#HSFT17: Stop No. 22 — Aliceville Yellowjackets

ALICEVILLE, AL. (WCBI) — Aliceville looks to get back to the Class 2a state championship game.

The 2016 team departed 21 seniors along with their head coach Rico Jackson.

Last season the Jackets came up short in the Class 2a state title game, but now this team is hungry and ready to get back to work for another shot at winning the title.

“Just get back out here and grind again. It feels good playing in the championship. It felt great for being our first time making it back in 16 or 17 years. This time we got to go back and finish the job, said senior lineman Tykeem Doss.

“We got to keep working hard and we got to stay focused till we get back to that game. We got to keep working hard. We got to take it one game at a time,” adds another teammate Kyandre Lucious.

Aliceville has a new head man leading the team this season. Coach Melvin Pete takes over for the Yellow Jackets.

A Jackson native who spent time at Provine High School as an assistant coach for one season.

Before returning home last season, coach Pete spent time in Tuscaloosa at Stillman College as the offensive coordinator.

He has Alabama ties so that’s what led him to this position.

“I have a lot of years here in the state of Alabama. I have a whole lot more in Alabama than I do in Mississippi, so of course you try to get back where you can. One day I’ll be sitting on my back porch in a rocking chair hopefully,” said head coach Melvin Pete.

The players are also doing different workouts with coach Pete running the team now.

The team says that coach Pete is pushing them to even work harder this season.

“Everything you want you got to work for it. Basically you can’t have no days off. You got to be here every day. Just work,” Doss said.

“He tells us basically every body work hard. If you work hard and stay focused and do what your coaches do, we are going to win,” Lucious adds.

Aliceville has 15 seniors on this year’s team. That leadership looks to lead this team back to another state championship appearance and win it this time for the first time since 2000.

“Football is the most popular sport in Aliceville. We got a lot of athletes coming through and we just got to get it,” Doss said.

“That is the ultimate goal. We want to get back there, but I think I take a little different approach to it. The ultimate situation you try to win your district and try to get up in placing so you can get into the playoffs,”  Coach Pete adds.

Aliceville’s season opener will be at home on September 1st when they face Gordo.