We’re going to the ’ship! We’re going to the ’ship!
I know, I know. I’m a journalist. I’m not supposed to be a fan, and I’m not supposed to have opinions (you guys know that all too well, right?).
But I want this state championship for Reeltown’s football team so bad I can taste it.
I just finished my 16th high school football season. My high school football career could quite literally drive a car at this point.
I’ve covered some amazingly good teams and some really poor squads. I’ve covered high school athletes who were just enjoying their times on the field and athletes who have gone on to compete in the NFL. I’ve covered it all.
But I’ve never gotten a chance to cover a state championship football team.
Across all sports, the only state championship I’ve been truly a part of was Central Coosa’s basketball team which won the title in 2018-19. When you cover these teams day in and day out, they become a part of you. As journalists, we are supposed to remain unbiased of course, but these are high school kids that we’ve gotten to know over the years. We’ve watched their highs and we’ve seen their lows. It becomes a little more complicated when it’s two county teams playing against each other, but when it comes to the playoffs, it’s easy to root for the home team because we know these kids. Tuscaloosa Academy, I’m sure, is full of deserving athletes as well, but we are all Rebels at TPI this week.
Reeltown has always been a powerhouse. The Rebels haven’t had a losing season since 2007 and even then, they were still 4-6. They’ve had Hall of Fame coaches and Division I superstars come through, and they’re always in the conversation.
But Reeltown hasn’t won the elusive state championship since 2009. It has appeared in the title game twice since then — once in 2019 and once last year, both of which were losses to Fyffe. But now Fyffe has departed and a new victor of Class 2A will emerge.
Reeltown has all the makings of a championship team. There is no one single individual you can point to and say that’s Reeltown. Instead, the Rebels are a cast and crew of weapons. They are very much a well-oiled machine, and they’re going up against a team completely different from themselves.
It will be one for the ages, but if I was a betting woman — which I’m not, except on bingo nights — I would put my money on the Rebels. After all, this is my third time heading to state with Reeltown and you know what they say about the third time being the charm.
Lizi Arbogast Gwin is the managing editor of Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. She can be reached at 434-962-9420 or via email at lizi.gwin@alexcityoutlook.com.
