Morgan Academy has a simple formula for building a state championship golf program.

The Senators will defend their state title at the AISA Golf Tournament on Monday and Tuesday at Troy Country Club in Troy.

The team of Will Alison, Pierson Atchison, Gus Colvin, David Cothran, Jones Free, Arrington Mooney, Thomas Morris and Brody Roberts all credit their success to both teamwork, talent and chemistry at practice this week at the Selma Country Club.

“We’ve all played golf together for a long time,” Colvin said. “We work hard competing in tournaments and we push each other.”

Free said most of the team has played together since the seventh grade and they kept improving as time passed.

“We developed into a good team,” Free said. “We have the mentality to win. I’m excited about our chances of winning another title. I think we’ll get it done.”

“We all have a drive to win and we grind it out,” Morris said.

Alison said he loves the teamwork and how everyone gets along.

Morgan Academy coach Ira Wagoner praised the Senators’ work ethic and commitment to excellence. Wagoner, 63, has coached the team for the last nine years.

“We have some good players, including four of the top 10 in the state,” Wagoner said. “They are all dedicated players. They play golf all year and don’t take a season off. They’ve played together for a long time.”

Roberts said the expectations aren’t an issue for the Senators.

“There’s a little pressure to repeat, but I don’t worry about it,” Roberts said. “You get better each year.”

Cothran said he will miss playing for the Senators. He recently signed a scholarship to play golf at Snead State Community College.

“It will be a change for me at Snead State next year,” Cothran said. “I’ll be leaving my brothers at Morgan Academy behind.”

Atchison, a member of The Selma Times-Journal’s All-Dallas County football team, said he enjoys being on a team loaded with youth.

“We have a lot of young talent on this team and they’ve worked very hard for years to be good,” Atchison said.

Morgan Academy will be in position to collect golf titles over the next few seasons. Roberts, Morris and Colvin are juniors. Mooney, Free and Alison are sophomores.

“We have a lot of young talent that plays golf well,” Mooney said. “Golf is not really a team sport, but we have a good team that relies on each other.”

Wagoner said having a young squad has its advantages.

“We don’t have a lot of attrition,” Wagoner said. “It doesn’t happen a lot in high school sports. We started out as a junior team and we took our lumps. We started out so young.”