MADISON - Here's what can happen in 76 seconds. A kickoff. An incompletion. A quarterback sack. An 86-yard touchdown run. An extra point. The ensuing kickoff - this one out of bounds - followed by another kickoff - this one bobbled and recovered. A snap over the quarterback's head and into the end zone. A fumble recovery for a touchdown. Anything and everything anyone needs to know about Friday night's football game between Bob Jones and Grissom happened in the first 1:16. The host Patriots scored twice and the Tigers never recovered. Bob Jones dominated the remaining 46:34, too, using an almost perfectly balanced offense (223 yards on the ground, 219 through the air) and an opportunistic defense (five forced turnovers) to roll to a 49-0 win at Madison City Schools Stadium.

"We talked all week about starting fast," said Patriots coach Kevin Rose, whose 10th-ranked team improved to 4-0 both overall and in Class 6A, Region 8. "It was just a super start." Xavier Gaddy provided the jump to that start, taking a stretch play 86 yards on third-and-16. He raced 50 yards down the right sideline before cutting back inside for the remaining 30-plus yards. Grissom (2-2, 1-2) barely reached the 10-yard line after bobbling the kickoff, and on the first play from scrimmage the snap sailed over Jared Dowling's head. After half of the Bob Jones defense collapsed on Dowling, sophomore linebacker Darius Tibbs collapsed on the ball for the score.

"I saw the ball and said to myself 'I've got to go get it,' " Tibbs said. "That (touchdown) pumped us up early." The Patriots stayed suitably wired the rest of the way. Sixteen of the Tigers' 41 plays resulted in negative yardage as they had just 41 yards of total offense. "We lost our poise at the start, but we still had a lot of football game left," Grissom coach Bobby Rhoades said. "One of the hard parts of trying to build a program that's not used to winning is handling the peaks and valleys. "Every place I've been where you have to build has had a night like this. It's just one loss. It's not like they're going to give you two losses for this. We just have to go back to work." Saturday, September 19, 2009, By Bill Bryant, Times Sports Staff bill.bryant@htimes.com

MADISON - As a high punt floated toward junior speedster Collins Moore inside his 20-yard line, a fair catch seemed to be in order.

Instead, he caught the ball in traffic around the 19 and headed toward the sideline. Once there, all he needed was a burst of speed and some timely blocking.

Bob Jones got both in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs.

Moore's 81-yard touchdown return, spurred by Patrick Alford's block on the outside, broke open a tight game as Bob Jones defeated Hewitt-Trussville 35-14 Friday night at Madison City Schools Stadium.

The score put Bob Jones ahead 28-14 with 3:16 left in the third quarter.

"The game was tight,' Moore said. "We needed something to get us sparked up and excited.'

Moore caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Zach Freeman - the only pass the Patriots attempted in the second half - that made it 35-14 with 10:11 left in the game. He also added an interception in the end zone to snuff out the last gasp for Hewitt-Trussville (8-3).

It was the punt return that resounded.

"The biggest play of the game,' Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose said. "It takes a lot of guts to field it there.'

The Huskies got a 16-yard TD run from Noah Wilson on their first possession to break the Patriots' streak of four straight shutouts.

The Patriots tied it at 7-all on Trai Ragland's 4-yard run with 10:18 left in the first half.

Hewitt-Trussville moved back ahead at 14-7 on a 1-yard run by Wilson, but the game's first big turnover came when Bob Jones' Darius Robinson intercepted a reverse pass at his 30 with 1:33 left in the half.

It took the Patriots 30 seconds to make it 14-all. Ragland ran for seven yards, Moore had a 35-yard reception keyed by Reggie Ragland's hard block downfield, and Reggie Ragland caught a 13-yard pass from Freeman for the score.

Jake Larsen intercepted at the Huskies 40 to start the second half for Bob Jones, and Ragland scored from the 2 eight plays later to put the Patriots ahead to stay at 21-14.

"We knew we had to play more physical and at their speed and even above it,' Patriots linebacker Branden O'Hara said of the second half.

