Thinking big
For a milestone season, Phil Campbell hopes to have a milestone year.
The Bobcats mark their 100th year of football in 2026 and have the goal of keeping a zero on the right side of their win-loss record, too.
“It’s going to be amazing,” quarterback/linebacker Hayston Scott said. “We should go 15-0, too, for the 100th year. It would change Phil Campbell football.”
No, the Bobcats aren’t shying away from the high expectations they are placing upon themselves. They’re shooting for big things.
“It’s the 100th year. It has to be special,” linebacker/running back Braxton Downey said. “I think we can do some special stuff this year.”
Coach Jacob Hamilton admits he has been stoking the Bobcats’ optimism over this season for a few years. He said he realized this year had potential when he first took over at Phil Campbell three years ago.
He said he hasn’t adjusted that viewpoint.
“We really harped on that and built that foundation, and now it’s their time,” Hamilton said. “This is the 100th season of Phil Campbell football. We want it to be the best year.”
But Phil Campbell doesn’t have a stellar football history.
The Bobcats last won a playoff game in 2000. They have reached the state quarterfinals just twice (in 1999 and 2000) and reached nine wins just three times in the playoff era (1999-2001).
“There is some pressure,” defensive back/receiver Brody Flanagan said. “Coach Hamilton likes to hype us up. I think all the hype is there. We’re going to be a good ball team.
“We have players who want it bad enough, and we can definitely live up to it.”
They point to their returning experience, starting with Scott, who is entering his fourth season as the starting quarterback. They point to the AHSAA’s reclassification, which assigned Phil Campbell to Class 2A.
“Phil Campbell has never had nothing like this,” Scott said. “Phil Campbell football is not known. We’re a baseball school. I think we’ll have a lot of hype.”
As Flanagan surmised: “People should start buying tickets.”
“I think the excitement is building,” Downey said. “Everybody is starting to see what our capabilities are and how good we can do this season. Coach Hamilton, everybody he talks to, he’s hyping us up.”
Hamilton said he isn’t playing a role in how Phil Campbell celebrates its 100 years of football, other than the obvious.
“I’m just focusing on trying to win as many games as possible,” he said. “If we rip off a playoff run or win a region championship, a playoff run, a playoff win, that in my eyes is what I can do to make the 100th year a special season.”
The Bobcats, who finished 6-5 last year after a 59-19 first-round playoff loss at Piedmont, embrace lofty expectations.
“It’s a good thing,” Downey said. “It motivates us to work harder and be better in the weightroom and on the field.”
