FROM STAFF REPORTS

Over a six-day period, the football programs at Pelham High School and Thompson High School made some big splashes in the athletic world without playing a single snap.
Thompson struck first when it hired former Spanish Fort High School coach Mark Freeman as its new head football coach and athletic director on Dec. 12 for a total compensation package of $121,000.
Freeman brings with him one of the strongest records in the state over the past few years. Freeman served as the head coach at Spanish Fort from 2011 until his resignation on Dec. 11, and compiled a 50-7 record over his four-year tenure with the Toros.
The Warriors have struggled on the gridiron over the past several seasons – due largely to the ultra-competitive region the school has played in recently. Freeman’s hire not only will give Thompson a great leader on and off the field, it marks a vote of confidence in the school’s athletes.
“Not only will he help us be champions on the field, he is going to help our young men and ladies be champions in life,” Alabaster School Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers said after the hire.
A few miles north of THS, Pelham High School also made a big splash when it pulled Tom Causey away from the head coaching job at Demopolis High School.
In eight seasons as the head man at Demopolis, Causey compiled a 67-29 record and captured the 2009 Class 5A State Championship. During the past season, Causey compiled an 8-3 record at Demopolis and led the team to the Class 5A, Region 4 championship.
While he Causey will make the jump from Class 5A to Class 6A by coming to Pelham, we think his track record speaks for itself, and we see him continuing to lead the Panthers to playoff appearances in the years to come.
It’s been several years since Pelham and Thompson ranked among the elite teams in their respective divisions, but we look for that to change very quickly.