"We just wanted to run downfield and be more physical,' added Freeman.

Bob Jones (10-1) hosts Decatur (9-2) in the second round.

Bob Jones linemen like being told team can't run the ball

MADISON - With the game tied at halftime and Bob Jones' season on the line, the Patriots turned to their offensive line.

The milestones have come often for the Bob Jones football team.

There was the school record for most points in a season, set for the second straight season during a last week's 56-0 win over Butler.

There was the No. 6 ranking in Week 6, its highest climb ever in the state poll - one spot better than the '81 team reached when the state had only four classes.

Yet all of those records, will ring hollow if the Patriots can't defeat visiting Hewitt-Trussville (8-2) in the first round of the Class 6A state playoffs on Friday in Madison.

"We all know what we want to accomplish," Bob Jones quarterback Zach Freeman said.

And that's to reach territory the program hasn't seen before. The Patriots have never advanced past the second round and are 4-17 all-time in the playoffs.

Freeman and his teammates have said all along their goal was to reach Tuscaloosa and the Super Six championship game. The first hurdle to getting there is a Hewitt-Trussville team that placed fourth in Region 7.

The Huskies lost 28-24 to Clay-Chalkville and 28-14 to Oxford. Bob Jones ranks fourth in Class 6A scoring defense allowing 10 points per game. Hewitt-Trussville is right behind with an average of 11.5.

"I watched them play Friday night," Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose said. "They're awfully good on defense."

Bob Jones breezed through the final stage of its schedule after a 37-35 upset loss to Homewood in Week 6. Bob Jones hasn't surrendered a point since, reeling off four shutouts against Huntsville (31-0), Austin (28-0), Sparkman (23-0) and Butler.

Yet Rose said his team needs to play even better in the postseason.

"We talked to (the players) about raising the level of play. Hewitt-Trussville has a heck of a football team.'

Freeman said the Patriots expect the competition this week to be stronger than what they've seen the last month. Among the last four opponents, only Huntsville - the fourth seed out of Region 8 with a 4-6 record - qualified for the playoffs.

"I think we'll be fine," Freeman said. "Just do your job and everybody will be OK."

Freeman said the Hewitt-Trussville defense reminds him of Decatur's unit, which held Bob Jones to its lowest scoring output this season in Week 5. The Patriots defeated the Red Raiders 20-7.

"They're physical, well-coached and they'll come hit you," Freeman said.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

DECATUR - Bob Jones High needed just one more win in Class 6A, Region 8 to clinch a regional championship for the first time in school history.

After a couple early missed scoring opportunities, the Patriots finished strong Friday night to defeat Austin 28-0.

"We've won some area championships in the '80s, but never a region championship in the nine-team format," Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose said. "When you win in a nine-team format, you've had a good football season."

Bob Jones (7-1, 7-0) marched to the Black Bears' 3-yard line on each of its first two possessions in the first quarter but couldn't score.

The Patriots' Collins Moore had a 50-yard punt return for a touchdown run negated by a penalty on Bob Jones' third possession. But on the ensuing play, quarterback Zachary Freeman found Moore in the end zone on a 23-yard touchdown pass to end the first quarter.

With 5:30 left in the second quarter, Xavier Gaddy scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 3-yard run for a 14-0 lead that stood at halftime.

Bob Jones didn't let up to open the second half as Gaddy scored on another 3-yard run and Trai Ragland finished his 118-yard rushing night with the Patriots' final touchdown with 3:41 remaining in the third.

"This (win) is something we've been working towards a long time," Rose said. "The thing that's special, more than anything is it puts us in a good position where we host a playoff game. Obviously, we'd like to advance in the playoffs."

Ragland followed up Gaddy's two-touchdown performance with 118 yards rushing on 18 carries.

Jake Larsen had one thought - and one wish - as Will Nunn faded back to pass near the Huntsville High goal line in the third quarter Thursday night.

"Don't throw it," the Bob Jones linebacker said.

