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  School Football over the past 100 seasons.






2017 Team Previews 

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Park Crossing Thunderbirds

Head Coach: Smitty Grider (fourth season)
Stadium: Cramton Bowl
Career Record: 12 seasons, (97-40)
At Park Crossing: 3 seasons, (28-7)
2017 Enrollment:  986
Rank:  40th in the AHSAA, 8th in Class 6A

 History 
Overall Record:   28-7   (80.0%)
Last 25 years:   28-7   (80.0%)  (Rank: 3rd in the AHSAA, 1st in Class 6A)
Since 2010:   28-7  (80.0%)  (Rank: 17th in the AHSAA, 2nd in Class 6A)
Last Playoff Appearance:   2016
Last Region Championship:   2016
Last Winning Season:   2016
Last Losing Season:   Never

 2016 
Class:  6A              Region:   2
Record:  13-1    (Team record for wins in a season)
Region Record:   6-0, (first)
Playoff Record:   Semi-finals loss to Opelika by the score of 41-23.
Final ASWA Poll:   7th
Scoring:  560 (40.0)    (Team record for points scored in a season)
Defense:  250 (17.9)    (Team record for points allowed in a season)

College Signees lost to Graduation
      Cameron Bright,   LB  [Pittsburgh]
      Malik Cunningham,   QB  [Louisville]
      Mario Davis Jr.,   DL  [Delta St.]
      Jake Lane,   K  [Jacksonville St.]
      Jeremiah Lowry,   LB  [Army]

 2017 
Class: 6A              Region:   2
Strength of Schedule: 40-67 (37%) (372nd in the AHSAA, 58th in Class 6A)
Region Strength:  22-41 (35%)
Non-Region Strength:  18-26 (41%)

D1 Prospects
      Cameron Taylor,  6-0,  194,  WR
      Khalid Young,  6-2,  217,  OLB
      Marcus Jenkins,  6-4,  330,  OG
      Tank Jenkins,  ,  0,  OG


 2016 Results 
 8/18   Jeff Davis    30-20   W  
 8/25  vs. Lee Montgomery    44-51   #Won  
 9/2  vs. Stanhope Elmore  (6A)  *  19-0   W  
 9/9  @ Northview  (6A)  *  38-0   W  
 9/15  vs. Russell County  (6A)  *  65-6   W  
 9/23  @ Gadsden City  (7A)   28-14   W  
 9/29  @ Carver Montgomery  (6A)  *  55-7   W  
 10/8  vs. Dothan  (6A)  *  38-0   W  
 10/14  vs. Sidney Lanier  (6A)  *  13-10   W  
 10/21  vs. Clay-Chalkville  (6A)   56-17   W  
 10/28   OPEN 
 Playoffs 
 11/4  vs. Saraland    45-7   W  
 11/11  @ Bessemer City    52-26   W  
 11/18  vs. Blount    54-51   W  
 11/25  @ Opelika    23-41   L  

 2017 Schedule 
 8/25  vs. Jeff Davis        
 9/1  @ Lee Montgomery        
 9/8  @ Stanhope Elmore  (6A)  *      
 9/15  vs. Northview  (6A)  *      
 9/22  @ Russell County  (6A)  *      
 9/29  vs. Gadsden City  (7A)       
 10/6  vs. Carver Montgomery  (6A)  *      
 10/13  @ Dothan  (6A)  *      
 10/20  @ Sidney Lanier  (6A)  *      
 10/27  @ Clay-Chalkville  (6A)       
 11/3   OPEN 
 11/10  vs. Bessemer City        
 11/17  @ Opelika        


Class  6A Region  2
Team 2016 Record Scoring                            
Carver Montgomery (6A) 5-6277-316
Dothan (6A) 4-7117-239
Northview (6A) 0-10149-356
Park Crossing (6A) 13-1560-250
Russell County (6A) 1-9122-341
Sidney Lanier (6A) 8-3225-199
Stanhope Elmore (6A) 4-6287-307

 2017 Preview 


       Park Crossing completed the 2016 season with a 13-1 record. The Thunderbirds cruised through the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record going into the post season. Last year Park Crossing captured the region two title and a number one seed in the Class 6A playoffs. They finished region play with a 6-0 record. Park Crossing made a nice playoff run in 2016, reaching the semi-finals before falling to a very good Opelika team by the score of 41-23.

       No team at Park Crossing ever won more games in a season than the thirteen victories last year. The 560 points scored by the Thunderbirds last year were a team record in a single season. The defense allowed a team record 250 points last season. The Thunderbirds hope to continue the success they had last season. Coach Grider saw improvement as they won thirteen games following a 8-3 record in 2015.

       The high-scoring Park Crossing offense ranked 32nd in the AHSAA. They averaged 40.0 points a game.

       Over the past two seasons the Thunderbirds have gone 21-4 and will be looking to continue that winning tradition.

       Park Crossing is a relatively new football program having fielded a team only three seasons. They have managed a record of 28-7 over the past three years.

       The Thunderbirds are led by head coach Smitty Grider who is entering his fourth season at the helm. He has compiled a record of 28-7 over the past three seasons at Park Crossing. Under his direction the Thunderbirds have qualified for the playoffs a total of two times. They have won two region crowns with Coach Grider.

       Coach Grider's overall record as a head football coach in twelve season stands at 97-40 (70.8%). Over the course of his career, Coach Grider's teams have qualified for the playoffs a total of nine times and won three region championships.

       If Park Crossing can win three games this season, Coach Grider will reach the 100 win milestone.

       In only their fourth season of football, Coach Grider has the Thunderbirds on the edge of a state championship.

       The Park Crossing Thunderbirds will play in Class 6A region two during the 2017 season.

       While most teams rebuild during the off season, Park Crossing has been a consistent winner the past few years and will simply reload this season. The Thunderbirds should be considered one of the favorites for the region two championship this season and a home game in the first round of the playoffs. Don't be surprised if the Thunderbirds are making another deep run into the playoffs.

      Senior Doron Mitchell returns after catching 40 passes for 628 yards and 4 touchdowns.

      The defense returns Senior nose guard Jia Langford with his 104 tackles and 6 sacks along with Junior cornerback Tremaine Osborne who got 4 interceptions and Junior cornerback Steven Thomas who gathered in 3 interceptions last year.

       The Thunderbirds open the 2017 season at home against non-region opponent Jeff Davis on Friday, August 25 at Cramton Bowl. Last year the Jeff Davis Volunteers finished with an overall record of 5-6 and in fourth place in Class 7A region two. The Volunteers lost in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs to McGill-Toolen by a score of 46-14.

       Park Crossing and Jeff Davis have met a total of 5 times on the football field. The Thunderbirds have a 3-2-0 record against the Volunteers. They last met in 2016 with Park Crossing winning by a score of 30-20.

       Park Crossing returns 6A All-State Senior defensive lineman Jia Langford. He was named to the honorable mention team last season. The Thunderbirds also return Senior offensive lineman Marcus Jenkins. He was named to the first team.

       College prospects include: Cameron Taylor (6-0, 194) receiver, Khalid Young (6-2, 217) outside linebacker, Marcus Jenkins (6-4, 330) offensive guard, Tank Jenkins (, 0) offensive guard,

  


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