DAPHNE, Ala.—Daphne High School students packed the school’s gymnasium Thursday morning for a formal assembly and recognition of the class 6A state football champions.

With the football players seated in the center of the gym and the students seated along the bleachers, football coaches, Baldwin County School Superintendent Alan Lee, Baldwin County Executive Principal Don Blanchard, Alabama High School Athletic Association Executive Director Steve Savarese, DHS Principal Meredith Horton and others spoke and acknowledged what an important feat the 7-6 victory against Hoover on Friday was for the school and the community.

“This is the epitome of a team,” Blanchard, who was once the principal of the school, said. “When one side of the ball wasn’t doing as great, the other side picked up the slack, and that’s what happened at Daphne High School every day.”

As Blanchard was giving his speech, one student shouted, “I love you” at their former leader, and he responded with a heartfelt, “I love you, too.”

“Thank you for challenging ourselves, for rising to the occasion,” Horton said to the players. “You did this when you beat Fairhope for the mayor’s cup, when you beat Foley twice, all through an undefeated season, into the playoffs, and now to be the best team in the state of Alabama.”

“State champions don’t happen by means of one person,” Savarese, who coached the Daphne football team when they won their first state title in 2001, said. “State championships happen because everyone was working together to accomplish their goals.”

In the second part of the assembly, students rolled out blue-and-white paper in front of the students, and their principal made an announcement about an academic accomplishment the school received.

Horton announced to the school that they were one of two nominees to become a “Blue Ribbon School,” a national honor that recognizes high-performing academic institutions on the basis of state assessment tests.

“Today, we see academics and athletics merging together to create a culture that is uniquely wonderful,” Horton said.