2015 Fyffe High School Varsity Football Team
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2016 Varsity Schedule
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Continuing the Tradition...
Building a Legacy
The Fyffe Red Devils have a reputation of being a state-wide powerhouse
in Football. This is proved to be true
by an overall record of 442-281. The Fyffe Red Devils have achieved 18 Region
Championships, 33 Playoff appearances, 1 State Championship appearance, and 14
Ten Win seasons. The team has spent a total of 12 weeks at the ranked spot of
#1 for the 2A class in the state of Alabama. Having a total of 97 All State
players is a testament about the quality of athletes that come through the football program
at Fyffe High School, as well as the quality and perseverance of our coaching staff.
Coach Ronnie Haushalter (217-143) and Coah Paul Benefield (212-50) have had tremendous success as head coaches at Fyffe. Coach Ronnie Haushalter coached 3 undefeated regular season teams, won 8 area titles, and led Fyffe to the Quarterfinals in 1984 and 1986. He was inducted into the Alabama High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1997. Coach Benefield is the current head coach of the Fyffe Red Devil football team. Since 1997, under the leadership of Coach Paul Benefield, the Fyffe Red Devils have made a state playoff appearance every year except 2000, won 10 Region Championships, and took Fyffe to the Semi-Finals two times along with a State Championship appearance. Coach Benefield was named “Coach of the Year” by Alabama Sports Writer in 2007. On December 5, 2014 around 2 p.m in the afternoon “The Red Machine” arrived on a bus at Jordan-Hare stadium in Auburn, Alabama. The football team then walked the “Devil Walk” with hundreds of people cheering as their walk to glory commenced, and by 6 p.m that night they officially were “on top of the world” when they defeated Elba 28-17 in an intense battle for the Red Devils’ first ever football state championship. December 5, 2014 is the day that every past player and coach that wore the red and white has dreamed of, but this time it came true. On that very day, the Red Devils were finally crowned State Champions, for the first time in 83 years. This years Red Devil team’s resume was an astounding one, including the first ever perfect season in Fyffe history. They also had the most highpowered offense in school history by punishing oppenents with 751 points scored this season (an average of 50 points per game), and allowing only 172 points (an average of only 11 points a game) scored against them. The Fyffe Red Devils have an outstanding 73-6 record over the last five years, and a senior class that has only lost 4 games in 4 season with the Red Devils (49-4). |
2014 Junior varsity Football team
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You may be gone,
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its great to be a fyffe red devil
Harold Bouldin
December 6, 2014
I stand before you this morning filled with pride.... not a pride borne of vanity because that type of pride will always fail when the chips are down. This is a pride borne of accomplishment, dedication, discipline and hard work. The road to obtain this type of pride is often long and difficult. It always starts with a leader and for Fyffe that leader was Shine Ridgeway who got out and led the way forming the Fyffe Athletic Club. The first treasurer of the Fyffe Athletic Club was Faye Benefield and her youngest son is the best football coach in the history of Dekalb County. The foundation of our football program was laid by Coach Nelson Ellis who put the Red back in Red Devils. The next step came in 1970 when Coach Haushalter came. He gave us the name "The Big Red Machine" and more importantly he gave us an attitude, swagger, and a commitment to excellence that still runs through the veins of every RED DEVIL. He convinced us we could win state Championship and the goal was set. From the first day Coach Haushalter arrived I always believed that the blue trophy would be ours one day, but in year one we came up short in a devastating loss to Lincoln. The list of missed chances is long: there was always a Florala, a Courtland, a Hazelwood, a Lineville, a Clay County, a Woodland, a Lexington, or a Tanner blocking the way. But the goal never changed and the commitment never wavered. When I walk in the summer time and there are 57 kids in the middle of July from grades 7-12 pushing tractor tires and running the HILL you can't help but feel that good things are gonna happen. Our kids are all in at Fyffe! Our coaches are all in at Fyffe! Our Community is all in at Fyffe! The most important thing the