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Can Albemarle ever regain their Greatness?

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Buddy Rich

Well-Known Member
May 24, 2005
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Damn good question. Our school and program have been through some turbulent times in the past couple of years which have put us in a total rebuilding situation. 6 HC's in the last seven years. A school board that came within a whisker of closing the school. Can we ever get back to our hayday. I don't know. But from talking to one of the asst coaches I think Coach Mason may be just what we need. However in the end it will come down to the kids on the field. Are they willing to pay the price to put Pride back in the bulldogs. From what I am hearing coach Mason is trying to head in that direction.
Our program didn't go in the toilet overnight and we will not recover overnight. This year could tell us a lot if we are heading in the right direction. Getting the kids back in the weight room is a good first step. Understand we may be short on numbers but kids that want to win and pay the price is one thing we have to have. It could be a tough first step this coming season or they may surprise us all. Whichever we as fans need to be there on fri nights to maybe take our lumps along with the team. but we MUST be there to support them.
I for one am excited about the coming season. I hope the rest of the bulldog fans are also!!!
 
I don't know if we will ever see Albemarle football the way it was when Gaster was here but there is no excuse to have a season like last year. Albemarle needs a coach that will stay more than a couple of years and give the program some stability and I hope Coach Mason is the answer. I agree with you Buddy that the fans need to come back to the games on Friday nights and support these kids. On a side note Buddy I ran into Carl "The Beast" and he is ready for the upcoming season. He said he didn't know anything about Coach Mason but was sure we made an improvement with the coaching change. Go Dogs!
 
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One of the very top coaches in 1A told me that AHS had too much talent not to compete deep into the 1A playoffs every year.

A 1A HC told me s few years ago that one dominant big time player in 1A is the difference between a team making the 1A playoff and a team winning two or three playoff games. A bigtime lineman playing both sides last year would have made a huge difference but he must be coached up over several years and be in tip top condition.

It is 1A football, you can compete for a state title without the absolute best coaching, elite players, big numbers to two platoon, huge kids, or super athletes but you must have a little of each of those.
 
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Many men came and went trying to do the very thing that Coach Gaster did but with very little success. Coach Gaster was SPECIAL! If you don't believe that just ask anyone that played for him or for that matter anyone that knew him as a man. I believe our glory days in Albemarle have come and gone never to be repeated again. I hope that I am wrong because it breaks my heart to see MY school in such disarray. I thank GOD for memories and my son having the opportunity to play for Coach Gaster. Rest in peace my friend. You will never be forgotten.
 
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Abiggdogg11 said:
Many men came and went trying to do the very thing that Coach Gaster did but with very little success. Coach Gaster was SPECIAL! If you don't believe that just ask anyone that played for him or for that matter anyone that knew him as a man. I believe our glory days in Albemarle have come and gone never to be repeated again. I hope that I am wrong because it breaks my heart to see MY school in such disarray. I thank GOD for memories and my son having the opportunity to play for Coach Gaster. Rest in peace my friend. You will never be forgotten.
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I agree with some of what you say but Albemarle did win two state championships after Gaster left. Baxter Morris and Danny Akins both won one but after that it has been pretty sad.
 
Dogs9 said:
I agree with some of what you say but Albemarle did win two state championships after Gaster left. Baxter Morris and Danny Akins both won one but after that it has been pretty sad.
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True.....but they were both disciples of Coach Gaster.
 
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Abiggdogg11 said:
Many men came and went trying to do the very thing that Coach Gaster did but with very little success. Coach Gaster was SPECIAL! If you don't believe that just ask anyone that played for him or for that matter anyone that knew him as a man. I believe our glory days in Albemarle have come and gone never to be repeated again. I hope that I am wrong because it breaks my heart to see MY school in such disarray. I thank GOD for memories and my son having the opportunity to play for Coach Gaster. Rest in peace my friend. You will never be forgotten.
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Very well put Abiggdogg. I have run out of adjectives to describe Jack Gaster. But most of all I feel so blessed to have know the man and watched what he could do with a bunch of kids. Amazing. While I was treasurer of the booster club he and I became good friends. Some of us are lucky enough to find what we love doing in life and Jack was one of those people. Coaching was what he was meant to do.
Hope people realize how lucky we were in Albemarle that he chose to come here. Just going to practice everyday, games on fri night and state championships was a thrill and left me with memories I will carry to my grave.
No! Biggadogg there will never be another Jack Gaster at Albemarle, but as long as I am able I will be at Bulldog Stadium to watch my dogs. Guess it brings back memories as much as anything. And what memories they are. Sometimes that's all we have...
 