Nunn didn't, because Larsen got to him first. The senior delivered a big hit, separating the Panthers quarterback from the ball in the process.

"It was a very solid win - exactly what we needed after last week," Patriots coach Kevin Rose said.

Bob Jones (6-1, 6-0) dropped a 37-35 decision to Homewood last Friday, losing on the final play of the game. It didn't need that kind of drama against Huntsville (2-5, 2-5).

"We would have to be on all cylinders against them, and tonight we weren't," Panthers coach Kevin Wieseman said. "We just didn't execute well at all."

The two teams bobbed and weaved through the first 17 minutes or so, with the Patriots taking a 3-0 lead on a 34-yard Braden Hager field goal early in the second quarter. But then Rose inserted usual starting quarterback Zach Freeman, who'd missed most of this week with the flu, and the senior led them on a nine-play, 54-yard drive that culminated in a 13-yard TD pass to Collins Moore.

"We were sputtering a little bit and he just got things settled for us," Rose said of Freeman, who finished 6-of-7 for 128 yards and two TDs in about 11/2 quarters of work. He also rushed for a score.

The knockout blow, though, occurred just two plays after the Moore score. Larsen, blitzing from left end, had a clear shot at Nunn and didn't leave anything to chance.

And, considering the number of points Bob Jones gave up last week, it made a statement of sorts, too. The Patriots gave up just 194 yards in the game.

"I thought it was important for us to have a good night defensively," Larsen said. "It shows something that we came back from that loss the way we did. This is a different Bob Jones team."

It's still one that relies on the big play, though. Reggie Ragland took a short pass and ran 55 yards through the Panthers defense on the lone play of the Patriots' final possession of the first half, which gave them a 24-0 lead.

"We talk all the time about three successive big plays to give us the kind of separation we want from the team we are playing," Rose said. "We got close to that tonight. We didn't want to be in the same kind of situation we were in last week."

Patriots rush 46 times to sink Florence 41-26 in 6A, Region 8 clash

FLORENCE - There was no doubt in Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose's mind that his high-octane offense could move the football on the ground against unbeaten regional rival Florence.

His players proved their coach knows what he's was talking about.

Junior Trai Ragland ran for four touchdowns and also completed a 54-yard halfback pass as the Patriots romped past Florence 41-26 at Braly Municipal Stadium on Friday night.

Bob Jones (3-0, 3-0 in Class 6A, Region 8) accumulated 221 yards on 46 rushing attempts.

"Our offensive line has gotten better each week," said Rose, a native of nearby Muscle Shoals. "We thought if we played well we could run the football, and we were successful.

"We probably ran it more than I've ever ran it. But I felt like that was our best chance to win."

Ragland scored on runs of 6 and 7 yards in the first quarter, added a 1-yard TD run just before halftime and found the end zone from 5 yards out on the Patriots' first possession of the second half. He finished with 126 yards rushing.

"Trai played really well," Rose said. "He's got a chance to be a great player."

Quarterback Zach Freeman also contributed to the scoring with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Collins Moore in the second quarter. Freeman passed for 101 yards, all in first half.

Bob Jones' final points came when Reggie Ragland took a direct snap from center and ran in from the 2 with 5:16 left in the game to make it 41-19.

Reggie Ragland's touchdown capped a clock-consuming 18-play drive after Florence (2-1, 2-1) had crept to within 34-19 late in the third quarter. Seventeen of the drive's 18 plays were runs.

Bob Jones struck first to start the game, needing only seven plays to go 73 yards for a 7-0 lead. The Patriots covered the final 54 yards on the ground, with Trai Ragland finishing the drive with an 11-yard TD run.

It didn't take long for Florence to respond with one of its few first-half offensive highlights. Bryce Curtis hit Raheem McCray with a short pass, which the speedy receiver turned into a 54-yard touchdown at the 7:48 mark of the first quarter that made it 7-7.

The remainder of the first half was dominated by the Patriots, who had 240 yards of total offense by intermission.

