COLD SPRINGS – How things have changed through the years for Cold Springs High School in football. From 2005 to 2012, the Eagles only had a rare opportunity to be victorious. The Eagles recorded just 12 victories and went through three consecutive seasons of not producing a win.
The attitude changed when Rod Elliott returned to the sidelines. After a 3-7 record in 2012, the Eagles have made a steady climb to loving Friday nights in the fall.
In the last three years of regular season play, the Eagles have racked up 20 victories to only 10 losses, a winning percentage of .666. That is the best of all the schools from Cullman County.
As 2016 is upon us, the Eagles seek more of the winning trend with a squad that is experienced and ready to do battle.
What the Eagles present is a backfield of quarterback Cayde Elliott, running backs Nic Rollo, Justin Jones and Fisher Willoughby, plus, in the line, Wyatt Swann, Seth Edgeworth and John Campbell at guards, Tyler Rollo at tackle and Coby Williams at tight end.
The experience is there with the Eagles wanting to develop a balanced attack and with the personnel they have handling the football, the opportunity to keep defenses guessing is excellent.
Rollo is a bruiser carrying the ball with Jones and Willoughby displaying speed on the outside. Elliott is another one who can gain yardage and also seeks to improve throwing the football.
Cayde Elliott, according to his coach, who is also his father, has picked up strength by what he did with the state champion track and field team in the spring. He competed at a high level in the javelin and that will be a positive for the Eagles when it comes time for the passing attack to step up.
The defensive experience is led by Rollo, Willoughby, Edgeworth, Jones, plus River Banks, who plays only on the defensive side.
For the Eagles to excel, Rod Elliott reported the team must maintain consistency. Breakdowns at times cost the Eagles three games in which they lost by a point to Danville, a field goal to Falkville and nine points in the regular season finale to Holly Pond.
The Eagles see half of their schedule in 2A, Region 7 remaining the same as it was for the past two years. Cold Springs knows plenty about Tanner, Falkville and Tarrant that make up one half of the region.
The rest of Region 7 includes Cleveland, West End and Winston County. Winston County dropped from Class 3A down to this classification while Cleveland has gone 21-4 the last two years and reached at least the second round of the AHSAA 2A postseason.
Cold Springs has two old county foes back on the schedule. The Eagles and the Hanceville Bulldogs collide at Cranford Stricklin Stadium on opening night, Aug. 19. This is the first time they have faced one another in an opener and will meet for the first time since the 2009 season.
It's been 11 seasons since the Eagles played the Good Hope Raiders. That changes on Sept. 23 when the two hook up at Cold Springs.
After the opener with Hanceville, Rod Elliott and the Eagles go into the Fayette area for a first ever meeting with the Berry Wildcats. Berry is a 1A school that has enjoyed 13 straight winning seasons, getting double-digit victories 2009, 2011 and 2015.
The region opener is Sept. 2 at home with Tarrant. Cold Springs takes off the weekend of Sept. 9 and is back on schedule for a Sept. 16 game on the home turf vs. Falkville.
Following the Good Hope contest the 23rd, the Eagles go to West End in Walnut Grove for a regional game Sept. 30.
Opening the October slate, the Eagles meet Winston County at home on the 7th. That is the final regular season game on the Cold Springs campus.
The last three games in the regular schedule send the Eagles to Tanner Oct. 14, Cleveland Oct. 21 and Danville Oct. 27.
Never before have the Eagles produced four consecutive seasons of at least six victories or better. That is what they are looking at in 2016. The Eagles have won on opening night the last four years and are 7-1 under Rod Elliott when getting a season underway.
Rod Elliott was in charge of the Eagles from 2002 to 2005. He then spent time in the sport of basketball, working alongside Tim Burleson. Then when changes came to the administration in 2012, Rod Elliott was asked if he would return to the sidelines. The results have shown that things can be turned around by hard work and paying the price to win.
During their six wins of last season, the Eagles scored 281 points and averaged 46.8 when they were on the positive side. The Eagles put 41 on the board against Brilliant, 55 vs. Southeastern, 50 against Vinemont, 45 in a win over Addison, 42 over Sumiton Christian and 48 at Tarrant.
Their ability to execute with eight starters back and stronger in the physical aspect of the game puts them in a solid position to maintain success that landed in the southwest part of Cullman County three years ago.
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