Remember that every coach before Gaster basically played up a classification. The glory did not come until AHS dropped to 1A.

I say that AHS had one coach between Webb and Gaster that was a coach with state championship caliber coaching ability, George Wheeler, but the program was in no position to win WNCHSAA titles when he was at AHS but one wonders how they would have performed playing in 2A his two seasons at the school.

Gaster was a great politician / salesman in addition to being a great coach and I truly believe that his ability off the football field helped tremendously in the successes on the field.
 
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Buddy Rich said:
Damn good question. Our school and program have been through some turbulent times in the past couple of years which have put us in a total rebuilding situation. 6 HC's in the last seven years. A school board that came within a whisker of closing the school. Can we ever get back to our hayday. I don't know. But from talking to one of the asst coaches I think Coach Mason may be just what we need. However in the end it will come down to the kids on the field. Are they willing to pay the price to put Pride back in the bulldogs. From what I am hearing coach Mason is trying to head in that direction.
Our program didn't go in the toilet overnight and we will not recover overnight. This year could tell us a lot if we are heading in the right direction. Getting the kids back in the weight room is a good first step. Understand we may be short on numbers but kids that want to win and pay the price is one thing we have to have. It could be a tough first step this coming season or they may surprise us all. Whichever we as fans need to be there on fri nights to maybe take our lumps along with the team. but we MUST be there to support them.
I for one am excited about the coming season. I hope the rest of the bulldog fans are also!!!
Click to expand...

Keep the faith. I remember the terrible years that my murphy bulldogs went through in the early 80's. They were 0-10 in 1981. Then came coach gentry and we have never looked back.
 
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I believe that Albemarle was 0-10 in 79. Gaster did for Us what Gentry has done for Murphy. Jack made the Guys believe that They could win. We where decent in 2a but not able to make it to a Championship. Used to be that 2nd Round or 3rd was the end. Albemarle has Athletes and They need confidence along with a good Coach
 
btango said:
Remember that every coach before Gaster basically played up a classification. The glory did not come until AHS dropped to 1A.

I say that AHS had one coach between Webb and Gaster that was a coach with state championship caliber coaching ability, George Wheeler, but the program was in no position to win WNCHSAA titles when he was at AHS but one wonders how they would have performed playing in 2A his two seasons at the school.

Gaster was a great politician / salesman in addition to being a great coach and I truly believe that his ability off the football field helped tremendously in the successes on the field.
Click to expand...
You are right about George Wheeler but playing up in the old South Piedmont Conference was tough. At that time it was probably the strongest conference in the state in any classification. Look at the teams who were in that conference and there was no easy games. Albemarle beat a very good South Stanly team in 73 without their starting quarterback (Tom Knotts) and South went deep in the playoffs that season.
 
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I remember the players talking about having to play South Rowan on a Friday and South Rowan had finished the year before in the State Championship but lost. I loved going to the games but Albemarle took a lot of beatings. The Fans backed Albemarle Football as good back then or better than They do now
 
So much for my trip down memory lane. Now it's time to focus on the present and the future at Albemarle. First thing we need is a good coach who will stay several years. Hope Jim Mason is that man. It all starts with the head coach and his assistants. Wishing you all the best Jim. Go Dogs!!!
 
