Late in Thursday’s Class 4A football title game, Cherokee County wide receiver Gabriel Chambers sat by himself on the bench.

He gazed at the field as the final few seconds ticked away in the Warriors’ 41-7 loss, shedding a few tears as well. Many of his teammates felt and acted the same way.

While there’s little consolation in defeat on the state’s biggest stage, there’s more to the Warriors’ 2008 season than just that cold night at Legion Field in Birmingham.

Here’s a team that went 5-5 a season ago after a rash of injuries. Several questions, particularly on defense, were on the minds of many Warrior faithful as this season began.

Those questions were definitively answered as the weeks progressed and the wins began to accumulate.

Cherokee County coach Tripp Curry said a big part of the Warriors coming together was getting guys like Kirk Johnson, Caleb Crane and Cole Sterling back to boost the team’s overall confidence.

“That made a big difference,” Curry said. “When they got back, we had some seniors who come out and really gelled everybody together.”

While those guys provided the fuel, guys like Coty Blanchard, Jacob Morgan, D.J. Fife and Gabriel Chambers provided the fire in an offense that averaged almost 30 points per game and highlight reels that will last a lifetime.

But even the best of teams have an off night. It just so happens the Warriors’ off night was last Thursday.

“We didn’t play good tonight,” Curry said. “I’m not taking anything away from UMS-Wright, but this was not an indication of our football team for the last 14 weeks.

“We’re upset about this loss, but we’ve got a lot to be thankful for,” Curry continued. “We’re here. We’ve beaten Piedmont, Alexandria and Hokes Bluff all in the same year, and I don’t know if that’s been done in a long time. We’ve never beaten Deshler, and we beat them this year.”

14-1.

Best record in school history.

A magical season no matter how it ended.

And, perhaps, it provided a glimpse of the Warriors’ future.

“These kids know how to win,” Curry said. “We’ll still have to replace some seniors, because we lose some good seniors, but for the most part, we’ve got a good nucleus coming back. We’ll just have to see how it goes next year.”

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As a tribute to the Warriors’ season, a 4-page special section will honor the team in next week’s Herald. If you would like to place an ad, please call The Herald office at 927-5037. The deadline for submitting an ad is Dec. 12 at noon.

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Basketball coaches, The Herald plans on running stats online beginning next week. If you would like to submit your team’s stats, please send them in no later than Monday at noon each week throughout the remainder of the season.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 927-5037. The Herald’s fax number is 927-4853. You can also e-mail your stats to sfagan@cherokeeherald.com.