Tigers in ‘very tough’ new region
While the Deshler Tigers will have a lot of fresh faces both in the program and on the schedule this season, the goal remains the same.
Live up to the identity the fourth-winningest football program in the state has built for more than 100 years.
Every time we take the field and every time we’re in that huddle, it’s not just us,” said head coach Patrick Malone. “We are taking the entire town of Tuscumbia with Deshler everywhere we go. We’re representing who we are and the people supporting us.”
Malone is leading the Tigers into his fifth season at the helm, and this year’s schedule is going to look a little different thanks to the 2026-2028 AHSAA reclassification.
Hatton, Danville, Wilson, Central, West Limestone and East Lawrence are off the schedule.
The region opponents taking their place are Lawrence County, Hamilton, Priceville, Ardmore and West Point.
Lawrence County, Priceville, Ardmore and West Point are all dropping down from the Class 5A ranks, while Hamilton is moving from a second-round playoff opponent to a region game for the Tigers.
Hamilton was unbeaten until Deshler managed to defeat the Aggies in overtime last year.
“The Hamilton game was a tremendous game, and one of the loudest environments I have been a part of,” Malone said. “We had to go to a silent count on offense. Credit to our guys for being able to execute in that situation. I talked with Hamilton’s coach in the offseason about what fun it was to be a part of that game. I think we will rely on the experience of games like that going into this gauntlet of 4A, Region 7. We have a tall task in front of us.”
West Morgan is in the midst of its best run in program history and has gone 36-3 over the past three years, with each of those losses suffered in the postseason.
Priceville went 8-4 last year, and Brooks has become another rival for the Tigers each season.
“The whole region is upended, and it is a very tough region,” Malone said. “There are no ‘gimmes’ in this region. Even if you make the playoffs, there are no easy first-round games. (Class 4A) is loaded from top to bottom.”
Then add in Mars Hill, who is coming off back-to-back state championships in 3A and hasn’t lost a game since Nov. 1, 2024.
All of that together gives you one heck of a schedule to contend with.
Not to mention the former head coach of Mars Hill Darrell Higgins, who took the Panthers from 0-10 in 2016 to two state titles in 10 years, is now the head coach at Russellville, another major rival of Deshler and the first game on the 2026 schedule.
“We are excited about it. Any time Deshler can take its brand onto the field is an opportunity we relish,” Malone said.
Brycen Williams will be taking over at quarterback for the Tigers, the first change at the position in four years.
Malone said he looks for other seniors like Armani Jones, Jeremiah Fletcher and George Youngblood to make an impact this year.
One thing Malone, himself a Deshler graduate and former player, has always stressed to his teams has been living up to the name on the jersey.
He said he loves to watch from the sideline during home games as his players come down the hill and take the field at Howard Chappell Stadium.
“Our Little Tigers in the first and second grade, we call them the Tiger Cubs, run out with the players. I like to see our parents standing up, the band and cheerleaders,” Malone said. “For that one moment, on 6:58 (p.m.) on Friday night, it’s all about Deshler football, and I love it. I’m so honored to be a part of it.”
“It’s the best place to be in Alabama on a Friday night,” Youngblood said. “You grow up watching the older players and pretending you’re them. It’s really special.”
