Spotlight On: Bessemer Academy

Hometown: Bessemer, Alabama

Group: AISA AAA

By Ryan Rohde

SportsPower Correspondent

After opening its doors in 1970, Bessemer Academy was just one of the many new private schools across Alabama designed for white students who wanted to segregate from black students.

After all, the town of Bessemer hails just 10 miles southwest of Birmingham, where racism was ever-present during that period.

Fast-forward almost thirty years to 1997 and the town of Bessemer had changed. The steel industry was gone, the formerly majority caucasian town was now 70 percent black, and Bessemer Academy was struggling to keep its head above water.

With more and more whites leaving Bessemer, and enrollment plummeting at the school, academy officials needed to make a change in order for the school to get back in good standing with the community.

Ultimately, they decided the best way to make a difference was to build a football powerhouse.

“A great debate team is not going to bring in students. But a great football team will," said Ben Allison, a former member of Bessemer's board of directors, in a 2005 New Orleans Times-Picayune article by Josh Peter.    

The plan the school followed was simple. First, the initial step in building a formidable, respectable program was to hire a new coach.

Bessemer was not known for its football prowess, so there weren’t any established coach knocking on the door. Soon, however, the school decided to hire Mark Freeman, a car salesman and local Pee-Wee football coach.

Next, Freeman and the school understood that in order to build a quality team, they would need the best athletes, black or white. And this was going to be no easy task at a school with an openly racist past and inclusion in the Alabama Independent School Association, a league formed for teams that wouldn’t play against teams with black players. 

Meanwhile, Freeman’s first year at Bessemer resulted in a 4-7 campaign, while the second season showed marked improvement by going 6-4. Clearly, the team was improving, but there was still something missing.

Then, LaRon Yow enrolled at Bessemer during the ’00-‘01 school year. His mother sent him to Bessemer because she was worried about the learning environment at Jess Lanier, the town’s only public high school.

Yow was the team’s only black player that season. He started out playing receiver, but Freeman moved him to defensive line and watched the talented athlete finish his senior year with 19 sacks.

Additionally, Freeman also raised eyebrows when he hired a black assistant coach without the school board’s approval. Roderick Foster was a standout player at Alabama-Birmingham and the school’s first black employee outside of the maintenance or janitorial staff.

In the Times-Picayune article by Peter, Foster said he took the job to “open the doors to the community of Bessemer and to whoever thought it was a white school.”

Other black players followed in Yow’s footsteps. By 2001, the Rebels went 9-2 and made reached the AISA state championship before falling to Monroe Academy. The following season, Bessemer went undefeated while winning the school’s first championship.

Today, Bessemer’s enrollment today stands at almost 500 students, 43 of them being black and 12 of them members of the football team. After clearing that hurdle in ’02, the Rebels also won state championships in ‘04, ‘06 and ‘07.

And so while Freeman no longer coaches at Bessemer, the former head coach was certainly a vital part of the school’s success and has clearly left his mark on Alabama high school football history.

Indeed, Bessemer succeeded where other Alabama private schools did not over the years. 

They learned acceptance and inclusion, and it has made all the difference in the world.

Next up: October 10 vs. Morgan Academy (State PR: 55.39, Rank: 37).

Spotlight on: Gateway Gators

Hometown: Monroeville, Pennsylvania

Group: PA AAAA

By Andre Coles

SportsPower Correspondent

The Gateway Gators refuse to settle for anything less than a state championship in 2008. After coming within one point of the title game last season, this year’s squad is poised to finish the task.

The Gators continue to use last year’s second place finish against state champ Pittsburgh Central Catholic as motivation in every game this campaign.

Meanwhile, in a recent interview with Michael Love of YourSouthHills.com, head coach Terry Smith echoed those sentiments and explained his team’s passion for a championship this season.

“The kids are focused on it right now. This is an experienced group who is working hard. Having that bad taste in their mouth makes them work even harder.”

As a result, the ‘08 squad has been leaving a bad taste in the mouths of every opponent so far this season. The Gators are already off to a 6-0 start and have outscored opponents 278-38.

The Gators' success this season has been no fluke either, as the squad has a more than capable leader in Smith, along with a talented cast of players that carry out his philosophies and passion on the field.

Smith, who is a former Gator and Penn State University receiver himself, has never endured a losing season at Gateway. Overall, in his seven years at the helm, Smith is 59-18.

And leading with his experience as a coach and a player, Smith feels like this season’s squad might be his best in some time.

In an interview with Dave Mackall of the Tribune-Review, Smith said, “Potentially, this is the best team. There’s a lot of talent and a lot of valuable experience here. And we work hard.”

Smith’s message is certainly saying a lot for a program that has sent over 45 student-athletes to compete collegiately since he took over in ‘02, including this year’s group of impressive seniors of which four have already made Div. I commitments.

Big name seniors Dorian Bell and Corey Brown have already committed to Ohio State University, while Colin Rodkey and B.J. Stevens have chosen Indiana University and Miami of Ohio, respectively.

These players provide the experience and leadership Smith speaks of. 

“The returning starters are leading by example and leading verbally. They’re doing everything we’ve asked of them.”

With that being said, as the second-ranked team in Pennsylvania according to FootballPower’s most recent poll, the Gators will face their toughest challenge of the season this upcoming week. 

For the first time in its history, Gateway will face a formidable Trojans squad of Erie McDowell High (State PR: 69.90, Rank: 37).

As long as the Gators continue to use last year’s loss in the WPIAL championship as motivation, while continuing to follow Smith’s lead and ride their experienced and big name seniors, this squad should be wearing medals around their necks when the season comes to a close.

Next up: October 10 at Erie McDowell.

Check out the Gateway Gators own team Website here!