Poole: Many ‘bright spots’ in Woodville’s spring drills, jamboree win over DAR

Jason Bowen

Woodville head football coach Joel Poole said his football team made the most of spring practice.

The Woodville football program wrapped up spring drills with a 14-6 spring jamboree scrimmage win over visiting DAR Friday night at Woodville’s Frazier Field.

It was the second consecutive year that the Class 1A Woodville defeated the 4A Patriots in a spring game.

Poole said a win over a Class 4A team was confidence booster for the Panthers, adding that the spring-game victory capped a “productive spring” for his team.

“I was really pleased with the spring and with how we played (in the spring game),” said Poole, who is entering his third season as Woodville head coach. “We finished with 40 kids (grades 7-12) which is a really good number for us. It was a productive spring. It was a big plus to have a lot kids back that had been through a whole (varsity) year.”

The AHSAA allows teams to hold 10 spring practice sessions or begin a week earlier than the AHSAA’s first official day of fall practice in August.

Woodville is coming off an injury-riddled season — the Panthers lost six starters, including four two-way starters, for significant time last season while also losing two two-way starters to transfers prior to the start of the season — that saw it go 3-7 and finish sixth in Class 1A Region 8. The Panthers, for the first time in Poole’s tenure, exited spring “without any major injuries. That may have been the best part of spring,” he said.

In Friday’s scrimmage, rising junior quarterback Kaden Franklin returned to the lineup after missing almost half of the 2024 season and accounted for two first-half touchdowns — one passing and one rushing — during Woodville’s 14-6 win in the spring game’s varsity half. 

“Kaden was really sharp at quarterback and continues to grow in the offense,” Poole said. “He had a really good spring throwing the ball.”

Franklin’s touchdown pass was to rising junior Jonah Sparks, who is making the move from wide receiver to tailback.

Poole said Sparks ran for more than 100 yards during Friday’s scrimmage while also complimenting a new-look Woodville offensive  line in which new starters up front Paxton Hatcher and Eli Maynard joined returners Jackson Clark, Case Robertson and Chase Stewart.

“We moved Jonah to tailback and I thought he played really well, had over 100 yards. He’s got good speed, is shifty and pretty strong. The offensive line was a bright spot. We lost two really good seniors last year (Issaih Vazquez and Steve Williams) but I felt like the new guys up there did well joining the ones we had back. We feel good about our O-line.”

Poole said the Woodville defense responded after giving up a long touchdown drive on Patriots’ first possession.

“There’s some improvement we’ve got to make on defense,” he said, “but there were some bright spots there too. I thought our inside linebackers played well.”

Woodville and DAR played their junior varsity teams in the second half with DAR taking an 8-6 win. Hunter Beddingfield rushed for the Panthers’ touchdown, which came after Woodville’s Matthew Dodson recovered a DAR fumble.

Woodville opens the 2025 high school football season Thursday, Aug. 21 on the road in Higdon against Jackson County rival North Sand Mountain.

“We’ve got to continue to develop this summer and get in the weight room, but I liked how the spring went,” Poole said. “It was a good 10 days.”