This is an opinion piece.

Theodore head football coach Steve Mask wasn’t especially concerned when he started to lose his voice following the Bobcats’ season.

“We all get hoarse during the season,” he said. “It’s just part of coaching, but it usually goes away after about a week.”

This year, it didn’t go away for Mask. At times, he could barely talk and, when he did, he was hard to understand.

“I just thought it was normal wear and tear on my voice because I never shut up during the season,” he said. “The kids started calling me Ed Orgeron. But when it didn’t go away, Dr. Jim Spires wanted to come in and take a look at it.”

Long story short, Mask had a nodule on his vocal cords.

After a scope, it was determined to be Stage 1 cancer.

“I was very emotional,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “I’m an emotional guy anyway. When they told us it was cancer, it was like a ton of bricks hit me. Anytime you hear that word in our society, it’s usually gloom and doom.

“But then the competitor side of me came out and we just determined, ‘We are going to do what they tell us to do when they tell us to do it and we will come out on the other side.’ There is no cancer anywhere else in my body. That’s the beaty of catching it early, though it is my understanding this was a non-spreading kind anyway.”

The outlook has been positive from the beginning.

His doctor told Mask the cancer was 99.5 percent curable.

“It’s basically skin cancer on the vocal cords is what they told me,” he said. “Right now, when I sing, I sound like Barry White, but I’ll be back singing like Elvis soon.”

Mask had the nodule removed and is now in the midst of 31 radiation treatments. He goes in five days a week for 10 minutes at a time. He’s been told no chemotherapy is necessary. He told me he feels fine right now, but he knows there are some rough days ahead as he gets to the end of the treatments.

“I can tell our players have been a little bit concerned,” he said. “But they tell me, ‘Coach, it’s like you always say. It’s just about the process.’ I haven’t missed any days of school or workouts. I’m just a little more low key voice wise, but I’m doing just fine otherwise.”

Mask said he’s been humbled by the support he’s received from the Theodore administration and community along with fellow coaches and friends. He also has a clear message for anyone who is willing to listen.

“No matter how old you are, if you don’t feel right, go get it checked out,” he said. “Early detection is the key on everything. Don’t be a hard head. Go let them figure out what is going on. Fortunately, I’m going to be just fine, and it is largely because I listened to people about going to get it checked out.”

Mask also has a message to his 6A, Region 1 opponents next fall.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I’ll be right there on the sidelines every Friday.”

Good news indeed, coach.

High school football wouldn’t be the same without you.

Praying for a speedy and full recovery.

Another Hall of Famer

Huge congrats to Pleasant Grove head football coach Darrell LeBeaux, was inducted into the Miles College Sports Hall of Fame.

LeBeaux holds the school’s record with 2 passing TDs and 2 rushing TDs against Kentucky State in 2007. He also participated in the long jump and javelin on the track team and played point guard for the basketball team in 2005.

In his seven years as head coach at Pleasant Grove, LeBeaux has kept the Spartans in contention for a 5A state title. He has a 66-14 record overall and took the team to three straight finals from 2019-2021. The Spartans have reached at least the quarterfinals in each of the last five seasons.

Coaching hires

Two Alabama high schools named new head football coaches this week and at least one more is close to doing the same.

Priceville has hired Seth Parker as its new coach. He was approved Thursday night by the Morgan County Board of Education. Parker was offensive coordinator at Bob Jones for the past three seasons. Parker replaces Chris Foster, who went 40-18 in five years at the school.

Cordova announced the hiring of Brian Maner as its new coach. Maner replaces Shane Smothers, who was 10-20 in three years with the Blue Devils. It’s the third head coaching stint for Maner at Cordova. He went 29-8 from 1993-1995 and 13-19 from 1997-1999.

Also, AL.com can confirm that former Oak Mountain and Scottsboro head coach Cris Bell will be the new coach at Robertsdale pending approval by the Baldwin County Board of Education on Feb. 22. Bell went 18-15 in three years at Scottsboro and 47-49 in nine years at Oak Mountain.

Thought for the Week

“There is power in the words of Christ. May we put ourselves in position that it’s continually spoken into and over us.” — Bible Studies for Life.

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.