Jul. 25—PIEDMONT — If Saturday’s 7-on-7 passing tournament at Piedmont is any indication, first-year head coach Gary Atchley has Weaver’s football team headed in the right direction.
No, the Bearcats didn’t win the tournament, but they were one of eight teams remaining in the 16-team field after the first round of bracket play.
After going 0-19 over the last two seasons, that performance can only be looked at as a huge positive.
“When everybody looked at that bracket, and we were one of the final eight teams here, nobody believed that,” Atchley said. “So you’d have to be here to believe it — that Weaver played such good football today.
“Man, I’m super excited about these kids right now.”
With freshman Kaden Gooden at quarterback and senior Kohl Perry and juniors Jayden Sturkie, Armane Burton and Jeffrey Miles at receiver, the Bearcats finished the day with a 3-3 record.
Weaver opened pool play with a 30-12 loss to Sand Rock, but finished strong, beating Ashville 19-13 and Cleburne County 19-6, to earn the pool’s No. 2 seed.
Before the start of bracket play, the Bearcats dropped a cross-pool matchup to Temple (Ga.) 19-14.
In the first round of bracket play against Oakman, Weaver found itself down 14-8 after the initial 20-minute time period expired. Teams are allowed four more plays after the buzzer sounds, and the Bearcats made the most of them. They scored from 6 yards out on their second play. Their third resulted in a successful 1-point conversion from the 5-yard line, giving them a 15-14 lead. Gooden finished the final drive 4-for-4.
Weaver’s defense kept Oakman out of the end zone on the final play, sending the Bearcats to the quarterfinals, where they fell 24-14 to previously unbeaten Munford.
“There’s a lot of good football teams up here, and we went toe-to-toe with all of them, I thought,” Atchley said. “We were right in the mix.”
Saturday’s performance from the Bearcats adds even more momentum to what Atchley said has already been “a great summer.”
“Listen, we’re looking for wins and confidence and everything,” he said. “I think we gained a little bit more today.”
Numbers were down during former head coach Justin Taylor’s two seasons at Weaver. The Bearcats finished the 2019 season with a roster of just 31 players, according to Taylor, who resigned in January.
Atchley, who served as offensive coordinator for eight years under former Weaver coach Daryl Hamby, says those numbers are trending upward. And if Saturday’s showing is any indication, the Bearcats’ performance on the football field might be as well.
“Just from when I took over during Christmas, a lot of the kids that were in P.E. class, we let them start coming and working out, and they were kind of buying into what we were doing, and now they’re playing. And every coach that can coach at the school is coaching,” Atchley said. “So everything is going in the right direction right now at Weaver High School.”
Assistant Sports Editor Jared Gravette: 256-235-3572. On Twitter: @Jared_Gravette.