Extra Point Previews: Daleville Warhawks

DALEVILLE, Ala ( WDHN ) — After moving up to the ranks of Class 4A, Daleville High School was in search of a new head coach this offseason. Their search led them out of state, where they found a seasoned winner in Maurice Freeman, who has won two state championships in Georgia. While it’s never a guarantee that success in one place will translate to another, Freeman’s approach makes it easy to believe that the Warhawks are in good hands.

“As a guy coming in that’s had a successful career in Georgia, my expectations of them are a little bit different,” Freeman explained. “They’ve struggled for some years. My methods in the weight room are foolish, tough, and very physical. You add all those things together, it makes it tough until you become bulletproof. And that is my thing—getting you bulletproof in the weight room. The things that we do on the football field will come a little easier. But just like going into the military, the basic training is extremely difficult. Sometimes you have to be brainwashed and programmed into understanding what that military wants you to be. What kind of soldier they want you to be. But I’m the same way. There’s a different kind of soldier that has to be a Daleville Warhawk.”

If the Warhawks are soldiers, then Omarion Pinkney was the decorated general of the offense as quarterback last season. Now that Pinkney has moved on to Alabama A&M, Freeman is looking to junior Ruben Garcia to take over as the team’s new leader.

“Ruben has to carry the mail; he has to be the leader; he has to be the general,” Freeman emphasized.

Freeman is also encouraged by what he’s seen from Montez Malone and Javeon McLeod, who he views as versatile, do-it-all players. Alongside Garcia, he thinks they can do big things for the Warhawks.

“They’re two guys that can just spot-play anywhere—whether it’s slot or running back. Those two guys, along with Ruben, are all juniors. We expect those guys to be our spark. They’ve got to carry the mail, catch the ball, be enthusiastic, and work hard every day.”

On defense, linebackers Rolando Roman and Kaden Elmore have shown they have what it takes to lead the charge, but Freeman knows that success will require full buy-in from everyone on the team.

“We’ve got some guys that we think could play, but they’ve got to learn how to play every play. They’ve got to learn how to win every race. They’ve got to learn how to try to be the best football player every play.”

Freeman is realistic about the challenges ahead, acknowledging that building a winning program will take time.

“New staff, new program, new coach—all of that is tough on young people. Trust, you know, they’ve been averaging a coach every two or three years. It’s tough on kids. They want to trust you, and then that guy disappears and another guy shows up.”

However, Freeman has no intentions of being another short-term coach. He’s committed to building a strong program at Daleville.

“Daleville football is my life. My intention is to make this program the best that I can make it. I want these young people to be able to depend on me and understand that as long as the good Lord allows me to coach, then I’ll be the head coach at Daleville High School.”

The Warhawks will kick off their season on August 30th as they travel to Florala.

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