 defeat to Andalusia. The 9-4 season in 2016 was the first with Casey Baynes at quarterback.
Casey, like his brother Brandon who preceded him, was a star not only in football but baseball too. He played in the Alabama All-Star Sports Week baseball and football games during his junior and senior years.
Both Baynes went the baseball route in college. Brandon played at Central Alabama Community College and AUM. Casey played at Southern Union.
"I liked baseball, but it was hard to beat football games," Brandon said. "I didn't know what I was going to do until it came down to having to choose one. It was a hard decision. I thought about it for months."
Casey also had a mutual passion for both sports.
"I loved football and baseball too, but (with) football you can't beat a Friday night."
Battles saw something in Casey in his first home start against W.S. Neal during the 2016 season.
"We're losing and get the ball on (our) 19-yard line with 1:21 left. Casey led us down the field in about five plays and jumped into the end zone on the last play and won the game. That's when we knew we had a leader."
The 26-21 come-from-behind win vs. Neal in 2016 showed that Baynes had the moxie needed when the game was on the line. *(W.S. Neal Video)
"That last drive, just thinking about it gives me chills," Baynes said. "When I was running time was running down. I just kept going and Brady Hancock and Markevious (Matthews) kept blocking down the field. I didn't know I was going to score until I got to about the 10-yard line. It was like right there. There was one dude who was about to get me, so I had to dive.
"I remember laying there for about five seconds and Jake Burton coming over and just hitting me. I remember flexing running down in front of the stands. It was a great play and great memory I will always have."
2016 2017
at Russell County W 25-0 vs. Russell County W 21-14
vs. W.S. Neal W 26-21 at W.S. Neal W 28-13
vs. Handley W 21-12 at Handley W 21-13
at Childersburg W 35-12 vs. Childersburg W 28-19
vs. Munford L 36-22 at Munford L 19-6
vs. T.R. Miller L 34-27 at T.R. Miller W 33-29
at Dadeville L 44-27 vs. Dadeville W 54-13
vs. Holtville W 48-7 at Holtville W 44-28
at Leeds W 26-13 vs. Leeds W 36-21
at Elmore County W 56-22 vs. Elmore County W 34-10
vs. Hale County W 29-26 vs. Thomasville W 35-32 (OT)
at St. James W 42-14 at Bibb County L 41-16
vs. Andalusia L 51-7
Tallassee went 10-2 in 2017 with Baynes running the offense. He orchestrated the biggest comeback in THS football history that season in Brewton vs. T.R. Miller. Miller was 6-0 all time vs. Tallassee and appeared to be on their way to their seventh win in as many tries. Tallassee overcame a 22-point 29-7 third quarter deficit in a 33-29 win. *(TR Miller Comeback Video Highlights)
"At halftime, people expect I'm going to be yelling and getting on them. I was very calm. I said very little," Battles said. "I got coach (John) Mask, coach (Scott) Justiss (and) coach (Danny) Worley to talk to the team. They talked about pride. The most improbable thing happened and probably never will again in my coaching career however God-willing long it is - three onside kicks in a row. You're lucky if you get one."
Jake Burton was the kicker for the Tigers.
"Jake is still the best there is. He kicked one sky high and we got the first one. The next one he bounces off somebody. The third one, they lined up on the 45, five yards deep, and he just kicks ten and a half yards and ran and got on it. But the kick that made the whole game, is (when) they have all eleven players within ten yards. Jake kicks a ball and it goes dead on the one. We tackle them on the two."
Kalvin Levett led the Tigers to a 28-7 win over Catholic in the season opener in 2018. Levett signed a scholarship with Tuskegee after his senior season.
Tallassee's 9-1 regular season was the best since the 2010 season. The No. 4 ranking at season's end was the highest since 2000. The 10 wins was the most since 1999.
The tenth win of the '17 campaign came in dramatic fashion. Tallassee faced Thomasville at home in the first round of the state playoffs. The game went to overtime. After the Tallassee defense stopped Thomasville on their first possession, Thomasville returned the favor.
Quenton Jeter celebrates with his teammates after his game-winner
Quenton Jeter lined up for a 25-yard field goal and made it for a 35-32 win. The next week, Tallassee was knocked out of the playoffs by Bibb County 41-16.
The 2018 season produced a 6-4 outcome and broke a string of ten straight post-season appearances. Tallassee was 5-4 in 2019.
In Battles first eight years, five players have been named first team all-state by the ASWA; Herman McKenzie (2012), Brandon Baynes (2013, '14), Jake Baker (2016), Trent Cochran-Gill (2017) and Kalvin Levett (2018).
Which teams have been the best during Battles' year in Tallassee? Brandon Baynes thinks it was in Battles' first season in 2012.
"The best one I played on was my sophomore year. It was me, Dijon, Herman and DJ. We had that offensive line with Corbin Hammonds, Jesse Rowlen, "Oatmeal" (Dennis) and Jed (Carter) at quarterback. That was a pretty good team."
Casey thinks his junior team in 2016 was the best.
The Pride of Tallassee
"That senior class, Jake Baker and Jamarcus Miller, they were hard to replace."
Tallassee has never won a state championship, although Battles said the program would have trophies if a playoff system were in place during the O'Brien era.
"It's something I think about all the time. I look at missed opportunities I've had as a player and a coach. One team's going to win it. That's it. As you go through your career you start eliminating the things that can keep you from doing it. You try to make sure you cover all the things, so when you ahve that one year, when you have that group of kids, you have the bunch that can do it.
"I don't think that there's a coach in the state of Alabama that doesn't wake up every monrning thinking about winning that championship. My dad had two - 36 years apart. Those 35 years, every morning he got up thinking about the next one. If that's not your ultimate goal, you probably need to find something else to do."
Tallassee in ASWA Top 10
*Highest Ranking By Year
Year
Top Ranking
Head Coach
2018 No. 6 (5A) Mike Battles
2017 No. 4 Mike Battles
2013 No. 7 Mike Battles
2012 No. 8 Mike Battles
2010 No. 9 (5A) Rodney Dollar
2000 No. 4 Jared Jones
1999 No. 3 Mark Rose
1996 No. 6 Steve McCord
1991 No. 4 Woody Weaver
1990 No. 6 Woody Weaver
1989 No. 4 Woody Weaver
1988 No. 10 Woody Weaver
1983 No. 10 (3A) Mark Rice
1961 No. 5 (3A) Jackie Davis
1960 No. 3 (3A) Jackie Davis
1959 No. 6 (MA) Jackie Davis
1954 No. 8 (BPH) Charles Hattaway
*The ASWA weekly poll began in 1960.
Tallassee was ranked by the Montgomery Advertiser in 1959 and Birmingham Post-Herald in 1954.
THS was ranked in the Class 4A poll in all years unless noted otherwise. The Tigers moved from Class 3A to 4A when the number of AHSAA classifications expanded from four to six classes in 1984. The Tigers have been in Class 4A for 26 of 36 seasons since 1984.