Area football teams prepare for changes

Published 12:00 am Tuesday, June 20, 2006

While the local high school hallways are silent, cafeterias empty and sporting fields in need of a good mowing, coaches from each of Shelby County&8217;s 14 football teams are already sitting down to plan their strategies for the 2006 season.

This prep work will prove to be a big challenge for a number of coaches who find themselves in unfamiliar positions.

Shelby County teams will have for new head coaches on the sidelines when the season officially starts on Sept. 1.

Wade Waldrop at Chelsea, Ryan Herring at Shelby County, John Gross at Spain Park and Mac Thompson at Calera will all take the field as new head coaches this season.

In addition, The Chelsea Hornets, Montevallo Bulldogs and Calera Eagles will be playing in new classes next season while Pelham, Thompson, Shelby County and Vincent all make moves to new regions in 2006.

The Chelsea Hornets move from Class 4A to 5A and into Region 5 with the likes of Briarwood Christian and Benjamin-Russell.

The Wildcats will face the likes of McAdory and Demopolis in 2006 in Region 3 play.

Montevallo and Calera both made class shifts for next season, with the Bulldogs moving down from Class 4A to 3A and the Eagles moving from 2A to 3A.

The two teams meet in Region 3 next year, making the in-county rivalry game even more important next season.

Pelham and Thompson found themselves out of the high-powered Class 6A, Region 6 in 2006 and into the Tuscaloosa-centered Region 5.

The two teams will face off against new region opponents in Tuscaloosa County and Paul Bryant.

The Vincent Yellow Jackets find themselves in the same class next season but shifted to Region 5 where they will face the likes of Cold Springs and Victory Christian.

With changes influencing a number of squads next year, coaches are going to have their hand full preparing for opponents that they know little or nothing about.

With a little over a month to the start of practice, it&8217;s looking to be a very interesting season in Shelby County football