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I don't believe Albemarle will ever get back to those days. Remember that the population of Albemarle is shrinking and people like me are moving away from Stanly county because of better opportunity elsewhere. That's a tough reality that we as fans must face. We still have talent don't get me wrong, but we don't have as much as we used too. One of the reasons why WM is so damn good is 1: that have an outstanding coach, and 2: they have jobs there like Jordan and the prisons, where people can actually retire from...so you have generations of athletes attending the same school their parents did. They have kept their core intact...we have not. I'd love to see more Davis's, Maclendons, Morgans, Lillys, Walls etc on the field every year..

Don't expect too much from Albemarle this year. They will win enough games to make it to the post season, but that's about it.
 
Sway. Whatever became of Tory Rushing. Seems like I heard he had a son in one of the youth leagues.
 
Mason coached at West Stanly after leaving North. He got a raw deal from the admin when he was terminated as the HC.

There is not a long line of elite coaches lining up for any job in Stanly County including AHS. This is not a premier job for many reasons.
 
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My Neighbor was telling Me that Albemarle has a good size Running Back this Year. He said Our line will be small. I hope that holes are opened up so We can get some yards. When it's time to start thinking about the up coming year You want to know what is going on. It's not like that at Albemarle now.
 
Dogs9 said:
You are right about George Wheeler but playing up in the old South Piedmont Conference was tough. At that time it was probably the strongest conference in the state in any classification. Look at the teams who were in that conference and there was no easy games. Albemarle beat a very good South Stanly team in 73 without their starting quarterback (Tom Knotts) and South went deep in the playoffs that season.
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Concord, Kannapolis AL Brown, Salisbury, Lexington, Thomasville, Asheboro, Statesville, and Trinity (which would be replaced by South Rowan the year after he left). That was all city schools until SR came in. Tough conference. Loaded with quality teams every year. Salisbury was a powerhouse in the early 1970's.

Albemarle was very close to being 8-2 each of his seasons. Lost several close games and had a few ties.
 
sway1532 said:
I don't believe Albemarle will ever get back to those days. Remember that the population of Albemarle is shrinking and people like me are moving away from Stanly county because of better opportunity elsewhere. That's a tough reality that we as fans must face. We still have talent don't get me wrong, but we don't have as much as we used too. One of the reasons why WM is so damn good is 1: that have an outstanding coach, and 2: they have jobs there like Jordan and the prisons, where people can actually retire from...so you have generations of athletes attending the same school their parents did. They have kept their core intact...we have not. I'd love to see more Davis's, Maclendons, Morgans, Lillys, Walls etc on the field every year..

Don't expect too much from Albemarle this year. They will win enough games to make it to the post season, but that's about it.
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How about all of those high paying jobs coming from Hobby Lobby? One person on this board was confident that with all of those high paying jobs that the Albemarle economy would rebound....
 
btango said:
Concord, Kannapolis AL Brown, Salisbury, Lexington, Thomasville, Asheboro, Statesville, and Trinity (which would be replaced by South Rowan the year after he left). That was all city schools until SR came in. Tough conference. Loaded with quality teams every year. Salisbury was a powerhouse in the early 1970's.

Albemarle was very close to being 8-2 each of his seasons. Lost several close games and had a few ties.
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Trinity took the place of South Rowan in 73 when they joined the North Piedmont Conference.
 
During the WNCHSAA years, I always considered the SPC to be the city schools and the NPC to be more of the country schools. I always thought that South Rowan was much more of an SPC school than Trinity.

As far as Albemarle goes, I don't see the school reaching the level of the Gaster era until discipline throughout the school and the school system is restored. I think the county commissioners should work with and not against the school board. Prior school boards have largely ignored systemic problems within the school system. When the current school board not only identified the problem but also offered several solutions, the county commissioners worked behind the scene to dismantle their efforts. I applaud Peter Ascuitto for at least having the intestinal fortitude to consider the school board's plan. The rest of the county commissioners resemble Melvin Poole's mindset.
 
Correct on South Rowan being replaced by Trinity. South returned to the SPC after the WNCHSAA folded.
 
To all Bulldog Fans.. The team will work out today from 6-8 on the practice field. Come one come all. Get a glimpse of the 2016 Dogs......
 
