Cottage Hill Football Aims to Build on Historic Season With Explosive Returning Offense

Last season was one for the history books at Cottage Hill Christian. Now comes the harder part: proving it wasn't the peak, but the beginning. The Warriors put together one of the best seasons in program history in 2025, finishing 10-2, advancing to the second round of the Class 3A playoffs and closing the year ranked in the final state poll for just the second time in school history.

"We're going to still try to be explosive," head coach Carvel Jones said. "We have Shamar Toodle coming back at quarterback, and we have a bunch of targets at receiver… with a veteran offensive line. We're just excited."

Toodle Leads a Potent Passing Attack

Cottage Hill enters 2026 as one of the favorites in Alabama's new Private Single-A classification, thanks to an experienced roster led by one of the state's premier young quarterbacks. Junior Shamar Toodle is coming off an All-State campaign in which he threw for 2,534 yards, 21 touchdowns and just five interceptions while completing 72 percent of his passes.

He also rushed for 651 yards and seven touchdowns, showcasing the dual-threat ability that has made him one of Alabama's fastest-rising prospects. ON3 ranks Toodle as the No. 2 quarterback in the state for the Class of 2028. Despite already establishing himself as one of South Alabama's top signal callers, Toodle believes the offense still has room to grow. "This is our fourth year with this offense," he said. "I really trust Coach Carvel and his schemes, and I feel like it's going to be really good."

Toodle won't have to carry the offense alone. Dynamic sophomore Aaron Ward returns after totaling more than 1,000 all-purpose yards as a freshman, finishing with 735 receiving yards and four touchdowns while adding 121 rushing yards and 226 kick return yards and a score. Senior receivers Travis Smith and Trevor Thomas bring veteran experience on the outside, while Ethan Womble gives the Warriors another proven option in the backfield.

A Veteran Offensive Line Returns

Perhaps the biggest strength lies up front. Seniors Chase Mose and Brody Simmons return alongside junior Allen Green, who excelled on both sides of the ball last season with 33 pancake blocks on offense while recording 70 tackles and three sacks on defense. Mose believes the line's continuity could make the offense even more dangerous. "I think our offense will be more explosive this year than it was last year," he said. "We have the same offensive line. Everything's going to fall into place like it's supposed to."

Graduation did take away some of Cottage Hill's biggest playmakers, including standout running back Kaden Nguyen, versatile two-way star Caleb Metzner and leading tackler Shadarius Toodle, all key contributors to last season's breakthrough. "We lost some good seniors there," Jones said. "We're just trying to figure out our identity and kind of see what we're going to do there."

A Secondary Built to Dominate

One area returns almost fully intact: Cottage Hill's secondary, which may be among the best in the classification. Junior All-State defensive back Xykais Thomas headlines a group that combined for 23 interceptions last season, with Thomas himself recording 10 interceptions and 18 pass breakups while adding more than 500 return yards on special teams. Senior JJ Davis led the team in tackles with 104, while Jayden Davis intercepted seven passes and Nathan Simms broke up 20 more. Senior linebackers Cohen Perea and Connor Lesure anchor the middle of the defense, while Green and highly regarded freshman Joshua McCants are expected to make immediate impacts along the defensive front.

"The secondary's back. They had 23 interceptions last year," Jones said. "Guys have been stepping up. We've got a senior linebacker core, so I don't think we'll miss a beat. I think we'll be a better team all around."

Cottage Hill also begins a new chapter this fall with Alabama's public-private playoff split, sending the Warriors down a different postseason path. With state championships moving to Mobile's Hancock Whitney Stadium for the first time, Jones said the motivation is even greater. "To play at home down here at South Alabama — it's a great facility," Jones said. "We're just trying to make sure we fix ourselves so that we're there playing in it."

Toodle Steps Into a Leadership Role

With Cottage Hill's roster turnover, Toodle's leadership role has grown well beyond the quarterback position. A year ago, as a sophomore starter, he played alongside a senior-laden group that included his brother Shadarius Toodle at linebacker, running back and receiver, along with two-way standouts Caleb Metzner and Caden Wiggins.

All have since moved on: Shadarius Toodle is now a linebacker at Auburn, joined there by another brother, Shaddrick Toodle Jr., who transferred to the Tigers from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College; Metzner is an edge rusher at Oregon State; and Wiggins is playing baseball at the University of Mobile. That leaves Toodle to lead the Warriors' offense and set the tone for the team as a whole, a responsibility he said he welcomes. "My favorite thing is probably just the brotherhood of being on the team and as the quarterback, being a leader of it," Toodle said. "I love being a leader of the team, having something to prove to other people… This team has grit and is not giving up. We lost a lot of games in the fourth and third quarter (last season). I feel like we're just not going to give up this year."

He added, "I just feel like everybody's got to step up now. We know we don't have Shadarius, Caden and Caleb, so now everybody's got to do their role. I do too. I love the challenge."

Toodle has started for Cottage Hill since he arrived on campus as a freshman, when he passed for 1,630 yards and 14 touchdowns while completing 68.8 percent of his throws and rushing for 610 yards and three more scores. For his career, the 6-foot-2, 205-pound quarterback has accounted for 5,425 total yards and 45 touchdowns heading into his 30th career start. "Anytime you have a quarterback that's going into his 30th start and has been starting since he was a freshman, those reps are really, really big as far as just quality reps," Jones said. "And for him to just bring a great attitude, a great mindset, the leadership, that's hard to beat when you're talking about the quarterback position. We've been blessed to be able to return most of our offensive line and have some weapons around them to surround Shamar just to make it a little bit easier on him."

New Region, New Challenges

Cottage Hill will also navigate a new region alignment this fall. The Warriors and rival Bayside Academy, last year's Class 3A state runner-up, now compete in the Alabama High School Athletic Association's Private A, Region 1 classification alongside Bayshore Christian, Mobile Christian, St. Luke's and Snook Christian, as well as Northside Methodist and Providence Christian of Dothan. AHSAA rules also allow Cottage Hill to schedule three public-school opponents during the regular season — Millry, McIntosh and Chickasaw. The Warriors open the season on the road against Millry on Aug. 21. Jones said the approach to the new classification is simple. "We're just going to play the schedule we have in front of us and not worry about the other stuff," he said. "That's how I kind of live my life. This is what I have, the task ahead, and I'm going to roll with it."

With an elite quarterback, an experienced offensive line, dynamic playmakers and one of the Gulf Coast's top secondaries, Cottage Hill enters 2026 believing last season was only the beginning. "We just take everything in," Toodle said. "Good things, bad things, whatever they say, we're just going to come back and win."