North Jackson 9U team makes title game with 10-player roster
Story By Jason Bowen
Football coaches are known to stress that it takes all 11 players working together on each play for teams to be successful.
But for the North Jackson 9U team, this group of little Chiefs just needs 10.
Injuries and other factors trimmed the North Jackson roster to only 10 players a month ago, making it appear the team’s season would end prematurely.
“I asked the boys if they wanted to keep playing,” said North Jackson 9U head coach Jeff Grider, “and they all said they did, that we could win with 10.”
Three wins later, North Jackson is set to play in the North Alabama Youth Football League’s 9U Championship Game. The Chiefs play Etowah for the crown Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Sand Mountain Park in Albertville.
“It’s really something what these boys have done,” Grider said. “We kind of adopted the motto of ‘10 is all we’ve got, 10 is all we need.’”
North Jackson’s roster consists of Murphy Baker, Ayden Brocks, Bentley Cunningham, Maddox Grider, Slade Holder, Hunter Pendergrass, Kingston Rankin, Sawyer Shipley Legend Williams and Kamdyn Wisdom. The coaching staff is Antonio Brocks, Jeff Grider, Tony Rankin and Brandon Williams.
After its roster dwindled to 10 players, North Jackson’s next game was against DAR. The Chiefs rallied from a halftime deficit to win and claim their region’s final playoff spot, then defeated Guntersville the following week in the opening round of the playoffs to advance to face undefeated and region top-seeded New Hope in the semifinals.
The Chiefs trailed 16-6 at halftime but rallied for an 18-16 lead before New Hope scored with 14 seconds left to take a 22-18 advantage.
But North Jackson didn’t fold.
Behind solid blocking, quarterback Kingston Rankin threw a long pass to Kamdyn Wisdom, who avoided a couple of New Hope defenders and raced to the end zone for the game-winning 70-yard touchdown as time expired in a 24-22 walk-off region-title winning victory.
North Jackson 9U players and coaches were recognized for their efforts during Thursday’s varsity football game at North Jackson.
“It’s just unreal,” Jeff Grider said. “They’re literally a man down every snap. To be in the championship game is something everybody should be proud of.”
