High school football Media Day: What coaches at Catholic, Saint James ect. said about the season

MONTGOMERY — High school football programs across the River Region gathered at Garrett Coliseum for the Prep Media Day kicking off the 2024 football season.

The second session consisted of Montgomery Catholic, Montgomery Academy, Saint James, Trinity, Elmore County and Holtville. Here are some of the biggest takeaways we got from Tuesdays media day.

Montgomery Catholic's road back to States

With his 2023 Class 4A state championship ring on his hand, Kirk Johnson was all smiles talking about the preparation for the 2024 season. He broke down how the objective has remained the same throughout the offseason and him stepping back from the defense to help develop his young offensive core.

"I have the opportunity these last couple of weeks to step away from the defense and working with the offense," Johnson said. "We got a young quarterback (Kingston Preyear) and we just want to make sure all the young guys are coming along learning the system. When you have a defense like this, they know and seen it all. They can coach up some of the players we're rotating in different spots on that side. It's tremendous to be able to do this because I never done this in my career. It's a testament to how good our defense and entire coaching staff is."

When discussing his offense, Johnson compared it to the San Franciso 49ers situation with Brock Purdy. With players like JJ Williams and Zaylon Jackson returning as weapons, he wants his freshman quarterback to just play how he plays and lean on the leaders of the team.

"When you're young like that the best thing to do is give it to your guys that can make plays," Johnson said. "It's kind of like the Brock Purdy situation, he got his name out for giving it to the different playmakers on that roster. The most important thing I want people to know is that he is not Caleb McCreary, and we want him to be Kingston. We are going to win a lot of games when he is being Kingston."

Now, moved up to the 5A classification, Johnson has his eyes set on another state title. His ultimate goal is to be mentioned with some of the state's best coaches including Thompson's Mark Freeman.

"I want another one. You don't coach this sport to lose," Johnson said. "A personal goal of mine has always been to be mentioned with the Mark Freeman's and those guys as one of the best in the state. Anybody who knows me always knew I was going to be a coach."

Saint James early signs of resiliency

Saint James hired head coach Aubrey Blackwell back in March after the departure of Neal Posey. Entering his first offseason with Trojans, he likes where his group is at heading into fall practices with the coaching staff he's put together.

"We are all learning each other. But I have a staff full of Saint James alums," Blackwell said. "I have five guys on my staff who are Saint James graduates and I have two that I coached from when I was at Montgomery Catholic. There is a great work ethic in our room, and it's been a lot of fun."

Senior leaders Pruitt Conner, Braylen Corley, Tabor Offord and Wils Johnson were all sophomores when the Trojans won the state championship in 2022. Blackwell emphasized the importance their voices have on this young group and the value they bring to this 2024 team.

"They have done it before and played on the big stage. When they talk our guys listen and when they lead our guys follow," Blackwell said. "When you have four guys like that who push and demand a high standard its good for the overall group."

Blackwell wants to keep the toughness standard that former head coach Jimmy Perry built at the program. He wants to count on the Trojans being the aggressor and playing all four quarters of every game. This summer he saw his team respond well to adversity and compete against other teams in the area.

"Many of our 7-on-7 games this summer we were down by 2-3 touchdowns late in the game and we were able to come back in it," Blackwell said. "They had no panic and remained calm. That just shows the experience our group has, and we'll need to rely on it especially from the upperclassman."

Year two for Trinity's and Montgomery Academy's coaches

Trinity's Brian Seymore and Montgomery Academy's Ethan McBride are entering their second season at the helm of their schools' football program.

In Seymore's first year, he led the Wildcats to a postseason run where they fell to the eventual state champions Mobile Christian in the third round. In preparation for this year, he made sure to schedule offseason scrimmages and practices with some of the area's best programs.

"We competed against some bigger schools like Carver, Beauregard, Marbury and Bibb County," Seymore said. "I thought we looked good at times. Seeing different offenses and defenses has helped our kids grow a lot and they responded well to the challenge. Our kids have shown up daily and done what we asked them to do so this season is something to look forward to."

In the midst of multiple position battles for Montgomery Academy, McBride has leaned on his senior wide out Derrick "Dj" Vinson as the vocal leader of this group. Vinson led the River Region with 66 receptions for 1,461 yards and 14 touchdowns for the Eagles last season.

"In our wide receiver room Dj is our lone senior," McBride said. "We have a lot of tall guys who can go get the ball but most of them are sophomores. When you have a guy like Dj who's work ethic is unmatched is great model for the underclassman to look at every day."

"It feels great to have the amount of respect coach has given me," Vinson added. "It encourages me to lift up all the guys on the team because he expects that. Brining that intensity and energy every day to all position group is something that is expected every day."

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: High school football Media Day: What coaches at Catholic, Saint James ect. said about the season