TOWN CREEK, Ala. (AP) - Whenever DJ Jones would visit the small town by the creek in north Lawrence County to see family, he used to always swing by the football field where he once played.
His last game at Hazlewood’s Golden Bear Stadium was a 21-20 playoff loss to Talladega County Central to end the 12-1 2007 season. The school was closed after one more season and eventually the home bleachers were moved to R.A. Hubbard.
“It just wouldn’t look right without the home bleachers so I stopped going by,” Jones said. “I just can’t look at it anymore.”
It’s been a decade since the last Hazlewood football team rumbled across the grass at Golden Bear Stadium. The only rumbling today, outside of some youth soccer and youth football, is from the trains that speed past just behind the scoreboard that sits beyond the north end zone.
The school’s colors of purple and gold are still splashed throughout the stadium, but the paint has seen better days. The shattered glass in the press box looks like someone has used the windows for target practice. It’s a different look from how it was Nov. 14, 2008, when Speake beat Hazlewood, 7-6, in the Class 1A playoffs.
It’s a sad scene for a place where one of the most successful high school football programs in the state called home. The Golden Bears won 11 state championships from 1970-2000 under five different head coaches. They won five in a row from 1988-1992.
“It was unbelievable. I really can’t describe it. You had to be part of it to totally understand it,” Rickey Johnson said. He was head coach for four state champions.
The school was blessed with talent and that led to a mindset of high expectations. After taking the Class 1A state championship in 1981, the school requested to be moved up to Class 2A in order to face better competition. The Golden Bears got their wish and then went 13-0 to win the Class 2A state championship in 1982.
The field where so many great players performed is still considered sacred ground by many. When Guin Holland, who coached the 1970 state championship team, died in 2015 his family had his ashes spread at midfield.
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Wealth of greatness
Great players were never in short supply at Hazlewood. The school had 106 All-State players. There was a pipeline of talent to the SEC led by the Goode brothers to Alabama.
Kerry Goode made Town Creek famous when a national television audience in 1984 watched him score three touchdowns and roll up 297 all-purpose yards in a little over one half vs. a Boston College team that featured Doug Flutie, that season’s Heisman Trophy winner.
“Everybody in Lawrence County swelled up with pride that night,” Johnson said. “He was one of us showing the country how we played football.”
Kerry’s younger brother Pierre was Alabama’s Mr. Football in 1985. The list of players from Hazlewood named the Class 2A Player of the Year between 1982-1995 included Kerry and Pierre along with Tony Harris, Montoya Madden, Chris Hood and Courtney Rose.
Harris played at Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Madden and Hood played at Alabama. Rose played at Auburn.
It was Hazlewood’s Antonio Langham, who turned the tide in the first SEC Championship Game when he returned an interception late in the game against Florida for an Alabama touchdown. That win gave the Crimson Tide the opportunity to beat Miami in the Sugar Bowl to become the 1992 national champions.
Langham is one of seven Golden Bears, including Kerry and Chris Goode, who made it to the NFL.
“The difference between the kids at Hazlewood was hard work and dedication,” said Aaron Goode, who was the school’s last head football coach. “Having speed didn’t hurt. It made everybody better no matter what position they played. You got faster just trying to keep up.”
Aaron Goode played on the 1970 state championship team. He is an uncle to the Goode brothers. He coached state championship teams at his alma mater in track and basketball.
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Death sentence
After several years of dealing with financial troubles, the Lawrence County School Board decided to cut the number of high schools from seven to four. Hazlewood, along with Speake and Mount Hope, got the news before the 2008 school year.
Hazlewood merged with R.A. Hubbard in North Courtland. It was also decided that the Chiefs mascot and orange and black colors from Courtland would carry over to the new R.A. Hubbard High School.
“It was like mixing oil and water,” Town Creek resident Doug Russell said. “It just wasn’t going to work. They thought they were taking two small schools and creating a powerhouse. Instead they really destroyed both schools.”
Rather than make the move, several Hazlewood students left for other schools. Muscle Shoals head coach Scott Basden has admitted that the timing of the closing of Hazlewood had a positive impact on the rise of his football program starting in 2009.