Tuesday, September 08, 2009 By Mike EasterlingTimes Sports Writer mike.easterling@htimes.com

Bob Jones hits road Friday for region game at Florence.

Bob Jones High has rolled up 909 yards in total offense while scoring 115 points in the first two games of its football season.

So it stands to reason the Patriots are hoping to get more out of that unit when they travel to take on Florence in a big Class 6A, Region 8 clash Friday night.

"We're starting to prepare to open up the offense more,' junior quarterback Zach Freeman said following a Monday morning practice.

According to coach Kevin Rose, his high-octane offense needs to put more vertical pressure on opposing pass defenses. Receiver Collins Moore has totaled 183 receiving yards with four touchdowns so far, but the junior has mostly caught passes near the line of scrimmage and used his speed.

"We've got to throw the ball downfield more,' Rose said. "That's something we're working on.'

Bob Jones and Florence bring in matching 2-0 records with both teams owning region wins over Hazel Green and Buckhorn. The Patriots rolled past Buckhorn 49-10 and Hazel Green 66-20, while Florence beat the Trojans 47-6 and the Bucks 28-14.

Having seen both teams up close, Buckhorn coach Michael Jackson sees an intriguing matchup.

"It will be a good game - both teams have got a lot of qualities that make them good teams,' he said. "It ought to be a very interesting game

MADISON -- A relentless series of miraculous plays by both teams left Bob Jones High reeling when Homewood High scored the winning touchdown on the last play of the game.

  After watching Bob Jones score two touchdowns in the final minute to take the lead, Homewood scored the winning touchdown as time expired for a 37-35 Friday night.

"We deserved to lose," Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose said.

It was a frantic fourth quarter for both teams. Homewood pushed out to a 31-20 lead before Bob Jones scored two touchdowns in the final minute to grab a 34-31 lead with 25 seconds left.

But Homewood sprinted 60 yards on three plays, scoring the winning touchdown when quarterback Stephen Baggett hit David Powell in the left corner of the end zone in front of Bob Jones cornerback Alex Gilbert.

"There were no losers tonight in this football game," Homewood coach Dickey Wright said. "It was just a great game. It was unfortunate that, in high school football, somebody has to lose a game like that."

All dramatics aside, Rose focused on Bob Jones' sloppy play in the second half as the prelude to the loss. "We turned the ball over three times in the second half," Rose said. "We did not play well defensively. We had a punt and an extra point blocked. "Good football teams don't do that."

As he walked off the field, Bob Jones linebacker Branden O'Hara seemed more stunned than anything. "Stuff happens," O'Hara said. "It's a football game. All we can do is come out and do our best."

Homewood's key play in the winning drive was a hook-and-lateral pass play that gained 59 yards to the Bob Jones 11-yard line. Baggett hit Powell on a 10-yard pass and Powell then quickly lateraled the ball to Kerry Bowden.

"We were in our zone (defense)," O'Hara said. "We've got to be more disciplined next time."

Bob Jones rallied in the final minute on a 1-yard TD run by Trai Ragland and a two-point conversion run by Collins Moore with 47 seconds left. Bob Jones then recovered the onside kick and needed three plays to take the lead on a 21-yard Zach Freeman pass to Moore to take a 35-31 lead with 25 seconds left.

Freeman finished with three touchdown passes for Bob Jones while Homewood's Baggett had two TD passes. Each team also blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. Bob Jones had 434 yards of offense while Homewood had 437 yards.

