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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

Things will look more than a bit different for the Coosa Valley Rebels in 2024 as they have undergone a lot of changes since they last took the field 10 months ago.

The biggest change will be a move to the AISA 8-man division after previously competing in 11-man football. The last two seasons have made competing at that level challenging with small numbers and injuries playing a factor in back-to-back two-win seasons.

Nevertheless, the Rebels will still take the field this year in the growing 8-man format, and they are confident that competing in 8-man will help them have more depth than previous seasons while better showcasing their athleticism.

However, much of that depth will be brand new to the team after a nine-man senior class left them with just two players who played the full season last year. The rest will be players returning from injury or who are brand new to the sport, including some of Coosa Valley’s best baseball players.

One of those speedsters is receiver and defensive back Jordin Rogers, who is the team’s lone senior and someone who assistant coach Reece Donahoo tabbed as one of the most athletic players on the team.

He will be a key leader for the team with offensive lineman and linebacker Andrew Weaver, and both will play a key part in helping along whoever takes the quarterback position: Kellen Smith or Jake McArthur.

Despite all the new faces and the new format, one thing that won’t change much for the Rebels is their schemes. They hope to take what they did in 11-man and fit it into 8-man, including their goals of forcing turnovers on defense and scoring a lot without giving the ball up on offense.

They’ve also been utilizing drills and offseason activities that help work on their athleticism. Both Donahoo and head coach Vince DiLorenzo know that despite all the similarities between the 11-man and 8-man games, speed kills in 8-man, and they want to lean into that strength on the field.

Coosa Valley will need to adapt quickly to the 8-man game with a challenging AISA Class A slate that includes defending state champion and county rival Cornerstone Christian along with Springwood and Southern Prep plus a non-region test against the ACSC’s East Central HomeSchool.

 

Prediction: 2-8. Even though the Rebels now have a much-overdue fresh start in 8-man that should allow them to be more competitive, the fact still remains that this is a very green team when it comes to football experience. The couple of players who got 10 games of playing time last year are outnumbered by the numerous players for whom this is their first football season.

Coosa Valley had a similar situation last year, and it got off to a slow start as a result while the players learned the game and adjusted to playing as a team in DiLorenzo’s systems. The Rebels put it together down the stretch to win two of their final three games, and with two of their final three games this season coming against Trinity and Meadowview Christian, they’ll have a good chance to repeat that feat if they can get some similar momentum going.

However, the rest of the road up until that final stretch is very tough and includes some of the top 8-man teams in the state. Coosa Valley faced three of its seven new region-mates at 11-man last year, but it lost all three games by a combined score of 139-8.

Unless the Rebels can quickly generate some chemistry on either side of the ball and use their athleticism to outpace their opponents, I don’t see many ways where they can keep up with the best offenses in the classification and qualify for the playoffs. However, with just one senior set to leave, if Coosa Valley can keep this core together and start the development process this season, this could be just the start of better things to come.