community does at Fyffe is support the team and let THE COACH... COACH THE TEAM. Meddling fans are a curse to any program, I wouldn't give you 5 cents for a coach that listened to me. Yesterday on the plains of Auburn, once again our goal was right was right in front of us.... 63 yards against an 11 man front knowing we were gonna run the ball. When they stood in the huddle with 8 minutes to go... the whole town roaring behind us.... every player and coach who ever wore the red shirt, or walked the sideline was standing with them in that huddle. It was not a place for the fainthearted, or for a bunch of playlike football players running a spread offense standing around looking at their wristbands. Coach Bryant called our brand of football 11 men and sic em', so with the State Championship in the balance Fyffe simply lined up toe to toe and said here we come... the men in the trenches: Payne, Newsome, Brown, Oliver, Perez, Hosch, Council, and Jones led the way in what will forever be known as THE DRIVE because for 63 yards we scratched and clawed and fought like nothing I have ever witnessed. It was Fyffe's finest hour. There are no words to describe the feeling that came over me when Will Mashburn went into the endzone.... I had to sit on the bench during the TV timeout because I knew that this goal conceived so long ago had at last been realized.... I thank God for allowing me to witness it and for allowing me to be part of this community and this team..... I am so blessed to be a part of OUR school. We have the best band, the best cheerleaders, the best coaches, the best kids, and this morning on Sand Mountain we had the BEST TEAM in the history of DEKALB COUNTY. Full of pride... you betcha. This is the greatest team to ever play at a school that has had so many great teams. Special thanks to the old ball coach for being the type of coach that is required if you are to stand and fight when you are down 9-0 and hanging by a thread... the kind of coach who coaches a style of football that allows you to make a drive like the one that won the State Championship in the 4th quarter. I wouldn't swap him for any coach in this state! We are state champions in football, in a football crazy state! As long as you are committed to excellence all dreams are possible. Go Big Red! Relish it!
December 6, 2014
I stand before you this morning filled with pride.... not a pride borne of vanity because that type of pride will always fail when the chips are down. This is a pride borne of accomplishment, dedication, discipline and hard work. The road to obtain this type of pride is often long and difficult. It always starts with a leader and for Fyffe that leader was Shine Ridgeway who got out and led the way forming the Fyffe Athletic Club. The first treasurer of the Fyffe Athletic Club was Faye Benefield and her youngest son is the best football coach in the history of Dekalb County. The foundation of our football program was laid by Coach Nelson Ellis who put the Red back in Red Devils. The next step came in 1970 when Coach Haushalter came. He gave us the name "The Big Red Machine" and more importantly he gave us an attitude, swagger, and a commitment to excellence that still runs through the veins of every RED DEVIL. He convinced us we could win state Championship and the goal was set. From the first day Coach Haushalter arrived I always believed that the blue trophy would be ours one day, but in year one we came up short in a devastating loss to Lincoln. The list of missed chances is long: there was always a Florala, a Courtland, a Hazelwood, a Lineville, a Clay County, a Woodland, a Lexington, or a Tanner blocking the way. But the goal never changed and the commitment never wavered. When I walk in the summer time and there are 57 kids in the middle of July from grades 7-12 pushing tractor tires and running the HILL you can't help but feel that good things are gonna happen. Our kids are all in at Fyffe! Our coaches are all in at Fyffe! Our Community is all in at Fyffe! The most important thing the community does at Fyffe is support the team and let THE COACH... COACH THE TEAM. Meddling fans are a curse to any program, I wouldn't give you 5 cents for a coach that listened to me. Yesterday on the plains of Auburn, once again our goal was right was right in front of us.... 63 yards against an 11 man front knowing we were gonna run the ball. When they stood in the huddle with 8 minutes to go... the whole town roaring behind us.... every player and coach who ever wore the red shirt, or walked the sideline was standing with them in that huddle. It was not a place for the fainthearted, or for a bunch of playlike football players running a spread offense standing