Last Thursday’s loss to Bessemer Academy may have ended Morgan Academy’s football season, but it’s the beginning of a list of fond memories for coach Robert Gartman.

According to the veteran Morgan Academy coach, this year’s Senators may not have had the talent or depth of other Morgan teams in the past, but still put together a solid season.

Morgan Academy assembled an 8-2 regular-season record that included an 8-game winning streak following a season-opening loss to Edgewood Academy. That loss, Gartman said, taught him and his charges two things.

“Edgewood had a heck of a football team,” Gartman said. “That and we were very poorly coached.”

Gartman said after the loss that the Senators went back to basics, covering the fundamentals of blocking and tackling. What transpired from the trip back to the beginning was a lengthy win streak. Lee-Scott was the first victim on Morgan’s path to the postseason. Halfback Josh McAteer had his first huge game of the season, rushing 18 times for 201 yards in the Senators’ 31-6 pounding of Lee-Scott.

Morgan turned in a sluggish performance the next week, but still came away with a 7-6 win over Glenwood. The Senators moved to 2-1 despite turning the ball over six times.

Morgan followed with victories over Cottage Hill (40-0) and Hooper (35-6), then out-distanced its toughest opponent up to that point in Mobile Christian (21-14).

The winning streak rolled on with victories over Monroe (14-6), Fort Dale (14-7) and Meadowview Christian (33-6). The victory over Fort Dale was especially sweet for Gartman and the Senators against a team coached by Selmians Brian and Ricky Seymour.

“The Fort Dale game,” Gartman said, “gave us a win against a quality opponent and a team that knew every movement we were going to make.”

The streak came to a halt one week later when the Senators were beaten by Faith Academy, 15-0, in a makeup game from the week of Hurricane Ivan’s arrival in Alabama.

Morgan advanced through the first round of the playoffs with a 10-6 win over a tough Pike Academy team, but saw their season end last Thursday in the 23-16 loss to Bessemer. In that game, the Senators trailed by two touchdowns with less than three minutes to play. Morgan scored on a 1-yard run by McAteer to cut the margin to six.

The Senators attempted an onside kick, but Bessemer recovered the kick and ran out the clock.

Despite the loss, Gartman was proud of the heart his team showed late in the game.

“That game shouldn’t have been close,” he said. “But we hung in there and had a chance to win. That’s the biggest thing I’ll remember is how we fought back against Bessemer.”

In fact, the Senators showed an enormous amount of heart, coming through close games and overcoming key injuries early in the season.

“Nobody ever outplayed us,” Gartman said. “Other teams may have out-coached us. But no one ever outplayed us.”

The Senators coach will especially remember the many seniors that highlighted the team roster this season. Among those 12th graders who contributed to the team’s success, four played for the first time. They include center John Wells, offensive lineman John Adams, wide receiver Allen Pitts and halfback Reid Buster.

“That shows,” Gartman said, “there’s enough interest in the program for them to come out their senior year and give it a shot.”

A group of experienced 12th graders who provided their support and individual talents this season and in years past joined the senior rookies. That group includes wide receiver Eric Pilcher, offensive lineman Davis Till, wide receiver Shane Hughes, center Jonathan Walker, offensive lineman Brett Knight, halfback Stephen Howorth and backup offensive lineman Christopher Swindle.

“We had a unique senior class,” Gartman said. “We had several that have been here since ninth grade and we had some who came out this year for the first time.”

There will be no rebuilding season for Morgan Academy, at least not next year. The 2005 season also appears promising for a Morgan Academy team that will return all but three seniors on offense and one on defense.

Gartman said the Senators would continue their tradition of not recruiting players to come to Morgan.

“We grow ours from Pee-Wee football,” he said. “If you compare us to all the AISA squads for returning players, we would be in the top two or three teams next year.”