FAIRHOPE, Alabama — Coming off a historic offensive season a year ago the Fairhope Pirates not only have to replace many players but they also have a new head coach in Adam Winegarden.

Last season the Pirates scored 504 points which was the most points scored in a single season in team history.

The Pirates finished the regular season with an 8-2 record and made it to the third round of the playoffs after defeating Auburn in a one-point thriller and by also defeating Blount. They lost to the eventual state champion Prattville Lions 38-0.

This season Winegarden leads the Pirates after coaching the past two seasons at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, where he compiled an overall record of 21-3 including a 12-1 record a season ago.

Winegarden replaces former Pirate head coach David Faulkner, who left Fairhope after three seasons. Faulkner will take over the head coaching job at Enterprise High School this season.

“The people of Fairhope are great and wonderful people. Fairhope is a great school I don’t think you can beat the school environment here,” Winegarden said.

From the very beginning of fall practice all the way to the final game the Pirates will have the task of bringing up to speed a very young football team that is preparing to learn a brand new system.

“We are a very young football team. It’s been a challenge but also exciting to meet a new bunch of boys,” Winegarden said. “We are excited about who we are and where we are heading.”

Winegarden will have the responsibility of replacing many of last season’s starters as Fairhope returns only eight starters including six on defense.

One of the returning starters for the pirates are All-State receiver Nate Andrews, who leads an inexperienced wide receiver corp.

“Nate has a lot of talent; it’s obvious so far that he has had a very good high school career. The thing about Nate is he is three times the person than he is the player,” Winegarden said. “He is a great young man who is really good around teammates and he is really good to be around.”

The Pirates are also looking forward to a new era at quarterback as the starting quarterback from a year ago, Chase Domino graduated. Gabe Phillips, Ray Jackson, and Andrews will compete for the starting role.

The Pirates will feature a similar defense when the season starts on Aug. 31. Whether or not the offense will be similar is yet to be determined.

“It’s kind of hard to tell what kind of team we are going to be right now we have a long way to go,” Winegarden said. “I told the boys we want to be ready to go by week one but we want to be playing our best in the playoffs.”

If the Pirates want to compete for a regional championship this season they are going to have to compete against one of the toughest regions in the entire state.

“Our job is to be the best team we can be; if we go to the playoffs or we don’t go to the playoffs as long as we are the best team we can be than we did our jobs,” Winegarden said. “Our focus is on the young people and our day-to-day operation. The playoffs, to be honest are the last thing on my mind.”

Not only are they matching up against perennial power houses such as Daphne and Foley but against three new members of the region in Enterprise, Northview and Dothan.

The Pirates’ will play five home games this season including region new comers Enterprise and Dothan. The Pirates will also continue their long storied rivalry at home against the Foley Lions.

The Pirates five road games are highlighted by the annual battle for the Jubilee Cup when they battle the Daphne Trojans on Oct. 19. They also play Spanish Fort on Sept. 28.

“When I look back at the end of the season I want to know that I got the most out of these young boys,” Winegarden said. “Wins and losses to the side you want to find a positive experience for the people in the program.”

Fairhope opens the season on Aug. 31 when they play at St. Paul’s. The Pirates home opener will be against Enterprise on Sept. 7.