More Than a Scoreboard: Traditions That Drive Oak Hall Football

Oak Hall entered Week 6 undefeated, but the secret behind its winning streak began long before kickoff.

From pregame meals to guest speakers, these traditions leading up to the game brought Eagles coach RJ Fuhr to tears after the win against Branford last month. He believes they are what set his team apart. 

In high school, Friday nights turn into a public display of talent and preparation. Under limited time and constant pressure, athletes are asked to prove themselves, with success ultimately reduced to a number on the scoreboard. What the crowd sees are the decisions made at the moment, not the unseen layers of work that shape each team.

Before the Eagles take the field, they follow a series of pregame traditions designed to prepare them for kickoff. It begins with players and staff gathering in the campus media room, where they connect as a team and share a meal. Every week, Fuhr invites guest speakers to educate, guide and inspire his athletes. He wants to establish the idea that before anyone in the room is an athlete they are people first.  

”Our job as coaches really isn’t the scoreboard,” Fuhr said in referencing Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. “It’s the raising [and] helping to raise young men to be, the best fathers … the best husbands, the best employees, [and] employers down the road.”

It’s this philosophy that Fuhr carries through with the Eagles, and its impact can be seen in the leadership of the athletes themselves. Whether out at a restaurant or during pregame meals, the captains lead by example. They make sure every teammate is served and only eat after everyone else.

The night of the Branford game on Sept. 12, Oak Hall welcomed Noah Wilbanks, Regional Director of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, as the guest speaker for the second time before the game. Inside the team’s media room, Wilbanks handed out silicone wristbands to players and coaches, some black and some white. Each bracelet carried four simple symbols: a heart, a division sign, a cross and a question mark. Known as “The Four,” each symbol holds a distinct meaning.

During his speech, Wilbanks explained the meaning behind the symbols and reflected on his life-changing experience of playing football at Carson-Newman University. He emphasized what mattered most was being cared for as a person, not just as a player, urging the team to carry that lesson beyond the game.

His message stood out to the Eagles, so much so that players approached him afterward with questions and conversations of their own.

After the game, safety and running back BJ Johnson described the impact:

Though Wilbanks delivered the message that winning night, guest speakers often vary from coaches and captains to military leaders and other influential figures. Sometimes the speaker comes in person, and other times their messages are shared through a video on a smart TV. The purpose, Fuhr explained, is to give his players lessons that go beyond football and show how values on the field connect to other walks of life. 

“It may be a veteran who talks about teamwork from a military standpoint,” Fuhr said. 

Discipline, connection and attention to detail are among the key values that Oak Hall claims have shaped its success. The Eagles follow the same attention-to-detail principle emphasized by former Alabama coach Nick Saban, who believes discipline extends to even the smallest things, like wearing the same color shorts and shirts at practice.

While any team can celebrate a win, for the Eagles it is simply the beginning. After every game, the players gather in the weight room early on Saturday mornings. Motivating and supporting one another, they push through a track workout, a lift and an additional conditioning session. The team finishes the morning by reviewing film from the previous game in the same media room where it shared pregame meals.

Since adding disciplines like these, the coaches have noticed a stronger bond among the players. They point to the team’s shared weight room sessions as a key factor in bringing the group closer. Beyond football, players report spending more time together, whether visiting local springs or gathering to watch college football games.

For Oak Hall, every detail matters. From the weight room to the media room, the team approaches each action with intention. As Fuhr often reminds his players, it has to mean something, and for the Eagles, that meaning goes far beyond the final score.

It’s why they break every huddle with the same words: 

“Family on me, Family on 3. One, two, three — Family.”

Oak Hall (5-1) will return home next Friday to face Jacksonville Old Plank Christian Academy (5-2) at 7 p.m.

Category: Gainesville, High School Sports, Oak Hall High School