When the Tyner Rams held on for a 26-24 win against Decatur-Riverside in the Class 2A BlueCross Bowl last December at Finley Stadium, they delivered the second TSSAA football state title in school history and first since 1997.
Eight months later, Tyner entered this season facing obstacles not typical for a reigning champion.
Not only did the Rams graduate 16 starters from their 14-win team, they had a change at head coach, moved up in classification to 3A, and also knew they would have to deal with having no true home field for practices or games this fall with construction underway on a new high school and athletic facilities.
“Right away we had some challenges presented to us on the first day of spring practice,” said first-year head coach Christian Mainor, who spent the last two years as Tyner’s offensive coordinator. “We come out to the practice field at Tyner Middle, and there is soccer on one half of the field and the track team is using parts of the field as well.
“But like our guys always do here, we adapt and overcome. We haven’t used the fact we have no home field as a crutch. At the end of the day, we have had to do the best we can to win football games. I want our guys to have a challenge — one they can rally and unite behind.”