Latest / The Gulf Coast Sports Pulse with Gulf Coast Media / Episode 1

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Episode 1 · The Gulf Coast Sports Pulse with Gulf Coast Media

0:09
SPEAKER_01: You are listening to the Gulf Coast Sports Pulse.
0:13
SPEAKER_01: All Baldwin County athletics all the time.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the innocle episode of the Gulf Coast Sports Pulse.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: My name is Parker Gillum, the the sports editor here with Gulf Coast Media.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: And uh today I'm joined by local athletics guru John Mullen as we kind of kick off this new podcast series here.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: Um and yeah, to provide a bit of background on this new endeavor, uh, John and I will aim to just kind of recap the latest weekend of high school football in the area, discussing notable storylines, previewing the upcoming slate of games, just kind of talking about anything else related to to Baldwin County athletics and going on uh in the general region.
0:46
SPEAKER_00: So um with all kind of the introductions and setup out of the way, just you know, John, how are we doing today for this first episode?
0:52
SPEAKER_00: How are you feeling?
0:52
SPEAKER_00: Is it is this your first time doing a podcast, or how do you have some experience with it?
0:57
SPEAKER_02: No, this is my first time and um doing good.
0:59
SPEAKER_02: It's a pretty good day out there, and other than the rain.
1:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I was gonna say, yeah, the audio, if if you get a bit of storm in the background, I'm uh looking like the the traditional mid-afternoon storms are are rolling through here.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: So um we will we will work through that if we can.
1:14
SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, we'll go ahead and jump right into it.
1:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, not wasting any time here.
1:18
SPEAKER_00: Um so starting out, we're gonna kind of do um three games essentially each week that we will um uh that we'll focus on primarily from the Baldwin County area, and just kind of providing some insight based on what we've seen from coverage in person or online or just kind of read or just anything else that we kind of uh noted from some of these games um in in a podcast format.
1:39
SPEAKER_00: So um just starting us off, we'll kind of talk about where I was at this past weekend.
1:43
SPEAKER_00: Um I was on site uh for the Fair Hope Baldwin County matchup over at WC Majors Field, um, a game that saw the Tigers control things for much of the night before the Pirates ripped off 21 straight points in the fourth quarter to rally for a win.
1:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, a huge result for a Fair Hope team that went down to pace week one uh and lost 41-0.
2:02
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, pace in Florida, a very uh tough opponent, but definitely the the bounce back performance.
2:07
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I imagine Pirate fans were looking for to get them back to 500.
2:12
SPEAKER_00: Um on the flip side of that, though, Baldwin County, I think really showed that in year three of the Andrew Davis era, they they are they're they're here to compete this year.
2:20
SPEAKER_00: There, there's they're no they're no pushover.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: I think they can go head to head with most teams in this county and hold their own.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: They they led the game uh pretty much all the way up until the fourth quarter.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: Um and so it was a real, it obviously you never want the loss.
2:34
SPEAKER_00: I think Baldwin County is disappointed with how that game ended for sure, but um a real, just uh a measuring stick for where that program is at right now.
2:41
SPEAKER_00: And I think it showed Farope's coaches talked about after the game too, how impressive they were.
2:44
SPEAKER_00: So um, John, you obviously weren't there, you were covering other games, just kind of your your perspective, having been in the area and obviously knowing Baldwin County's history, Farope's history, and just kind of how seeing how competitive that matchup ended up being.
2:55
SPEAKER_02: Well, that that game, um, I went back and watched some highlights, and it was like two different games.
3:00
SPEAKER_02: You know, the first game where Baldwin County got up 21 to 12, and then the second game where Fairhope just kind of exploded on them there and uh uh and took advantage of mistakes that they made to uh kind of pull away there at the end.
3:12
SPEAKER_02: But um it was interesting game to watch.
3:15
SPEAKER_02: Um, like I said, it was like a separate game altogether.
3:19
SPEAKER_02: What uh the running back for um Fairhope had an outstanding uh future series there at the end of the game.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
3:26
SPEAKER_00: He is uh yeah, all 210 pounds of uh, and I I try not to butcher the last name again, Nick Ron Cis Valley, something along those lines.
3:34
SPEAKER_00: I think I might have put some more emphasis on it.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: But he uh I mean, yeah, three touchdowns in the second half alone.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's as I said, 210 pounds, he's a bruiser.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he just he was running through arm tackles, and you could tell that they didn't have much running success early, but as that game wore on, Baldwin County got a little tired.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: I think their depth got tested, and he, as you said, was kind of able to take advantage, and he really kind of spearheaded that that late rally.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was errors to see, because yeah, I mean, it was the life was sucked out of that stadium for a good while.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, and Baldwin County really felt like they had it kind of in their hands, and it's one they might look back on the end of the year and think, man, what what if you know we we had been able to kind of hold on there?
