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   The best of the best in Alabama High   
  School Football over the past 100 seasons.






2024 Team Previews 

  


Pickens Academy Pirates

Head Coach: Kyle Fuller (first season)
Career Record: 0 seasons, (0-0)
At Pickens Academy: First season
Stadium: Billy McGee Stadium
2024 Enrollment:  86
Rank:  377th in the AHSAA, 48th in Class 1A

 History 
Overall Record:   368-230-3   (62.0%)
Last 25 years:   147-128   (54.0%)  (Rank: 122nd in the AHSAA, 16th in Class 1A)
Since 2010:   66-85  (43.7%)  (Rank: 244th in the AHSAA, 31st in Class 1A)
Last Playoff Appearance:   2021
Last Region Championship:   2012
Last Winning Season:   2017
Last Losing Season:   2023

 2023 
Class:  AA              Region:   2
Record:  2-8
Region Record:   0-4, (fifth)
Playoff Record:   Did not qualify.
Final ASWA Poll:   Not Ranked
Scoring:  178 (17.8)
Defense:  390 (39.0)    (Team record for points allowed in a season)


 2024 
Class: 1A              Region:   3
Strength of Schedule: 30-67 (31%) (390th in the AHSAA, 57th in Class 1A)
Region Strength:  20-38 (34%)
Non-Region Strength:  10-29 (26%)



 2023 Results 
 8/18   OPEN 
 8/25  @ Wilcox Academy  (A)   6-41   L  
 9/1  vs. Southern Academy  (A)   0-38   L  
 9/8  vs. Patrician Academy  (AA)  *  8-34   L  
 9/15  vs. Coosa Valley Academy  (A)   45-20   W  
 9/22  vs. South Choctaw Academy  (A)   15-20   L  
 9/29  @ Jackson Academy  (A)   20-44   L  
 10/6  @ Escambia Academy  (AA)  *  14-46   L  
 10/13  @ Clarke Prep  (AA)  *  18-45   L  
 10/20  vs. Banks Academy  (AA)  *  16-70   L  
 10/26  @ Morgan Academy  (AAA)   36-32   W  

 2024 Schedule 
 8/23  vs. Hale County  (3A)       
 8/30  @ Berry Fayette  (1A)       
 9/6  vs. Linden  (1A)  *      
 9/13  @ Choctaw County  (1A)  *      
 9/20  vs. University Charter School  (1A)  *      
 9/27  vs. Holt  (4A)       
 10/4  @ Holy Spirit  (1A)  *      
 10/11   OPEN 
 10/18  @ R.C. Hatch  (1A)  *      
 10/25  vs. Francis Marion  (1A)  *      
 11/1  @ Greene County  (2A)       


Class  1A Region  3
Team 2023 Record Region Scoring                            
Linden (1A) 6-3 4-1222-170
Choctaw County (1A) 5-4 4-2212-236
University Charter School (1A) 5-6 2-3256-265
Pickens Academy (AISA-AA) 2-8 0-4178-390
Francis Marion (2A) 1-8 0-5120-277
R.C. Hatch (1A) 1-9 0-5162-281
Holy Spirit (1A) 2-8 1-6106-387

 2024 Preview 


       Pickens Academy finished the 2023 season with a disappointing 2-8 record. Last year Pickens Academy just missed making the playoffs with a fifth place finish in Class AA region two with a 0-4 region record.

       The defense allowed a team record 390 points last season.

       Pickens Academy was inconsistent offensively last year and they need some improvement if the Pirates want to be competitive. They only averaged 17.8 points a game.

       Pickens Academy struggled on the defensive side of the football last year. The defense found little success in stopping opposing offenses as they gave up an average of 39.0 points a game.

       The Pirates would prefer to forget the past two seasons as they have finished with a 4-16 record. Since 2010, Pickens Academy has gone a combined 66-85. Their 43.7% winning percentage ranks 31st in Class 1A over the past fourteen seasons.

       Over the past 25 seasons, Pickens Academy has managed to compile a record of 147-128. Their 54.0% winning percentage ranks 16th in Class 1A and 122nd in the AHSAA.

Coaching Change:
     Michael Smith  retired from the sidelines after 31 seasons as a head football coach with a record of 163-170. He was at Pickens Academy for two seasons with a record of just 4-16. He was also the head coach at Greensboro, Gordo, Hartselle, Northridge and Southern Academy. His teams reached the playoffs a total of 17 times and won 15 games in the post season. In 2019 his team at Southern Academy finished 10-1 and won an AISA state Championship.

2024 Head Coach:
    Kyle Fuller  returns to his alma mater at Pickens Academy as the head football coach. Fuller spent the last three seasons as the offensive and special teams coordinator at Tuscaloosa Academy. Prior to 2021, he served at Faulkner University as an assistant coach.

He was also an assistant at Troy between 2004-2016 first as a graduate assistant until he received his degree. Coach Fuller is a 2004 graduate of Pickens Academy. He will be tasked with leading the football program as they transition from the AISA into the AHSAA in 2024.

Season Outlook:

       The Pickens Academy Pirates will play in Class 1A region three during the 2024 season.

      

       Can the Pirates be competitive in the AHSAA after spending the last fifty-five years in the AISA? That question will be answered quickly as they open the season on August 23rd against Hale County before beginning region play a couple of weeks later against Linden.

       The Pirates at Pickens Academy would like to prove they can compete in the AHSAA in their first year.

    The Pirates could find themselves challenging for one of the playoff spots for region three this season with a few breaks and a little improvement. Pickens Academy missed the playoffs the past couple of seasons but hope to return to the post season in 2024.

Returning Starters:
WR/CB Kristofer Witherspoon

Season Opener:
       The Pirates open the 2024 season at home against non-region opponent Hale County on Friday, August 23 at Billy McGee Stadium. Last year the Hale County Wildcats finished with an overall record of 3-7 and in sixth place in Class 4A region three. The Wildcats closed out the regular season with a loss to Gordo by a score of 58-26.

       This will be the second meeting between Pickens Academy and Hale County on the football field. The Pirates have a 0-1-0 record against the Wildcats. They last met in with

  


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