Lee coach Larry Ware will welcome back former Lee greats Jimmy Perry and Spence McCracken on Thursday at Cramton Bowl. (Staff Photo)

Staff Report
(August 19, 2010)

Jim Perry last coached a high school football team in Montgomery 11 years ago. That’s when he left Robert E. Lee for a position on the staff of then-Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville.

Spence McCracken has been back since he last left Lee in 1994 but as the head coach of Opelika High School.

Both will be in Cramton Bowl on Thursday. One will be coaching his new team, while the other will get a chance to coach his old one.

Lee will play host to St. Paul’s at the Bowl in a Jamboree slated to begin at 6 p.m.

Perry is in his second year as head coach of the Saints.

“It will be great to come back and see everyone,” Perry said. “I’ve got a lot of good memories there at Cramton Bowl.”

McCracken will be an honorary coach for the Generals, according to Lee coach Larry Ware,

“I asked him to coach for a quarter,” Ware said. “He told me he would think about it.”

Perry played at Lee from 1972-75 and was an assistant there before taking over the head coach’s job in 1995. He led the Generals to the Class 6A finals in his final year at Lee before heading to Auburn.

“We had a nice little run there,” Perry said. “A lot of great players… special group.”

McCracken was Lee’s head coach from 1984-94 and led the Generals to three state championships and a 28-8 record in the playoffs.

“Coach McCracken was a special guy who loved his players,” said Ware, who played for him from 1984-86. “You can see the influence of his coaching in so many of his pupils.”

St. Paul’s (5A) finished 6-4 last year while Lee “improved” to 4-7. Both are looking to take a step forward heading into the season opener.

“We’re little,” Perry said. “We wanted to see how we stack up against a big power like Robert E. Lee.”

Ware said he is ready to see what the preseason workouts have produced.

“I think this can be a pretty good measuring stick of what we’ve been able to accomplish this summer,” he said. “Workouts have been hard but we’ve had good participation.”

The game begins River Region Sports 2010 Webcast coverage at Cramton Bowl as part of the new Network Alabama website, which will feature live high school football games during the regular season. The game can be found at www.networkalabama.com.  Beginning next Thursday, all games at Cramton Bowl can be seen on the new website.

The Lee-St. Paul’s matchup leads off a big weekend of jamborees and season openers in AISA. The fifth-annual Champions Challenge begins on Friday with two more of McCracken’s pupils, brothers Brian and Ben Blackmon, who will coach Opelika and Greenville, respectively, in the first of three games beginning Friday at 7 p.m.

Also on Thursday, Prattville travels to Gadsden City while Alabama Christian faces Montgomery Academy. Both games are also scheduled to be available on NETAL.com.

In AISA, Edgewood takes on Prattville Christian while the annual battle in south Montgomery between Hooper Academy and Lowndes Academy takes place in Lowndesboro. Kickoff of both games is 7 p.m.

On Saturday, the second half of the Champions Challenge opens with Trinity facing Jackson at 5 p.m. followed by Spain Park taking on Auburn. All three games in the Champions Challenge can be seen on WSFA Ch 12.2.