By Johnny Sanders, Sports Editor
PINSON – The Pinson Valley Indians enter the 2024 season in familiar fashion. With a new head football coach for the third year in a row.
Lee Guess entered the 2022 season at the helm of the Indians. In 2023, it was Gentrell Eatman. Now, in 2024, James Thompson is your head football coach at Pinson Valley High School. The obvious question for a coach coming into this situation is, “does this type of turnover concern you?” Thompson was emphatic in his answer.
Pinson head football coach James Thompson.
Photo by: Johnny Sanders
“Simply, no,” said Thompson. “I believe everything is destined. Where you are is where you are supposed to be. I have no fear. I know how to work and what works and nothing in the past bothers me. We look forward and we move forward. Nothing behind us bothers me. We are here to work, we are back and we are going to get better. I am confident in what we are doing and we have a good football team.
Thompson takes over a team that finished the regular season strong last year, winning three of their last four games and making it into the playoffs with a 4-5 record, where they lost to Muscle Shoals in the first round.
The cupboard is not bare for coach Thompson and his staff. There are playmakers all over the field. The offense should click and the defense will have a lot of speed and athleticism.
On offense, the Indians have some real weapons. At quarterback, after taking a year off, Jamison Green will take the starting snaps. “He’s a 100% guy. He studies, stays in the weight room and is in the film room all the time. He checks off all the boxes for a quarterback and does all of the important things.” Behind him is freshman Raymond Howard, who looks to be the future of the position.
Running back may be the most interesting position on the Pinson offense. Thompson coached running backs at the collegiate level, so this is his baby. Returning starter Rico “Fudge” English was set to be the go-to guy in the backfield but his unfortunate passing earlier in the year leaves a void there. TJ Calhoun, who was a slot receiver, will fill the role of running back, getting most of the carries. Simeon Conner, a freshman, will look to back him up. Amir Marshall will be the “load” as Thompson calls it. “He will help us on short yardage situations and such.”
Calhoun will also play some wide receiver in the rotation with a host of weapons at the position who will catch passes from Green.
The offensive line may be the biggest mystery as they replace several across the front. However, this is a big, athletic group led by senior Gabe Lando. “There are about 18 guys up there that will have to play, but they aren’t just bodies up there. We believe they are all good and we can do well with any of them in the game. These guys come to work every day and we have coaches who are committed to teaching. I am confident in them all.”
A new face on the field for Pinson’s offense will be coordinator Grady Griffin, who has coached with Thompson in the past at Pickens County, as well as served as head coach at Aliceville for the past three seasons, posting a 24-12 record overall and making the playoffs each year. “I am very excited to have him on staff and I have confidence that, he and the offensive staff will put points on the board,” said Thomas.
On defense, the whole unit hinges on the line. The leader of the defensive line is edge rusher Jarmaricus Thomas. He will lead a group that returns six starters who are experienced, five of which were starters last year. “We were able to retain Maurice Belser as our defensive coordinator and Justin Matison as our DB coach. I have a lot of confidence in these guys. We are going to fly around and not be predictable on defense. Our coaches know how to mix things up and I am really excited to see these guys get out on the field.
Thompson is jumping right into the fire from the frying pan, as they say, with a tough out of region schedule that includes 7A state champion Central Phenix City on the road in week zero, with a familiar coach on the opposite sideline in Patrick Nix, who coached Pinson to consecutive state championships in 2017 and 2018 and a semifinal appearance in 2019. Following that road trip is a road game at Gardendale, who is looking to rebound from a 3-8 year. After that, Pinson gets into region play with a home game against Huffman and road games at Oxford and Shades Valley. Other out of region games include Hewitt-Trussville and Hueytown.
“In order to be the best, you have to play the best and even beat the best. We want to win games and that’s tough to do. We are glad to have the opportunity for our kids to see teams like this. 7A champs and 6 and 7A playoff teams. That is what you want. But, no matter who we are playing, we will accept the challenge and we will not change anything about how we play. We schedule these hard teams, and I did it at Pickens County, to prepare for November. Being battle tested going into November is a good thing.”
2024 Pinson Valley Indians Schedule:
8/23 @Central Phenix City
8/30 @Gardendale
9/6 Huffman (Region)
9/13 @Oxford (Region)
9/20 @Shades Valley (Region)
9/27 Hewitt-Trussville
10/4 OPEN
10/11 @Mountain Brook (Region)
10/18 Pell City (Region)
10/25 Clay-Chalkville (Region)
11/1 Hueytown
