Story by Mark Everett Kelly mark@southerntorchcom

Fort Payne Head Football Coach Chris Elmore, pictured here in a calm moment before the storm of the 2024 football season begins, expects to lead the Wildcats to another successful season. Elmore is the third-winningest head coach in Fort Payne High School’s history.

Walking to interview Fort Payne High School Head Football Coach Chris Elmore on a rainy Monday morning, I hurried past the entrance and discovered an empty football field.

Monday was team photo day, which all players and coaches hoped passed quickly.

The tumultuous downpour about 20 minutes before my arrival slowed to a steady flow, turning a historically disorganized event into potential chaos as coaches, cheerleaders, parents, and wives stood under a foot-long covering, waiting for the rain to subside.

However, the third-winningest head coach in school history (44-24, .647 win pct) did what he does best: quietly directed his players to a successful outcome.

The Elmore coaching tree at Fort Payne started with his father, Jerry, who finished 95-63 in his 15 seasons leading the Wildcats from 1984-98. In his seventh season as head coach, Chris and Jerry have won the same number of games (44) in their first six seasons at Fort Payne.

 Chris owns the highest winning percentage in region play (26-6) of any coach in team history.

Not all schools are built the same. More students only sometimes equate to better athletes. Many coaches face similar situations, especially in today’s society, where so many choices are available to students.

Wins and losses often depend on a two-way player failing to cut off a lane in the fourth quarter due to fatigue, leading to a game-changing play. Such plays are especially evident in the playoffs when each snap gets more intense and physical.

“It’s been challenging since my dad coached here 30 years ago. We’ve got intelligent players who work and play hard. The problem is depth. While we have 22 to 28 players that can compete at a 6A level, other schools have 38-45,” Coach Elmore said.

The Wildcats offense ranked fourth in DeKalb County (37.4 PPG) and second at home (41 PPG) in 2023. 

“We’ve got two quality running backs returning in Carter Blalock and Kaiden Adams. I like who we have coming back; we’ve got a lot of experience and smart players, but we gotta stay healthy.”

The defense struggled at times last season, especially on the road. It ranked last in DeKalb County, allowing 34.7 PPG. The defense improved dramatically over their final two road games, allowing only 14 PPG compared to 46.3 PPG in their first three games.

“Our defense has a little chip on their shoulder heading into the season because they want a chance at redemption from what happened last year.”

The Wildcats finished 7-5 in 2023, but three losses came by seven points or fewer. In their season opener against Scottsboro, the Wildcats lost 56-51 but outscored the “other Wildcats” 27-7 in the second half. After a seven-point loss to Lee-Huntsville, the most painful defeat of the season came against Athens.

Trailing 28-21, the Golden Eagles drove 80 yards in the final 35 seconds. The drive culminated with a 20-yard TD pass as time expired, followed by a walk-off two-point conversion, shocking Fort Payne 29-28. 

“We played many competitive games and lost three tough games. In the Athens game, we literally lost on the final play, and in Huntsville, we were driving for the tying score and had a turnover inside the 20.”

Fort Payne opens the 2024 season traveling to Scottsboro, hoping to avenge their season-opening loss last season. After four straight years of going home with the TopCat trophy, Fort Payne relinquished it last year.

“Losing that game last year indirectly affected some games last year. There’s no doubt around here that’s always been a huge game, regardless of when we play.

Walking to interview Fort Payne High School Head Football Coach Chris Elmore on a rainy Monday morning, I hurried past the entrance and discovered an empty football field.

Monday was team photo day, which all players and coaches hoped passed quickly.

The tumultuous downpour about 20 minutes before my arrival slowed to a steady flow, turning a historically disorganized event into potential chaos as coaches, cheerleaders, parents, and wives stood under a foot-long covering, waiting for the rain to subside.

However, the third-winningest head coach in school history (44-24, .647 win pct) did what he does best: quietly directed his players to a successful outcome.

The Elmore coaching tree at Fort Payne started with his father, Jerry, who finished 95-63 in his 15 seasons leading the Wildcats from 1984-98. In his seventh season as head coach, Chris and Jerry have won the same number of games (44) in their first six seasons at Fort Payne.

 Chris owns the highest winning percentage in region play (26-6) of any coach in team history.

Not all schools are built the same. More students only sometimes equate to better athletes. Many coaches face similar situations, especially in today’s society, where so many choices are available to students.

Wins and losses often depend on a two-way player failing to cut off a lane in the fourth quarter due to fatigue, leading to a game-changing play. Such plays are especially evident in the playoffs when each snap gets more intense and physical.

“It’s been challenging since my dad coached here 30 years ago. We’ve got intelligent players who work and play hard. The problem is depth. While we have 22 to 28 players that can compete at a 6A level, other schools have 38-45,” Coach Elmore said.

The Wildcats offense ranked fourth in DeKalb County (37.4 PPG) and second at home (41 PPG) in 2023. 

“We’ve got two quality running backs returning in Carter Blalock and Kaiden Adams. I like who we have coming back; we’ve got a lot of experience and smart players, but we gotta stay healthy.”

The defense struggled at times last season, especially on the road. It ranked last in DeKalb County, allowing 34.7 PPG. The defense improved dramatically over their final two road games, allowing only 14 PPG compared to 46.3 PPG in their first three games.

“Our defense has a little chip on their shoulder heading into the season because they want a chance at redemption from what happened last year.”

The Wildcats finished 7-5 in 2023, but three losses came by seven points or fewer. In their season opener against Scottsboro, the Wildcats lost 56-51 but outscored the “other Wildcats” 27-7 in the second half. After a seven-point loss to Lee-Huntsville, the most painful defeat of the season came against Athens.

Trailing 28-21, the Golden Eagles drove 80 yards in the final 35 seconds. The drive culminated with a 20-yard TD pass as time expired, followed by a walk-off two-point conversion, shocking Fort Payne 29-28. 

“We played many competitive games and lost three tough games. In the Athens game, we literally lost on the final play, and in Huntsville, we were driving for the tying score and had a turnover inside the 20.”

Fort Payne opens the 2024 season traveling to Scottsboro, hoping to avenge their season-opening loss last season. After four straight years of going home with the TopCat trophy, Fort Payne relinquished it last year.

“Losing that game last year indirectly affected some games last year. There’s no doubt around here that’s always been a huge game, regardless of when we play.