This week in HS Sports: AHSAA Super 7 will create special memories wherever it lands

This is an opinion piece.

It will be interesting to see what the Alabama High School Athletic Association decides about the future of the Super 7 football championships.

The announcement earlier this week that Auburn and Alabama would no longer be in the rotation did not come as a surprise. The expansion of the college football playoffs, which will include home games for the first time, made it inevitable.

No way either school could risk playing seven championship games (nine when you add flag football) on a grass field with the chance it could host a college playoff game the next week.

There will be plenty of options on the table for new Executive Director Heath Harmon and the Central Board of Control. Birmingham’s Protective Stadium is set to host again in December as part of the normal rotation. The city could make a push to keep the event in town yearly as was the case when the Super 6 was down the road at Legion Field.

RELATED: Where do you think the Super 7 should be played?

However, current executive director Alvin Briggs told me this week that there were advantages to moving the event around the state, one of which was giving the massive number of volunteers it takes to run the Super 7 a break. Danny Corte has made no secret of his desire to bring the event to South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium, already the host of the Alabama-Mississippi and North-South All-Star football games. Alabama State and Montgomery could be a player. What about Huntsville’s renovated Joe Davis Stadium, the University of North Alabama, Jacksonville State and Troy?

“I think there is a chance to create some really good atmospheres for high school football with full stadiums,” Saraland head coach Jeff Kelly said. “That could be a positive thing.”

If there was a downside to having the events at Auburn or Alabama, it was that even the biggest 6A and 7A crowds could look small in Jordan-Hare Stadium or Bryant-Denny. However, it was still special. Watching the videos of both teams on the big screens always gave me chills no matter which teams were in the games. Seeing the reactions of students walking through Tiger Walk or the Walk of Champions was special. But I’ve been around a while. Every championship game I’ve seen – no matter the venue – has been special.

I covered a pair of title games at home sites.

In 1990, Dallas County defeated Plainview 40-7 in Plantersville to win the Class 3A state title.

The following year, Gadsden High defeated Blount 20-7 at Prichard Stadium for the Class 5A crown.

I remember both of those games well, and I also have great memories at Jordan-Hare, Bryant-Denny, Legion Field and already at Protective.

The Super 7 will be special wherever it lands because the student-athletes make it special.

But the new executive director certainly will have tough choices.

The life of Riley

Former Duke football coach David Cutcliffe spoke to the 52nd annual Alabama Sports Writers Association convention last weekend at Jacksonville State.

I asked him about recruiting former Fairhope star and current Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard to Duke.

“Gosh, do I love that youngster and his family,” he said. “I couldn’t believe that he didn’t have other big-time scholarship offers in football. Heck, if I was a basketball coach, I would have recruited him in that sport. He could do things on the basketball court that I could only dream of doing.”

Cutcliffe said Leonard and his family visited Duke on their own during the pandemic when searching for the right school.

“I totally fell in love with his mom, his dad and him,” he said. “What a terrific athlete. I’m sad in some ways that he is at Notre Dame, but I am hoping that works. I’ve talked to him, but I don’t like to interfere with other schools’ players. I hope it all works out for him. He’s everything right about a quarterback.

“I told our staff when he was a freshman that we had another first rounder. I just hate that I didn’t get to finish the time with him. I know in my heart of hearts that he would have been another first-round pick.”

Leonard and the Irish open the 2024 season against his former coach, Mike Elko, and Texas A&M on Aug. 31.

Replacing a legend

Pat Galle has officially retired after 52 years at UMS-Wright.

The school announced earlier this week that Garrett Schumacher had been hired as the new track coach.

The AHSAA records have Galle winning 24 boys outdoor track titles in his time at UMS and 17 girls titles. His teams also won seven boys and seven girls cross country titles and 16 indoor boys titles to go with five girls titles. That’s a total of 76 state championships.

“Not sure what the word ‘icon’ means, but if there is such a thing, Pat Galle is it,” UMS athletic director Terry Curtis said. “He has meant so much to the school and to the track community. He is kind of a lost breed of guys running track meets. Hopefully, these young guys have been paying attention. Pat has done it all. To stay at one place for 52 years is amazing. He’s been a mentor to young coaches. We’ve got a good guy coming in, but he knows it will be hard to replace coach Galle.”

Schumacher was a member of the South Alabama track team where he was a four-time Sun Belt All-Conference performer. He held the South Alabama record in the Heptathlon until 2021 and was the record holder in the decathlon until 2023.

“He’s a great technician,” Curtis said. “He really knows the jumping, the hurdles, the pole vault, the high jump. It’s hard to find people now who know the proper technique. He’s learned sprinting. He knows the sport overall. He does a great job motivating kids and spends a lot of time with them off the track. He was a pretty easy choice.”

Thought for the Week

“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:14.

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.