In a game that guaranteed the winner a benchmark win, it was the Huntsville Panthers who added to their football history. Huntsville got two touchdowns out of its kicking game in the opening quarter and went on to defeat Bob Jones 14-0 in a steady rain Friday night in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs. The game at Milton Frank Stadium was delayed 50 minutes  because of lightning and again for 35 minutes at the start of the second quarter. The victory sent the Panthers (9-3) into the quarterfinal round for the first time since 1981. They will host Hewitt-Trussville (9-3). The Huskies advanced with a 33-14 win over Gadsden City. The Patriots (7-5), who led 14-7 in an earlier game against Huntsville before falling 20-17 in overtime, were seeking a quarterfinal berth for the first time. “Breaks were going to go somebody’s way in a rain game,’’ Huntsville coach Kevin Wieseman said. “We were fortunate the breaks went our way.’’ Darryl Martin returned a punt 60 yards for one touchdown, also scored on a 1-yard run and had one of four Huntsville interceptions. “Our confidence level is about there,’’ Martin said, “but we’ve still got a long way to go.’’ One week after piling up 587 yards in a 48-45 win over Oxford, Bob Jones had trouble moving against the Panthers’ stingy defense. The wet conditions didn’t help. The Patriots, who had only 26 total yards at halftime, finished with 105 and completed just 10-of-34 for 73 yards with the four interceptions. “Huntsville had a good game plan and they’re defense played great like they have all year,’’ Bob Jones coach Shannon Brown said. “I’ve said it before – this is the best high school defense I’ve seen in a long time and I wish them all the best.’’ With the early lead and the rain continuing to fall, Huntsville played conservative and had just 111 yards in offense. The Panthers rushed for 53, but that total was sliced by four errant shotgun snaps they recovered but went against the rushing total. They completed 1-of-7 passes for 58 yards. Jared Bastin completed the lone pass to Kameron Clay for a 58-yard play to the Patriots’ 23-yard line on the game’s opening possession. Huntsville gave the ball over on down, but after forcing a punt Martin collected the ball at his 40. He picked up some blocks to get to the sideline, then weaved through Bob Jones’ coverage and into the end zone. The first of two Martin Patton extra points made it 7-0 with 5:50 left in the first quarter. Bob Jones punted again on its next possession, and Drew Robinson blocked it to give the Panthers the ball at the 7. Two plays later, Martin went in from the 1 at the 4:07 mark. Bob Jones drove from its 31 to Huntsville’s 7 to start the second half, but was turned back. Two other times the Patriots moved into the red zone but Jay Emerson, who said he sensed a big game by the secondary, came up with interceptions in the end zone both times. “We had our best practices this week,’’ he said. Huntsville will now host a playoff game for the third straight week. “It’s great to see the kids faces looking like this,’’ Wieseman said. “This is why you get up at 6 a.m. during the summer, why you sleep in dorm rooms (at team camp). This is why you do it, to see their faces.’’ ...(Taken from the Huntsville Times)

MADISON - In an impressive span covering the final nine minutes of the first half, Bob Jones erased 11 years of football futility against Buckhorn.

The Patriots scored on five straight possessions in the second quarter to take a commanding lead, scored on its first series of the second half and routed Buckhorn 49-10 Friday night at Madison City Schools Stadium.

The game was the season and Class 6A, Region 8 opener for both teams. The game marked the debut of Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose.

"All of that was the 11 years of built-up frustration,' said Bob Jones junior receiver Collins Moore, who had four receptions for 57 yards and two touchdowns, all in the first half.

The Patriots trailed by a field goal as the second quarter began.

But after junior Trai Ragland scored the first of his three touchdowns at the 9:42 mark of the second quarter, the blowout was on.

The backbreaker for Buckhorn, trailing 14-3 at the time, came when it botched a punt snap and Bob Jones recovered at the Bucks' 9-yard line and scored two plays later on an 8-yard Zach Freeman-to-Moore hookup.

Bob Jones scored twice in the final 2:22 of the half to make it 35-3 at intermission.

"We did what Coach Rose taught us to do,' Ragland said. "That's to play fast, play physical.'

Big test for Patriots

Thursday, August 20, 2009

By Mike EasterlingTimes Sports Writer mike.easterling@htimes.com

Bob Jones hosts ranked North Gwinnett (Ga.) in Friday preseason game The outcome won't count in the standings, but Bob Jones High first-year coach Kevin Rose said the Patriots and North Gwinnett would "play to win' the first Madison Bowl preseason football game Friday night.

