Former Auburn and NFL wide receiver Sammie Coates coached Columbia High School to its first football win in more than a decade on Saturday night, a 41-14 victory over Greensboro on the opening weekend of the Alabama high school season.
The Huntsville program had not won a game since October 2015, when it beat Ardmore 34-16.
The 101 straight losses that followed were the most in high school football history. Coates took over the Eagles in 2025 and is in his second season as head coach.
Let the celebration begin… pic.twitter.com/FvlTI29BNS
— Alabama High School Sports (@IOfferYouThis1) August 23, 2026
Greensboro actually led 14-0 before 41 unanswered points from Columbia gave them the much-desired blowout victory.
“Everything they’ve done, they deserve every moment of this,” Coates told reporters on his team after the game.
“I’m just happy for the kids, man. It ain’t nothing about me. It’s about the kids that worked their tail off. I’m glad these kids can experience this. It’s a great experience for them. Now they see what it feels like. They can add to it, and we can go back to work next week.”
Coates’ former head coach Gus Malzahn shouted him out as well on social media and said how proud he was.
Bigtime proud of you @sammiecoates11 https://t.co/dDVP44755r
— Coach Gus Malzahn (@CoachGusMalzahn) August 23, 2026
From 2012-2014 at Auburn, Coates amassed more than 1,700 receiving yards with 13 career touchdowns before becoming a third round selection to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now, the Leroy native has turned his focus to coaching Alabama’s youth, and he could not have possibly asked for a better start to that endeavor than what Columbia was able to do on Friday night.
Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.