4:08
SPEAKER_00: But um, I think, you know, looking ahead for either side, you know, I think you don't, even despite Baldwin County's loss and Fairhope being down early.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: I think both of them are taking a lot of positives away from this game.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, I think, you know, Baldwin County, uh A proved that, you know, they can compete with teams that caliber.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: And B, I mean, their athletes were able to make plays all over the field against Fair Hope.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, Ray Johnson obviously runs the show at quarterback, but Ashton Cox had a really explosive screen uh for a touchdown that that was big.
4:33
SPEAKER_00: So they proved that they can, you know, their athletes can not just hold serve but really excel uh uh in that uh in that type of environment.
4:40
SPEAKER_00: And on the flip side, Fair Hope, it you, I think the goal for this next week, we'll touch on a little bit later, is gonna be to get out to a stronger offensive start, but defense kept you in and you were able to kind of um you know hold on to things, things late.
4:53
SPEAKER_00: So uh definitely an interesting result over there.
4:55
SPEAKER_00: Both of those teams now at one and one moving forward, one of the many teams at one and one, as as we'll reference later.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, but moving on, we also had uh another kind of inter-county matchup uh over at Foley between another two pair of teams that um, you know, after this game also ended up one and one, um, thanks to the the Lions using a clutch goal line stand to kind of hold off the Toros for a 28-25 win.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, as I said, kind of brought them back to 500.
5:21
SPEAKER_00: And head coach Brian Moore's first season at the helm, it brought Spanish Fort down to 500 after they had kind of upended Daphne in week one.
5:28
SPEAKER_00: So um, I'll start by asking just kind of the big play of the game.
5:31
SPEAKER_00: Uh our our own Colin James got some video of it, but did you, John, did you get a chance to see the the goal line stand from Foley and just kind of how how emotional that moment was?
5:39
SPEAKER_02: I did, I did.
5:40
SPEAKER_02: That was a lot of fun.
5:41
SPEAKER_02: That was a great end of the game to watch.
5:42
SPEAKER_02: Both of those games, I was kind of watching them both.
5:44
SPEAKER_02: And um, this one was a slug fest.
5:47
SPEAKER_02: I mean, they were just getting after each other the the whole time.
5:50
SPEAKER_02: Um I don't I don't want to second guess a coach because I'm not a coach, but I'd have kicked for overtime, I guess.
5:55
SPEAKER_02: I don't have the I don't have the fortitude he had to go for it, but I would have probably kicked it and took my chances otherwise.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, and that was uh that was a debate in the Gulf Coast Media comments uh kind of after the game as well, amongst some fans on, you know, and I, you know, you you see it both ways.
6:11
SPEAKER_00: I think you like, you know, it coaches getting aggressive and willing to kind of let the kids kind of decide on the field.
6:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, on the other hand, yes, you could, you know, make that field goal.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: You have some momentum going into overtime, maybe you're able to ride that to a win, you know, especially on the road.
6:23
SPEAKER_00: But it that's another thing.
6:25
SPEAKER_00: On the road, sometimes you just you just want to go go for it all and see what happens.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: So um, and that that kind of matches what Spanish Board is a team.
6:32
SPEAKER_00: I mean, last week against Daphne, it was a game winning drive, um, or excuse me, two weeks ago was game-winning drive in the final minutes.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: So they're they seem like a team that's going to be in a lot of these style of games.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: And so they um, you know, we'll it'll be interesting to see if their their late game play calling to kind of changes.
6:46
SPEAKER_00: But um, a big uh result for Foley um after the the defense, the week one offense scored 35 points, looked great, um, but defense gave up 52, um, I believe, unless I'm mistaken at McGill Tulin.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, just kind of what your brief thoughts on kind of in Brian Moore's first season at the helm of Foley.
7:04
SPEAKER_00: Just kind of looking forward now, one and one.
7:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, we'll talk about their matchup this week upcoming.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: They're gonna be playing a lot of other ball one county opponents throughout the season.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: Just kind of, you know, a lot of people are hoping for a bounce back for the Lions.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: Do you do you have you seen enough so far?
7:16
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, only two games in to think that this they could be right in the ship.
7:20
SPEAKER_02: I think so.
7:21
SPEAKER_02: I think so.
7:21
SPEAKER_02: Um Coach Moore, he seems to have a good um has him going in the right direction.
