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Playing up

Rising Coosa Christian scores ‘great accomplishment’ with eye-opening victory over Class 6A Pell City in early-season shocker.

By East Alabama Sports Today

PELL CITY — Mark O’Bryant’s five-year run as Coosa Christian’s head football coach has seen the Conquerors reach the Class 1A semifinals twice and finals once.

They played their way up to 2A through the AHSAA’s competitive-balance rule for private schools.

As of Friday, a school with 119 students in grades 9-11 has a victory over a Class 6A school with a 17-7 victory over Pell City.

John David Justus completed nine of 15 passes for 122 yards, and Kanon Wilson rushed for 77 yards as Coosa Christian improved to 1-1. This a week after the Conquerors fell to Pierce County, the reigning Georgia AA state champion, coached by former Oxford head coach Ryan Herring.

“It’s a great accomplishment for sure,” said O’Bryant, whose career includes a stint as an assistant coach at Oxford. “Probably one of the biggest wins in school history, but this is a long season, and we must stay focused on our team goals.”

Coosa Christian made move from eight-man Christian school ball to 11-man AHSAA football in 2005. Until this season, the Conquerors have played their AHSAA existence in Class 1A.

Their 9-5 finish in 2022 and 9-6 finish in 2023 marked their first back-to-back winning seasons since making the move to AHSAA ball. They reached the Class 1A title game in 2023, falling to Leroy 28-21.

Coosa Christian now plays in Class 2A, Region 6, aligning with Cleveland, Cold Springs, Falkville, Southeastern, Susan Moore and West End-Walnut Grove.

Pell City, in Class 6A, Region 6, came off of a tumultuous offseason that saw Rush Propst resign after one season coaching the Panthers. The Panthers opened their first season under former UAB and Jacksonville State assistant coach Nick Gentry with a 35-7 victory over Class 6A Pelham.

Pell City seeks its first winning season since back-to-back 6-5 finishes in 2016 and 2017.

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