Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
Prattville’s Mike Battle was the Offensive Coordinator for the Prattville flag football team during their first two seasons, when the Lady Lions made the Class 6A-7A Final Four in 2023, and the Elite 8 in 2024. Battle took over as the Head Coach in 2025, and the Lions did not miss a beat. Prattville went 13-7 in the regular season and beat Hueytown 33-0 in the 1st round of the Class 6A-7A Playoffs, and Austin 7-6 in the 2nd round of the playoffs, to advance to the Elite 8 once again. The Lions posted shutout victories over 12 teams during the season, to include Wetumpka, Percy Julian, McGill Toolen, Carver, Robertsdale, Dothan, Mountain Brook, Oak Mountain, Opelika, Helena, Hoover, and Hueytown. As a result of the successful season, the Elmore Autauga News has named Prattville Head Coach Mike Battle as the Autauga County Flag Football Coach of the Year.
“Being named the Autauga County Flag Football Coach of the Year is a true honor and a significant personal accomplishment,” said Coach Battle. “It reflects not only my dedication but also the success our team achieved this year.”
Perhaps the biggest issue that the Lions had to determine was at the starting quarterback position. After leading the Lions for two years, Kaytie Chandler graduated and is now at UT Martin on a softball scholarship. But the returning players responded well for the Lions.
“We had about 7-8 girls that were on the team that started the program three years ago and made it to the Final Four. So, they experienced success from the beginning, and it was easier for them and they knew what it took to be successful again. And obviously our goal every year is to make the playoffs and give ourselves a chance to go win a state championship. This year we fell short, but that doesn’t take away from what an awesome season we had and the work the girls and the coaching staff put in to maintain another successful season,” said Battle.
The battle for the starting quarterback position was ultimately won by Abigail Kelley, who started for the Lions’ Junior Varsity team the last two seasons.
“The transition with the new players was somewhat slow at first. Abigail won the job just two weeks before the first game, which was beneficial since she was already familiar with our system and offensive approach,” said Battle.
Kelley rewarded the coaches’ confidence with a stellar season. The Lions’ junior quarterback passed for a whopping 2,452 yards and 27 touchdowns.
While Kelley returns at quarterback for the 2026 season, the Lions will have to replace their leading receiver, Lanieya Page. The senior had 7 rushing touchdowns and 9 receiving touchdowns touchdowns in 2025. But the Lions have a solid, and young, core of players that will try to fill the void left by Page’s graduation. In 2025, 8th grader Kyrsten Benson had 5 rushing touchdowns. 9th grader London Williams had 5 rushing touchdowns and 6 receiving touchdowns.
“I think going into the next year we have a chance to be good again. We have to put in the work again this summer after tryouts. Also with the growth of the sport and opportunities now to play in college and at the professional and Olympic level, we hope to have more girls wanting to tryout. The goal is somewhat the same, to give ourselves a chance to win every game we play, and make a playoff run that will lead us to the state championship game. Also going forward, learning how to win more of the close games, which we did towards the end of the season this year. I am excited for next season to see what Team 4 will accomplish.”
