Dynasty
Clay-Chalkville wins 3rd title in five years
By Gary Lloyd
BIRMINGHAM – Clay-Chalkville wide receivers coach Justin Burdette knew I was in the early stages of reading Legacy, James Kerr’s book about the All Blacks rugby team, which the team had read earlier in the spring.
He told me in May that his favorite part of the book was about the concept of a “red head” versus a “blue head,” a metaphor for differing mental states under pressure. The “red head” was characterized by anxiety, aggression, tightness, and a reactive mindset. The “red head” was overwhelmed by negative thoughts. The “blue head,” however, personified calmness, clarity, and situational awareness. The “blue head” was adaptive and focused.
Burdette likened the metaphor to the Alabama High School Athletic Association wooden trophies given at the annual Super 7. He pointed to the trophies on the shelves in head coach Stuart Floyd’s office. The trophy with the state of Alabama outlined in red was for the runner-up. The trophy with the state outlined in blue, of course, was for the state champion.
On Friday night at Protective Stadium, Clay-Chalkville claimed that trophy. The Cougars won 38-21 in the Class 6A championship game, led by senior quarterback Aaron Frye’s 183 rushing yards and three touchdowns and 167 passing yards and two touchdowns. He was named the game’s MVP. There are more stats, plenty of them, but this particular story isn’t going to be heavy on typical game story inclusions.
That Legacy book, the one the team read in groups this spring, was still on Floyd’s desk Thursday before the state championship. It seemingly sat there all year, not that he was reading it each day or consulting it incessantly, but he would occasionally flip through it. The last thing Floyd – who has now won state titles at Clay-Chalkville as a player, offensive coordinator, and head coach – remembered reading came on Page 95, in a chapter titled “Expectations.”
“Aim for the highest cloud, so that if you miss it, you will hit a lofty mountain,” it read.
It wasn’t boastful. In fact, it was the opposite. Expectations were always the highest for the All Blacks, and also for Clay-Chalkville. They spoke that way. They practiced that way. They won that way. This week, the quote Floyd harped on with his team came from boxing legend Muhammad Ali.
“The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.”
I was witness to that fight since May 1, the first day I came to a Clay-Chalkville practice to set out on this journey of writing a book about this season, this program, this community. It is far from finished, but it will be completed in the near future. It will be more than game stories from 15 weeks of wins. It will be behind-the-scenes moments, personalities coming to life, a community and its identity revealed through the lens of a football program.
The postgame celebration was a rush. I recorded way too many videos on my phone, including the 15-minute press conference with Floyd, linebacker Isaiah Brown, Johnson, Frye, and Ray. I watched the trophy passed around for selfies and videos. The ride back to Clay was a quick one. It works that way when you have a police escort. Coaches and players took photos until well after midnight. Many did so in the weight room. Floyd had his photo taken on the couch in his office, a recreation of a state championship photo taken of him in 2014, on the same night, December 5.
Zac Wilson, the special teams coach, watched the 2014, 2015, 2021, and 2023 Clay-Chalkville state championship games from the sidelines, as a fan, as a dreamer of coaching on that staff one day. He got to Friday night.
“Unbelievable,” he said. “It was a dream come true.”
Defensive coordinator Jake Helveston took the trophy up to Floyd’s office, where the other four state championship trophies rest on the top of a shelf. Freddie Flowers, the Voice of the Cougars, noted that the shelf was bowing, sort of weighed down. Room must be made, or maybe a new, larger shelf space is needed.
Clay-Chalkville now has five state championships in 30 seasons, and three in the last five years. The Cougars are 51-5 since that 2021 season, including four region championships. That’s a dynasty. The interesting thing about those championships over the last five years is that they occurred every other year – 2021, 2023, and 2025. In 2022, Clay-Chalkville was upset in the first round of the playoffs by Parker, the last loss this group took at Cougar Stadium. In 2024, Muscle Shoals spoiled the Cougars’ hopes in the second round. Each of those years, something was just off. Was it a post-championship hangover? Injuries? Cockiness? Who knows. But this year’s team returns a lot in 2026, certainly on the defensive side of the ball. The Cougars will be the favorites again.
Tight ends coach Andrew Dickerson turned to walk out of Floyd’s office sometime in the midnight hour, ready to go home with his family.
“It was so much fun, let’s do it again next year,” he said.
Stay tuned for progress on my book about this Clay-Chalkville football season. You won’t want to miss it.
