This is an opinion piece.

It’s hard to imagine a team facing much more adversity this year than the Leroy Bears. It’s also hard to imagine a team dealing with it any better.

Despite losing head coach Jason Massey to deployment after four games, top-ranked Leroy completed the mission on Thursday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

The Bears broke a 21-21 tie in the fourth quarter with a late touchdown drive and beat Coosa Christian 28-21 to win their second straight Class 1A state title.

“The kids faced a lot of adversity this year,” said Chan Lowe, who just might be the 1A coach of the year as an interim coach. “Not many teams lose their coach midseason to deployment.

“Hats off to that coach first and foremost, Jason Massey, for going and serving his country. Next man up mentality. At any point and time and at any place, this team could have folded. New guy taking over, but we never missed a beat.”

Or lost a game.

Leroy outscored is competition 523-158 and finished 14-0. The Bears have now won 27 of their last 28 games.

“It’s really amazing to see the way this group of 15-18 year-olds have responded,” said Lowe, who was the defensive coordinator under Massey. “Life has thrown them curve balls, and they just continue to find a way. We were down 14-0 tonight and, at any point, could have thrown in the towel. That was never the mindset at all – not from anybody on our team, not from anyone in our lockerroom.”

Ja’Kavien Collins scored the winning TD on a 1-yard run with 2:01 left in the game. He finished with 96 yards and 2 TDs on 15 carries and was named MVP.

“We all came together when coach Massey left,” Collins said. “I knew coach Lowe was going to step up and take care of the team.”

Lowe said last week he has been able to facetime Massey and talk to him several times a week about that Friday’s gameplan. He said Massey was able to watch the game online Thursday.

“He watched every bit of it,” Lowe said, “and we got to talk to him afterward. That was very emotional. He just told us great job. Way to fight. Way to finish.”

On the other side of the field, Coosa coach Mark O’Bryant’s team suffered a tough loss. But as a former Navy Seal himself, he certainly appreciated Massey’s sacrifice and the effort of the team he left behind.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It’s a credit to him and his culture that he’s created. It’s a testament to him to fight on. We are greatly appreciative for what he’s doing for our country, especially in these times. These are some crazy times in this world right now. For him to put himself second and his country first is a great testament.”

His team rewarded their coach by finishing the job on Thursday.

Stay safe, coach.

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.