Congratulations to the winners of the ALFCA Lifetime Achievement Awards. Each of the winners was nominated by members of the association, picked by a committee of coaches and verified by the ALFCA Board of Directors.
Each winner will be honored at the ALFCA Coach of the Year Banquet to be held Saturday, January 29th, 2022 at 11:15 AM at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Montgomery.
Gerald Gann - A native of Winfield, Gerald Gann was an All State running back whose coaching career took him to Gordo, Berry, Homewood, Hoover and John Carroll. His is best known for his years at Homewood where he won 7 region championships and took the Patriots to the state title game in 1986, 1990 and 1994. Gann is a member of the Alabama High School Coaches Hall of Fame as well as the Alabama Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame. He was one of the most respective football coaches of his generation.
Russell Jacoway - Rusty Jacoway spent 32 seasons as the head coach at Sand Rock High School, winning the 1985 1A State Championship and finishing as 2A runner up in 1997. He won 228 games at Sand Rock, where he remains an important part of the community today. He was Coach of the Year twice and had the stadium at Sand Rock High School named in his honor. A native of Collinsville, Coach Jacoway had only four losing seasons in his 32 years at the helm. He is a member of the Alabama High School Coaches Hall of Fame.
Steve Rivers - A graduate of Sylacauga High School, Rivers worked as an assistant at Decatur before becoming head coach at Pelham in 1979 and 1980. He then returned to Decatur as head coach where he spent 15 seasons and continued the tradition there winning 103 games. In 1996 he went to Athens where his teams went 40-9, winning the region title each season. Coach Rivers then moved to North Carolina where he coached for five seasons while his son Phillip was playing quarterback at North Carolina State. The 32 year coaching veteran is a member of the Alabama High Coaches Hall of Fame as well as the Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame.