By TAYLOR BECK

Several weeks ago after Albertville City Schools chose to rename its football stadium in honor of legendary head coach Vernon Wells, much research into some of the program’s history raised a question: which team in the 118-year-old history of Aggie Football is the best team?

Due to recency bias, many people remember the 2002 Aggies as the program’s best. Under head coach John Grass — who is best known for his successful run as head coach at Jax State from 2014-2021 — finished the season 9-4, which included an unlikely run to the third round of the Class 5A state playoffs.

The Aggies ended the regular season 7-3, including a 4-3 record in region play to lock up the No. 4 seed in the playoffs. Albertville defeated rivals Boaz 35-19 and Guntersville 28-9.

In his lone season at Albertville, Grass led the Aggies to two of the program’s three total playoff victories.

In the first round, Albertville went on the road and achieved what many believed to be the impossible and upset Gardendale 28-14. Gardendale was undefeated and considered the best in all of 5A.

In the second round, the Aggies hosted Athens and won 14-7 to advance to the quarterfinals, marking the deepest playoff run ever by an Albertville football team. But the Aggies’ playoff run came to a halt the following week as Hartselle won 34-7.

All-State players included David Sigler and Michael Darden. Grass was named Coach of the Year.

No Albertville team has won a playoff game since 2002.

Other teams that could be considered among the greatest in Albertville history are the 1907 squad that finished 3-0-1 and outscored opponents 94-12; or perhaps the 1911 team that went 8-0 and outscored its opponents 282-12.

Or we could take a hard look at a run of impressive squads from 1919-1922:

In 1919, the Aggies finished 8-1 and outscored opponents 216-52.

In 1920, Albertville rolled to a 7-0-1 finish, crushing teams 300-14.

In 1921, the team finished 7-1 and pounded opponents 193-26.

And in 1922, Albertville finished 8-2 and outscored opponents 117-66.

And, of course, we’d be remiss not to give flowers to the 1929 Aggies that finished 10-2 — the first 10-win season in program history. This Albertville squad outscored its opponents by a staggering 342-26.

But, I would argue the 1953 team coached by Wells stands above the rest for one simple reason: it’s the only team to capture a football championship in program history.

In his fifth season as Albertville’s head coach, Wells led his Aggies squad to a 7-2-1 record.

Albertville swept its local rivals Boaz 19-0, Guntersville 21-0 and Arab 28-0. Its only losses were to Etowah 27-12 and McAdory 13-0.

The lone tie came against Emma Samson 13-13, which was an impressive feat considering they entered the matchup undefeated and one of the best in the state at the time.

Following the tie and a win over Guntersville, the Aggies were named the Class AA District 4 State Champions by the Birmingham News.

So, who do you think is the greatest of all time? The 1953 squad? Or 2002? Another team, perhaps?

Over the next several weeks, follow along as we take a deep dive into the area’s high school football programs’ histories to determine which teams are the greatest of all time.

What better way to get ready for the 2024 high school football season?

Publisher’s note: Statistics and historical data are courtesy of the Alabama High School Football Historical Society (AHSFHS).