around looking at their wristbands. Coach Bryant called our brand of football 11 men and sic em', so with the State Championship in the balance Fyffe simply lined up toe to toe and said here we come... the men in the trenches: Payne, Newsome, Brown, Oliver, Perez, Hosch, Council, and Jones led the way in what will forever be known as THE DRIVE because for 63 yards we scratched and clawed and fought like nothing I have ever witnessed. It was Fyffe's finest hour. There are no words to describe the feeling that came over me when Will Mashburn went into the endzone.... I had to sit on the bench during the TV timeout because I knew that this goal conceived so long ago had at last been realized.... I thank God for allowing me to witness it and for allowing me to be part of this community and this team..... I am so blessed to be a part of OUR school. We have the best band, the best cheerleaders, the best coaches, the best kids, and this morning on Sand Mountain we had the BEST TEAM in the history of DEKALB COUNTY. Full of pride... you betcha. This is the greatest team to ever play at a school that has had so many great teams. Special thanks to the old ball coach for being the type of coach that is required if you are to stand and fight when you are down 9-0 and hanging by a thread... the kind of coach who coaches a style of football that allows you to make a drive like the one that won the State Championship in the 4th quarter. I wouldn't swap him for any coach in this state! We are state champions in football, in a football crazy state! As long as you are committed to excellence all dreams are possible. Go Big Red! Relish it!
a Testimony to Hard work
LOOKING BACK...BY CHANCE GRAY, A FYFFE RED DEVIL
IN THE BEGINNING
I am a Fyffe Red Devil.
I was just born that way, and I’ll die that way.
I guess I never really had much say in the matter, but I wouldn’t change it if I could. You see, I come from a long line of Red Devils before me. Heroes and legends. Coaches, teachers and preachers. Farmers, bankers, welders, traders, piddlers and just about everything in between you can imagine. The kind of people you want on your side when you’re in the trenches, and the kind of people small town legends are built around.
I spent my childhood listening to my Uncle Harold Bouldin tell stories of these people and this town, and it all seemed like characters you’d read about in a history book or from the pages of Mark Twain. But these weren’t characters. They were real people. They were loyal, compassionate, hard-working, God-fearing, fighters and foundation layers.
Uncle Harold had me running pass routes in his front yard, wearing a red jersey probably before I could tie my own shoes. My cousin, Mackey Outlaw, played for the Red Devils and wore number 11. That’s the same number I wore so proudly as a kid because when you grow up in a small town, your heroes are the guys who bask in the glory beneath those Friday night lights. I vaguely remember Coach Haushaulter bringing me the little footballs the cheerleaders threw out to my grandmother’s house because he wanted me to have them. I remember being at Plainview for his 200th win at the ripe age of 7.
THE SUMMER OF ‘97
I also remember the Summer of ’97.
I was 11 years old, about to turn 12 before heading into my 7th grade year of school. There was a new Sheriff in town. And, by Sheriff, I mean an ornery, stern and disciplined head football coach who would holler, kick, scream and throw a tantrum better than the worst three-year-old. His name was Paul Benefield. He demanded excellence, and he got it. He demanded respect, and he will always have it. He was a winner. He is a winner. He will always be a winner.
None of us knew it, but that summer would forever change the course of history for Fyffe High School athletics. I remember being scared to death that first morning I put on my cleats and headed out of the field house with a bunch of other scared-to-death kids. I don’t recall a lot of specific details, but I remember we ran. Then, we ran some more. And, after that, we ran a little more. Forrest Gump would have been proud, but we were all sure some evil man had been sent to kill us. He was doing a mighty fine job of it.
Then, after we ran and ran and ran, there was this new thing called weightlifting that we were supposed to do. I remember thinking that some muscles would probably come in handy for my vacations at the beach. Girls love muscles, and I was about to get me some. And get me some was exactly what I did….way more than I wanted. As it turns out, we were going to be lifting weights for three reasons and three reasons only--to get bigger, faster and stronger—not to pump up our biceps for the beach.
