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33 Teams in 33 Days: Citronelle Wildcats

simone eli
·3 min read

CITRONELLE, Ala. (WKRG) — The high school football season is still a few months away, but the work towards a winning season is now. The WKRG Sports team continues to highlight local teams during “33 Teams in 33 Days” — an inside look at high school football spring practice.

Day 23 checks in with the Citronelle Wildcats as head coach Jason Rowell enters year two leading his alma mater.

In his first year at the helm, Rowell led Citronelle to six wins, the program’s best mark since 2019. The Wildcats welcome back a strong core of veteran players from last season, the group includes 26 seniors.

“The kids buy in and believe in themselves,” Rowell said. “A lot of times a lot of the talent’s always been here and a lot of our kids are choosing to stay home.”

Citronelle finished sixth in Class 5A Region 1 in 2023, but the team was in the hunt for the final playoff spot in the last few weeks of the regular season. Rowell says the winning season has helped build confidence in the locker room this spring.

“The growth and the mindset of when we step on this field, we can compete with anybody. And that’s what has got to be about. Our motto this year is ‘family and finish.’ One thing we’ve got to do, that we didn’t do well last year, is finish well,” Rowell said. “So we’ve got to learn to finish games and close out games.”

Citronelle returns several key playmakers — including rising senior Eli Owens — who will play on both sides of the ball for the Wildcats. Owens caught 10 passes for 134 yards last year, while recording 36 tackles.

“We most definitely built confidence. We came together as brothers and we’ve got each other’s backs trying to make it far,” said Owens.

The Wildcats graduated their top offensive weapon from 2023 in dual-threat quarterback Justin Adams — who accounted for nearly 1,300 total yards and 15 touchdowns last year.

This offseason, former Millry quarterback Daylon Edmunds transferred to Citronelle and has led the Wildcat’s offense during spring practice. Edmunds completed 5 of 6 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns in Citronelle’s spring game loss to Wayne County on May 16th.

“Daylon is a kid that we’ve played against and you see him on film, he scored over 90 touchdowns the last two years. He’s a very coachable kid with a high football I-Q,” said Rowell. “I know he’s got a chip on his shoulder and he’s got something to prove.”

Edmunds led Millry to the Class 1A semifinals in 2022 before briefly transferring to Gulf Shores during the 2023 offseason. He returned to Millry for his junior campaign — posting 40 touchdowns and more than 2,300 total yards. The Wildcats fell in the second round of the 1A playoffs.

Citronelle opens the season at home against Millry on Friday, August 23rd. The teams have split their last two meetings: Citronelle outlasted Millry 27-26 last season (Edmunds did not enter the game for Millry) and in 2022, Millry beat Citronelle 30-14, Edmunds recorded 289 total yards (14/21 passing for 163 yards) and four touchdowns in the Wildcats win.

2023 Record (notable wins):

  • 6-4

  • Alma Bryant 19-13 (OT)

  • Faith Academy 27-10

  • Williamson 14-8

Key Players:

  • QB – DAYLON EDMUNDS – 2,300 yards, 40 TDs (at Millry)

  • ATH – ELI OWENS – 10 rec/134 yards, 36 tackles

  • LB/RB – ZACH MORGAN

  • OL – ALLEN DENMARK

Key Matchups:

  • vs. Millry (8/23)

  • vs. Vigor (9/20)

  • vs. UMS-Wright (10/4)

Who’s next:

The next installment will feature the Bayside Academy. Follow along with WKRG’s “33 Teams in 33 Days.” Each team will be featured during the 6:30 p.m. newscast on the weekdays and during the 10 p.m. newscast on the weekend.

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