This is an opinion piece.
Even longtime NFL quarterback Philip Rivers admits watching his son Gunner throw the football is “a little scary.”
Gunner Rivers, an 8th-grader playing for his father at St. Michael Catholic, got his first chance to play in a varsity game two weeks ago in a blowout win at Satsuma.
Wearing No. 17 like his father, Gunner threw a 50-yard touchdown pass and completed a two-point pass late in the Cardinals’ 45-8 victory.
His throwing motion was eerily similar to the unusual motion his father used during his 17-year NFL career.
“It’s a little scary to be honest with you,” Philip Rivers said recently on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile. “It’s definitely similar. It’s going to be fun, this next stretch, just from a family, personal standpoint. You’ve heard me talk about how special it was to play for my dad (Steve Rivers). We are kind of getting to relive that with me on the other side. Gunner loves it, loves the school and his teammates. It’s a good group coming up.”
Gunner Rivers will have to wait a little while longer before he receives substantial playing time. St. Michael currently has a pair of senior quarterbacks in Josh Murphy and Moe Faiupu.
The Cardinals defeated Orange Beach 49-41 on Thursday night.
MGM renaming football field
Mary G. Montgomery will rename its football field tonight in honor of former coach Charles D. Leverett.
Leverett won 67 games while coaching the team from 1963-1972. He is the school’s all-time leader in wins. He also spent four years as head coach at Washington County (1958-1961) and six years at Shaw (1975-1980).
Family, friends and former players will gather before tonight’s Class 7A, Region 1 game against Davidson. The official name of the football field will be Charles Leverett Field at Emile Grider Memorial Stadium.
Hueytown star ready to make decision
Hueytown quarterback Earl Woods – the reigning Class 6A back of the year – is scheduled to announce his college commitment at 4 p.m. Sunday.
The senior announced a final four of Middle Tennessee, Jacksonville State, Grambling and North Alabama earlier this month.
Woods was named Gatorade Player of the Year in 2021 after leading the Gophers to the Class 6A state title game. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior quarterback completed 170-of-300 passes for 3,071 yards and 32 touchdowns with nine interceptions and ran 312 times for 2,120 yards with 35 more scores.
Fyffe being Fyffe
When I chatted with Fyffe veteran coach Paul Benefield in July, he wanted me to think this year’s Red Devil team might not be very good.
Knowing Benefield, I, of course, knew better.
Entering tonight’s home game with Collinsville, Fyffe is 5-0, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A and has outscored its opponents 242-25.
The consistency of the program under Benefield – who was voted the best active coach in the state by his peers this summer – has been amazing.
In the past decade, Fyffe is 138-8 with five unbeaten seasons (six if you count 2022 so far) and five state titles. The Red Devils have scored 600 or more points six times in a season and allowed less than 200 eight times.
In 26 years overall at the school, Benefield is 282-44. Forty-four losses in 26 years? Really? Wow.
The “dumb ol’ country boy” – as he calls himself – is fourth all-time in career victories in the state of Alabama with 327. He trails only Buddy Anderson (346), Terry Curtis (341) and Danny Horn (335).
Big offers rolling in for Westminster star
Westminster junior basketball standout Chase McCarty continues to rake in big time college offers.
In the past week, McCarty has announced offers from Notre Dame and national champion Kansas.
His other offers include Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Georgia, Cincinnati, Houston and Alabama.
The 6-foot-6 guard was a first-team ASWA Class 4A All-State selection in 2022. He averaged 19.7 points and 7.2 rebounds.
Valentine’s Day
Former McGill-Toolen women’s basketball player Nya Valentine, now at Shelton State, committed to finish her college career at Clemson this week.
As a freshman at Shelton State last year, the point guard averaged 14 points a game and led the team to a 29-2 record. She is set for her sophomore year at Shelton this season.
Valentine was AL.com’s Coastal Alabama Girls Player of the Year in both her junior and senior years playing for Carla Berry at McGill-Toolen in Mobile. As a senior, she averaged 19.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.9 assists for the Yellow Jackets.
Thought for the Day
“Be a person who finds ways to be selfless, to do something quietly and unexpected for someone else. You are more than your career or accomplishments, especially the things that are lauded publicly. The bulk of your impact will be from those things you do in private.” – Tony Dungy, Uncommon Life Daily Devotional
80s quote of the week
“I’ll be back.” – The Terminator. (1984)
Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at bthomas@al.com. His weekly column is posted each Wednesday and Friday on AL.com. He can be heard weekly on the Cooper Restaurants “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.
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