Bob Jones hopes to sell out 5,000-seat Madison City Schools Stadium. North Gwinnett is bringing a bus for fans who wish to travel with the team.  

North Gwinnett beat Bob Jones in the final of the latter's 7-on-7 tournament in July. Now, North Gwinnett coach Bob Sphire hopes his team, tied in the rankings at No. 7 within the state's largest class of AAAAA, gets revved up before hosting Alabama's top-ranked 6A Prattville Lions to open the season next week. "Kevin and I talked and he wanted something to approach like a game,' Sphire said. "He wanted to make it a big deal because it is.'

North Gwinnett brings up to eight Division I senior prospects, including two offensive lineman that have committed to Alabama in Austin Shepherd and Ju'Wuan James. The Bulldogs also have junior quarterback/athlete C.J. Uzomah, whose many offers include ones from Alabama and Auburn. Bob Jones, Alabama's largest school, opens its season against 6A, Region 8 foe Buckhorn next week.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

MADISON - Anybody who questioned whether or not Friday night's get-together between Bob Jones and North Gwinnett (Ga.) would be the real deal need only go to the video and check out the first play of the game.

That's when the Patriots' Reggie Ragland received a screen pass from Zach Freeman, turned a few yards upfield and then had his helmet launched several more yards along the Bulldogs sideline (Two snaps later, though, Bob Jones scored on a nifty 36-yard halfback pass from Trai Ragland to Quintrell Rogers).

Or they could fast-forward to the third play of the second half, when North Gwinnett junior receiver Connor Jenkins collapsed after making a downfield block. Writhing in agony on his team's 30-yard line at Madison City Schools Stadium, it was quickly apparent that he'd broken his left leg in the same spot he'd shattered his right leg in the Bulldogs' playoff finale in 2008.

More reality proof came on the first play of the fourth quarter, when 6-foot-4 North Gwinnett junior quarterback C.J. Uzomah, who's already been offered by Alabama and Auburn, split the Bob Jones defense with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Cordero Dixon.

Up in the stands, the home side was packed, the band played, the students body-slammed one another and the cheerleaders - the Patriots seem to have dozens of them - danced and cheered.

Yes, the "Madison Bowl," won 21-7 by the visiting Bulldogs, had a true opening-game feel to it.

"We got everything we wanted out of it, with the exception of a win," first-year Patriots coach Kevin Rose said. "It was two good football teams that were pretty evenly matched. They just had a few more skill people, and a few more big plays."

North Gwinnett, which won Bob Jones' 7-on-7 passing camp earlier this summer, is a major player in football-rich Georgia. The Bulldogs have reached two 5A quarterfinals and one semifinal in the last three years in the state's largest classification.

Not that the four-plus hour trip west didn't come without complications. North Gwinnett managed to leave its coaching headsets at home - forcing a late afternoon trip to Radio Shack, with mixed results - and one of its three buses broke down outside of town.

"You think we're ready for Prattville?" Bulldogs coach Bob Sphire said with a smile minutes before the second-half kickoff. His seventh-ranked team plays host to Alabama's top-ranked 6A team and three-time defending state champions next week.

They didn't look like it in the first half. After Bob Jones' opening salvo - "I wanted to score quick if we had the opportunity, because we're not consistent enough right now," said Rose, who is replacing all four receivers and a quarterback from last season - North Gwinnett took awhile to respond, not scoring until 3:19 left in the half on a Uzomah-to-Justin Dickens 20-yard TD pass.

"We were like a car full of bad gas most of the half," Sphire said. "But Bob Jones is well-coached. They're impressive fundamentally. They got after us."

North Gwinnett finally got down to business moments after Jenkins got hurt, going 95 yards in 11 plays - all runs - for the go-ahead score. When you've got a pair of Alabama commitments in monster truck tackles Austin Shepherd and Ju'Wuan James, that's not a bad plan.

"Those guys are big," said Bob Jones defensive lineman Jeremy Brackett, who came up pretty big himself with two tackles for loss, including a 14-yard sack of Uzomah.