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Devastated community
Town Creek is a community with around 1,000 residents, according to Mayor Mike Parker. The school was named Hazlewood to honor the family that donated land for the school.
“A school is the center of the community, and that’s the way it was here,” Parker said. “When they closed the high school, it was devastating. It’s really set us back. I can’t remember the last house built in Town Creek.
“None of it made sense to me. I don’t think they ended up saving the money they thought they could. I think it was just a case of ’If you can’t beat’em, close them down.’ “
After the high school closed, the town bought the building from the county. The sign in the front yard still wishes the Golden Bears good luck.
According to Parker, the town learned after the purchase that before any renovations could be done it would cost $50,000 to remove the asbestos.
“We don’t have that kind of money,” Parker said. “We can’t even afford to tear it down.”
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Stepping back in time
Next to the old school is the gym. Step inside and it’s a trip back in time to when “The Hazlewood Tradition” was going strong.
At one time the gym was the largest in the county. R.A. Hubbard played some basketball games in the gym last season. The school plans to host the county tournament there in January.
When the Golden Bears played there it was known for great basketball, but also great pep rallies with kids from the nearby elementary school coming to participate.
“It was the best pep rallies ever,” Johnson said. “The gym would be packed. We had an assistant coach from Alabama visiting one Friday before a game. He came to the pep rally and couldn’t believe what he saw.
“Everything at Hazlewood was the best. We had the best fight song. We had the best victory lines. We even had the best ugly walks at Hazlewood. We had the mojo going.”
Giant pictures of football and basketball state championship teams cover the gym’s walls.
“The old-timers claim the championship teams argue at night over which team was the best,” Johnson said.
The trophy cases are pretty much cleaned out. The Golden Bears won 44 state championships in football, basketball and track and field. The last state champion was the girls basketball team in 2009 coached by Nicholas Vinson. The state championship trophies have been moved to the town’s community center/library. It’s an impressive collection of championship hardware.
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Stuff of legends
There are many amazing stories surrounding the football program. One involves a playoff game at Gordo in 1982 and the school’s fight song, “Our Boys Will Shine Tonight.”
The band got lost on the way to Gordo and the football team played like it was lost in the first half. The Golden Bears trailed and both Kerry Goode and quarterback Joseph Langham were injured.
Just as the team stepped outside the locker room to return to the field for the second half, the band arrived and played the fight song. The boys did shine in the second half and won 16-12 on their way to another state championship.
“Another story the old-timers tell is about Hazlewood trailing late in a game at home with about 90 yards to go for the winning touchdown,” Johnson said. “They say the team looked down to the far end of the field and beyond the fence and the railroad track was a golden bear motioning for them to come that way.
“I know it’s not true, but the way they told it made you want to think it really happened.”
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Last man standing
Jones, 28, holds the distinction of being the last Hazlewood Golden Bear still playing football. After graduating from Hazlewood in 2008, he starred at Arkansas State before being drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 2013. Since then he’s been with the Patriots, Saints, Browns, Texans and 49ers.
He was released by the 49ers last July because of a knee injury that required surgery. According to Jones, he still receives half his salary from the 49ers while rehabbing his knee. He hopes to sign with a team in the off-season.
“It was an honor to play football at Hazlewood,” Jones said. “One of the best parts was getting to play with so many relatives. My family’s blood line runs strong through Hazlewood.”
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Champions forever
Rep. Ken Johnson, R-Moulton, has worked through the Alabama House a way to honor Hazlewood’s athletic success. A resolution naming part of Alabama 20 that runs through Town Creek “Championship Highway Home of the Hazlewood Golden Bears” has been passed. Signs will soon appear on the highway.
“I’m glad they are doing something like that,” Johnson said. “I would hate for what happened at this school to be forgotten. That would be a shame.
“I never understood why it had to be that way. This county is always looking for any positives it can find. The success of Hazlewood was something positive that people around the state and even the Southeast knew about. Now it’s gone forever.”
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Information from: The Decatur Daily, http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/index.shtml
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