7:26
SPEAKER_02: He hasn't with the right attitude, and uh he's uh he's you know, coaching from from the ground up.
7:32
SPEAKER_02: He's skills everything, you know, from what he said in our preview story, he it's gonna start at the very beginning.
7:39
SPEAKER_02: You know, how do we treat each other?
7:40
SPEAKER_02: How do we talk to each other?
7:42
SPEAKER_02: You know, what kind of culture do we have?
7:43
SPEAKER_02: Do we back each other up?
7:44
SPEAKER_02: You know, we work hard, you know, and stuff.
7:47
SPEAKER_02: He talks about stuff like that.
7:48
SPEAKER_02: And I think it's showing up.
7:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would say so too.
7:51
SPEAKER_00: And it's um it's interesting to that point, Bill, from the ground up, you he's got a very new staff.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: Uh, from what I could tell, being in practice, what I've seen online, very uh younger staff for the most part as well.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: I mean, notably Brandon Silver is um obviously um a notable name in the area back on as an offensive analyst.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: Um and I I there's a handful of other former uh Foley Lions, I believe, that are that are coaches on that staff too.
8:11
SPEAKER_00: So um defin definitely an interesting group to follow throughout this year.
8:15
SPEAKER_00: Um they similarly to kind of I was talking about Baldwin County earlier, a lot of great um athletes out wide, especially Jackson Dixon is a name I do want to point out.
8:23
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he had four catches with three of them going for touchdowns in week one.
8:26
SPEAKER_00: And then the second week he had an 85-yard rushing touchdown, a 65-yard punt return, and three more catches.
8:32
SPEAKER_00: So uh he's definitely gonna be a name to keep watching out for uh out of foley.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: But they they've got plenty um kind of over there that that have been balling out.
8:40
SPEAKER_00: But um as the rain begins to settle in here, if uh if the audio uh if that shows, maybe that'll be some nice, some nice background for this.
8:47
SPEAKER_00: But uh yeah, last but not least, um, I did also want to touch on real quick um the Daphne Trojans, who I talked a little bit about earlier.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Um they they got to play not a team from Baldwin County, Carver, Carver Montgomery last week.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, and as I said, looking to bounce back from that Spanish sport loss, um, they they did so relatively easily.
9:05
SPEAKER_00: It was um a slightly sluggish start uh early in the game.
9:08
SPEAKER_00: Then they pulled away late in the second half for a 21-7 win.
9:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, Christian Seeger, South Alabama commit, uh starred um kind of as expected, one rushing, one passing touchdown, over 200 yards through the air, um, and just really kind of commanded that offense.
9:23
SPEAKER_00: You could tell that after the Spanish four game was a little rocky offensively, I just they couldn't find a rhythm.
9:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, in the first game of the season, road environment, rivalry, it makes sense.
9:33
SPEAKER_00: Um, it seemed like they found their footing a bit more, and and that would that's scary for the rest of their schedule because Seeger and that offense, they have the athletes, he knows how to spread the ball around.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: They can be really prolific when they put it all together.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, so it's interesting.
9:48
SPEAKER_00: Daphne came into the season, you know, pretty, I mean, high expectations.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: They they were the favorite over Spanish Ford and then lose that game.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people, I think, you know, at least after the immediately after that game, kind of started forgetting about Daphne a little bit.
10:00
SPEAKER_00: Do you do do you still see them as one of the stronger teams in the county?
10:04
SPEAKER_00: And just kind of how how do you see their the rest of their season playing out at from this early stage?
10:09
SPEAKER_02: Well, they they definitely have talent, and they just like like you say, they got to get a good a better rhythm going on offense, and they'll they'll be uh uh if they want to you know make that run and and make a statement, you know, season that uh they they were kind of expecting uh it was expected of them to have a a statement season.
10:26
SPEAKER_02: Um it just scored in how they you know how they respond.
10:30
SPEAKER_02: Um that was a it was a really good game to get down and then come back.
10:35
SPEAKER_02: You know, that showed a little bit of character, you know.
10:37
SPEAKER_02: That then they started, you know, the offense said, all right, we gotta do something, you know, and uh made it happen there.
10:43
SPEAKER_02: Um but yeah, they I think they'll be uh one of the best teams in the county before it's over with.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: And it's it's a schedule shapes up.
10:50
SPEAKER_00: They actually don't um they'll they'll be getting all at Alma Bryant this week.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: Um and then they play Baker and Davidson before they even play any of the Baldwin County uh foes from the region.
