HUNTSVILLE – Bob Godsey knows. He’s been there, seen the elephant.
As a coach, he’s not only been there but won an Alabama high school football state championship while at Hartselle in 2011.
Over a decade later, he’s now taking another program back to the big game on the grandest of stages. The goal this time is to win a Class 3A title as the fifth-year coach at Madison Academy, but the journey there alone does mean something and he wants the Mustangs to embrace the moment.
Madison Academy and Mobile Christian will put matching 14-0 records on the line when they collide Thursday at 11 a.m. in Tuscaloosa at Bryant-Denny Stadium. That shrine is the alternating arena for the Super 7 Championships along with the state’s other monument to the religion of football, Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium.
There may be a fine line between being enamored and overwhelmed come gameday, but it’s a line worth walking along.
“We talked a little bit about that yesterday when we met and again this morning,” said Godsey, a Hall of Fame lock who owns one of Alabama’s best coaching records at 233-78. “First off when you get to the stadium, the first time you go out on the field for warm ups or whatever, take it all in, absorb it. They earned the right to be here – make sure you enjoy it and take it all in.
“At the end of the day when the ball kicks off, the field’s 100 yards long and 10 yards in are the goal posts, there’s scoreboards just like every other field or stadium that we’ve played in,’’ Godsey said. “I think all of us have to have, you know, some time to take it all in and absorb it, but then once it’s kicked off it’s time to go to work.’’
At the end of the regular season, Mobile Christian was ranked No. 1 and Madison Academy No. 2. As Godsey sees it, the two teams share some DNA. Both have size, both have athletes.
“It should be a dogfight,’’ he said.
The playoffs are generally an episode, or more like a season, of “Survivor” for most teams. Madison Academy is no different.
The Mustangs have won in the waning seconds the past two rounds. In the quarterfinals, they won 35-28 over Sylvania behind senior Ken Cherry’s 4-yard reverse touchdown run with 19 seconds remaining. Last week, it was Cherry again providing the dramatic moment with an 11-yard touchdown with 57 seconds left in a 48-43 win over Geraldine.
“You’re always fortunate to be here and you have to catch some breaks and make some plays,” Godsey said. “Our guys have been extremely poised in some difficult situations and we kind of navigated our way through them.”
Thursday’s title tilt is likely to produce hand-wringing suspense with a handful of plays determining the outcome. Godsey can’t predict how it will finish, but he’s positive about one thing.
“I know our guys will be prepared,” he said. “I know our guys will play extremely hard.”
Madison Academy is seeking its first state championship since winning three straight in 3A from 2012-2014. Mobile Christian has also won three titles, the last in 1995.
The Leopards are coached by Ronnie Cottrell, a former college assistant at Florida State and Alabama.
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