By Marla Jones, Sports Editor • marla@southerntorch.com

CROSSVILLE, Ala. — For my next-to-last stop on this season’s Inside The Huddle, I stopped in to see the Crossville Lions. I was lucky enough to meet new head coach for the Lions, Dusty Darnell.

The Crossville Lions Varsity Football team is no stranger to adversity. The team has made it through rough times and adapted the developing changes in their leadership. They now see the light at the end of the tunnel with new coach Dusty Darnell. The Lions are in it to win it.

The Lions finished their 2017 season with a 4-7 record, with 3-4 in region play.

The Lions will have 13 returning seniors this fall. In addition, they will have seven players returning on defense and four returning on offense.

The coaching staff includes Head Coach Dusty Darnell, Danny Smith, Jake Peek, Ian Richards, Chuck Dutton, Corey Garmon, and David Hinton.

The Crossville Lions begin their season with a non-conference week zero game against the Geraldine Bulldogs at home for the Battle of Skirum Creek on Saturday, August 25. Their first regular season game is against the Collinsville Panthers on August 31 at home. The Lions will face Etowah and Douglas at home on September 7 and 14, respectively. Their first away game is against the Alexandria Valley Cubs on September 21. They then travel to face Springville on September 28. The Lions battle against the Boaz Pirates in Boaz on October 5. After an off week, the Lions face off against the Sardis Lions on October 19. The Lions travel to play against the Southside Panthers on October 26. Their final game of the season will be playing against the Plainview Bears on November 2.

After observing the Crossville Lions in action, I look for the team to go the distance.