"But it felt good going against them, just to see where we are."

Before the season kicks off for real.

Patriots get preseason hype

The Madison Bowl, the city's first preseason bowl game, will pit Bob Jones High School against North Gwinnett High of Suwanee, Ga.

The game is scheduled for Aug. 21 at 7 p.m. at Madison City Schools Stadium, said Bob Jones head coach Kevin Rose. Tickets will cost $7.

The idea for a preseason bowl started during Rose's job interview at Bob Jones. "I said that I wanted to play a national game each year. Out-of-state teams can come here, and we'll go out of state."

"I want to raise the bar," Rose said. For schools in Alabama, Hoover High School generates this type of attention, he said, "but no one else."

Rose has deep respect for North Gwinnett head coach Bob Sphire. "He's one of the best coaches in the Southeast. Coach Sphire called me to see if I was interested in the game," Rose said. "I jumped at the opportunity."

The game will not be a jamboree, which allows all players a short time on the field. "We're playing to win," Rose said.

"My entire intention is to spark our summer workout program. What makes you better is competition as good as or better than you," he said. "If we don't prepare, we'll be embarrassed. The North Gwinnett team is one of the best in the Southeast."

Rose is concentrating on defense this season. "I wanted to become great defensively. For division 6A, you have to be great. We haven't been bad but not great."

The Patriots are excited about the event. "Kids like competition and like to play on a big stage. We're the largest high school in Alabama and need to take these types of challenges," he said.

The Bob Jones Touchdown Club is playing a huge role in the Madison Bowl, he said. Booster president Brad Johnson and vice president Kirby Stephenson are "doing an amazing job. We couldn't run our program without the boosters."

Parental involvement in Madison is unsurpassed for the 180 players in grades 9-12, he said.

Billboards on Interstate 565 and U.S. 72 soon will announce the Madison Bowl with the slogan, "Meet me at The Bob."

"We need to fill up the home side and the visitor side," Rose said. "We want the citizens of Madison to come out and make a great showing. I want to see the City Council attend."

"We're doing everything in our power to promote this like a bowl game. The field will be painted like a state playoff. We hope to have the band and cheerleaders."

After current contracts lapse in 2010, Rose hopes to negotiate with Mississippi powerhouse Tupelo High School for a regular season game.

Before working at Bob Jones, Rose coached at Handley and Hoover high schools, was head coach at Sheffield High School for seven years and offensive coordinator for two years at Deshler High School in Tuscumbia.

Bob Jones closed regular season with five straight wins

MADISON - Bob Jones High School's season looked like a lost cause halfway through the 2007 schedule. The Patriots were 1-4 and the playoffs looked like a distant shoreline. But as a desperate team a loss away from playoff elimination, the relentless Patriots became arguably the most dominant team in the state during the second half of the season. In the final five weeks of the regular season, Bob Jones dismantled every team that stood in its way, outscoring opponents 247-39 and exhibiting an unprecedented average margin of victory of nearly 42 points per game. "We realized that if we lose another game, there's no postseason hopes at all," coach Shannon Brown said. "We kept believing in each other, we kept going out there each day and we kept working. "The way these kids responded was tremendous." The Patriots' dominance during the second half of the season earned them a fourth-place finish in Class 6A, Region 8 and a third straight trip to the state playoffs. Before a playoff berth in 2005 - Brown's second season as head coach - Bob Jones had not visited the postseason since 1997. "Bob Jones had been homecoming queens for years, and we're no longer that,' Brown said "We're a play here and a play there away from being able to play for state championships." The Patriots will take a shot at a fourth straight playoff berth with new coordinators on both sides of the ball. Former Hoover offensive coordinator Kevin Rose, carrying the same title at Bob Jones, will begin his first year with the Patriots in 2008. "Kevin brings a lot to the table - he's a proven coordinator," Brown said. "He brings experience and he brings state championships. There's no substitute for experience." On the other side of the ball, Bryan Styles will take over as defensive coordinator after Kelvin Sigler left for the head coaching vacancy at Blount in Mobile. Styles was formerly the defensive coordinator for Giles County in Tennessee. Senior quarterback Nick Acosta will be behind center for the Patriots, replacing two-year starter Jordan Busing. "Nick's a guy that's paid his dues," Brown said. "If I wasn't confident in him, he wouldn't be my quarterback." Acosta said he's looking forward to getting the season under way and showing what he can do. "I'm looking forward to the season; I'm ready for it to start," Acosta said. "My personal goal is to be the best I can be - throw touchdowns, limit interceptions, and just be a leader for my team." Sophomore running back Trai Ragland, who averaged 5.8 yards per carry as a freshman in 2007, will replace Thaddeus Everson, who was second in the metro area with 20 touchdowns last season. Senior Arthur Brackett will return to give the Patriots some experience at wide receiver, while top returning tackler Hunter Hovis looks to lead the defense from the linebacker position...(Taken in full from the Huntsville Times)

