Too much happened in my quick, 24-hour trip to Tuscaloosa to include in the regular coverage so here are some extra highlights that didn’t make it out of my notebook from covering the AHSAA Class 5A State Championship.

Right off the bat, we’re excited to be putting out a special edition of The Islander this week and will have some more special promotions coming up to round out the coverage of Gulf Shores’ first state title in program history. Stay tuned to @GCMSportsAL on social media and gulfcoastmedia.com/sports as always.

Star-studded guest list

The craziest Gulf Shores connection in Tuscaloosa had to be hanging out with Scott Stapp, lead singer of the early-2000s band Creed, before the game. He told me his ties were to Fred Franks, pastor at The Island Church and Character Coach for the Dolphin football team, and I told him a little about what to expect during the game.

The story goes that Stapp was given his first chance to lead his own sermon when he was around 13 years old by his pastor and their relationship led to an influence in his musical writing down the road. Stapp said he nearly went into ministry instead of music but stayed in touch with Franks over the years which led to last Thursday’s opportunity to watch a high school football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

With other familial connections to the Tuscaloosa area and the University of Alabama, Stapp decided it was worth the nearly four-hour drive from Nashville, Tennessee to also see his old pastor. I wasn’t able to confirm afterward but I would guess that he enjoyed taking in a victory.

It was also really cool to see Gulf Shores alum and Alabama freshman JR Gardner spending time with his former team on his new stomping grounds. I always love to bring up how he learned of his preferred walk-on offer to play for the Crimson Tide while practicing “Sweet Home Alabama” on the guitar which I learned during our signing day interview.

Not only was Gardner able to have a meal with his former team the night before the game, I ran into him after the pregame Dolphin Walk and he was also on the sideline spending time with his father Kenneth who serves as the outside linebacker coach.

His old team winning their first title in his new home stadium with family around them, doesn’t get much better than that.

Third SEC stadium checked off the list

After covering games at Texas A&M’s Kyle Field and Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium served as the third SEC stadium I had been to and as a Massachusetts native I will say again: wow.

I didn’t grow up with this emphasis on college football so I certainly try to take a few extra moments to soak in time spent on the legendary fields that I had only seen on television for the longest time. I’m especially thankful to get the behind-the-scenes access to spaces that I wouldn’t get to see as a traditional fan.

And obviously just to be on the field is a privilege and I am appreciative of the AHSAA’s approval to cover the game from there to share the history with our readers directly.

Quick start

With three touchdowns for Gulf Shores in the first quarter, there wasn’t much time to take in the sights after the social media updates started piling up quickly. I should have expected as such since the Dolphin offense had the 1-2 punch of Ronnie Royal and Kolin Wilson, the MVP and program’s new leading rusher respectively.

They helped set a new team scoring record with 576 points on the season but I think their defensive counterparts might have made a bigger statement.

Dolphin defense

An average of 9.2 points against per game. Nobody scored more than 21 points against Gulf Shores.

I still hear my dad’s voice as the one saying “Defense wins championships,” from all those years watching the New England Patriots but that rang true on the high school level as well where the Dolphins’ suffocating defense routinely shut teams down and kept them out of the game.

The championship was no different where Ramsay had several good looks at the end zone and either walked away with an interception or no points early on. While they did crack the scoreboard, the Rams couldn’t outmatch Gulf Shores’ unit and that quick start and early lead was a bit of a difference maker.

Ronnie Royal

But the true X-factor may just have been the one who walked away with the MVP plaque in NC State commit Ronnie Royal.

He quickly ran to the top of my list of the best athletes I’ve covered in person and the 245-yard and 2-touchdown effort, plus an insane one-handed interception, on the biggest stage makes a darn good argument to be No. 1.

In no particular order, I’m reminded of other dudes who can almost single-handedly takeover a game the likes of running backs AJ Dillon from New London, Connecticut currently on the Green Bay Packers and Richard Reese from Bellville, Texas currently with the Baylor Bears as well as athletes Chris Pearson from Orange Beach currently in the NCAA Transfer Portal and Perry Thompson from Foley who is committed to Auburn.

Going back to the beginning of the year, I talked with both Royal and Thompson about the wild recruiting ride they went on as prized prospects in the state and it’s crazy to think of the spotlight that’s been on them for years already but I’m thankful to have developed a relationship with both guys.

Friendly face on the way out

As a bonus, another guy I got to know from a long playoff run on the baseball diamond was Pierce Dutton from Spanish Fort who signed to play with the Shelton State Bucs.

When I went to check out of my hotel Friday morning, I stayed in the lobby to get an extra story written before I hit the road but there was a junior college baseball team mulling around waiting to be interviewed on Facebook Live.

I was still a little in travel mode from packing my car and checking out so I went right to writing while the interview started. Not long after, my mind finally caught up and I remembered Dutton had committed to Shelton State and if that’s the team here then he should be here too. I tried not to move around too much during the interview and kept working until the team went to move outside to finish the interview and that’s when I had a familiar face come up to me.

He went to say hello and my face immediately lit up to greet him just as quickly and we had quick second to catch up before we finished our responsibilities. I did not previously know where Shelton State was located but it made sense for them to be in that area so it was cool to see a friendly face in a new place and I obviously had to mark the occasion with a selfie.

A couple 251 connections as we leave T-Town. In the hotel lobby was the @SheltonStateBB Bucs, including @SpanishFortBsbl alum @DuttonPierce, who were featured on a Facebook Live interview. Last time we talked, Dutton’s catch had sealed an opening day win: https://t.co/V2PJbsLs4i pic.twitter.com/kTGlq308d3

— Gulf Coast Media Sports (@GCMSportsAL) December 8, 2023

That helped kick off the road trip back south with good vibes and before I knew it I was back in my own bed and catching up on the sleep I had missed out on already.

But it was all worth it to cover a state championship win and I hope we get to go back with another team next year too. We also know football isn’t the only sport going on in Alabama so we hope you stick around for championship coverage from the winter and spring sports seasons as well.