Andalusia High School senior Aaron Norris can honestly say the past four years on the football team are years that he’ll never forget.

“I couldn’t have wanted them any other way,” Norris said. “Besides the whole coaching changes, the coaches that have been here and the stuff that I’ve been through I believe have made me a better person.

“They’ve really done well in preparing me to become a better player and a better person,” he said.

Norris said one of the most important aspects of the game that he will take away at the end of the season is self-control.

“You have to really control yourself and your actions (off the field),” he said. “You bottle them up and a good way to use it up is to go out there and hit somebody on Friday nights.”

And that is one thing Norris says he loves to do — hitting people.

“My dad introduced the game to me and I’ve always loved it,” he said. “When I was real little when I started in the Pee-Wee league I was not that big. I would get after it more than the other kids, so I made a lot of tackles on defense. I enjoyed it and stuck with it.”

He’s not that small anymore. Norris is standing at a tall six feet and weighs 190 pounds.

Another aspect of the game that Norris really cherishes is the fact that his father, Larry, is always on the sidelines during the game.

“My dad is the physicians’ assistant on the field and it helps because he was actually a coach at one time,” he said. “So, he’ll give pointers on the sideline. He’s my own little coach.”

After last week’s 43-12 loss to UMS-Wright, Norris said the team is ready and focused to take on Opp two weeks in a row.

“I think we’re going to come out there and beat them two weeks in a row,” he said.

Andalusia will play Opp to end its regular season on Friday night and in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs on Nov. 6.

Norris said he knew early-on that his team had a chance at making the playoffs this season.

“Actually, it was last spring and especially last summer when we started working out when I knew,” he said. “The chemistry was amazing. Nothing was negative. Everything was always positive and we were going to come in here with a great mentality to kick some tail and win a lot of ball games.”

That his team did, racking up five wins this season and three losses.

“We have a feeling we’re going to come out with a good game plan and we’re just going to play football,” Norris said about the next two games. “We’re going to do nothing fancy or anything, but just play pad on pad.”

As far as what he is going to do next year, he’s keeping his options open.

“I haven’t decided yet,” he said. “My dream was always to go to Auburn, but anywhere I can get a scholarship, too.

“An academic scholarship I’m pretty sure I can get, but if there is an athletic scholarship, I’d be more than happy to have it.”

Norris is the son of Dr. Larry and Sandra Norris of Andalusia.