Fyffe Chasing Fourth State Title
By Nick Hall
Fyffe Head Football Coach, Paul Benefield, could retire; he’s got enough years in, but why would he. The very thought brings to mind a scene from the movie Tombstone. When Wyatt Earp told Curly Bill Brocius that he was retired, Johnny Ringo asked Doc Holliday if he was retired too. Doc glared at Johnny for a moment and replied, “Not me. I’m in my prime.”
Benefield is modest and wouldn’t compare himself to a legendary wild-west gunfighter, but the fact remains that he is just hitting his stride in what, by any measure, has already been a highly successful coaching career.
To say that Benefield has built Fyffe into a powerhouse football program would be an understatement. Consider the following: in 28 years as a Head Coach, the two-time ASWA 2A Coach of the Year has never had a losing season. He broke even only once and that was almost 20 years ago. His overall coaching record is 296-53, that’s a winning percentage of 84.8. If you only consider Benefield’s 23 years at Fyffe, where he has accumulated 251 wins, as of last Friday, it drops only a fraction to 83.3. Benefield’s Fyffe teams have outscored opponents 10,703-3,234, and the difference between points scored and allowed is pretty consistent when you take his entire career into consideration.
But with all this success, one accomplishment had eluded him until recently, and that was a state title. Now he has three and will play Reeltown in Jordan-Hare Stadium at Auburn on Friday, December 6, for potentially his fourth.
At a time in Coach Benefield’s career where he probably anticipated meeting with a counselor from the Retirement Systems of Alabama, he’s too busy running a dynasty. Benefield doesn’t mind and he certainly doesn’t take it for granted. “We are just as excited and thrilled about number six as we were the first one in 2007,” said Benefield. “It’s a great time in Fyffe football history and I’m so blessed to be a part of it.”
A great time indeed. The “number six” Benefield is referring to is the Fyffe Red Devils’ sixth appearance in the AHSAA Class 2A championship game. This Friday will mark Fyffe’s fifth appearance in just the last six years. Should the Red Devils win, it will mark their first ever back-to-back state championships. Fyffe’s three previous championships came at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium. The game normally alternates between it and Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium where Fyffe’s two losses occurred. As fate would have it, the game will be played in Auburn again this year due to renovations to Bryant-Denny.
When asked if this was a good omen, Benefield laughed it off and said, “It’s true that Auburn has been a lucky charm for us, and they are a great host. Our team is just excited to play for another state championship because we don’t take these things for granted.”
If the old saying that “defense wins championships” is true, then Benefield’s current squad may be in for a fourth ring. This year’s Red Devil defense stands out in a program where great success is the norm. The Fyffe defense has pitched nine shutouts in the last 14 games and only allowed 36 points. That’s an average of 2.57 points per game or less than a field goal.
“We always focus on defense, but we have been surprised by the results of this season,” said Benefield. “Our kids have really studied a lot of film and focused on the details and techniques that we play.”
The Red Devils will need one more solid performance this week as they face Reeltown in hopes of capturing their fourth state title.
“Reeltown is a very talented football team with tremendous speed at the skill positions,” said Benefield. “We just need to take care of the football and try to make a few plays. Tackling will be the key to the game I think.”
That’s classic Paul Benefield. No intricate analysis of X’s and O’s or fancy “coach speak”, just fundamentals and discipline. It sounds simple, but if it was simple, everyone would be doing it.