After my first encounter with Drill Sargent Benefield, and the fact I was so sore I could barely move, I wanted to quit. I think a lot of people wanted to. Some did, but some stayed. Over the years a lot of kids came and went, however, some were just not willing to pay the price to win. It was, after all, an extremely high price. Those who stayed made a commitment. The commitment was to strive for excellence and to win, not only in football, but in life.
If you’re waiting for the part of where I tell you how hard I worked and overcame some huge obstacles to rise to Friday night stardom, then you can just stop here cause that would be a huge lie. I only played football for three years, and looking back, I’m just glad Coach let me put on a jersey and be a part of something far greater than myself. Although I didn’t dress out every year, I still felt very much a part of the team. Coach always made me feel a part of the team and gave me every chance to play, but as a 5’2” senior who weighed 120 pounds soaking wet, knocking heads on the football field just wasn’t really in the cards for me. And, the running back position I’d always hoped for was occupied by the former all-time leading rusher and one of my best friends, Nick Bryant.
However, I was super strong for my size and Coach told me I could win a state championship for weightlifting if I stuck to it and worked hard. He was right. I have three state championship plaques with my name on them sitting at my mother’s house in Fyffe that I wouldn’t trade for all the tea in China. From 1997 until 2003 I was there working with all the football players. I never missed a summer workout, and I always chose weightlifting over regular P.E. because I wanted to be a champion.
Over the course of those six years I watched a lot of young men work hard every day and make sacrifices most kids that age don’t make. I watched as my friends at rival schools enjoyed their summer breaks with a little running and a lot of swimming at High Falls. I hated that. I think we all did. But, we were on a different mission. And, if you go back and look at all the scores and stats over the last 17 years, you’ll plainly see that Fyffe accomplished our mission. Throughout all these years I’ve heard morons speak of things like steroids at Fyffe and all kinds of other ridiculous accusations that come from people who’ve probably never worked very hard at anything. I (we) laugh at them. If you’re too ignorant to understand the value of hard work, then keep losing and ordering your basketball shoes early. The gym is warmer anyway.
I lived the blood, sweat and tears, and I’ll never forget it. You don’t know heartbreak until you sit in a locker room with your head hung, crying for yourself and for your teammates who worked so hard to achieve a goal together. You don’t know heartbreak until you look beside you at your friend, your brother, your neighbor and realize that you’ll never ever be able to put on that red jersey again and go out and fight in the trenches. I know that heart break. There are many who know that heartbreak. Coach Benefield knows that heartbreak all too well.
But, life goes on, and so does the message at Fyffe…win.
LIFE LESSONS ON THE FIELD
This is my favorite part. There are some mindless idiots who feel football is just silly, barbaric game. That may be true for your 0-10 team, but it’s not at Fyffe.
The things I remember most about football are things that I still carry with me to this day. Every year Coach gave us the same ol’ speeches that we would play off and laugh at, but they were of utmost importance to a young man. You see, not every young person has a chance to be raised in a supportive and balanced home where the father sets a good example and teaches boys to become men.
Coach Benefield went above and beyond to mold each and every individual, not only into a football player, but also into man. A lot of parents might think that a speech about getting your high school girlfriend pregnant is a little much or obscene or should better be left to a preacher. Not at Fyffe. Not with Benefield. And, I can guarantee you there are a lot of young men who don’t realize it at the time, but will later be thankful for these messages of truth. I sure was.
I do remember one time coming in to the weight room as an 8th grader with a cold. Everyone knows that an 8th grader with a cold should be babied and tended to as if he won’t live through the day. Apparently, Coach didn’t get this memo. Actually, he probably did and just threw it away. I remember not being able to do the amount of weight I should’ve been lifting and milking this cold for all it was worth. I wanted and thought I deserved a free day. Coach didn’t think so, and he sure hurt my feelings when he yelled, “The world doesn’t stop just because you’re sick, Gray.” I was so mad, but as always, Coach was right. That’s been about 15 years ago, but I still remember as if it were yesterday.
