2024 Team Previews
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Donoho Falcons |
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Head Coach: William F. Smith (first season) Career Record: 15 seasons, (77-85) At Donoho: First season Stadium: Lentz Field 2024 Enrollment: 119 Rank: 354th in the AHSAA, 23rd in Class 1A |
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Overall Record: 243-289-3 (46.0%) Last 25 years: 119-142 (46.0%) (Rank: 238th in the AHSAA, 32nd in Class 1A) Since 2010: 74-71 (51.0%) (Rank: 181st in the AHSAA, 24th in Class 1A) Last Playoff Appearance: 2022 Last Region Championship: 2014 Last Winning Season: 2019 Last Losing Season: 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class: 1A
Region: 6
Record: 0-9 Region Record: 0-6, (seventh) Playoff Record: Did not qualify. Final ASWA Poll: Not Ranked Scoring: 66 (7.3) Defense: 385 (42.8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Class: 1A
Region: 6
Strength of Schedule: 44-53 (45%) (307th in the AHSAA, 34th in Class 1A) Region Strength: 27-28 (49%) Non-Region Strength: 17-25 (40%) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2024 Preview | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Donoho finished the 2023 season with a disappointing 0-9 record. Last year Donoho finished seventh in Class 1A region six with a 0-6 region record and failed to qualify for the playoffs. The Falcons lost as many games as in any season since 2009. The offense struggled putting points on the score board as Donoho averaged scoring just 7.3 points a game. The Falcons also struggled on the defensive side of the football as they found little success in stopping opposing offenses and allowed an average of 42.8 points a game. The Falcons would prefer to forget the past two seasons as they have finished with a 4-15 record. Since 2010, Donoho has gone a combined 74-71. Their 51.0% winning percentage ranks 24th in Class 1A over the past fourteen seasons. Over the past 25 seasons, Donoho has managed to compile a record of 119-142. Their 46.0% winning percentage ranks 32nd in Class 1A and 238th in the AHSAA. Coaching Change: Jeremy Satcher leaves Donoho after just two seasons with a 4-15 record including 0-9 last year. His 2022 team did qualify for the playoffs but fell in the first round to Lynn 42-0. 2024 Head Coach: William F. Smith arrives at Donoho having spent fifteen seasons as a head football coach at six different schools. Most recently he led Talladega for two seasons but his teams did not produce a victory going 0-20. His overall record stands at 77-85 during his long career. Over the course of his career, Coach Smith's teams have qualified for the playoffs a total of seven times and won one region championship. Season Outlook: The Donoho Falcons will play in Class 1A region six during the 2024 season. The Falcons enter the 2024 season in the middle of a 12 game losing streak. They would like nothing better than to end the string of losses early in the season. Donoho struggled last year finishing the year with an 0-9 record. A coaching change with a veteran coach in William Smith could be just what the program needs to quickly rebuild it. The Falcons will be young with a lot of new players filling posts on the roster this season. They do return several skilled position players with experience last year. Six players return to the offense but only two on defense. Coach Smith told us ''Our goal is to make the post-season and become the best team we can possibly be.'' That is actually a great goal for a young football team in 2024. The Falcons will need to win a few more games this fall if they hope to grab one of the four playoff slots in region six this season. Returning Starters: OFFENSE: QB Kai Cleckler (Sr, 6'2), TE/OLB Hayes Farrell (Sr, 6'5), WR/Db James Benkwith (Sr, 6'3), WR/RB Marcus Lawler (Jr, 5'9), OT/DT Brayden Johnson (Sr, 6'4), OT/DE Cash Worley (Sr, 6'3) DEFENSE: DE Sam Montgomery (5'11, JR), LB Ethan Bailey (Jr, 5'10) NEWCOMERS: WR/DB Jordan Cameron (Sr, 6'3), DT Donovan Barr (Soph, 6'4) Season Opener: The Falcons open the 2024 season on the road against non-region opponent Gaylesville on Friday, August 23 at Roy Knapp Sr Field. Last year the Gaylesville Trojans finished with an overall record of 1-9 and in seventh place in Class 1A region seven. The Trojans closed out the regular season with a loss to Talladega County Central by a score of 24-6. Donoho and Gaylesville have met a total of 20 times on the football field. The Falcons have a 8-11-1 record against the Trojans. They last met in 2013 with Donoho winning by a score of 49-40. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Great Moments in Alabama High School Football History
The Hazlewood Golden Bears have won 11 state titles. The most of any team in any classification since the playoffs began in 1966.
The Hazlewood Golden Bears have won 11 state titles. The most of any team in any classification since the playoffs began in 1966.