10:58
SPEAKER_00: Um they'll play Foley, Fairhope, and Robertsdale um in October or later.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: So um well, we'll see them with a lot of kind of intra-county matchups later in the season as well.
11:07
SPEAKER_00: Um so potentially a chance for them to build some wins.
11:09
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you know, the you know, the Davidson's the world, some of those other teams are not pushovers by any means, but um, it seems like Daphne should uh should be able to put a winning streak together if they can kind of uh keep on the right track.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: Um, but with that being said, uh we'll kind of move on from recapping this kind of last week in a games.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, and one thing we kind of want to do each week in between recapping and previewing um is just gonna be, you know, provide an overall kind of takeaway from each of our perspectives.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: You know, what's some things that we've been just noticing, whether it be on field, off field, um, you know, just just countywide, what are things that are kind of standing out to us on the on the high school football scene um each week?
11:46
SPEAKER_00: So each week we'll kind of pick out one major takeaway uh for each John and I.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: Um and so for my top takeaway for this week, um, I just and I've touched on it a decent amount already, but I just I want to speak a bit on how competitive this county is set to be throughout the fall.
12:01
SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously, I'm new to the area, and so I mean this this could certainly be the case every year, and it likely is, but um you see a lot of teams, um, you've got Gulf Shores and Orange Beach were the only teams that won their first two games.
12:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then you have six Baldwin County squads that are currently at one and one.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: As of now, I'd be willing to say the Dolphins have separated themselves overall at this early stage in the season.
12:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I mean the likes of Bayside, St.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: Michael, Daphne, Fairhope, Foley, Baldwin County, and Spanish Ford, and even some others are all gonna be jockeying for position throughout the season.
12:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, we post our weekly county standings.
12:33
SPEAKER_00: I can see those flip-flopping throughout the fall.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: Um, I just I'm seeing it's I'm getting the feel that is going to be a very a lot of nail biters this season.
12:42
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so I just think it's gonna be worth tuning in.
12:45
SPEAKER_00: Whenever these Baldwin County teams are playing each other, um, there are just gonna be plenty of close and very entertaining games.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: As we've seen, Daphne Spanish Fort, Spanish sport foley, Fairhood Ball and County.
12:55
SPEAKER_00: It's it's kind of set the tone already.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: So um I I don't would you would you say you agree with that sentiment?
13:00
SPEAKER_00: And I guess is that am I speaking from a perspective of that that's kind of how it always is, is that you know the Baldwin County teams play pretty close.
13:06
SPEAKER_02: It seems like there's usually a dominant team, but you know, traditionally, but now uh I think you're right.
13:13
SPEAKER_02: There's just uh there's so many teams that are they're so close to each other, it's uh it's according to whose stars show out the night that they play, you know.
13:20
SPEAKER_02: It could come down to that, you know, and and whose guys show up and want it more, you know, those kind of things.
13:26
SPEAKER_00: But uh, and that's I mean I mean that's again, I mean, some of those teams that just list off.
13:30
SPEAKER_00: I mean, when you're looking at uh baside St.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: Michael, Dapte, Farrow, Foley, Bowen County, Spanish for I mean, I if any of those teams are playing any of each other, I don't know who I'd pick.
13:39
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think it's a coin flip, you know, just like some of these games upcoming this weekend.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: I think we got a lot of coin flip games, a lot of swing games, which are big, kind of make or break uh your season.
13:47
SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, I think that'll that'll be really interesting to kind of follow on from a local perspective at least.
13:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, but John, I'll throw it over to you.
13:55
SPEAKER_00: Just kind of your your top takeaway from this past week, something that you've you've kind of been noticing um in your coverage and and being around the area.
14:03
SPEAKER_02: Um, I I went to the Orange Beach game and that wasn't a lot of fun there.
14:10
SPEAKER_02: Um 49, nothing at halftime, but Monroe County was a little bit challenged.
14:15
SPEAKER_02: They were short-handed and had a lot of you know, but um I think Orange Beach is gonna find out a lot um coming up against Meiger.
14:26
SPEAKER_02: I thought I know we're gonna talk about that in just a second.
14:28
SPEAKER_02: But as far as the weekend goes, um I didn't expect Gulf Shores to beat St.
14:32
SPEAKER_02: Paul that bad.
14:33
SPEAKER_02: I'm not surprised they won.
14:35
SPEAKER_02: And um they got a big challenge as well.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's yeah, that's another one.
14:40
SPEAKER_00: We'll definitely um well, we can quickly touch on that one because it isn't in our formal list.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, Gulf Shores will be at Sarah Land uh this weekend.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: Unless I'm mistaken, Sarah Land's only played one game so far at one to know.
