Tallassee has found its new head football coach.
The Tallassee Board of Education approved 4A Coach of the Year Lawrence A. O'Neal to be the Tigers’ coach and athletic director Tuesday night.
O’Neal takes over for Mike Battles Jr., who parted ways with the school this fall after leading the Tigers for 12 seasons.
“I’m super excited to get started,” O’Neal said. “This is a new challenge and a new chapter in our life. We’re just ready to get to work. I saw a great opportunity and a great school system and an opportunity to pick up where coach Battles left off. I can pick up the baton and keep on running with it and build a powerhouse program.”
O’Neal has three years of head coaching experience – all at Booker T. Washington Tuskegee. During those three years, he led the Golden Eagles to a 19-17 overall record and two playoff appearances. His 19 wins rank third most in school history at BTW Tuskegee while he ends his tenure there as the only coach in school history to have a winning record.
BTW had only reached the playoffs one time in 29 years prior to O’Neal taking over, and the Golden Eagles had never won a playoff game in school history. He led the team to four playoff wins in his last two seasons.
This past season, O’Neal led BTW on a historic run. After finishing the regular season as the No. 3 seed in the region and a 6-4 record, O’Neal and company went on to win their first three playoff games and advanced to the Class 4A semifinals.
During the playoffs, his team beat a one-loss Handley team and a no-loss Jackson team. Both teams were ranked in the Top 10 by the ASWA.
After the season, O’Neal was named the Class 4A Coach of the Year by the Alabama Football Coaches Association.
O’Neal will take over a Tallassee program that is coming off of a 1-9 season. He is familiar with the current Tallassee team as BTW played the Tigers each of the last two seasons. This past season, the Golden Eagles won 44-0. In 2022, Tallassee won 21-12.
“This is a young team but a hungry team,” O’Neal said. “We just have to get here and set the standard high. Get the guys to buy in and commit to the program we’re running to get the most out of them.”
O’Neal has deep roots in the surrounding area. He is the son of Reeltown Hall of Fame coach Jackie O’Neal, who had 241 wins from 1988 to 2015 with the Rebels and is one of the namesakes of their stadium. Lawrence played under his dad at Reeltown as a quarterback and safety and helped lead the Rebels to back-to-back state championship appearances in 2000 and 2001. He won the title in 2021.
“I love to win, whether it was in blue and white or now in purple and gold,” O’Neal said. “I love to win. We’re going to set the standard high. Our best is our standard so we’re going to go out and do our best and produce some wins.”
Dalton Middleton, Tallassee Tribune