The 6-5 season was better than the 3-7 season from the previous year. There was a huge 20-17 overtime victory over Sylacauga that pushed the Blue Devils into the playoffs. And then there was the 7-6 win over Leeds, the first in the school’s history.
As Wiley enters his second season as head coach, he says he is a one-game-at-a-time guy.
“I’m not going to worry about next week or next year,” he said. “Most kids live in the moment anyway, so let’s worry about today and today’s practice and this week as we prepare for the first game of the season against the St. Clair County Saints.”
Coach Wiley
After spending 20 years as an assistant football coach, Wiley took over the Moody program last year.
He is a 1989 graduate of Springville High School, where he played football under coach Mike Green. He attended Jacksonville State University and graduated in 1994 with a B.S. in physical education.
His first coaching and teaching position was at Ragland School, where he stayed for five years from 1996 to 2000. He coached football, basketball and baseball. From there, he made the move to Moody.
Last year
The Blue Devils opened the season against rival St. Clair County of Odenville, and they lost to the Saints 34-7. It was Wiley’s debut as coach.
In week two, Moody defeated Talladega 21-0, and the Blue Devils made it two wins in a row by beating Chelsea 19-14 to remain perfect in region play at 2-0.
The Blue Devils fell to 2-2 overall, losing to Briarwood 28-0.
In a county contest, Moody doubled up Ashville 42-21. They then defeated Mortimer Jordan 27-21 in overtime before losing to Shelby County 49-6.
They then lost to John Carroll 35-19 after leading 19-7 at halftime.
Moody then posted a huge 20-17 overtime victory against Sylacauga.
Next week’s game was just as huge, as after nine unsuccessful tries, the Blue Devils finally defeated Leeds 7-6.
In the first round of the state playoffs, Moody lost to second-ranked Greenville 40-7 and finished the season 6-5.
“I felt very prepared for my first year as head coach,” Wiley said. “I have worked for some head coaches who mentored me very, very well. It was actually a smooth year. We didn’t win them all, but winning a few games we were not supposed to and making the postseason made us feel as if it were a successful year. I have no complaints at all about my first year.”
Wiley was recognized by his peers as the 2009 St. Clair County Coach of the Year.
Seniors lost
Moody lost 17 seniors to graduation, but Wiley said not all were starters.
“There were 12 seniors who had a lot of Friday night varsity game-time experience,” Wiley said. “That’s hard to replace. We have the same amount of seniors this year, but they do not have (as much) playing time on Friday nights under their belts as last year’s group of seniors.”
Wiley said Josh Owen was last year’s field general, and he will be hard to replace.
“The skill positions and two tackles are irreplaceable,” Wiley said. “Mert Ray and Chad Slade are the two tackles we lost. All of our skill people were two-way players. Players like Brandon Hicks, Brandon Watson and Corey Payne.”
Key players returning
Wiley said this year’s entire offensive line consists of returning seniors.
“The two who are replacing Ray and Slade saw much playing time last year,” Wiley said.
Wiley mentioned Sam Killingsworth, Phillip Williams, Bailey Baldwin, Ashton Hadaway and Perry Best as key players returning.
“Perfection is our ultimate goal,” Wiley said. “I do not have the most perfect offensive line in the world, but I like the fact they are seniors. Right now, it is our team strength.”
Need to work on team chemistry
Wiley said the biggest challenge facing his players and coaches is team chemistry.
“The recession and proration has dealt a blow to all of us,” Wiley said. “The workload has stayed the same, but we lost teacher units; thus, I lost some assistant coaches. The chemistry is among the coaches and the kids and the kids and the coaches. We coaches are still trying to find our way, especially when you go from 12 coaches to five coaches. It’s tough. Some of the coaches are new, so we are all trying to learn each other. Chemistry among the entire football program at this point is our weakness, but every day, we’re getting a little bit better.”
Class 5A, Region 5
Moody remains in Class 5A and is in Region 5. There are only six schools smaller than Moody in Class 5A. An interesting point for Blue Devil fans is that Pinson Valley dropped from Class 6A to Class 5A, and the Indians are also in Region 5. Their head coach is former Moody head coach Matt Glover.
Other region opponents include Briarwood Christian, Chelsea, Erwin, Shelby County, Sylacauga and Talladega.
Wiley said the teams to beat in the region are those who consistently do well year after year.
“You have to start with Briarwood,” Wiley said. “Pinson Valley has dropped from 6A to 5A. They may have gone 0-10 last year, but with this drop in classification and a second year under Glover, you better watch out for the Indians.”
Wiley said the sleeper in the region should be Erwin. He said you never know about Chelsea.
Goals
Wiley said he wants the players to give their best every day and trust the coaches in that what they are trying to tell them is in their best interest.
“I tell the kids all the time that if it is a quick fix, it’s going to break,” Wiley said. “Our goal is for the players to do the little things in practice and for them to trust the coaches. Trust and effort are free of charge. If things go poor, I want this team to know we have to keep going. Then, when things go well, I want us to be humble. We are going to take it one day at a time and one game at a time. If we take care of the little things, everything else will take care of itself.”
Coaching staff
Coaching with Wiley are David Standford, Brenan Meadows, Jake Knight, Chris Honeycutt and DiAngelo Perry.
The Blue Devils open the season tonight on the road against the SCCHS Saints.
Contact Gary Hanner at ghanner@thestclairtimes.com.
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