When Katie Massey, left, was born, her father, Citronelle coach Ronny Massey, rushed back to a game because he had given the quarterback only five plays. The Wildcats still beat Grand Bay 35-0 that night in 1982.
By JIMMY WIGFIELD
Ronny Massey was an outstanding coach who prepared his players well but even he couldn’t teach his daughter the two-minute drill.
“I told that girl to hurry up and come on,” his wife, Helen “Ace” Massey, recalled her husband saying.
That girl, Katie, was born the day of Citronelle’s home game against Grand Bay on Oct. 8, 1982, and the delivery took longer than the coach would have wanted.
“It was our first season in Citronelle,” Ace said, “and none of the assistant coaches had any background in being an offensive coordinator. I woke up on a Friday morning and said, ‘I can’t believe this.’ We got down to the hospital about 10 o’clock. Ronny called his quarterback — he didn’t have a coach who knew how to call the plays — and he gave him five plays.”
While Katie Massey was making her appearance, the first play Massey had given his quarterback resulted in a long touchdown pass, so with the outcome at the hospital in hand, Massey took off for Citronelle.
“Katie was born and he helped clean her up, then looked at me and said, ‘I’m headed to the game,’” Ace said. “Katie always said, ‘I can’t believe he left! I’d be mad at my husband if he had left.’ I didn’t get mad. He made it back right after halftime. Probably drove 100 to get there.”
The Wildcats won 35-0.
