Photo by Sarah Finnegan
The Chelsea High School drumline performs during the third quarter of the Hornets’ game against Pelham on Sept. 22 at Chelsea High.
The well-known phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” applies perfectly to what new head coach Dustin Goodwin is attempting to do with the Chelsea High School football program.
Goodwin was hired as the Hornets head coach after Chris Elmore accepted the same job at Fort Payne, his alma mater. Elmore spent five years at Chelsea, building the program and leading the team to the playoffs in two of his final three seasons.
Instead of starting from scratch, Goodwin is merely attempting to enhance what is already a successful program. His coaching staff will look very similar to the one Elmore led last fall, with Zeb Ellison, Gerald Neaves, David Crabtree and Lee Hibbs all remaining in the fold.
“A lot of people have the misconception that when you take a job you want to come in and run everybody off and start hiring your own people,” Goodwin said. “But [the assistant coaches] are good men, first and foremost, and they’re good football coaches.”
Despite the program’s overall health, the Hornets are looking to rebound from a 2-8 season in 2017, as the team struggled to find its footing after replacing nearly every starter from the 2016 season.
Goodwin spent the last three years as head coach at Plainview, where he compiled a 21-12 record and made the playoffs all three seasons. He also has several years of experience as an assistant at Hueytown, Homewood and Russellville.
He said the transition has gone really well so far.
“The coaching staff that was here is great,” he said. “We were able to add a few guys, too, to give us some depth there and help out in some areas. The kids have been great and taken to us pretty well. They’ve continued to show up and work hard and do everything we’ve asked them to do.”
OFFENSE
Goodwin cut his teeth coaching the offensive side of the ball and brings an up-tempo style of play to the Hornets. He classifies his offense as “multiple,” taking advantage of the players’ strengths rather than running a specific system.
“We’re going to see what our kids can do and if that lines up with the things that we’ve been doing, we’ll go that route. If it’s something completely different, then we’ll adjust,” Goodwin said.
At the quarterback spot, senior Turner Griffin got plenty of experience last fall. Through the spring and summer, he was entrenched in a battle with junior Caleb Moore and sophomore Nic Neaves.
“Generally, that takes care of itself,” Goodwin said. “There’s a guy that gets a handle of the offense a little better than the others, and they make plays and distribute the ball accordingly.”
In the backfield, Collier Blair burst onto the scene last year as a freshman. Blair, listed at 5-foot-6, is described as “lightning in a bottle” by his new head coach. Vick Lindsey and Ethan Shaw also return with experience to give the Hornets depth.
Kaleb Tindall, Reggie Fisher and Lando Nichols are among the players that give the Hornets options at the tight end and wide receiver spots. Goodwin said there is “a good mixture of talent” at the position.
Logan Brasher, Marc Moody and Ty Adema are three returning starters on the offensive line that the Hornets will lean on to anchor that unit.
DEFENSE
Chelsea’s defense will not change much with Ellison still overseeing that side of the ball.
“He’s a really good coordinator and a good coach,” Goodwin said of Ellison. “He expects a lot out of them and he gets it. Those guys play extremely hard…I’d be crazy to come in and revamp something that was working pretty well.”
Todd Justice, a 6-foot, 200-pound senior, returns on the defensive line after an extremely productive junior year. He will be one of the leaders of the front seven while returning starters Connor Griffin and William Sullivan are seniors that provide experience in the secondary.
Photo by Todd Lester
Todd Justice (86) during a game against Gardendale on Sept. 29 at Driver Stadium.
All three are the types of players Goodwin hopes to develop plenty of throughout his tenure.
“They are bring-your-lunchpail type kids that are going to show up and work hard and do things the right way,” Goodwin said.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Hornets will look to find a new placekicker after the graduation of Tanner Middleton, but they do have an underrated aspect of the special teams unit in place.
Sophomore Xander Echols is the team’s deep snapper and is currently the 10th-ranked player in his class by Rubio Long Snapping.
SCHEDULE
In 2018, Chelsea will see a few new faces on the schedule, as the Hornets move from Region 3 to Region 5 after the latest reclassification. In region play, they will host Pelham, Helena and Minor, while traveling to Carver-Birmingham, Jackson-Olin, Homewood and Calera.
Outside of the region, the Hornets begin the season with matchups against local foes. They will play at Oak Mountain to start the year, followed by a home game against Briarwood. Chelsea concludes the season by hosting Pell City.