14:49
SPEAKER_00: But obviously, I mean, from what from what I've been new to the air, from what I can tell and I've read, they are they are a traditional power.
14:55
SPEAKER_00: Um and so that'll that'll be a huge test for them kind of going on the road.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: I know uh John will be kind of writing about that one uh remotely for us, so we'll have the coverage uh our on our end for that one as well.
15:06
SPEAKER_00: But uh yeah, that should be a very competitive game.
15:08
SPEAKER_00: Um gonna be a lot of D1 talent on that field, which will be really fun to watch.
15:12
SPEAKER_00: Um and just I think it'll be a great measuring stick.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: I think both Gulf Shores and Orange Beach have similar games this week in which you're 2-0, but I think it's you know, you're gonna find out how good you really are um this week, at least, you know, in these kind of early stages.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: So um, and that that does kind of segue me into the this last segment, um, you know, and we'll um uh each week just kind of be shifting our attention to proving the top three games in Baldwin County um and just kind of providing some predictions, keys to matchup, and other things to note um ahead of ahead of the games themselves, so you guys can have uh a bit more knowledge coming into your your Friday night light festivities.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, that we'll start with the game we were kind of just talking about.
15:48
SPEAKER_00: I will be on site uh myself as well.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: Uh Battle of Unbeatons between Vygore and Orange Beach.
15:54
SPEAKER_00: Um and John, you kind of wrote the preview for this week, and I've watched, as you said, each of the make those first two games.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: So I'll kind of let you start in examining this matchup and just kind of your uh your overall thoughts on how it might play out.
16:05
SPEAKER_02: Um I think it it'll probably be close early.
16:09
SPEAKER_02: I really believe uh Orange Beach plays hard.
16:11
SPEAKER_02: Uh I don't think they have the the talent that that Viger has.
16:15
SPEAKER_02: That doesn't mean they can't win, but I think it it you know by the end of the game, Viger will probably you know kind of establish themselves, and um, I don't think they'll blow them out by any means, but I think it'll be obvious who you know that that they are the best team.
16:28
SPEAKER_02: But um but don't count Orange Beach out because they are scrappy and they will fight.
16:32
SPEAKER_02: Um but I I went and looked at the um the coach Coach Waltrop said they have SEC talent, and I went and looked, and there's two four stars and a three-star on their defense.
16:42
SPEAKER_02: And I'm not really sure about their offense, but on just on the defense, and they're big guys that can run and they got a lot of talent.
16:50
SPEAKER_00: Yes, they they got they got some dudes coming in here then.
16:52
SPEAKER_00: That'll be good.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: And Orange Beach does have a handful of guys as well that are that are D1 talents, but this is a uh this is a different animal they're facing.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: And I've seen it, and correct me if I'm wrong on this, but I've seen it kind of pitched as um in this uh at the foray level at least, Orange Beach is kind of you know a program that's looking to establish itself as as one of the stronger, I guess, uh, you know, programs in that level, I guess, whereas Viger has been established.
17:14
SPEAKER_00: And so it's almost kind of this old blood versus new blood, you know, can Orange Beach make a statement and show that they're at the top?
17:20
SPEAKER_00: I've been seeing some power rankings for that class um during this week.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: I saw a lot of people having Orange Beach in the four to six range, whereas Viger was kind of in that top three.
17:28
SPEAKER_00: Um so I guess that does kind of track there.
17:30
SPEAKER_00: But but I'm interested to see because obviously Orange Beach has looked, you know, for the most part, really strong so far.
17:35
SPEAKER_00: The the roster seems, at least from what I can tell, it doesn't seem like there's there's many glaring holes in terms of, you know, across the board you look at.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: Um you've got guys that you can rely on.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: And so it'll be interesting.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: Would you would you wager that um the struggles against Viger are gonna come more in the trenches physically, or is it gonna be the the perimeter just athleticism that might challenge Orange Beach, or just how what do what do you think are gonna be the main issues?
17:59
SPEAKER_02: Uh I would think that the perimeter um uh athleticism is gonna be their biggest problem, though.
18:05
SPEAKER_02: That big they got that big defensive end, and I'm sure he will give um uh Wade trouble all night long.
18:10
SPEAKER_02: Um maybe they can run inside him, and they've got you know a big tall um defensive bat as well to to guard Sims and Sims, who's having a great year.
18:20
SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, it'll be um I forget off the top of my head how tall Lee Lee Steele is, but it'll it'll be interesting to see if we can get some get some jump balls between those guys, see if we can uh still have to use some of his basketball skills, be boxing out some of those defenders.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: But uh yeah, that those will be some good head-to-head matchups.
