Mortimer Jordan Super 7 championship berth soothes merger with former rival Warrior
Mortimer Jordan's championship run is backed by the entire community, including those who attended former rival Warrior High School. (Solomon Crenshaw Jr./Alabama NewsCenter)
Above: Mortimer Jordan’s championship run is backed by the entire community, including those who attended former rival Warrior High School. (Solomon Crenshaw Jr./Alabama NewsCenter)
Craig Kanaday has lived his entire life around Kimberly, Trafford and Morris, so no one has to tell him how rough it was when Warrior High closed and its students moved to Mortimer Jordan.
“We were rivals,” the current Mortimer Jordan principal said. “Putting them together was like oil and water.”
About a dozen years later, all that has changed.
“Now, you can’t tell apart what kid’s from where,” Kanaday said. “They all wear blue and white. We hold true to those Warrior roots and we’re proud to have those kids. And their families still love Warrior High School.
“But they’ve bought into it and Mortimer Jordan’s their home now.”
Fans of the Blue Devils – whether they are from Kimberly, Morris, Trafford or Warrior – are delirious with excitement over the school’s football team advancing to the Super 7, its first appearance in a state football championship game.
Coach Dusty Goode’s No. 8 team (13-1) faces No. 5 St. Paul’s (12-2) tonight at 7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium on the campus of the University of Alabama for the 5A title.
Jimmie Trotter is a Warrior High product. He was principal at Mortimer Jordan for more than 30 years and the football stadium bears his name.
Ray Trotter, Jimmie Trotter’s brother, has been president of the Warrior High Alumni Association for about 20 years, dedicating himself to preserving the memory of the Indians. The 80-year-old said Warrior alumni are supporting the Blue Devils.
“We’re behind them 100 percent,” he said. “It’s fantastic. I just think it’s fantastic.”
Kanaday said each year 45 to 50 Warrior residents are enrolled at Mortimer Jordan.
Ray Trotter didn’t know how many Warrior residents are part of the program. He was beside himself to learn that there are a dozen on the team, with running back Kalin Stringer, linebacker Spencer Brown and wide receiver Trey Peters among the starters.
Peters’ father and grandfather played football at Warrior. So did Brown’s father. Joseph Lee Peters Jr. and Spencer Brown Sr. were also teammates when Warrior won the 1993 Class 2A state basketball championship.
The former Indians are fully behind the Blue Devils.
“They love it,” Trey Peters said. “They want to see us grow up and follow in their footsteps and win a state championship, no matter what sport.”
