Springville Tigers

What to look for in 2015: Springville head football coach Steve Davis, coming off of a 2-8 season riddled with frustrating fourth quarter losses, has set his sights on the goal of fielding a competitive, hard-working team – a ‘blue collar’ team with a workman’s ethic that reflects the work ethic that embodies the community of Springville. Tigers fans should expect a team that grinds for four quarters, refusing to back down to anyone, and will engage in dogfights to the final whistle much like the team that played last season.

On the offensive side of the ball, Springville’s pre-snap base formation appears to be spread, but Davis emphasized that his team will be primarily a two-back offense, with much of the heavy lifting falling on the shoulders of tailback Jordyn Byrd, who the coach says is likely the best running back in all of St. Clair County.

Davis admitted that his team lacks the athletic break-away receivers that can crush an opponent by outrunning coverage and providing a vertical passing threat, but with an offensive line anchored by the smart, technique-sound four-year starter Chase Nappier, expect to see a solid running game complemented by a mobile quarterback who will spread the field with a quick, short passing attack and nimble feet to get out of the pocket on read-option opportunities.

Defensively, the Tigers will start with six men in the box in their base 4-2-5 defense. Leading the defense is the tenacious, ball-hunting linebacker Kelly Ryan, who lines up at Mike or Will, depending on the circumstances. Davis said he believed that this defense fits Springville very well, providing an extra man in the secondary against effective passing attacks like Mortimer Jordan, yet allowing the option of rolling safeties down to the second level to plug the gaps of hard running offenses like the one at St. Clair County High School.

One aspect of the special teams Davis has been addressing during the offseason is the Tigers’ kicking game. He said that last year’s team would have been much more successful if they had a punter and a kickoff specialist who could have helped them flip the field and win the field position battle. Davis has turned to Springville’s new soccer team for some of the answers, working with a couple of players from that squad to shore up the football team’s kicking game.

Key Game(s) of 2015: Springville’s season will likely be defined during the first half of the season. The Tigers’ first three regional games are at Moody, a home game against St. Clair County, followed by another road game against Alexandria. From the makeup of the region, and the parity of the three teams from within the county, Springville would put itself in a very strong position to garner a playoff spot if they can find a way to win two of those three games.

Pre-season notes – When asked about what he expects from the players within his football program, Davis said that his boys should always put school first, then work at being a great teammate and build cohesion through its ranks. The coach believes that if a player can accomplish both of those expectations successfully, it will create the very important trait of being a coachable kid.

“This team needs to be coachable to succeed this year,” Davis said, “and coachable kids grow up to be great employees, great college students, and great family men.”

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Featured players

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Jordyn Byrd – RB – Davis said that Byrd, the latest of a series of athletic and talented players provided by the Byrd family, is a very physical running back who has great vision, which allows him to get in and out of his breaks to elude tacklers. His field sense is coupled with the strength to break free from tacklers and get downfield for yards after contact. Week after week, Jordyn has shown a lot of discipline with ball security, which will go a long way to provide Springville’s offense with control of the game clock, which is so crucial to a run-first offense.

Kelly Ryan – LB – The leader of Springville’s linebacking corps sounds like a defensive coach’s dream. “He’s a see-ball, hit-ball kid,” Davis said about Ryan. “He is the type of kid that goes flying toward the football to make a play.” The coach pointed out that Ryan is the type of player that does not take a play off, exerts maximum effort on every snap in the game, every lift in the weight room, and every drill at practice. 

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Springville Tigers Roster

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#2 Bailey, Drew

#3 Ferguson, Jacob

#4 Caldwell, Trey

#6 McDonald, Cornelius

#8 Cole, Bradlee

#9 Davis, Austin

#11 Worrell, Jamison

#12 Raby, Jonathan

#13 Chapman, Hunter

#14 Richardson, Hunter

#15 Eskew, Mac

#16 Powers, Blake

#18 Ryan, Kelly

#19 Byars, Aaron

#20 Jacks, Tanner

#21 Amy, Jacob

#22 Bowen, John Griffin

#23 Edwards, Terry

#24 Wilson, Tye

#25 Otwell, Jackson

#26 Simmons, Justin

#27 Hill, Tyler

#28 Byrd, Jordyn

#29 Cayse, Trey

#30 Ursey, Riley

#32 Parsons, Bryant

#33 Hutcheson, Alex

#34 McBride, Dillan

See more preseason coverage of eight local teams in this week’s issue of the St. Clair News-Aegis, available now in local newsstands. And visit us online at newsaegis.com.

Springville Football Schedule

8/21 Boaz (Jamboree)

8/28 @ Sylacauga

9/4 @ Moody*

9/11 vs. St. Clair County*

9/18 @ Alexandria*

9/25 vs. Talladega

10/2 vs. Anniston*

10/9 @ Hayden*

10/15 vs. Lincoln*

10/23 @ Mortimer Jordan*

10/29 vs. John Carroll

* Region Games