18:35
SPEAKER_00: A lot of college uh scouts, I imagine, will be paying attention either the game live or be watching the film afterwards to see kind of how these these two teams match up uh here.
18:44
SPEAKER_00: But um, yeah, moving on to kind of our our next one um and throwing it right back to WC Majors Field.
18:50
SPEAKER_00: Uh Fairhope's gonna be at home again, hosting another Baldwin County opponent.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, and as we talked about earlier, Foley will be visiting this time um with both of them looking to kickstart winning streaks after they each kind of secured those bounce back wins uh we talked about earlier.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: Um and as I said, this is a game that is a prime example of just the many swing games that are gonna be taking place in the area throughout the season.
19:10
SPEAKER_00: And both first year head coaches, Brian Moore for Foley, Caleb Ross for Fairhope, would love to be able to begin their district slate with a positive result and kind of set the tone um coming out of it.
19:20
SPEAKER_00: So it'll be interesting.
19:22
SPEAKER_00: I think the the first thing I kind of was, and I was writing a preview for it this week, and the first thing I was noting was the film is out there on Fairhope now.
19:31
SPEAKER_00: In terms of the offense was shut out in the first game, you can treat that as a little bit of a uh an aside almost.
19:37
SPEAKER_00: But the the second game, the offense still got out to a struggle, struggle in terms of the start.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: It was they scored five points in the first half, two of which obviously came off a safety from an Aaron punt snap.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, and the field goal was in the closing uh last minute of the first half.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: So my point being, I don't think the formula, well, it worked last week, and I think it still can.
19:57
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if the formula of you know wearing the team down and then you know the running game taking over late.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: I just don't know if that'll work every week, especially against a team like Foley, who has similar perimeter talent to what Baldwin County had, if not, you know, a superior perimeter talent.
20:11
SPEAKER_00: Um and Baldwin County was able to really expose um some parts of Fair Hope secondary at times.
20:16
SPEAKER_00: And so that's one concern I have with Fair Hope.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, obviously the home field advantage will help, but uh Foley, I mean, we talked about Dixon, they've got a lot of quality guys out wide.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: And so I'm interested to see if Foley can jump on Fair Hope early, like Baldwin County kind of did.
20:32
SPEAKER_00: I I I'm wagering that Foley is a bit better equipped to hold on to that lead, um, just in terms of their experience um and that coaching staff.
20:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but I also want is Fairhope going to be out be able to get out to a faster start?
20:44
SPEAKER_00: You know, Trey Garner is incredibly talented, and I think it's only a matter of time before he's played well so far, but I think before he has a monster game.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: Um and so it'll be interesting.
20:53
SPEAKER_00: You know, how how do you I guess how do you gauge?
20:55
SPEAKER_00: You know, do you see Fairhope?
20:57
SPEAKER_00: Is that gonna be a trend for them getting out to slower starts and having to wear teams down, or do you think they can they can figure that out this week against Foley?
21:04
SPEAKER_02: Uh he is a talented quarterback, and like you say, at some point it's gonna click and he's gonna start, you know, being that talented quarterback.
21:10
SPEAKER_02: But I just think overall that this is gonna be a really fun game.
21:13
SPEAKER_02: You got two teams coming off emotional wins, and they can't wait to get back on the field and play again after winning like that.
21:20
SPEAKER_02: And uh so I think it's gonna be an exciting one that that uh to be at to watch.
21:25
SPEAKER_02: And you know, it's it could be another fourth quarter uh Barnaburner, you know.
21:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I could certainly I I again, like I said, I would be kind of stunned to see this one, you know, be a two-score game either way.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: I could I certainly think this will come down to probably the final cup possessions.
21:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, and you know, it might be either Garner or fully quarterback Judas Spencer kind of making a big play down the stretch that that determines it.
21:47
SPEAKER_00: So um, and as I said, obviously the winner of this, I mean the implications are big.
21:51
SPEAKER_00: Winner of this moves to two and one, opens district play with a victory, um, and is really taking a lot of momentum with a two game losing streak.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: While again, the the the loser will be.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: One and two, oh and one in district play.
22:02
SPEAKER_00: It's it will be a very different story.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: You know, obviously, this is always the case with early season games and how separation can happen.
22:08
SPEAKER_00: But it this will be a big one when you look back to the end of the season in terms of the standings.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: You know, this, I think this game will have a big impact.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: So definitely be an intense atmosphere, uh, much like it was last week, um, you know, when they hosted Baldwin County over there.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it should be a fun one for sure.
22:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, but lastly, uh last game I wanted to focus on a bit, um, it's gonna be a well-rested St.
22:28
SPEAKER_00: Michael team hosting uh another kind of, I mean, they got Battleground Academy in their first week.
22:33
SPEAKER_00: They're gonna get another powerhouse with UMS Wright coming to town.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, a game that really begins a difficult stretch for Phillip Rivers Cardinals as they hit the road for three straight contents contests after this one because they started with uh two straight home games to start out the year.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: Um obviously, status of you know Gunnar Rivers is a big headline uh with this game.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, at least the latest.
22:53
SPEAKER_00: There potentially might be more out there now, but the latest I have heard is that, you know, he obviously avoided anything season-ending, uh, wasn't going to have to have any major surgeries.
23:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, and it was just kind of TBD week to week on how he would be able to get back in there um and how much he would be able to play.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: And so that obviously a big storyline uh coming into this game.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: Um S right standing at one and one, uh went on the road uh their first week of the season and uh lost to Jackson Prep over in Mississippi.
23:19
SPEAKER_00: Very hard fought game, though.
23:21
SPEAKER_00: I believe it was a 42-35 final uh with that one, and um then rebounded last week with a positive results.
23:27
SPEAKER_00: So um they're you know, similar to Battleground.
23:30
SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be a big time game, a lot of buys on it.
23:33
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's it's another one.
23:34
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, more implications with, you know, uh, you know, just this being a regional opponent as opposed to someone from Tennessee coming down for St.
23:42
SPEAKER_00: Michael.
23:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, but it it'll be interesting to watch how this one plays out um and how they're able to spawn.
23:48
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, Gunner status will be big, but I I you know I was on site for that first game where Marshall Petrie came in the backup quarterback.
23:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, and obviously, in that scenario, it's gonna be very difficult for someone to come in and just look great because you're I mean, your first start is now on ESPN coming in for Gunner Rivers, playing against Luke Bryan's son.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there was a lot going on.
24:05
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I liked how he settled in and he was able to complete some nice passes.
24:09
SPEAKER_00: And so I don't, you know, I don't necessarily subscribe to the notion that, oh, if St.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: Michael doesn't have Gunner, the season is over.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: I I don't think that's the case by any means.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, but of course, you would like to have a guy who's probably gonna break almost every Alabama passing record if he does come back healthy.
24:24
SPEAKER_00: So um just kind of your early thoughts, you know, and obviously Gunner, we can put Gunner to the side for a second in terms of just talking about the rest of this matchup, but you know, what it's it's kind of a crossroads for St.
24:35
SPEAKER_00: Michael.
24:35
SPEAKER_00: You this, as I was talking about, you know, kind of the implications looking forward.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: St.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: Michael can drop to 0-2 after this game, a season in which they, you know, they had high hopes for making a state title push.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: So just kind of what how how do you like St.
24:47
SPEAKER_00: Michael's chances, I guess, uh coming into this game?
24:51
SPEAKER_02: Well, I I don't know a lot about UMS right to compare them, but um I guess that's a lot of points to score.
24:56
SPEAKER_02: And that Mountain Brooke game was absolutely just crazy.
25:00
SPEAKER_02: I don't know if you read anything about it, but it was uh blocked field goals that could have put a team up to by nine points, and they took it off the board, you know, and and then um they scored after that.
25:11
SPEAKER_02: It was just crazy.
25:12
SPEAKER_02: But um for uh St.
25:15
SPEAKER_02: Michael's they that that running back is very good.
25:18
SPEAKER_02: Um he'll help out the that new quarterback if he has to play.
25:22
SPEAKER_02: Um, I think everybody would rather see Gunnar Rivers run out there on the field.
25:26
SPEAKER_02: Um I know I would just because I want to watch him play, you know, and uh and I hope that he's healthy.
25:31
SPEAKER_02: Um but but like you say, that kid, the other kid played very well um within the parameters, you know.
25:37
SPEAKER_02: He threw him in the fire, basically, like you were talking about, you know, all the publicity, all the famous people on site, and um, and he did pretty good.
25:45
SPEAKER_02: And if he's had two weeks to look at it because he's gonna be the guy, he's gonna look a lot better.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
25:49
SPEAKER_00: And that's it's interesting because that's you know, I I was you know part of the group kind of talking to Philip after the game, and he did say he was like, man, he was like Marshall literally gets no first team reps.
