BREMEN, Ala. — August is here, which means schools is back in session, fall weather is on the way and all of our local football teams are gearing up for yet another season under the lights.
Brendan Voce will be going into his third season as head coach of the Cold Springs Eagles. Cold Springs finished with a 4-6 record last season, and coach Voce has got a lot of experience coming back on both sides of the ball. He’s proud of the work his team put in during this year’s summer program and how the roster has come together for fall camp.
“We’ve got nine kids returning on offense for us. We’ve got about eight or nine kids that are returning on defense. We’ve got a lot of kids returning this season, so we’re super excited about that. It’s going to be one of the biggest teams that we’ve had in a long time. In my first year, we had one junior, and this year, we’re sitting with seven seniors. We’ve got about seven juniors. We’ll dress in the mid-30s this season, so it’s going to be a bigger group for us. We’re super excited about that opportunity,” Voce said. “I really feel like our summer program has been much better this year than it was last season. I think we had success two years ago. We won a few ball games, and we lost focus of competing. We talked more about winning, and when we did that, I think that really set us back a little bit. This team has put their eye more to we’re going to try to compete every Friday night. If you do that, everything else will fall into place. I think we’ve had a really good summer so far.”
The Eagles will open the season on the road against the Hanceville Bulldogs on Aug. 23 and Voce is looking forward to kicking things off against a county rival.
“Playing the county games is something that’s special to the kids and to the county to get to play each other. The first game’s going to mean a lot to these kids. For the seniors, it’ll be their only opportunity to get a county win,” Voce said. “I’ve talked to coach Estes a few times, and I think he’s doing a great job over there. It’s going to be a very exciting game, and I’m sure they’ll be pumped up to get the opportunity to play their first one for him. It’s going to be a very big ball game for us.”
Senior Matt Williams and junior Trey Bailey are two of the leaders on this year’s team and it’s important to them to lead by example and help bring the younger players along.
“We added seven groups into our weight program, so each leader got to step up and show us what to do.” Williams said. “Our goal is just to compete.”
“Every one of our seniors that we have on the football team have all stepped up a whole lot and showed a whole lot of leadership to every underclassmen, all of the JV kids and the middle school kids. Everybody came to workouts, and the seniors showed them how it’s done and what they’re supposed to do,” Bailey said. “Our goals are to compete, get stronger in the weight room, and get closer to God. Coach Voce has encouraged us with a devotion every day in our weightlifting groups, so that’s helped us a lot.”
All of the spots on the team are open, and coach Voce wants everyone to fight for their job. There are a few changes to the region schedule for Cold Springs this season and Voce is excited to see what his team handles the new challenges.
“It’s always open. That’s what I tell our kids. Every week, you’re fighting for your job. I don’t care what grade you’re in. The kid that steps up is the kid that’s going to get the opportunity to play,” Voce said. “It’s a lot different than what we’ve had. Travel-wise, it’s going to be a lot more comfortable. Our travel’s going to be a lot better. I thought we were in a very tough region before. I think the region we’re in this time is going to be equally as tough. You’ve got some really good football teams in it. Coosa Christian comes to mind. They played for the state title last year, but I think it’s a region that these kids are excited to have the opportunity to compete in.”
2023 stats and info
Win/Loss: 4-6
Home record: 2-3
Road record: 2-3
Region record: 1-5
Averaged 23.6 points per game
Allowed 35.7 points per game
Opponents record: 58-52
2024 Cold Springs Eagles Football Schedule (Class 2A, Region 6)
Aug. 23 – @ Hanceville
Aug. 30 – @ Curry
Sept. 6 – vs. Susan Moore*
Sept. 13 – @ Cleveland*
Sept. 20 – vs. Winston County
Sept. 27 – vs. Lynn
Oct. 4 – @ West End Walnut Grove*
Oct. 11 – @ Coosa Christian*
Oct. 18 – vs. Southeastern*
Oct. 25 – vs. Falkville*
*region game
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