W.S. Neal Middle School football team honored

Published 5:57 pm Tuesday, November 23, 2021

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The W.S. Neal Middle School football team accomplished a feat that hasn’t been seen since 2013 — an undefeated season.

W.S. Neal Middle School Assistant Coach Chuck Phillips accompanied team members to Thursday’s meeting of the Escambia County School Board where the team and their accomplishments were recognized.

ECBOE Superintendent Michele McClung presented certificates of achievement to each team member in recognition of their successful season.

“This team is at the top of the list of any team I’ve been lucky enough to coach,” Phillips said. “They are very coachable and are a great group of kids.”

The team, made up of 44 players, was undefeated through their seven-game season. The team defeated Ernest Ward Middle School, Escambia County Middle School and Jay Middle School twice and T.R. Miller/Brewton Middle School once.

“We typically play each team twice to make up our season,” Phillips said. “We were not able to play T.R. Miller twice this year. That was due to a flooding that happened in the community on the night we were supposed to meet for the second time. We just weren’t able to work out a suitable make-up date for both schools.”

The W.S. Neal Middle School Eagles are comprised of seventh and eighth grade students, Phillips said.

Head Coach Dewan Salter lead the team with help from Phillips along with other assistant coaches including Bryan McCall, Robert Jones, Doug Sims, P.J. Lovelace, William Kyles, Austin McCall, Dustin Jerkins and Peyton Salter.

Team members for the 2021 season included: Daivon Pollett, Tyrese James, Easton Grace, Tyler Fraser, Elijah Stone, Sedrick Samuel, Zechariah McCants, Colton Cain, Aden Mendibles, Tylan Roberston, Colby Hall, Jarrod Crook, Matthew Godbolt, Tyler Kirk, Parker Booker, Cameron Stokes, Omar Thomas, Shannon Smith, Weston Hoomes, Tylen Benson, Daylan Higdon, Calvin Gaines, Christopher Brazile III, Jaden Ewing, Tysen Williamson, Terry Tompkins, Kevin Howard, Brendan McCall, Amarri Rudolph, Donovan Hall, Karter Simmons, Jamie Whitt, Keyon Howard, Clayton Harris, Aidan McCall, Matt Dean, Curtis Jones, Payton Robbins, Jason Clay, Clinton Tolbert, Stone Wilson, Dakota Dubose, Jacolby Williams and Kaleb Emmons.