SPORTS

H.S. FOOTBALL: Scotts Hill improving facilities

Brandon Shields
bjshields@jacksonsun.com
The Scotts Hill football program got a new set of weights and racks to go in its new fieldhouse this past offseason.

REAGAN – The football team at Scotts Hill High School has been on a sharp incline in the two years since head coach Michael Stroup took over.

The tangible evidence of that incline came last November when the Lions not only made the playoffs for the first time ever but also won a game to get to the second round.

The abundance of sponsorship signs on the fence at the opening to the stadium by the end of the season were another indication people in the community and surrounding area are believing in the program as well.

"It's just a matter of getting everybody on board and working together," Stroup said. "And we have an excellent base of parents and boosters who help those efforts a lot."

The Lions are getting into the game of competing with other programs relative to facilities. The Lions built a new fieldhouse last fall that was completed late in the regular season.

Since the season ended, the building has filled with workout equipment, lockers, coaches' offices and a turf area just large enough to do explosive speed work or walk-through work for game preparation.

It's a far cry from the Lions' previous accommodations in which they were dressing out in the old shop class room and lifting weights in a small room in the back of the school.

A new set of lockers for the players was also installed into the new fieldhouse at Scotts Hill.

"A lot of people are getting on board with the program once they get a glimpse of what we're doing," Stroup said. "Everything you see in this building has been done by boosters."

Stroup said there are $5,000 worth of lockers and $15,000 worth of racks and weight equipment in the facility. The turf came from Middle Tennessee State University through a connection baseball coach Shane Britt has there.

"The baseball team also uses this building to get work in, too," Stroup said. "I appreciate the fact that Coach Britt and I work well together and can each use this to get work done to make both of our programs better.

"He's also shown what that work can do since his team has competed for a state championship. We want to eventually get to that point, but right now our goal is to get our first first down in the season."

The program hopes to get a big economic boost in July when the Lions host A Night with the Legends on July 25 with former Tennessee head coach Johnny Majors, former Alabama coach Gene Stallings and former LSU coach Lee Stovall. The event was originally scheduled to happen in April, but a health scare within the program pushed the event back.

"One of our boosters, Eddie Branham, was organizing the event and is a cancer survivor, and his cancer had come back," Stroup said. "We didn't feel right having this night with everything going on without him and his wife being there as a part of it after all the work they put into it.

"All the coaches were fine with rescheduling, and this was the first night we could put it all together."

There are still plenty of seats to be filled for the event, and individual tickets are $65.

"That includes the meal and listening to three legendary names in college football coaching speak," Stroup said. "It should be a fun night with a bunch of stories being told, and some of them might be true."

Brandon Shields, 425-9751