Piedmont, AL – Under the new the head coach of Spring Garden, Spring Garden turns heads by running to the final of Piedmont 7-on-7. Handley wins for the third time in three years.
7-ON-7 TOURNAMENT PIEDMONT
Semi-Finals
Handley 23. Piedmont B 2
Spring Garden 18, Piedmont 16
Championship
Handley 29, Spring Garden 2
By Joe Medley
What are the chances for Spring Garden football in year one without director of football Jason Howard Barrett?
It’s hard to say it, but the initial three weeks of Barrett Ragsdale ended with a significant boost of confidence.
The Panthers were defeated 29-2 by Handley of Class 4A competitor Handley during the championship match of Saturday’s Piedmont 7-on-7 competition, however the Class 1A Spring Garden reaching the final made the most memorable of the day.
The Panthers defeated the Class 4A competitor Jacksonville and the perennial Class 3A rival Piedmont in the semifinals and quarterfinals, respectively. They bounced back after losing 35-0 to Jacksonville in the pool.
Spring Garden’s stunning performance in the 7-on-7 contest comes more than three weeks following Howard’s announcement on June 30 that he would be leaving to take a coaching position in Georgia. Howard has coached the Panthers 20 times over two seasons, and led teams to make the postseason twelve times.
Howard was the coach who led Spring Garden to the Class 2A quarterfinals in 2020, and three other quarterfinals over the space of four years. They were among the longest quarterfinal run in the history of the program.
Barrett the who was Spring Garden’s defense coordinator for 12 years. He was promoted to head coach on July 10.
Twelve days after, Ragsdale and his Panthers left Pidmont’s Field of Champions with a trophy.
Ragsdale has called the last few weeks “a chaotic whirlwind.”
“A majority of people think”I’ve been here for a long period of time and we’re able to continue to be normally,” he said. “We have to, but getting to the front seat, to the driver’s seat, so say, has been a blast. It’s been a bit hectic.
“Now I believe we’re getting closer to season. Today provides us with a tiny bit of normal. We have created a bit of normal today. It can make you feel happier about it.”
A 7-on-7, which is essentially the same thing as a passing game that does not have linemen in it doesn’t really create. But, Spring Garden’s players did well against players from more successful programs.
“The guys today showed me they have what I was sure they had within their bodies,” Ragsdale said. “We are here today and played about 10 kids and we rolled throughout the day long. We played many teams who are platooning with us on defense and offense in addition to … It’s hot in here. they battled through and won some huge games today.
“Just the argument that the kids got into today was the most important thing that happened today.”
The 7-on-7 highlights quarterbacks in addition, Chapel Pope showed out as more than just a quarterback.
“Chapel today, he played quarterback. He was a slot player, and was split and slot,” Ragsdale said. “Just shifting his body about and watching him take the ball. He enjoyed his day. He was able to catch some massive captures.
“In the Piedmont game (Spring Garden took the game 18-16) the quarterback made an incredible catch, a conversion on third down and a great route which kept us in the game. It’s the one that stands out.”
Pope was a receiver during the time his younger brother Chaz was a quarterback for the Panthers and then moved on following Chaz suffered an injury in 2021. In terms of whether he’ll shift about during the season, Pope and Ragsdale aren’t sure.
“You’ve to bring this up with your Coach,” Pope said.
In terms of the way things are going with the program, with Ragsdale as the head coach, Pope said he senses very little changes.
“We have smashed it to the ground,” Pope said. “Nothing stopped. We’ve just switched coaches. We’re sure to miss Coach Howard however, we’ve got a great one to replace him.”
Handley
Handley has been a Piedmont 7-on-7 regular who has been through various phases of revamping after the loss of his graduation. Saturday was no exception, nor was the outcome.
Quarterback Cannon Kyles led the Tigers to another championship as did ninth-year Tigers Coach Larry Strain came away encouraged.
“I’m very worried about our group,” he said. “We have lost our DBs as well as the wide receivers, and all our DBs last year. One outside linebacker was lost however, our entire front line is back and offensive linemen have returned. So there are some doubts concerning our ability to defend our secondary, and if we’ve got players capable of catching.
“The children have been working hard over the time of the year to reach this stage. This is the fourth or fifth camp we’ve been able to pass and I believe that we had a successful day.”
Piedmont
In addition to the change in coach between Steve Smith to Jonathan Miller, Piedmont looks to replace nine players on offense and six defense players.
The quarterback who was sacked is Jack Hayes, who finished fourth in major Alabama record for career quarterbacking.
However, Piedmont made the semifinals of another 7-on-7.
“I believed we had improved on our defensive game from our initial 7-on-7 which was pleasing to observe,” Miller said. “At times we were our biggest enemy on the offensive end However, there were many positives. The game was long day and I think our players competed for the beginning.
“All we need is to clean a couple of items up.”
Jacksonville
The Golden Eagles had five wins in their 7-on-7 games prior to Saturday’s game, therefore the quarterfinal loss in the quarterfinals to Spring Garden came as a surprise.
Jacksonville did not have two crucial skilled players. Wide receiver Kydric Fisher was on a recruitment visit at Southeast Missouri State, and defensive back and receiver Demonte Sinclair was away on holiday, Jacksonville coach Clint Smith stated.
“Spring Garden was able to do what it needed to accomplish to beat the other team So hats off to the team,” Smith said. “One of the best things about playing 7-on-7s is the challenge. We play after lunch, having had sat for a bit and then you can get involved and build yourself ready to play again and we didn’t play that way right then. …
“At all times, you have to ensure that if it happens that you can learn from it and then make adjustments and be ready to play whenever you need the chance to play.”
White Plains
The Wildcats defeated Randolph County in the tourney opener, and then were defeated by Piedmont B in the quarterfinals. White Plains finished 3-2-1 overall and first-year White Plains coach Blake Jennings noticed improvement over the FCA 7-on-7 team, which was just two weeks ago.
“Our main goal was to and compete,” Jennings said. “Keep trying and improve.
“One of the topics we’ve discussed is body language and how to communicate with these guys.
“First morning at FCA children were getting battered and didn’t want to do their jobs, and were prone to a wry smile. Today one of the most important aspects for me is that it’s all about body language. It’s about doing things properly and playing constantly. This is what we’re trying to impart to these players, and that’s what they achieved that today.”
Ranburne
Ranburne was the No. 7 seed at the tournament and defeated No. Ten Sand Rock before losing to Piedmont Varsity,
“We improved, and got plenty of reps that were good,” Ranburne coach Stephen Bailey stated. “Best we’ve played offensively in the last few years. I felt we played well in both areas of football.”
Munford
Eighth seed Munford beat No. 9. Handley B to begin the tournament, but fell to Handley Varsity.
“We were competitive,” Munford coach Michael Easley stated. “Our most important thing was that our defense was consistently good throughout the day, which is the reason why we came to let them watch live games. Offensively, we were better as the day progressed. Timing was much better and often is what happens when it comes to passing.
“We were extremely content. We noticed that this was more efficient than what we had experienced a couple of years ago. We only lost one game, and nearly took it home.”
