This is an opinion piece.

Bobby Carr built two powerful football programs in the Alabama Independent School Association.

After winning seven state titles as head coach of Edgewood Academy and three more as head coach of Autauga Academy, he clearly had his sights set on a future move to the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Carr is entering his 26th year as head coach and will finally get that chance this year at talented Carver-Montgomery.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do and I’m just glad I got this opportunity,” he said this week at AHSAA Media Day in Montgomery. “(Thompson head coach) Mark Freeman told me a couple of years ago, ‘Don’t just take any job. Make sure it’s a job where you have a chance to compete right from the start.’ I couldn’t ask for a better place than Carver with the talent that’s there. It’s just about refining things and creating the standard that we want our kids to reach every day.”

Carr’s first Carver team will open the season next Friday at the Cramton Bowl against Vestavia Hills in the AHSAA’s Kickoff Classic. Expectations are already high. The Wolverines merged with longtime rival Sidney Lanier in the offseason and moved up from Class 6A to Class 7A.

“These people are passionate about football,” Carr said of the Carver community. “I’ve said before that Carver fans are like Dallas Cowboys fans who expect to win the Super Bowl every year. I’m not sure we’ve ever won a state championship, but we’ve tried to give our guys a benchmark.”

“Before we get to expectations, they have to hold themselves to that standard every day and hold each other accountable to it. They’ve done a really good job of buying into that. Our coaching staff has done a good job. A head coach is only as good as the people he surrounds himself with. I think every leader in every organization is that good. I’m very fortunate that we have the leaders that we have.”

Carr said it was emotional to watch the Carver and Lanier students come together to form a school and a football team.

“To see these kids put aside their differences and do what’s best for the group and maybe take a minor role, whether they played at Carver or Lanier, and see how open they are to each other – it’s just impressive,” he said. “I wasn’t sure how they would receive me when I first walked into the auditorium, and I prayed the whole way to school that day. When I walked into the auditorium and saw the kids give me a standing ovation before I was even introduced – that’s when I knew I had found a home. That’s a great thing. A lot of people can learn a lot for our program right now.”

Can Carr carry his nickname as an AISA coaching legend into the AHSAA’s greatest class? We’ll see soon.

Some more notes from the AHSAA Kickoff Roundtable and Luncheon:

– Devin Booth, AHSAA assistant director, said the state will have 113 girls flag football teams in two classifications in 2024. That’s more than the 50 schools that played in Alabama’s first year of the sport in 2021.

– Ron Ingram, AHSAA communications director, has been involved in high school sports for 51 years and “gets paid to do it.” Ron covered high school sports for many years at the Birmingham News and is a member of the Alabama Sports Writers Association Hall of Fame. Congratulations, Ron. There’s no one better.

– Ken Washington, the AHSAA’s director of referees, said a big change in football this year is that numbers on jerseys must be one color and stand out clearly from the uniform. Praise the Lord.

— AHSAA Executive Director Heath Harmon expects an update soon on the future site of the Super 7 football championship. The 2024 championships will be played at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, but the future after that is uncertain after Auburn and Alabama withdrew because of college football’s expanded playoff system. “We have a meeting soon that has to happen first, and then we’ll announce our plan for that,” he said.

Difficult start for the new boss

New AHSAA Executive Director Heath Harmon said his coaching career got off to a bit of a rocky start. He was hired at Etowah in the late 1990s as an assistant to head coach Raymond Farmer.

He was the offensive line coach. His job was to teach his guys how to block for Cadillac Williams and Derrick Nix. The Blue Devils reached the state finals against Blount in 1998.

“Blount held Cadillac and Derrick to 50 yards per game and I was the offensive line coach,” he said. “Fortunately, the team came back the next year and won the state title.”

Blount beat Etowah 27-20 in overtime in the 1998 Class 5A state final at Legion Field. The Blue Devils responded the next year with a 42-26 win over Williamson to win the title.

Quote of the day

Vestavia Hills coach Robert Evans had by far the best quote of media day.

Regarding his team’s clash with the talented Carver-Montgomery next week, Evans told ABC33/40:

“This guy is going to Alabama, this guy is going to Florida, this guy is going to TAMU, this guy has 20 offers, and we have a lot of Pi Kapps and Fijis.”

Difficult week

It was a difficult week with the loss of two student-athletes.

Loachapoka football player Javion Gary, 16, was shot and killed on August 8. Two 18-year-olds have been charged in connection with the shooting. Loachapoka coach Branden Hall confirmed that next Saturday’s game against Notasulga was cancelled following the shooting.

On Tuesday, 14-year-old freshman Semaj Wilkins of New Brockton died after collapsing during soccer practice.

Give your loved ones a big hug. The next day is not guaranteed.

Our prayers go out to the families of these two students, as well as their schools and communities.

Thoughts for the week

“The Lord says: Do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He was named one of the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s 50 Legends. 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 Wednesdays at 2 p.m. on the free IHeart Radio app.