Heard It On The Radio: A Sportscaster’s Journey to the State Championship Game

Chase Robinson

97.9 FM WVOK Oxford High School Football Radio Commentator

Every player dreams of playing on a team that wins a state championship. Every coach dreams of coaching a team that fights their way to end of the season to win a state championship. What most people do not realize is that every radio broadcaster’s dream is to have the opportunity to call their team’s state championship game. That dream came true for me this season. Every Friday night, I had the privilege of helping paint a picture to those listening to what was happening on the field along with my partner, Ty Parnell. This was a season I don’t think anyone in Oxford will forget.

We knew coming into the season this was a very talented team, and that we had a very successful coach taking over the program, Keith Etheredge. This was the most talented team I have ever seen in this area in my six seasons of covering high school football in east Alabama. We could tell this team was starting to click after the first few games, and night I will never forget is the week five match-up on the road at Pinson Valley. Ty and I were there to broadcast the game, and we ended up calling the game from the top row of the Pinson Valley section of bleachers, with fans all around us and the band playing to our right. When Oxford was down 19-0 in the first half, it was tough to be on the home side of the stadium. The second half was a different story; I have never seen a team come together to make the plays that Oxford did to win that game. That was indeed a special night, but we knew we would probably see them again, and that was precisely the case 10 weeks later when Pinson Valley came to Oxford to decide who was going to play in the state championship game. Once again, the Yellow Jackets put together the big plays to win that game.

This was a season I don’t think anyone in Oxford will forget.

Then came the day of the championship. You can call it whatever you want to call it: “ring chasing,” “dream chasing,” “title run,” but it was a reality at that moment. The Jacket Walk outside the stadium was packed with fans cheering on the team as they walked into Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, and it was one of the best games I have ever watched. Spanish Fort did everything they could to stop Oxford, and they were successful, but once again, it came down to Oxford making big plays. With Zay Britt replacing an injured Trey Higgins at quarterback, he led the charge with under two minutes to go in the game and the Jackets down 13-7. As Britt handed the ball off to Trequon Fegans and he ran into the end zone for the game-tying score, and Andrew Warhurst kicked the extra point to make it 14-13 with under a minute left, I could not help but to get a little emotional at what I witnessed. This was a dream come true for many people. Hopefully, those who were listening to our radio broadcast could hear that emotion coming from their radio. I cannot say enough about this team and the coaching staff, and I am thankful that I had the opportunity this season to watch dreams come true, and for a dream of mine to come true. This was the best ending of any story I could have written. Go Big O!