The story of Central High School in Tuscaloosa, Ala., is the story of many high schools. What was once a multiracial powerhouse is now 99 percent black after new zoning laws created new two high schools within Tuscaloosa city limits. Central hired Dennis Conner, an alum and former Jackson State football player, to revamp the football program from the inside out. The Falcons were 0-10 in his first year on the job but, as shown in this "SportsCenter Featured" segment, reached the playoffs in 2014.
But like many successful high school coaches, Conner's true victory has been achieved away from the football field.
"There are a lot of people who just want to look at a winning season and not look at the fact that I may not be winning on the field, but I'm winning in the locker room," said athletics director Richelle Adams.
While the graduation rate for the entire school hovers around 50 percent, 95 percent of Conner's players over the past three years have graduated.
"You have a group of students who are on that borderline, who could go either way," said principal Clarence Sutton, Jr. "The perception is that they are not going to make it. And each year I can see them growing, and growing and improving. I'm more excited by that than by wins and losses."