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The 2013 Class 5A State Champions Spanish Fort Toros
The newest high school in Baldwin County opened the 2006 season under head coach Barry Gibson with expectations of winning a game. That did not happen as the Toros finished 0-10 in their inaugural season on the gridiron. Things began to turn around the next year as Bryant Vincent replaced Coach Gibson and Spanish Fort went 4-6 in 2007.           The 2008 season would be the coming out party for the Toros. They won the first seven games before meeting an always tough Vigor team in a region game. The winner would be region champs. The Toros came up short 35-22 in the game but regrouped to finish the regular season with an impressive 9-1 record.	Head Coach Mark Freeman
The Toros beat Tallassee and Valley to reach the third round of the playoffs and a rematch with Vigor at Prichard Stadium. The Wolves again proved to be too much as they ended the Toros season with a 28-16 victory. The Wolves went on to post a perfect 15-0 record and win the Class 5A state championship.           In 2009, the Toros lost regular season games to region foes St. Paul's and Leflore before falling in the playoffs to Demopolis 29-28 in the semi-finals. Once again Demopolis went on the win the Class 5A state title. The team finished with an 11-3 record but were still short of a championship.           The 2010 team again lost to two region opponents during the season but qualified as the number three seed from possibly the toughest region in the state. The Toros rolled over their first four opponents to finally reach the Class 5A stat championship game in Auburn against Briarwood Christian.           In the title game, MVP Ameriol Finley scored on a nine yard run in the first quarter and a three yard run with 10:42 remaining in the game to seal the first state championship in the schools brief history. The Toros won 14-0 over Briarwood to claim their first state championship in only the fifth season of playing football. Finley rushed for 186 yards on 37 carries and the two TDs to lead Spanish Fort in the title game.                 Future Auburn star, Reese Dismukes led the Toros from his center position as a senior. He was a force along the offensive line and a key reason they won a title. As a junior he graded at 92 percent with 34 pancake blocks. He did not allow a sack as a sophomore.           Following the 2010 season Coach Vincent stepped down at Spanish Fort to accept a position with the University of South Alabama. He was replaced by Mark Freeman who had led the Gulf Shores Dolphins the past two season after leading Bessemer Academy to four AISA state championships.           The 2011 season was a letdown for the Toros as they finished with a 9-4 record and a third round loss to Vigor 12-9 to end their season.           In 2012, the Toros suffered a midseason loss to region foe St. Paul's 31-21 before finishing the regular season with a 9-1 record. In the playoffs they rolled the first three opponents to setup a rematch against the St. Paul's Saints in the semi-finals.           The Toros got their revenge on their rivals from across the bay by pulling out a 24-10 win over the Saints to once again reach the 5A championship game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn. This time around the undefeated McAdory Yellow Jackets stood in the way of another title.           The game was close at the half as Spanish Fort clung to a 14-7 lead. The Toros exploded for 28 unanswered points in the second half to win going away 45-14 for their second championship in four seasons.
2013 MVP  QB  Tyler Johnston	In 2013, Spanish Fort had one goal in mind. Win back-to-back titles. The team met little resistance during the season as they warmed up for another championship run.           The closest game they played was a season opening 19-17 win over 6A power Daphne. After that game it was business as usual as they rolled into the title matchup with Muscle Shoals.
The championship game matched the Toros offense against one of the best defenses in the state. It did not exactly play out that way as Spanish Fort rolled to a 35-14 win over Muscle Shoals and their second consecutive title and third in five years.           Where the Toros go from here is yet to be determined. Championship game quarterback Tyler Johnston returns for his junior season and could be the best at his position before he graduates form Spanish Fort High School.           The championships could continue for the Toros but they do play in a very tough region and could be reclassified to 6A in the near future which would place them with other opponents who could pose a threat to their future dynasty plans. Spanish Fort Toros     2009-13 Year Record Championship Game 2009 11-3   2010 13-2 Spanish Fort 14-0 Briarwood 2011 9-4   2012 14-1 Spanish Fort 45-14 McAdory 2013 15-0 Spanish Fort 35-14 Muscle Shoals Spanish Fort 2009 30 J.O. Johnson . . . . . . 0 21 Gulf Shores . . . . . . . 20 14 St. Paul's . . . . . . . . . 17 44 Escambia County . . . . 6 45 Hillcrest Evergreen . . 0 38 Faith Academy . . . . . 13 13 LeFlore . . . . . . . . . . . 18 37 Vigor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 37 Citronelle . . . . . . . . 14 37 Monroe County . . . . . 20 45 Eufaula * . . . . . . . . . 14 21 Vigor * . . . . . . . . . . . 12 21 Briarwood * . . . . . . . 7 28 Demopolis * . . . . . . . 29 431 11-3 186 2010 12 Fairhope . . . . . . . . . . 6 28 Gulf Shores . . . . . . . 7 17 St. Paul's . . . . . . . . . 31 48 Mary Montgomery . . . . 21 28 Baldwin County . . . . . 0 39 Faith Academy . . . . . 7 28 LeFlore . . . . . . . . . . . 6 14 Vigor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 32 Citronelle . . . . . . . . 14 27 Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . 14 34 Tallassee * . . . . . . . 21 21 St. Paul's * . . . . . . . 12 28 Hueytown * . . . . . . . . 0 37 McAdory * . . . . . . . . . 16 14 Briarwood # . . . . . . . 0 407 13-2 181 2011 21 Fairhope . . . . . . . . . . 35 35 Gulf Shores . . . . . . . 16 0 St. Paul's . . . . . . . . . 30 42 Mary Montgomery . . . . 21 24 Baldwin County . . . . . 0 35 Faith Academy . . . . . 12 31 LeFlore . . . . . . . . . . . 8 0 Vigor . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 42 Citronelle . . . . . . . . 7 35 Carroll . . . . . . . . . . . 8 31 Fairfield * . . . . . . . 7 31 Valley * . . . . . . . . . . 16 9 Vigor * . . . . . . . . . . . 12 336 9-4 179 2012 20 Daphne . . . . . . . . . . . 14 50 B.C. Rain . . . . . . . . . 30 56 Gulf Shores . . . . . . . 7 48 Faith Academy . . . . . 14 31 Fairhope . . . . . . . . . 21 21 St. Paul's . . . . . . . . . 31 38 Vigor . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 52 LeFlore . . . . . . . . . . . 14 44 Williamson . . . . . . . 13 52 Mobile Christian . . . 6 51 Carroll * . . . . . . . . . 7 38 Demopolis * . . . . . . . 14 28 Benjamin Russell * . . 17 24 St. Paul's * . . . . . . . 10 45 McAdory # . . . . . . . . . 14 598 14-1 242 2013 19 Daphne . . . . . . . . . . . 17 43 B.C. Rain . . . . . . . . . 0 49 Gulf Shores . . . . . . . 7 54 Faith Academy . . . . . 0 38 Fairhope . . . . . . . . . 14 29 St. Paul's . . . . . . . . . 6 56 Vigor . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 49 LeFlore . . . . . . . . . . . 14 49 Williamson . . . . . . . 6 40 Mobile Christian . . . 3 66 Selma * . . . . . . . . . . . 0 44 Sylacauga * . . . . . . . 7 36 Jackson * . . . . . . . . . 6 24 Saraland * . . . . . . . . 14 35 Muscle Shoals # . . . . 14 631 15-0 128 * Playoff game # State championship game

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          The Dynasties, a series of articles on Alabama high school football's best teams.

David Parker
  AHSFHS.org
  dparker@ahsfhs.org

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