In 2010, Glenwood head football coach Jason Allen led the Gators to a 6-5 record and a berth in the playoffs. Not bad for Allen’s first year on the job at the Phenix City private school, especially considering that he inherited a team that finished 1-9 in 2009.
“We laid the foundation for where we want our program to be in the coming years. We established that,” said Coach Allen. “We emphasized work ethic and how we wanted to practice and how we wanted to finish everything. Finish drills, finish practice and finish games. We emphasized finishing.”
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| Glenwood's Jason Allen believes the Gators could go all the way in 2011. |
The Gators started strong in 2010, pushing their record to 5-1, before stumbling down the home stretch to finish the regular season 6-4. They lost in the first round of the Region 3A playoffs to Bessemer, 31-28. Glenwood competes in the Alabama Independent Schools Association.
Allen said one of the biggest wins of the season was beating rival Lee-Scott Academy 28-27 at home. “That got the ball rolling for us, gave us some confidence,” he said. “We realized we could have a pretty good team if we played hard and didn’t make mistakes.” Another huge victory for Glenwood was beating 2AA defending state champions Edgewood, 13-12, in the ninth game of the season.
The Gators have 13 seniors returning for the 2011 season, including leading rusher Will Allison (6’0/170), who ran for more than 1,200 yards as a junior. “He’s a hard runner and very fast,” said Allen. “When he gets in the open field, he doesn’t get caught.”
Joining Allison in the backfield is senior Deion Goshay (5’7/160), who rushed for more than 800 yards last season. Allen said both Goshay and Allen are duo-threats as rushers and receivers in Glenwood’s high-power spread offense, which scored 69 points in a win over Ward Military Academy. “They both catch the ball well,” said Allen.
The Gators’ top returning wide receiver is senior Chase Silvani (6’0/175). “He is a deep threat. He is really fast. He is has extremely good hands,” assessed Allen. Throwing the ball to Silvani will be junior quarterback Brandon Dailey (5’11/165).
The offensive line will be anchored by four seniors—Kyle Langston (6’2/245), Wesley Bowers (5’11/170), Eric Lynn (5’11/170) and center Tip Lynch (6,0/230). Allen said Lynch did a good job of snapping the ball in the shotgun formation last season. “His snaps were good. Center is a very important position for us. His blocking got better as the year went on,” said Allen.
Glenwood’s defense should be stout this season with senior defensive linemen Jesse Hill (6’3/225) and Cole Knight (6’1/280), senior linebackers Judson Neel (6’0/180) and Markel Smith (6’0/232), and senior cornerback Adaam Wilson (5’8/160).
Coach Allen does not shy away from saying he wants to win a state championship this season. “We feel like this is the best chance that Glenwood has had to win a state championship in a long time,” said the coach. “We’re not going to beat around the bush. We have good kids, good talent and a good team. That is a recipe for championship contenders. That is our No. 1 goal. Anything else is a failure.”
In the Glenwood clubhouse, Allen has worked hard to transform the facilities into championship form. He installed theater-style seating in the film room. He built new oak lockers in the locker room, where he also installed new carpet, lighting and three flat-screen televisions for watching football. He hung motivational signs in the weight room. Everything has a fresh coat of orange and green paint.
“We know we are going to have a good, athletic team,” said Allen. “We want to embrace expectations. Every day they are out there throwing up, we talk about what it’s going to feel like to win a state championship, how the hard work will be worth it.”
By John Carroll
IN THE GAME HIGH SCHOOL MAGAZINE
Glenwood Gators
AISA, Region 3A East
Head Coach: Jason Allen
Team Colors: Orange and White
2010 Record: 6-5, Region: 3-3
Points Scored: 354
Points Allowed: 276
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