I also remember a poem that Coach gave to us somewhere along the way. I think it’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever read, and I keep a copy to this day hanging in plain sight in my kitchen. I’m going to share this with you all.
THE BOTTOM LINE
FACE IT, nobody owes you a living.
What you achieve, or fail to achieve in your lifetime
Is directly related to what you do or fail to do.
No one chooses his parent or childhood,
But you can choose your own direction.
Everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome,
But that too is relative to each individual.
NOTHING IS CARVED IN STONE!
You can change anything in your life
If you want to badly enough.
Excuses are for losers! Those who take responsibility for their actions
Are the real winners in life.
Winners meet life challenges head on
Knowing there are guarantees, and give it all they've got
And never think it's too late or too early to begin.
Time plays no favorites
And will pass whether you act or not
Take control of your LIFE
Dare to Dream and take risks.......
Compete!
If you aren't willing to work for your goals
Don't expect others to.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
When you spend your whole adolescent life being fed these positive messages, and you’re doing all the work on the back end, good things are bound to happen. And good things did happen.
DECEMBER 5, 2014
The Bible says that a man will reap whatever he sows, and for Coach Benefield, I’ll bet the long awaited harvest sure is sweet.
I stood on the fourth floor balcony, overlooking the ocean in Pensacola, FL as the clock wound down to zero this past Friday afternoon. With tears streaming down my face, I jumped up and raised my hands in victory as though I were in the stands. It broke my heart that I couldn’t be, but I was there in spirit. Thanks to modern technology I was able to watch the game comfortably from my hotel room on my iPhone.
I was so proud of all those players and for Coach, but I was mostly proud of my community. I’ve traveled the entire United States twice over, and I’ll guarantee you there is no better place to grow up than Fyffe, AL. I may or may not still be wearing my Fyffe shirt that I’ve worn all weekend just hoping someone would stop me and ask me what my shirt said and what it meant to be from Fyffe.
In closing, congratulations to the entire town of Fyffe. And, congratulations, Coach Benefield. I promise you there is not a day in my life goes by where I don’t relate something in real life to something I learned from you all those years ago on the field or in the weight room. You, sir, will never understand how much you have meant to me, my family, the community and to a lot of great men who’ve had the pleasure of calling you Coach and friend. It has been and always will be a pleasure to have served under you and learned the value of hard work and the importance of things like dependability and accountability. If not for people like you, there would be no people like me who have dreams and goals and know if you work hard every day on the little things then success can be achieved. I hope these and future young men will realize the many life lessons to be learned during these times of defeat and victory. It’s more than football…it’s a way of life.
Go Big Red and Deo Vindice
Chance Gray
Fyffe High School c/o 2003
IN THE BEGINNING
I am a Fyffe Red Devil.
I was just born that way, and I’ll die that way.
I guess I never really had much say in the matter, but I wouldn’t change it if I could. You see, I come from a long line of Red Devils before me. Heroes and legends. Coaches, teachers and preachers. Farmers, bankers, welders, traders, piddlers and just about everything in between you can imagine. The kind of people you want on your side when you’re in the trenches, and the kind of people small town legends are built around.
I spent my childhood listening to my Uncle Harold Bouldin tell stories of these people and this town, and it all seemed like characters you’d read about in a history book or from the pages of Mark Twain. But these weren’t characters. They were real people. They were loyal, compassionate, hard-working, God-fearing, fighters and foundation layers.
Uncle Harold had me running pass routes in his front yard, wearing a red jersey probably before I could tie my own shoes. My cousin, Mackey Outlaw, played for the Red Devils and wore number 11. That’s the same number I wore so proudly as a kid because when you grow up in a small town, your heroes are the guys who bask in the glory beneath those Friday night lights. I vaguely remember Coach Haushaulter bringing me the little footballs the cheerleaders threw out to my grandmother’s house because he wanted me to have them. I remember being at Plainview for his 200th win at the ripe age of 7.
THE SUMMER OF ‘97
I also remember the Summer of ’97.
