ROBERTSDALE — It’s finally over.

After 1,064 days, the Robertsdale Golden Bear football team is in the win column after Friday’s 31-0 win over Chickasaw snapped a 24-game losing streak that dated back to Sept. 24, 2021.

Robertsdale is 1-0! The Golden Bear defense pitches a shutout against Chickasaw and takes it to the student section to celebrate their first win since 2021. Stay tuned for more! #ALHSFB pic.twitter.com/0KtZ4VMitD

— Gulf Coast Media Sports (@GCMSportsAL) August 24, 2024

Cris Bell was hired to end the run and did so in his first game at the helm but understood the response to the first win is just as important as getting the monkey off their back.

“It’s been a long time since they’ve won a football game around here so I’m proud for them and the community. They’ve worked their tails off and they certainly earned it,” Bell said after the game. “Part of learning how to win is how you respond after you win. That’s the next step for us, we’ve got a chance to take that step this week.”

The pressure is off

But the immediate reaction has been relief according to Robertsdale senior defensive back Spencer DeAngelo.

“Feels great, team’s enjoying it. Feels like a pressure just fell off my shoulders,” DeAngelo said. “Now it’s time to start a win streak.”

The Golden Bears celebrated briefly on the field with the band and student section before running right into the locker room.

“Coach Bell brought us all together and was talking seriously. Then all of a sudden, he just started screaming,” DeAngelo said.

From Bell’s perspective, he was happy to let the players soak up the moment.

“Good to see the kids enjoy themselves because they’ve been beat down for a long time and they hear it around town and hear it in school so that’s tough on a kid,” Bell said. “We’re just going to continue to earn that favor and trust from folks and continue to play with a chip on our shoulder.”

Shutout ends the streak

Robertsdale ended its losing streak in emphatic fashion with a defensive shutout that included a safety. DeAngelo said it started with the team’s mentality.

“Fly to the football. Have high energy and have bad intentions when you get there,” DeAngelo said of the game plan.

“I don’t care who you’re playing against, if you pitch a shutout that is big,” Bell said. “And on the flipside, we were able to put up 31 points and we still left points on the table.”

The 31 points scored also marked the Golden Bears' highest total in three years having scored the same twice during the 2021 season.

Golden Bears look to stay riding high

Going into next Thursday’s game against Elberta, both DeAngelo and Bell agreed that Robertsdale's work is cut out for itself.

“Gives us a bunch of momentum going into Elberta, we’ve got a short week next week but I think we’re going to get the job done next week too,” DeAngelo said.

“We made some mistakes that have to get cleaned up. We can’t continue to do that down the road, certainly can’t do it next week and certainly can’t do it when we get into region play,” Bell said. “I think the challenge from this point forward is going to be continuing to play with and practice with the drive that they have been to this point.”

Celebration plans differ

As to how the City of Robertsdale was going to celebrate its first win in three years, DeAngelo and Bell had slightly different plans for the rest of their Friday nights.

“Personally, I’m going to go to Waffle House, go home and go to sleep,” DeAngelo said. “But I’m probably going to go to the beach tomorrow.”

“I don’t have any idea,” Bell said of what Robertsdale will be like Friday night. “I’m going to be watching film and getting ready for Elberta.”

Up next

The Golden Bears improved to 1-0 on the regular season and are set to be back at JD Sellars Stadium on Thursday for a non-region matchup against the Elberta Warriors who fell to Orange Beach 27-21 in the season opener. Robertsdale’s first game within Class 7A Region 1 is set for Sept. 6 at home against Foley.

Money quotes

“I can’t even explain it,” DeAngelo said. “A whole bunch of different emotions all coming at once so it’s hard to comprehend it all at one time.”

“It’s only one ballgame so what we have to do is use this as a steppingstone,” Bell said. “Again, the reality is how you respond to the game you’ve won.”