By Mike Easterling - Huntsville Times
NEW MARKET - With what looked like a certain victory just seconds earlier on the verge of slipping away, senior middle linebacker Keith Young made the biggest play of a football season opener filled with them. Young stepped in front of a Bob Jones receiver and knocked down a pass in the end zone as time expired to preserve Buckhorn's thrilling 21-14 victory Friday night. The game was also the Class 6A, Region 8 opener for both teams. "I knew they were crossing behind me,' Young said. "I saw the receiver out of the corner of my eye and then disappear. I dropped it, didn't catch it. But we won.' Buckhorn turned a recovered fumble into a game-tying touchdown in the first half, then turned the game over to running backs Marquis Smith and Lemeco Miller in the second. Smith finished with 143 yards on 25 carries and three touchdowns. Miller had 106 yards on 18 carries. Of that total, 162 came in the second half. "I thought we played hard and the kids laid it on the line,' Buckhorn coach Michael Jackson said. "We made a lot of first-game mistakes, but I'm excited about the way the kids played. "Both backs ran hard and (quarterback) Matt Broady did an excellent job running the offense.' Broady completed 6-of-10 passes for 69 yards with one interception. Buckhorn nearly milked the final 7:44 off the clock to end the game, driving from its 34-yard line to the Patriots' 25 before giving up possession on downs with 37 seconds remaining. But Bob Jones had a last gasp. After two 11-yard completions, Trai Ragland took a pass and broke free down the sideline for a 42-yard gain to the Buckhorn 10. The Patriots then spiked the ball to stop the clock with 3.9 seconds left, and on the next play Young knocked down Nick Acosta's pass. "We had too many early mistakes to overcome,' Bob Jones coach Shannon Brown said after his team lost the fumble and had two interceptions in the first half. "But it's early and those things are expected. The kids played hard right to the bitter end. That's what it's all about.' Acosta completed 24-of-37 passes for 250 yards, one TD and one of the two interceptions. The other was on a double pass. Bob Jones went ahead 7-0 on the game's first series when Acosta tossed a 6-yard scoring pass to Collins Moore. Daniel Anderson added the first of two extra points. Buckhorn's Darian Sharp returned the ensuring kickoff 45 yards to the Patriots' 47 to set up Smith's first TD, a 6-yard run. Nick Luna kicked the first of three extra points at the 5:04 mark of the opening quarter. Bob Jones scored on its second possession to move ahead 14-7 behind Ragland's 2-yard run. The Bucks' Stephen Griffin later recovered a fumble at Bob Jones' 32, setting up a 9-yard TD run by Smith. Luna's kicked tied it at 14-all at the 3:23 mark of the second quarter. Buckhorn took a 21-14 to open the third quarter when Smith scored from the 5 to cap a nine-play, 71-yard drive. The Bucks made that score hold up as neither team seriously threatened again until the final two possessions. "We started off slow,' said Sharp, who along with Shawn Brumlow provided interceptions for Buckhorn. "Once we found out what they were doing we progressed.' (Taken in full from the Huntsville Times)