CULLMAN, Ala. – Last season was a successful one for many Bearcat fans. The ‘Cats started the year 0-2 after dropping close games to Jasper and Mortimer Jordan but rallied to finish at 5-5 after defeating Hartselle in dramatic fashion and handling Fort Payne in the rain to close out the regular season. Cullman then went on the road for its first 6A playoff contest in school history and blanked Mae Jemison 20-0 to advance to the next round. The Bearcats fell to Oxford at home in the second round to wrap up the season but after building some momentum in 2019, Cullman is ready to keep the ball rolling in 2020.
Head Coach Oscar Glasscock is heading into his season at Cullman and after months of uncertainty that has carried into the preseason, he is happy to report that his players have been quick to adjust to the new guidelines and roll with the punches so far in fall camp.
“I’ve been doing this a long time and the kids are almost more resilient than adults. If there’s any kind of drama it’s almost always with adults, not any of the kids and they just want to play football. They’re working hard and football is a man’s game,” Glasscock said. “Its hot out here, people are knocking the crap out of each other and running around in equipment and those things haven’t changed since I played. It’s still a tough deal and I think these guys take a lot of pride in doing what a lot of people won’t do.”
It’s been an unorthodox few months for local teams preparing to kick off the 2020 season and the Bearcats have had to adjust like everyone else. Glasscock says its been challenging to work without a spring practice or opportunities to compete in the summer but the ‘Cats are just trying to focus on the things they can control this fall.
“It’s been an adjustment because all these kids haven’t been in pads since early November and its been even longer than that for the ninth graders moving up. So, it’s been a little different not having spring training and not being able to really compete in the summer so we’re having to learn about our team and our guys playing against each other and that’s definitely a challenge,” Glasscock said. “Everyone is operating under the same restrictions and we’ve been affected by the COVID crisis just like everyone else in the state. You hear a lot of coaches talk about this and what we’re focusing on is what we can control and right now we’re planning on getting on a couple of buses and heading to Alabama A&M’s stadium to plat Grissom on the 20th. That’s what we’re working towards.”
Glasscock knows that his kids have already benefited from being in the football program regardless of how many games they play this season but what he may not have expected was how much he and his staff benefited from being with their players as well.
“Whether we get to play a game or not is out of our hands, but these guys have come together to work hard, be resilient and deal with adversity. So, they’ve benefited from being in the program and us coaches have too,” Glasscock said. “We’ve benefited from being around these kids and just seeing how focused they are on the task at hand. That’s helped us as a coaching staff with our mental health and our attitudes. We want that sense of normalcy as much as anybody, so we’ve really taken a lot of inspiration from how the kids have handled it.”
Every coach in the country wants to win every game on the schedule but the goals Glasscock has for his team this season are about more than wins and losses. Glasscock wants his players to approach each day of this season with the right attitude and the right perspective.
“I want to make sure that these kids learn life lessons and enjoy ever single moment because it’s just like with injuries or other circumstances that can come up. You never know when your last day is going to be playing high school football. Life is like that. God gives us all a burden and we have to learn how to handle that and not let it take away from our joy,” Glasscock said. “I just want the kids to enjoy every moment and take pride in the fact that they’ve worked hard. They’re learning the value of teamwork and achieving great things with the help of other people. We may play one game and that’s it, we may play 10 or we may play 15 but you’ve got to enjoy each moment of it and not worry about the things you can’t control. Let’s just make the most of this day that God has given us and then we’ll get another day and embrace it with a lot of joy and get after it. We want to have fun, work hard and make some memories.”
The Cullman Bearcats will kick off the 2020 season at Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville against Grissom.
2020 Cullman Football Schedule (6A Region 8)
8/20: @ Grissom (Louis Crews Stadium)
8/28: Jasper
9/4: @ Hartselle*
9/11: Buckhorn*
9/18: Hazel Green*
9/25: @ Mars Hill
10/2: @ Decatur*
10/9: Columbia*
10/16: @ Athens*
10/23: Muscle Shoals*
2020 Cullman Football Roster
1 Isaiah Jones
2 Max Dueland
3 Evan Dye
4 Ryan Skinner
5 Dylan Sessions
6 Jaylen Hughey
7 Kaleb Bates
8 Jaden Kay
9 Jake Dueland
11 Jeb Bartle
12 Ethan Echols
15 Logan Holley
16 Elijah Hayes
17 Gabe Sosa
18 Matt Brock
19 Griffin Barksdale
20 Parker Hodges
21 Jamar Kay
22 Noah Kee
23 Tyler Owens
24 Sam Brand
25 Drew Conway
26 Cole Herfurth
27 Ethan Moore
28 Alex Sheppard
29 Nate Zillis
30 Patton Elkins
31 Eli Calligaris
32 Ben Washburn
33 Garrett Rester
34 Brodie Malcom
35 Brody Adams
36 Jonathan Pittman
37 Daemon Griffith
38 Jackson Ray
39 Preston Gray
40 Banks Baker
41 Hunter Brooks
42 Sawyer Trimble
43 Cody Lynn
44 Drew Ball
46 Cannon Trimble
47 Jackson Norris
48 Brody Foxx
50 Drew Carter
52 Josue Miranda
53 Mason Richards
54 Carson Hill
55 Hayden Wynn
58 Lane Parker
59 Beckett Calvert
61 Layne Dial
62 Mason Williams
63 Evan Richards
64 Gavin Bush
65 Jared Shelton
68 Jay Knop
70 Carter Ziegenbein
74 Tyler White
75 Parker Hyatt
77 Lance Larue
80 Jonathan Dudley
81 Evan Johnson
85 Nic Glass
88 Tripp Gudger
90 Kaleb Heatherly
Coaches:
Oscar Glasscock – Head Coach
Heath Saint
Matt Hopper
Kyle Morris
Trent Walker
Kenny Gleaton
Ty Campbell
David Hannah
Shannon Fondren
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