Although Spanish Fort only returns a handful of starters from last year, the athletes have been essential pieces to the Toro Way and will be the next group to step up for head coach Chase Smith.

This year’s seniors, including offensive lineman Ryan Perry, running back Sawyer Wilson and linebacker Newton Gardner, will look to lead the program to a 17th-consecutive postseason berth out of one of the best regions in the state. Five out of nine teams from Class 6A Region 1 have won a state championship in the last 10 years.

“Region 1 is going to have a lot of (good) teams sitting at home when the first round of the playoffs hit so that just aids to the excitement and sense of urgency that every week you’ve got to be ready to answer that call,” Smith said. “There’s no off week, there’s no down week and you’ve got to be prepared and you’ve got to be healthy and ready to go.”

Despite the tradition steeped in Spanish Fort, there are some new things going on in the locker room this year. A senior leadership council was constructed to provide an open line of communication between team leaders and Smith.

“I think it's twofold. I think that it allows me to know that I'm trying to establish standards and lessons for a group of guys that will resonate through the team. And what it's done for me is to grow closer to really what I would say is the voice of the team,” Smith said. “I feel like I have a pretty good pulse of the team but when you sit down and you have those weekly meetings … we're talking about the good, the bad, the ugly. You shut the door, ‘What's going great, what's going bad, what can we fix?’”

Gardner has similarly seen the council’s productivity and embraced the new role.

“We all lead together. It's good to play that role and just work with each other to be accountable, that's a big thing we do,” Gardner said. “Love one another, always be together and step up. We all love working with each other and grinding every day, and we like to push the younger kids to get better every day.”

One of the younger players who grew up last year is rising junior quarterback Aaden Shamburger who works closely with the center Perry.

“Me and Sham are really close. I think you have to be close with your quarterback as a center,” Perry said. “No matter what, you've got to be able to be on the same page. No matter what, pick each other up; if I have a bad snap, he was never criticizing me. He was always there to pick me up. And if he ever had a pick or threw any bad balls, everyone's always there to pick him up. And I think that's the stuff you need to be a good team.”

The center-quarterback battery, as well as Wilson, are joined by offensive lineman Cole Miller, athlete Nehemiah Hixon and wide receiver Justin Bonner in returning from last year’s starting lineup. Gardner is joined by linebacker Bishop Burkhalter and defensive back Landon York in returning for another season for the Toro defense.

However, Smith said one of the biggest returning pieces is 4.5-star kicker Cam Lytle who recorded touchbacks on 37 of his 50 kickoffs with an average distance of 61.9 yards according to MaxPreps stats.

“He's very accountable, very consistent, and not just in field goals but what does that resonate in? Touchbacks,” Smith said. “In high school football, touchbacks will equal wins. In high school football, when you eliminate turnovers and explosive plays in the kicking game, and then create those on the opposite side and create points, then you're going to see yourself really having that extra element there to put you over the top — which in this region, we're trying to find any kind of edge.”

Wilson used his summer offseason to gain an edge as a better running back, but not in the conventional sense. He joined his brother Cooper and served on the Orange Beach Surf Rescue squad where they patrolled the waters and responded to medical calls.

“It teaches you how to be observant. Like when you run the ball, you're not just focused on one thing. When you're sitting up there in the tower, you're watching everything,” Sawyer said. “When I'm running the ball, it really helps me to pay attention to everything that's actually happening around me, and not just an alleyway.”

No matter what, 2024 will be the seniors’ final season playing football for the Spanish Fort Toros and each shared their perspective of what it will be like.

“I grew up in Spanish Fort. This is where I've lived my whole life, I'm super excited to play,” Perry said. “I grew up playing with Sawyer, Newton, all these people my whole life; Nemo, all of them. I think it'll be good, one more run with everyone.”

“One last hurrah. We've got a lot of guys and growing up playing with all these guys has been fun,” Gardner said. “It hit me yesterday, this is the last season. So, it's got to be special this year, whatever we do.”

“One of my biggest expectations for this team is to definitely mature in a good way, so everybody can walk out of here knowing that they've matured and they're ready for, if they don't go and play football, that they're ready for life after football,” Sawyer said. “I think Coach Smith has done a great job of that just being able to mature people and get us prepared for life outside of football as well. Life is not just football.”

Smith said they are the quintessential group fit to carry on the Toro Way.

“We believe in grit. We believe in really-hard-playing kids that fly to the football, who are very sound and know where they're going,” Smith said. “It’s really important to me that they're (smart kids) but honestly, this program is built around a culture of blue collar, hardnosed, tough playing football, and that's never going to change.”

Check out Spanish Fort’s full interview as part of the third-annual Gulf Coast Media Day here.