Still on the hunt
After enjoying a major year-over-year leap, Red Bay football instead took a step back over the offseason.
Oh, my, boys basketball and baseball, what expectations have you created?
The Tigers, unquestionably pleased after turning a two-win 2024 into a nine-win 2025, suddenly found themselves a third wheel by the end of the school year.
Sure, what they did was nice, just not compared to the state semifinal runs by the other major boys teams.
“You aren’t kidding,” football coach Tyler Jeffreys joked.
“I think all of our sports are in a real good situation,” he said. “We’re fortunate enough to have kids that have bought in enough and worked hard enough to get to those situations.”
Now, the football Tigers hope to follow the same path as their court and diamond brethren.
Last year was a commendable-enough effort for Red Bay football. The Tigers, at the end of the regular season, were six wins ahead of the previous season – tying for the second-largest surge in the state.
They marked their first region championship since 2019 before recording their first playoff victory since 2020.
Now, they just have to do it again. And more.
“We had one of the best years we’ve had in a while,” receiver Davo Colburn said. “This year, we want to go way further.”
It fueled their offseason – when they weren’t draining jumpers or scoring runs – for the season now at hand.
“We’ll draw a lot of confidence from that,” receiver/linebacker Jaxson Swann said. “Winning nine games, that gets you ready for the next year. We wanted to come back stronger and work hard so we can go further this year.”
Colburn and Swann were both part of those other sports’ lengthy playoff runs.
“It was a good feeling knowing we went to the Final Four in two sports after a nine-win season in football,” Swann said.
And, this year, they won’t have a new coach to break in.
Jeffreys was hired last summer, which truncated any offseason work and led to an unusual early-practice setting. Though Jeffreys already knew many of the players, he still needed some introductions.
“I kind of knew him before he came because his dad was my dad’s coach,” Colburn said. “My dad was always telling stories about how Coach Jeffreys was his ballboy and all that.”
(Tyler’s dad is an assistant for his son. The players call him “O.J.” for “Older Jeffreys.”)
Tyler Jeffreys needed taped labels on helmets to learn all of his players’ names.
“I don’t have to do that anymore,” Jeffreys said, pleased such labels are no longer required. “The best way to put it is it’s been very enjoyable and they have worked hard. Getting to know the kids and knowing who can do this or that has been the best part.”
The Tigers return 15 starters, but will have a newbie in place of last year’s biggest star. Running back Jaxon Vinson, author of a 2,000-yard, 26-touchdown season, graduated. Say hello to JoJo Thorne.
“He has a good mindset to run over people and run hard,” Swann said, “so I think he’ll be fine.”
