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Jul. 8—The Fourth of July holidays are over, which means one thing in the state of Alabama: It's time to start gearing up for football.
High school football practices will start in less than a month as teams get ready for their first games on Aug. 21. There's been a massive shakeup this season as the AHSAA has moved from seven public-school classifications to six with just 32 teams in the new Class 6A, drastically changing Classes 1A-5A. There's also been the creation of separate classifications for private schools.
With all the new changes, this year promises to bring plenty of exciting games, including several important matchups early in the season. Here's a look at some of the biggest games from each week.
—
Week 0
West Morgan Rebels at Athens Golden Eagles
The first week of the season offers several enticing matchups in what should be a great Friday night to start the season. Those matchups include Austin hosting James Clemens and Hartselle hosting Bob Jones.
Possibly the most intriguing game though is Athens hosting West Morgan.
The Rebels have been one of the top programs in north Alabama in recent years, going 36-3 the last three seasons with three undefeated regular seasons and three region championships. Now they're looking to see how they stack up against a bigger school in Athens, a perennial playoff team in the former Class 6A, that has now dropped to Class 5A.
It will also be the first meeting between a former head coach and assistant coach as West Morgan head coach Drew Phillips served as the offensive coordinator at Athens under head coach Cody Gross before taking over the Rebels in 2021.
—
Week 1
Hartselle Tigers at Cullman Bearcats
What was once one of the best rivalries in the state has been heavily one-sided in recent years as Hartselle has won five in a row with four of those meetings being by 21 points or more.
This season's meeting, however, may be different. Cullman is entering its second season under head coach Trent Walker after winning four of its last five games with a young roster last season. On the other side, Hartselle is the one with the young roster this time as the Tigers are replacing nearly 30 seniors from last year's 10-2 squad.
The combination of Cullman improving in year two under a head coach, Hartselle breaking in almost an entire new roster and the game being played at Woodard Stadium promises to give one of the best games the rivalry has seen in a long time.
—
Week 2
Decatur Red Raiders at Austin Black Bears and Hatton Hornets at Winfield
For the first time since 2017, the River City Rivalry will be a region game.
Austin has dominated the rivalry lately, winning 10 of the last 11 including the last three by a combined 123-9. After back-to-back 2-8 seasons, though, Decatur is looking to make a substantial jump in year three under head coach John Ritter.
In another game, Hatton is coming off a 7-4 season in head coach Nikita Stover's first year after the Hornets were narrowly defeated in the first round of the playoffs 20-19 by Madison Academy. Hatton has dropped to Class 3A now and with several starters back including star running back Savarius Evans (1,715 yards, 19 touchdowns), the Hornets are looking to win their first region championship since 2000. Standing in their way is a Winfield team that has won nine games or more every year since 2020.
—
Week 3
Muscle Shoals Trojans at Austin Black Bears
Muscle Shoals has won this region each of the last two years but now it has to contend with Austin, which has dropped in classification. The last three years the Black Bears were in this region they won two region championships, went to the semifinals twice and the quarterfinals once. Now, not only have they dropped in classification, but they return the bulk of their roster from last season. That includes star running back Aidan Davis who rushed for 1,162 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior in his first season of football since eighth grade.
Muscle Shoals went through significant changes this offseason as head coach Scott Basden stepped down after 18 seasons and 170 wins. The Trojans handed the keys to offensive coordinator Michael Darden to keep the train rolling and he got a significant piece to help as quarterback Lincoln Smothers transferred in from Jasper. Smothers is the youngest brother of Logan and Landon Smothers, two former Muscle Shoals quarterbacks who led the Trojans to some of the best seasons in school history.
— [email protected] or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
Continue reading...
High school football practices will start in less than a month as teams get ready for their first games on Aug. 21. There's been a massive shakeup this season as the AHSAA has moved from seven public-school classifications to six with just 32 teams in the new Class 6A, drastically changing Classes 1A-5A. There's also been the creation of separate classifications for private schools.
With all the new changes, this year promises to bring plenty of exciting games, including several important matchups early in the season. Here's a look at some of the biggest games from each week.
—
Week 0
West Morgan Rebels at Athens Golden Eagles
The first week of the season offers several enticing matchups in what should be a great Friday night to start the season. Those matchups include Austin hosting James Clemens and Hartselle hosting Bob Jones.
Possibly the most intriguing game though is Athens hosting West Morgan.
The Rebels have been one of the top programs in north Alabama in recent years, going 36-3 the last three seasons with three undefeated regular seasons and three region championships. Now they're looking to see how they stack up against a bigger school in Athens, a perennial playoff team in the former Class 6A, that has now dropped to Class 5A.
It will also be the first meeting between a former head coach and assistant coach as West Morgan head coach Drew Phillips served as the offensive coordinator at Athens under head coach Cody Gross before taking over the Rebels in 2021.
—
Week 1
Hartselle Tigers at Cullman Bearcats
What was once one of the best rivalries in the state has been heavily one-sided in recent years as Hartselle has won five in a row with four of those meetings being by 21 points or more.
This season's meeting, however, may be different. Cullman is entering its second season under head coach Trent Walker after winning four of its last five games with a young roster last season. On the other side, Hartselle is the one with the young roster this time as the Tigers are replacing nearly 30 seniors from last year's 10-2 squad.
The combination of Cullman improving in year two under a head coach, Hartselle breaking in almost an entire new roster and the game being played at Woodard Stadium promises to give one of the best games the rivalry has seen in a long time.
—
Week 2
Decatur Red Raiders at Austin Black Bears and Hatton Hornets at Winfield
For the first time since 2017, the River City Rivalry will be a region game.
Austin has dominated the rivalry lately, winning 10 of the last 11 including the last three by a combined 123-9. After back-to-back 2-8 seasons, though, Decatur is looking to make a substantial jump in year three under head coach John Ritter.
In another game, Hatton is coming off a 7-4 season in head coach Nikita Stover's first year after the Hornets were narrowly defeated in the first round of the playoffs 20-19 by Madison Academy. Hatton has dropped to Class 3A now and with several starters back including star running back Savarius Evans (1,715 yards, 19 touchdowns), the Hornets are looking to win their first region championship since 2000. Standing in their way is a Winfield team that has won nine games or more every year since 2020.
—
Week 3
Muscle Shoals Trojans at Austin Black Bears
Muscle Shoals has won this region each of the last two years but now it has to contend with Austin, which has dropped in classification. The last three years the Black Bears were in this region they won two region championships, went to the semifinals twice and the quarterfinals once. Now, not only have they dropped in classification, but they return the bulk of their roster from last season. That includes star running back Aidan Davis who rushed for 1,162 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior in his first season of football since eighth grade.
Muscle Shoals went through significant changes this offseason as head coach Scott Basden stepped down after 18 seasons and 170 wins. The Trojans handed the keys to offensive coordinator Michael Darden to keep the train rolling and he got a significant piece to help as quarterback Lincoln Smothers transferred in from Jasper. Smothers is the youngest brother of Logan and Landon Smothers, two former Muscle Shoals quarterbacks who led the Trojans to some of the best seasons in school history.
— [email protected] or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2
Continue reading...
