ScoutSouth.com: Coach Jerry Hill on Deshler

Deshler High School has been one of the top teams in Class 4A since Coach John Mothershed took control of the program, which is no secret in North Alabama, and certainly not in Class 4A, Region 8. Coach Jerry Hill and his Brooks Lions have played the Tigers tooth-and-nail for several years, and this one is no different.

Coach Jerry Hill realizes Deshler has a strong program, but then again the Lions are no drop in the bucket themselves. ScoutSouth.com caught up with Coach Hill earlier in the week, and he shared his thoughts about this week’s contest.

“Well, we know Deshler pretty well since we play them in Region 8 every season. We know they are an excellent team with a lot of talented athletes. They returned a lot of players off their team from last season that made it to Birmingham, and it will take a great effort from us to beat them,” Coach Hill stated.

“We will need to limit their big plays to have a chance to beat them in the fourth quarter. They have so many athletes they can score on you at any time. When they do, they usually score two or three times. They can be up by 14-to-21 points in no time.”

“We will need to play our best game, but at this point in the playoffs you have to play your best game each week, or you will go home."

“Deshler is very good on defense – they have the same type athletes on defense as they have on offense. They are fast, and they move to the ball real well."

Coach Hill talked about the Lions' season thus far.

“We have surprised a lot of people this season," he said. "We lost to Deshler in the semifinals last year, and we lost 18 seniors off that team. But, it isn’t a surprise to our players and coaches. We knew we had some talented players behind the seniors that graduated last season, and we expected to play well coming into the season.”

“I think it speaks well of our region when you have two teams still in the playoffs at this juncture of the season. Rogers also made it to the second round, so it’s a lot of fun to coach and play in our region every year.”

The game is set for a 7:00 PM kickoff at Killen, and Coach Hill hopes that is an advantage for his team.

“We hope playing in front of the home crowd is a little bit of an advantage for us, but I don’t think it is as much as it would be at other times. We see them every year, and we aren’t far apart, so I’m not sure it is that big of a deal,” Coach Hill said in closing.

Deshler handed the Brooks Lions their only loss of the season in the latter part of the regular season by a final score of 28-7. That game was also played in Killen, (Ala.).

If you live in the Shoals area this game is a must-see ball game.

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