BY WIL CREWS
SPORTSCREWS@
OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM
LOACHAPOKA —
The Loachapoka High School varsity football team is looking to continue building on “The ‘Poka Way.”
“The main thing about the ‘Poka Way is getting back to the tradition of Loachapoka High School,” said head football coach Fredrick “Reco” Newton. “That winning tradition, that rich tradition of the community, that doing it the right way in the classroom, in the community way, doing how Loachapoka started off, that’s what we try to instill in our kids, being great leaders in the community and the classroom.”
Following this blueprint, the Loachapoka football team has improved its record in each of its three seasons under Newton’s leadership. Loachapoka finished the 2022 season with a 9-2 record, good enough to place second in the AHSAA 1A Region 4 Standings. The team carried the momentum of a one-loss regular season into the playoffs, leading to a first round 28-24 victory over Keith High School before Newton’s squad was eliminated in the second round by Millry High School.
“Going into this season right here, we are going to continue that winning tradition that we have built at Loachapoka High School,” Newton said. “Loachapoka is a football town. It’s a great community. People come together.”
Last season, Loachapoka had a number of key contributors who elevated the team to one of the division’s best. Defensive back J.C. Hart, who has since graduated and enrolled to play football at Auburn University; defensive back Jamaroun Satterwhite, who graduated and signed with Tuskeege University’s football team; and junior defensive lineman Jamari Payne all received recognition on the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s all-state teams for Class 1A.
Hart’s recruitment to Auburn was a big deal for the school, Newton said. And the players who played with a now D-1 defensive back said they are motivated to keep attracting scouts from the next level.
“Seeing that, it will motivate you harder,” said senior Quinton Cooks.
Quarterback Quinjavis Nelms said that “seeing J.C. go to play D1 football feels good and is motivating,” and senior defensive lineman Jamari Payne said it “has made me go 10 times harder.”
Led by Hart and others, Loachapoka performed well on both sides of the ball last season, averaging 30 points per game while allowing just 17, and finishing the season with a perfect 5-0 record in homes games. Of those five home game wins, none was bigger than the 50-14 victory over rival Notasulga on Sept. 16. It marked the first time Loachapoka defeated Notasulga in the “Battle of Highway 14” since 2013.
“It was great to snap that streak,” Newton said. “You know it’s a rivalry game, the battle of Highway 14. The thing is now, we haven’t won in Notasulga in 10 years. So, looking forward to it.”
This year, Loachapoka will turn to a mix of familiar and new faces to help continue building on the program’s recent success. Nelms, Cooks, Ethan and Jamari Payne, Ran Norman and Quay Satterwhite are just a few names to keep an eye on.
Newton’s squad begins its season in the Kickoff Classic in LaFayette on Aug. 26. Loachapoka will face off against LaFayette, while Notasulga will play Lanett in a double-header.
“That game is a very important game because its local schools coming together,” Newton said. “It provides exposure for our area and kids in both communities.”
Looking further down the schedule, the Loachapoka players are not hiding from anyone, and have focused in on their ultimate goal — a state championship.
“My goal this year is a state championship,” Nelms said. “I wouldn’t be able to complete that goal without my coaching staff and my team.”
Cooks echoed Nelms’ sentiment, adding that “as a team, we need to dominate everyone that is in front of us. We got a saying we build up, ‘We coming.’”
Payne cemented the notion of Loachapoka’s championship expectations, and said “the main goal this year is most definitely to win a state championship … and [to] build a close bond with our teammates because we have a lot of new players.”
LOACHAPOKA SCHEDULE
– Aug. 26: Kickoff Classic vs LaFayette
– Sept. 1: @ Beulah
– Sept. 8: vs. Verbena
– Sept. 15: @ Central -Hayneville
– Sept. 21: @Notasulga
– Sept. 29: OPEN
– Oct. 6.: vs. Calhoun
– Oct. 13: vs. Autaugaville
– Oct. 20: vs. Maplesville
– Oct. 27: @ Billingsly
– Nov. 3: OPEN