I was 11 years old, about to turn 12 before heading into my 7th grade year of school. There was a new Sheriff in town. And, by Sheriff, I mean an ornery, stern and disciplined head football coach who would holler, kick, scream and throw a tantrum better than the worst three-year-old. His name was Paul Benefield. He demanded excellence, and he got it. He demanded respect, and he will always have it. He was a winner. He is a winner. He will always be a winner.
None of us knew it, but that summer would forever change the course of history for Fyffe High School athletics. I remember being scared to death that first morning I put on my cleats and headed out of the field house with a bunch of other scared-to-death kids. I don’t recall a lot of specific details, but I remember we ran. Then, we ran some more. And, after that, we ran a little more. Forrest Gump would have been proud, but we were all sure some evil man had been sent to kill us. He was doing a mighty fine job of it.
Then, after we ran and ran and ran, there was this new thing called weightlifting that we were supposed to do. I remember thinking that some muscles would probably come in handy for my vacations at the beach. Girls love muscles, and I was about to get me some. And get me some was exactly what I did….way more than I wanted. As it turns out, we were going to be lifting weights for three reasons and three reasons only--to get bigger, faster and stronger—not to pump up our biceps for the beach.
After my first encounter with Drill Sargent Benefield, and the fact I was so sore I could barely move, I wanted to quit. I think a lot of people wanted to. Some did, but some stayed. Over the years a lot of kids came and went, however, some were just not willing to pay the price to win. It was, after all, an extremely high price. Those who stayed made a commitment. The commitment was to strive for excellence and to win, not only in football, but in life.
If you’re waiting for the part of where I tell you how hard I worked and overcame some huge obstacles to rise to Friday night stardom, then you can just stop here cause that would be a huge lie. I only played football for three years, and looking back, I’m just glad Coach let me put on a jersey and be a part of something far greater than myself. Although I didn’t dress out every year, I still felt very much a part of the team. Coach always made me feel a part of the team and gave me every chance to play, but as a 5’2” senior who weighed 120 pounds soaking wet, knocking heads on the football field just wasn’t really in the cards for me. And, the running back position I’d always hoped for was occupied by the former all-time leading rusher and one of my best friends, Nick Bryant.
However, I was super strong for my size and Coach told me I could win a state championship for weightlifting if I stuck to it and worked hard. He was right. I have three state championship plaques with my name on them sitting at my mother’s house in Fyffe that I wouldn’t trade for all the tea in China. From 1997 until 2003 I was there working with all the football players. I never missed a summer workout, and I always chose weightlifting over regular P.E. because I wanted to be a champion.
Over the course of those six years I watched a lot of young men work hard every day and make sacrifices most kids that age don’t make. I watched as my friends at rival schools enjoyed their summer breaks with a little running and a lot of swimming at High Falls. I hated that. I think we all did. But, we were on a different mission. And, if you go back and look at all the scores and stats over the last 17 years, you’ll plainly see that Fyffe accomplished our mission. Throughout all these years I’ve heard morons speak of things like steroids at Fyffe and all kinds of other ridiculous accusations that come from people who’ve probably never worked very hard at anything. I (we) laugh at them. If you’re too ignorant to understand the value of hard work, then keep losing and ordering your basketball shoes early. The gym is warmer anyway.
I lived the blood, sweat and tears, and I’ll never forget it. You don’t know heartbreak until you sit in a locker room with your head hung, crying for yourself and for your teammates who worked so hard to achieve a goal together. You don’t know heartbreak until you look beside you at your friend, your brother, your neighbor and realize that you’ll never ever be able to put on that red jersey again and go out and fight in the trenches. I know that heart break. There are many who know that heartbreak. Coach Benefield knows that heartbreak all too well.
But, life goes on, and so does the message at Fyffe…win.
LIFE LESSONS ON THE FIELD
This is my favorite part. There are some mindless idiots who feel football is just silly, barbaric game. That may be true for your 0-10 team, but it’s not at Fyffe.