Get the right coach and Albemarle will be back to playing big time playoff games....They said Alabama would never get back to the level of Bear Bryant. Then Saban came along and has a higher win pct than even the Bear had... And South Stanly was a big time team back in the mid 70's. That was a CLASSIC between 12-0 Murphy and 12-0 South Stanly in the 1974 2-A Western Finals....
 
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Getting the right coach is everything Kline1. Coach Mason seems to be working hard with the kids. We have a long way to go but anything is possible. We may have to take baby steps to start with. I believe this season we will have a lot of growing pains. With what we have been through at Albemarle the teams we play this coming season are not going to take pity on us. They all want some payback and they may get it. I just hope this bunch of kids can take their lumps and bounch back. There are still athletes here we just have to get them back on the field. Coach Mason's toughest job may be to keep the kids from getting down. Went to practice today and we do have some athletes just not as many as we are used to. This could be a make or break year at Albemarle. I say if we win 5 games I will be tickled pink. Never thought I would say that. lol. Any team or person can get knocked down. Getting back up is the test of a true champion!!!!!
 
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Albemarle will take some lumps this year. I say we win 4 close games.. The days of Albemarle having "2" starting teams on Varsity is long gone. We can still win with low numbers, the coach has to push them in order to do so.

@Buddy Rich I've heard that we have skill position kids like always. I'm thinking about the OL for the past two years. They were big, but they couldn't move. Let's see what the smaller guys can go. Remember, the OL for TA, Davis, Potts etc wasn't that big either. They were skilled and talented and lifted "Weights" lol. This team has to be better than last years team.
 
TA had two big O linemen in front of him, the Alley brothers. 2001 was a pretty big line by 1A standards at the time.
 
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I am not sure if I am correct but I heard today that Jacoby Emory has not attended summer workouts and will not be playing for us this year. I also heard that he has applied for a transfer to North Stanly. This is from a very reliable source. This would be BAD.
 
I have heard the same thing Susan. Seems like someone told he was moving to Badin which would put him in the NS district. Also remember last year he was suspended for 2 games, I think for fighting at school. I want to wish him well wherever he plays.
 
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You go with who ya got.

In 2008 Tom Knotts finds out first day of practice a future NFLer is not coming back for his senior year but moving to Rock Hill. A then kicks a future SEC starter (not an NFLer due to personal issues) off the team for conduct detrimental. The moral of the story, you stick together and no one is bigger than the team. That is the attitude Albemarle needs to get back. We don't care we're gonna kick your ass.
 
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btango said:
You go with who ya got.

In 2008 Tom Knotts finds out first day of practice a future NFLer is not coming back for his senior year but moving to Rock Hill. A then kicks a future SEC starter (not an NFLer due to personal issues) off the team for conduct detrimental. The moral of the story, you stick together and no one is bigger than the team. That is the attitude Albemarle needs to get back. We don't care we're gonna kick your ass.
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But Tom Knotts had a whole lot more depth than Albemarle does. A good player can make a big difference in a 1A team.
 
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I spoke to Emery months ago and posted it, guess it got overlooked. There is no surprise for me here, I wish Emery the best. I never thought I'd see the day where someone wanted to transfer from Albemarle to play somewhere else, but hey; if it can happen at Carolina and Duke, it can happen at Albemarle. Best of wishes.

@btango, that's all Albemarle had on OL that was nice sized, the rest were 5'8-5'11...I know; I went to school with them.

Anyway, Albemarle has a stud freshman RB with a nice build I saw play last year at the 8th grade level. He ran all over SS. He should start, but I'm not the coach. We'll just have to see people.
 
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No doubt Dogs9! My point is AHS has to have the mindset that it is us against everyone.

The AHS team last year was limited in numbers but was hurt as much by the coaching carousel, lack of preparation, conditioning, and the coaching as they were by the depth. I would rather have fewer players but be well coached and conditioned and go with the best players I could put on the field. Talent wise AHS should beat the majority of 1A teams.
 
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