Football preview: Huntingdon Hawks begin unusual four-game season looking to earn a fifth game
Huntingdon Head Football Coach Mike Turk is preparing his players for an unusual four-game spring football season in which the Hawks will play two teams twice each. The goal, however, is the same as usual: earning a spot in the league championship game. (Julie Bennett/Huntingdon Athletics)
Huntingdon College’s Samford Stadium is doing double duty these days as the 2020-21 football season is about to kick off.
“We have all kinds of logistical hurdles to clear here because we have two lacrosse teams that share our field typically in the springtime and have priority on the field,” said Hawks football coach Mike Turk. “Obviously, we’re all three trying to be out there now. There’s only so many hours in the day, and we have classes to try to avoid and all that.
“There are only so many hours that we can all get out there and get our work done,” he continued. “That’s just a small piece of what we’re dealing with, but it’s certainly something that we’ve had to do quite a bit of work to try to plan and make it as good as we can make it for the kids that are involved.”
The Huntingdon football squad kicks off its season at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 20 as the Brevard Tornados blow into Montgomery.
Alabama NewsCenter: What is the outlook for this season?
Mike Turk: We’re playing for a trophy within our league. We’re going to play on our sides of the divisions for four weeks – or four games, I should say. It’s going to take us about six weeks to do that. Then there’s a championship scenario at the end, a championship game scenario at the end of it. That’s right now scheduled for the first weekend in April, so as long as there’s a trophy on the line, we’re gonna approach it like we always have and try to do everything we can to reach that goal.
ANC: What is the strength of this year’s team?
Turk: That’s a great question, first of all because what we’re dealing with, for the most part, fielding a team for the first time since I’ve been here that essentially has lost two classes’ worth of kids since we played last. The guys that were seniors for us in 2019 obviously are gone, but a lot of the kids that would have been seniors last fall are no longer with us. They either graduated in December or decided not to play their final season in the spring and are set to graduate in April or May. It’s hard to point to anything and say that it’s a strength. Had we played last fall, we would have had eight or nine starters back on defense, which would be the most we’ve had in recent memory on the defensive side of the ball. Because of the circumstances and the way things have shaken out, we’re not going to have eight or nine guys back. We’re going to have more like four or five, possibly. But in the fall we were able to get some young guys some reps and teach them some things about what we’re trying to do. I’d like to think that defensively we will be a little ahead of where we normally would be early in the year. On the offensive side of the ball, we’re replacing essentially nine of 11 starters. We’ve got two guys back that started for us last year.
ANC: Who are your team’s standouts?
Turk: On the defensive side, we’ve got two kids that played linebacker for us that are back: Karl Dorn and Casey Peppers. Both started for us last year and both are solid players and good leaders. In the secondary, both our corners from last year are back – Fred Flavors and Ke’Darius Thornton. Their experience level and their leadership is going to be vital to that side of the ball because the rest of the guys that are involved really over there are very young for the most part and haven’t played a lot. It’s going to be important that those guys do a good job leading as well as coming to work every day with the right kind of attitude, helping the younger guys get prepared to go play. On the offensive side of the ball, Darrell Hixon, our starting right tackle, will be a junior and essentially has started every game he’s been here; he started as a freshman and started every game in 2019 as a sophomore.
ANC: What games do your fans have circled on your schedule?
Turk: Our schedule is kind of funky. There are three schools on our side of the division that are playing, so we’re going to play each of those two schools twice. Those four ball games will determine whether or not we’re qualified to go and play for the conference championship. When you talk about big games, when you have four, they’re all big. Whether they’re at home or on the road, they matter greatly. And obviously it’s going to be important that we’re ready for the first one, and ready for all of them.
ANC: What is your lingering question?
Turk: I talked to a lot of friends and colleagues this fall as they navigated trying to play through the pandemic. The message was pretty consistent: Things are gonna happen. It’s essentially what we tell our players all the time. It’s not what happens; it’s how you handle it that really matters. In a situation like we’re in with all the external factors that are present that normally are not, I think that’s more important now than ever. At some point, we’re going to have a coach that’s not available on Saturday, or a player that’s not available on Saturday. If we handle that the right way, then we have a chance to power through it and be successful anyway. The right attitude and the right mindset in dealing with all the circumstances that are going to come up.