The things I remember most about football are things that I still carry with me to this day. Every year Coach gave us the same ol’ speeches that we would play off and laugh at, but they were of utmost importance to a young man. You see, not every young person has a chance to be raised in a supportive and balanced home where the father sets a good example and teaches boys to become men.
Coach Benefield went above and beyond to mold each and every individual, not only into a football player, but also into man. A lot of parents might think that a speech about getting your high school girlfriend pregnant is a little much or obscene or should better be left to a preacher. Not at Fyffe. Not with Benefield. And, I can guarantee you there are a lot of young men who don’t realize it at the time, but will later be thankful for these messages of truth. I sure was.
I do remember one time coming in to the weight room as an 8th grader with a cold. Everyone knows that an 8th grader with a cold should be babied and tended to as if he won’t live through the day. Apparently, Coach didn’t get this memo. Actually, he probably did and just threw it away. I remember not being able to do the amount of weight I should’ve been lifting and milking this cold for all it was worth. I wanted and thought I deserved a free day. Coach didn’t think so, and he sure hurt my feelings when he yelled, “The world doesn’t stop just because you’re sick, Gray.” I was so mad, but as always, Coach was right. That’s been about 15 years ago, but I still remember as if it were yesterday.
I also remember a poem that Coach gave to us somewhere along the way. I think it’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever read, and I keep a copy to this day hanging in plain sight in my kitchen. I’m going to share this with you all.
THE BOTTOM LINE
FACE IT, nobody owes you a living.
What you achieve, or fail to achieve in your lifetime
Is directly related to what you do or fail to do.
No one chooses his parent or childhood,
But you can choose your own direction.
Everyone has problems and obstacles to overcome,
But that too is relative to each individual.
NOTHING IS CARVED IN STONE!
You can change anything in your life
If you want to badly enough.
Excuses are for losers! Those who take responsibility for their actions
Are the real winners in life.
Winners meet life challenges head on
Knowing there are guarantees, and give it all they've got
And never think it's too late or too early to begin.
Time plays no favorites
And will pass whether you act or not
Take control of your LIFE
Dare to Dream and take risks.......
Compete!
If you aren't willing to work for your goals
Don't expect others to.
BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!
When you spend your whole adolescent life being fed these positive messages, and you’re doing all the work on the back end, good things are bound to happen. And good things did happen.
DECEMBER 5, 2014
The Bible says that a man will reap whatever he sows, and for Coach Benefield, I’ll bet the long awaited harvest sure is sweet.
I stood on the fourth floor balcony, overlooking the ocean in Pensacola, FL as the clock wound down to zero this past Friday afternoon. With tears streaming down my face, I jumped up and raised my hands in victory as though I were in the stands. It broke my heart that I couldn’t be, but I was there in spirit. Thanks to modern technology I was able to watch the game comfortably from my hotel room on my iPhone.
I was so proud of all those players and for Coach, but I was mostly proud of my community. I’ve traveled the entire United States twice over, and I’ll guarantee you there is no better place to grow up than Fyffe, AL. I may or may not still be wearing my Fyffe shirt that I’ve worn all weekend just hoping someone would stop me and ask me what my shirt said and what it meant to be from Fyffe.
In closing, congratulations to the entire town of Fyffe. And, congratulations, Coach Benefield. I promise you there is not a day in my life goes by where I don’t relate something in real life to something I learned from you all those years ago on the field or in the weight room. You, sir, will never understand how much you have meant to me, my family, the community and to a lot of great men who’ve had the pleasure of calling you Coach and friend. It has been and always will be a pleasure to have served under you and learned the value of hard work and the importance of things like dependability and accountability. If not for people like you, there would be no people like me who have dreams and goals and know if you work hard every day on the little things then success can be achieved. I hope these and future young men will realize the many life lessons to be learned during these times of defeat and victory. It’s more than football…it’s a way of life.
Go Big Red and Deo Vindice
Chance Gray
Fyffe High School c/o 2003
