#HSFT20 – Stop #24 Pickens County Tornadoes

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REFORM, Ala. (WCBI) – The Pickens County Tornadoes enter the 2020 season looking to continue causing a stir! The tornadoes are coming off back to back state semi final appearances and are hungry for more. Head coach Michael Williams is eager to do so with a new group.

“As a coach, this is the year that you go into it and have to do a lot more coaching and teaching than you had to do the last couple years,” head coach Michael Williams said. “For me, it’s exciting!”

“Those guys left a legacy to just keep it going and try to pull it out this year,” senior lineman Ja’Corian McCoy said.

The tornadoes will try to fill the shoes left behind by Aljaron Edwards, Tadarien McIntosh and Alabama Crimson Tide lineman Jah-Marien Latham. Players the team knows they can’t replace but look to build on what they started.

“They understand what we have to do to be better,” Williams explained. “You can’t replace a Jah-Marien Latham. You have to be able to get a couple of guys to do what he did and make them understand that what we’re doing now is going to be a bit different than what we did the past couple years.”

“They always tried to keep it real,” McCoy said. “They gave it all they got in everything they do and never gave up, so we just got to keep doing what they do.”

A couple players who will play a big part in Pickens County success are senior linebacker and returning tackles leader K.J. Byrd and Junior quarterback Javion Belle.

“We’re very excited about the things Javion can do on the field,” Williams said. “It’s just about putting him in the position to be successful and put some players around him that understand the game. Be able to exploit his skills a little more than we did last year.”

“They don’t know what we have because they used to seeing the same people every year,” junior quarterback Javion Belle said. “They sleeping on us, but we will wake them up like always.”

As the Tornadoes look to not only continue their winning ways but to get over the hump. They’re aware that it’s going to take more hard work and dedication than ever!

“I don’t want people to get complacent and think that’s just the norm,” Williams said. “Pickens County, we got a lot to be proud of what we done the last four years. This year, it’s all about building on what those guys did, what we done collectively as a group, and just try to get over that hump and actually bring a championship back to Pickens County.”

“We got to finish,” senior linebacker K.J. Byrd said. “We always make it far, but we don’t finish. Just running at practice, running through the lines and finish every rep at practice and help us go over that leap.”