WEST POINT, Ala. – The Warriors finished just short of a playoff berth a season ago and now, with an experienced roster returning to the field in 2020, West Point is hungry to stack the win column and get back to the postseason. Teams across the state and country are dealing with the distractions caused by the spread of COVID-19 but Warriors Head Coach Don Farley has been proud to see his players adapt to the situation and get the most out of practice time.
“We’ve had great practices. These kids are resilient, and they can adapt, and practice has gone really well. We’ve just been trying to get stuff installed and trying to make sure we get them in shape and get the acclimated to the heat. Those are always challenges each year but our guys have really responded well and they’ve continued to work hard and do what we ask them to do.”
Health and safety protocols have presented a unique set of challenges for local teams preparing for the upcoming season, but Farley feels good about the way his staff and players have handled the unorthodox preseason.
“You know we’ve just been trying to follow all of the safety precautions and doing everything we need to do,” Farley said. “It is unusual and it kind of gets you out of your routine a little bit but like we’ve told our kids we keep hearing the term “new normal” and our guys are doing a good job of handling it. Our coaches have done an excellent job of making sure everything is done as well as we can do it within the guidelines.”
West Point has several starters returning to the field this season on both sides of the ball and the coaches has asked those guys to take on even more of a leadership role in guiding the team through the necessary steps to get the season underway.
“We’ve asked them to continue being the leaders that they’ve been throughout the summer in all the stuff we’re having to implement and they’re doing a great job of helping us kind of control all those things and make sure things are getting.” Farley said. “We’ve got 17 seniors, so we’ve told them that we’re going to be dependent on them this year to help with that kind of stuff.”
West Point was on the outside looking into the postseason field last year but this season, with 17 seniors leading them, Farley and the Warriors are planning to take things one week at a time and finish games on their way to a potential playoff appearance.
“You know every team’s goal is to make the playoffs and our guys have been in the locker room that last two years and have seen what it’s like to have it come down to the last game or two to win and get in,” Farley said. “We’ve been talking with them about finishing games and trying to just take things one week at a time without really talking about the playoffs. We just want to focus on one game at a time because with the uncertainty of this year, we can’t control everything that’s going on. So, we just want to make sure we’re controlling our focus and our effort on a daily basis.”
The West Point Warriors will kick off the 2020 season at Priceville for a jamboree game Friday night.
2020 West Point Football Schedule (5A Region 7)
8/21: @ Priceville (Jamboree)
8/28: @ Good Hope
9/4: Lawrence County
9/11: Boaz*
9/18: Fairview*
9/25: Hayden
10/2: @Crossville*
10/9: @Sardis*
10/16: Douglas*
10/23: @Guntersville*
10/30: Curry
2020 West Point Football Roster
#1 Eli Folds
#2 Jonathan Fell
#3 Carter Thornton
#4 Keaton Chappell
#5 Branson Smith
#6 Jacob Dye
#7 Suyeta DrowningBear
#8 Cade Simmons
#9 John Cochran
#10 Will Cochran
#11 Kobe Bowers
#12 Parker Marks
#13 Alexander Schultz
#14 Daniel Dean
#15 Luke Hammond
#16 Adam Sayre
#17 Ashton Thraikill
#18 Poncho Perez
#19 Omar Segundo
#20 Caleb Bowers
#21 Clay Creel
#22 Cole Fisher
#23 Kelton Washington
#24 Kolby Clifton
#25 Kierian Swann
#26 Eli Simms
#27 Ryder Powell
#28 Garit Roberson
#29 Logan Selby
#30 Brian Cornelius
#31 Austin Roggensack
#32 Riley Wayne
#33 Braeden Patterson
#34 Hunter Lindsey
#35 Will Wisenant
#42 Britt Hardin
#44 Lucas McAfee
#47 Joseph Calvo
#50 Jayden Williams
#51 Gus McKenney
#54 Chase Sibley
#55 Josh Strevel
#56 Josh Suarez
#57 Patrick Adcock
#58 Aiden Dujoud
#61 Armando Hernandez
#63 Kasey Lawrimore
#64 Ethan Helms
#66 Jacob Smith
#68 Nathaniel Swann
#69 Kenyan Baker
#70 Gaige Roberson
#71 Taylon Eaves
#72 Justin Mosher
#76 Jacob Simpson
#77 Patrick Sapp
#79 Damien Kilcrease
Coaches:
Don Farley – Head Coach
Phillip Marley
Bryant Farley
Tyler Hunt
Wayne Davidson
Cam Bates
Brandon Farley
Mike Simmons
Paul Quattlebaum
