Mike Turk remembers the postgame coaches’ chat after his Huntingdon College football team fell 35-34 at rival Birmingham-Southern on Sept. 12, 2015.

“It did a lot to re-center us and refocus us,” Turk said. “Really, from that point forward, we steadily improved each and every week. I told (BSC coach) Eddie Garfinkle, ‘Man, if we handle this right, it’ll be the best thing that ever happened to us.’

“It was clear that our kids did when it was all said and done.”

The Hawks went from there to finish 10-2, their first-ever 10-win season. They did not lose again until they fell 43-23 to Mary Hardin-Baylor in the second round of the Division III playoffs.

Alabama NewsCenter is posing five questions to state college coaches as the 2016 football season opens. Next up are Turk and his Hawks, who open their season at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3, at Louisiana College.

Luke Bailey is Huntingdon’s all-conference quarterback on what coach Mike Turk calls “a very quarterback-driven offense.” (Huntingdon Athletics)

Huntingdon will have to work hard to best last year’s 10-2 record, but coach Mike Turk is confident it can be done. (Huntingdon Athletics)

Heath McCray is a returning all-conference defensive lineman for the Huntingdon Hawks. (Huntingdon Athletics)

John Iwaniec gains some yards for the Huntingdon Hawks on the way to a 10-win season last year. (Huntingdon Athletics)

Coach Mike Turk has a lot of players back from last year’s 10-2 team. (Huntingdon Athletics)

Nick Haas in action for last year’s 10-2 Huntingdon Hawks. (Huntingdon Athletics)

NC: What is the outlook for this season?

MT: We have the same two goals every year. The first goal is win a conference championship and the second goal is to win the sportsmanship award in our league. We were able to accomplish both of those last year. With our success last year, the bar has been raised and the expectations are a little higher. But we want to always make sure that, realistically, what we’re trying to do is improve as a football team each and every day we go to the field. Our football team did that last year and it paid off in a big way. If we’re able to do that again, I would expect us to have some pretty good success. We’ve got 31 seniors on this team, by far the biggest senior class that we’ve had. I’m hopeful that they approach it the right way.

NC: What is your team’s strength?

MT: It’s hard to say. You always look at experience. Basically, our entire skill positions – receivers, running backs, quarterback – are all returning. Certainly on the offensive side of the ball, that would be where our strength would be. Defensively, probably up front we’ve literally got eight or nine guys back that helped us win games last year in our front four. We would count that as a strength, certainly.

NC: Who are your standouts this season?

MT: Our quarterback is back, Luke Bailey. He was a first-team all-conference guy for us last year. Our offense is a very quarterback-driven offense, so if he’s playing well we’ve got a chance on offense. On the defensive side of the ball, (defensive lineman) Heath McCray is back. Heath was a first-team all-conference player for us. He was also all-region and was recognized in some shape or form as an All-American. He is a really good player.

NC: What game do your fans have circled on your schedule?

MT: The Birmingham-Southern game is always a big game. It’s an in-state rival right up the road, two Methodist institutions. There’s a lot there for everybody to get excited about. Obviously, every game is important. We try as much as we can to focus on being ready for our conference schedule when it begins in October. Not to say that the nonconference games are not important. The first game (against Louisiana College) is a starting point and gives you an idea of where you are to begin with, and the Birmingham-Southern game is next. We play Belhaven after that. That’s our last nonconference game of the year, and we certainly want to be rounding into shape and playing well in that one to lead into our conference schedule. Obviously, every one of those is important.

NC: What is your lingering question?

MT: What I asked them is, “What kind of team are we going to be?” Are we going to be a fat team that’s satisfied and ready for a nap? Or are we going to be a team that’s still hungry and looking for its next meal? Really, that’s what it boils down to. We had a very successful year last year. What are we going to do now?

Also in this series: Read Alabama NewsCenter’s interviews with head coaches Reginald Ruffin of Miles College, Bobby Wallace of the University of North Alabama, Brett Gilliland of the University of West Alabama, Eddie Garfinkle of Birmingham-Southern College, Willie Slater of Tuskegee University, Chris Hatcher of Samford University, Joey Jones of the University of South Alabama, James Spady of Alabama A&M University, John Grass of Jacksonville State University, Brian Jenkins of Alabama State University and Neal Brown of Troy University.