25:57
SPEAKER_00: He was like, Gunner takes all of our first team reps.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so that's kind of what was interesting to hear him say that he was he was very similarly to us, very, you know, pleased with how uh Marshall kind of performed in that game.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: But um, it'll be interesting because yeah, Philip also talked a lot about he was like, man, I I was really excited to watch Gunner run a lot more this year, you know, as being, you know, he's put on a lot of you know positive weight, and you know, he's obviously, you know, what is whatever 6'4, I believe he is, two, I think he's you know, 215, maybe something like that now.
26:24
SPEAKER_00: I mean, just built like a college athlete already.
26:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, and so it if he does come back, if slash when he comes back from the injury, it we'll see how much he's able to still keep running if he is gonna be a little bit more um, you know, kind of uh uh, you know, contained in the pocket, which Philip also said he's like Gunner is not the worst guy in the world to have just locked in the pocket.
26:44
SPEAKER_00: You know, he will win that way too.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: So um either way, it seems like things will go be interesting.
26:49
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, to that point, like I said, St.
26:51
SPEAKER_00: Michael losing this game would drop you to 0-2, and then you have three straight games on the road uh against tough opponents.
26:58
SPEAKER_00: It it it would be tough um, you know, to be able to come back from that, still kind of achieve all your preseason goals.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: Not impossible, but but still uh difficult.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: And so um we'll we'll have to see.
27:08
SPEAKER_00: Uh the running back you mentioned as well, I wanted to name drop, Nigel Mitchell really has shined.
27:13
SPEAKER_00: It started in the Jamboree game against Alma Bryant, um, and then he's really just kind of uh taken it from there.
27:18
SPEAKER_00: And so he he'll be a guy that if Gunnar's not playing to your point, um, they will definitely be be relying upon um there.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, any other, I guess I before before I close things up, any other kind of final thoughts, John, games this weekend coming up.
27:32
SPEAKER_00: Um any any predictions you want to lay down if you want to get bold or anything like that?
27:36
SPEAKER_02: No, I'm not gonna get bold or anything, but I am looking forward to, you know, I'm I'm down on the island and I've been down here a you know a long time.
27:42
SPEAKER_02: So I kind of keep up with Orange Beach and Go Swords a little bit.
27:44
SPEAKER_02: And and I think both of them have very interesting games this weekend, uh, like we were talking about, measuring stick games, as coach Coach Walter put it.
27:52
SPEAKER_02: And uh gonna be fun to see how that how that plays out.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think um it's gonna be the kind of weekend where if I mean you start talking uh the that that group, and I know there's I'm new down here, I know there's differences between between the groups and all that, but Gulf Shores and Orange Beach grouping them together for this week.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: If they go 2-0, you start talking about man, the the the coast is the place to be for football this year.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: Because if they can beat Gulf Shores beat Sarah Land and Orange Beach beats Viger, I mean, and there's not gonna be many other teams in their schedule that you say, oh man, I don't think they can take them.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: I mean, they're they're gonna be looking pretty good.
28:25
SPEAKER_00: So I it'll be interesting, even just if they go one and one.
28:27
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think either of them getting a win, I think, is positive.
28:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and we're saying all this, even if they lose to these teams in difficult situations, I, you know, if they play, if they play a competitive game against either of those teams, I think that's a huge positive, too.
28:39
SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, definitely a lot to look forward to uh on the local scene this weekend.
28:43
SPEAKER_00: It's been a really fun, fast start to the high school football season.
28:46
SPEAKER_00: Uh, this will be the first week that um, unless I'm mistaken, every single team will be playing as well.
28:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, there's no more kind of early season bye weeks.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: All the private schools are all kind of in their full swing of things.
28:56
SPEAKER_00: So uh it'll be really fun.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: I also real quick did want to shout up as well.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: Uh Snook Christian uh will be playing their first football game on campus ever.
29:05
SPEAKER_00: New stadium was constructed.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, that'll be this Friday, uh hosting St.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: Luke's uh at 7 p.m.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: will be a big game.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: We'll have some some photos and videos and coverage from from there as well.
29:15
SPEAKER_00: So it will be a really interesting.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: I'm planning on being on site there for their homecoming game, more than likely.
29:19
SPEAKER_00: So uh just kind of another notable thing happening in the area that'll that'll be fun to keep track of.
29:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, but uh that'll be about all we have uh for you guys today in this kind of an inaugural episode.
29:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, again, if you enjoyed what you heard, be sure to share it on social media platforms and tell family, friends, or whoever you think may be interesting in the sports podcast with the Baldwin County Twist.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but John and I'll be back for another episode at the same time next week.
29:40
SPEAKER_00: So enjoy this weekend slate of games.
29:41
SPEAKER_00: We'll catch up with you guys then.