Coosa Christian School suspends head coach for 2025 campaign
BEARVILLE — Reputation is everything in sports.
Pierce County head coach Ryan Herring has built a playoff power in his six previous seasons with the Bears going 72-9 with four region titles and two state championship trophies.
PCHS has advanced to the second round all six years under Herring. The Bears have reached the quarterfinals each of the last five seasons. They’ve played in the semifinals three times and the finals twice.
This season, though, is different. Pierce County lost 18 starters to graduation. There are no All-Region performers back nor any All-State players.
That doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare, there just not a lot of experience.
Both the Atlanta Journal- Constitution and the Maxwell rankings have Herring’s program ranked second in their respective pre-season Top 10 polls.
Despite a lot of question marks on both sides of the ball, the Bears have looked pretty good in two pre-season scrimmages beating Class 3A Groves 56-2 and Class 5A Glynn Academy 28-7.
“I was proud of our effort,” referenced Herring of Friday’s victory over the Red Terrors. “We played hard ... it wasn’t pretty. The defensive guys ran hard to the ball and got hats there.
“I thought we did a good job against the double-slot formation (old Georgia Southern offense — ‘Hambone’) and fitting things up. It’s not something you see very much. It forces you to rely on technique and have good discipline in the option game.
“Offensively, we got after it. The things we (coaches) preach on effort and attitude was evident Friday night. I was extremely proud of that.”
PCHS has an open date this week before kicking off the 2025 season August 22 against visiting Coosa Christian School, a private Baptist school in Gadsden, Ala.
“We’re (coaches) just going to concentrate of us this week,” said Herring. “We’ll practice Monday thru Thursday and do conditioning Friday. We’re going to be working on our offensive and defensive base packages The Conquerors, who went 9-1 in 2024 following a season opening setback against the Bears, were required to forfeit all nine victories for playing an ineligible player(s) and banned from post-season play.
According to a post the Gadsden Times Saturday night, August 9, Coosa Christian has suspended head football coach Mark O’Bryant for the 2025 season, Principal Julie Delp announced.
As a result, the Alabama High School Athletic Association has lifted the team’s restrictive probation, allowing the Conquerors to play in the postseason if they qualify this year.
“Based on a review of evidence provided by the school’s administration on August 8, the administration of Coosa Christian School has now met all requirements for reinstatement as outlined by the AHSAA and has demonstrated a commitment to an ongoing process to ensure that compliance and success of the Coosa Christian football program and all other athletic programs will be fully aligned with the rules, guidelines, goals, and direction of the AHSAA,” AHSAA Executive Director Heath Harmon released.
Coosa Christian has not made an announcement of an interim coach for the 2025 season.
