MORGAN COUNTY, Ala — Sportsmanship: a quality you hear all the time with athletes.
We're about to meet a group of middle school football players in Morgan County, who are tested on every sense of the word of sportsmanship. They come from four area schools without a football team. Together, they play as the Brewer Patriots.
“I come to win,” said Max Walls from Lacey’s Spring School. He plays Right Tackle, and Center.
“You got to have the want to. Definitely,” said Hunter Hargrove, from Cotaco School. He plays as Outside Linebacker, and Kicker Turn.
"My friends told me about it and they said they needed some players so I decided I want to try out," said Hargrove.
They’re kids from different parts of Morgan County, coming together for something their schools couldn't do on their own.
The Brewer Patriots have been around for a couple of years, and this year:
"We've played three games so far," said Hayden Caudle, from Eva School. He plays as the Quarterback.
"It's, it's just different," said Dylan Whitehead, from Union Hill School. He plays Left Tackle, and Right Defensive End.
"You play with a lot more people than you did from different schools.
They’re a team during football season, but rivals the rest of the year.
"It's a whole different feeling because, you know, you're playing against them and then you have to go with them," said Whitehead.
“I've been friends with Max since I was in sixth grade and we played basketball against each other. It was really good rivalries. We beat their Lacey basketball team for the first time in 12U," said Caudle.
Along the way, the football team has learned some lessons. "Learned not only losing a game, you're learning from your mistakes," said Caudle.
Some of the players experiencing adversary on but also off the field.
"My dad passing away the Monday that we played our very first game,” said Caudle. And it affected me because I just knew in the middle of the third quarter of that game, I figured that out and that's right before I scored the three touchdowns and it affected me. But not only did it affect me, it affected how I said stuff to the team which made them want to work harder.”
They’re channeling that drive, and working harder is what they plan to do...
"I'm hoping for a win. We've lost our three games, but I think if we keep practicing, we can win," said Walls.