On the Road with Olivia and Alexa Episode 10: Geraldine and Sylvania

DEKALB COUNTY, Ala. ( WHNT ) — Episode 10 of On the Road with Olivia and Alexa features two of the top 3A teams in 2023: Geraldine and Sylvania.

The Geraldine Bulldogs were one of the last four teams standing in class 3A in 2023, and they hope to make another deep playoff run in 2024.

The Bulldogs have had success the past couple of seasons, and there’s no sugar-coating it. They’ve had 16 combined regular-season victories since 2022 and have had deep postseason runs both years.

So now that the Bulldogs have tasted that success, how do they maintain and achieve those high expectations?

“Outsiders pat them on the back all the time and they get told how good they are. A lot of these guys were part of the groups where people said, ‘Hey, you don’t have a chance,’ and the only people that believed were the people in the locker room,” head coach Michael Davis said. “They expect to win, but they also understand if they don’t do what they’re supposed to do, then you’re not going to win. We have to strive to be perfect. We’re not going to be perfect, but that’s what we have to do we have to strive to be perfect.”

The Rams from Sylvania are coming off a third-round playoff appearance and their first region championship since 2016.

It’s a new era for the Rams as Tanner Nelson takes over the program after spending three seasons as the offensive coordinator of Collinsville.

Nelson says, of course, there’s still work to be done, but they’ve had a solid summer, and the transition has been pretty smooth. Coach Nelson credits the leadership of his 13 seniors for that.

“Since I got there they’ve had my back, you know. Change is always hard, and I think they’ve really bought in to what we’re trying to do, so that is really helping me out,” Nelson said. “I think we have a great locker room, especially the seniors. They’re always ready to go and ready to get better every single day, so that makes my job easier.”

Geraldine will travel to Sardis on Thursday, August 22 and Sylvania opens against North Jackson on Friday, August 23.

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