Last Week: Cullman 25, Pell City 24

This Week: Pell City (4-2) @ Albertville (5-1)

Except for a 44-0 shutout loss against Oxford on Sept. 16, the Aggies have beaten every opponent on their schedule, scoring over 40 points in each of those five victories.

This week’s game is a crucial 6A Region 7 matchup. The winner of this game will be 3-1 in the region and in control of whether they host a first round playoff game as the region’s second seed.

Albertville, who is coming off of a bye week and are healed up and rested up, is led by senior quarterback number 8, Wil Appleton, who began the year’s first four games with over 1,000 total yards, with 13 touchdowns and no interceptions. Appleton has great size, is exceptionally hard to contain and can move out of the pocket and throw downfield or break for a run. His playing style is similar to Dak Prescott when he was at Mississippi State. Playing out of spread, Appleton has shown a great arm to pass from side to side. His favorite target is senior wideout number 20, Cody Collier, who has exceptional hands and field awareness. Coming out of the backfield are junior running back number 34, Eric Jacobs, the Aggies most reliable runner, and senior number 29, Logan Richards, who is great at catching balls out of the backfield and is Albertville’s most reliable cornerback on defense.

Last Week: Moody 15, Woodlawn 19

This Week: Moody (2-4) vs. Wenonah (4-2)

Moody hits the road this week to take on the Dragons who are camped comfortably behind Briarwood Christian in second place within 5A Region 5. Wenonah has a prolific offense led by a two-quarterback system in sophomore number 15, Cornelious Brown, a tall and athletic quarterback with sprinter’s speed and junior number 3, Carlos Rodgers, who has a rifle of an arm and is a true vertical threat. Both quarterbacks love to work the ball to number 12, Demond Brown, the senior wide receiver who has scorched defenses for the past two-plus seasons. Moody’s biggest concern should be the Dragons’ opportunistic defense, who have held their opponents to 50 points in the last six games and has one of the best secondaries in 5A. Senior cornerbacks number 5, J.D. Redwine and number 2, Telvin Miller can play on an island, and each had an interception last week against Pleasant Grove. Leading the whole defense is the tenacious linebacker senior number 58 Giovanni Williams, who is backed up by the Dragons’ rising star on defense, junior free safety number 1, Henry Hudson.

Last Week: Briarwood Chr. 44, Saint Clair Co. 6

This Week: St. Clair Co. (1-5) @ Fairfield (4-2)

The Saints’ fourth regional defeat last week leaves St. Clair County out of the playoff picture, but there still is a lot of pride in Odenville, and a good showing on the road at Fairfield could help maintain that pride through the season. The Tigers, on the other hand, have quite a bit at stake. Fairfield is tied with Wenonah for the second spot in Region 5, and will face the Dragons in two weeks. Nipping at their heels at 2-2 in regional play are Pleasant Grove and Woodlawn. With a loss earlier this year against Pleasant Grove and a victory over Woodlawn in Week 3, it all breaks down to the simple math that Fairfield can lock up a playoff position with a win this week. The Tigers will fight for a win.

St. Clair Co. struggled against Briarwood’s rushing attack last week, and those same challenges will likely present themselves with Fairfield. The Tigers have a one-two punch in the backfield with senior running back number 4 Valandin (Tez) Spencer, who ran for 212 yards last week against Shelby County, and senior quarterback number 14 Demetrius Buford, who is a running threat. Fairfield also features the tall and intriguing matchup of 6”3” quarterback number 15, Christian Smith, whose most dangerous target at 6’5” is number 3, Jalen Copeland, who can go over defenders and snag high balls all night long.

The Saints defense needs to shake off last week and be prepared for a lot of weapons from a hungry team.

Last Week: Hayde 39, Springville 26

This Week: Springville (1-5) @ John Carroll (1-5)

The Tigers have a really good opportunity to register their second victory of the season this week against 6A John Carroll. Both teams have a common opponent: Moody. In the season opener, Moody prevailed against Springville with a late score and two-point conversion for an 8-7 win. John Carroll tripped up the Blue Devils in a midseason non-regional contest, winning 13-7. Though the Cavaliers did beat a team that beat Springville, offensively the Tigers of week one and the team of week six is markedly improved. Running back Jordan Byrd has found his stride and Hunter Richardson’s play-action passing game is being executed very well.

There are 59 teams in 6A football, and John Carroll’s defense is ranked dead last in points allowed. John Carroll is also ranked dead last in points scored. They are outmatched within their region with opponents like Homewood, Ramsay, Shades Valley and Hueytown. The Cavaliers see these non-regional contests as their opportunities to get a W. Springville needs to go into this game with confidence. The Tigers should win this game because the Tigers are the better team, period.

Last Week: Leeds 49, Holtville 22

This Week: Leeds (5-2) vs. Childersburg (1-5)

Setting aside Childersburg’s only win at Holtville on week two (30-16), an examination of the Tigers’ five losses this season will reveal they have all been blowouts. Childersburg has given up almost 40 points per game in those losses, and the most points Holtville scored in those games was 16 points. The Tigers are pretty much the same team Leeds beat last year 54-0, except for a shift of position at quarterback.

Leeds can neutralize Childersburg’s attack if they set the edges and keep the Tigers’ mobile quarterback number 5 junior quarterback, Jelan Kidd in the pocket. The Green Wave should dare Kidd to beat them through the air. Kidd is great at moving out of the pocket and on designed runs, but on deep passes he tends to float his passes. Leeds’ secondary could have a field day with Childersburg’s receivers if the D-Line can harass and contain Kidd.

Last Week: Jacksonville 23, Ashville 13

This Week: Ashville (2-4) vs. Hokes Bluff (3-3)

Ashville is in need of a second regional victory this week for any hope in grabbing one of the four regional playoff spots available in Region 5. Ashville will be hosting this important game and face the challenge of a veteran coach in Mike Robertson and a 60 man deep roster that can play strong through all four quarters. The Eagles’ offense mostly plays out of a Pro-I pre-snap and is led by junior quarterback, Landon Johnson, who lines up behind a big, aggressive veteran offensive line featuring seniors Adam Patterson, Brett Roberts and Cody Bryant. The Eagles also have a tough defense led by Senior Fisher Simmons, who may very well be the best defensive player in all of Region 5.

Ashville has to play their A-game in all three facets of the game. Hokes Bluff is a mature, well-balanced team on both sides of the ball in the midst of a three game winning streak. Ashville needs to play error-free ball to avoid being victim number four.

Last Week: Ragland 28, Victory Chr. 7

This Week: Ragland (4-3) @ Winterboro (5-1)

Ragland faces an opponent who has improved their fourth quarter play this season and has accumulated a 5-1 record even though they have only outscored their six opponents by 30 points. The Bulldogs quarterback number 14, Clay Twymon lines up in Winterboro’s base offense in shotgun with split backs. The running game for Winterboro is zone-read or designed quarterback runs by Twymon. When they pass the Bulldogs like to go ace or empty in the backfield with four receivers to take advantage of Twymon’s strong arm to go long and his mobility to outmaneuver a three-man rush. Ragland matches up very well with Winterboro – if they had Jadon Killings go up against the number 1 Ragland defense at practice this week, then they should know how to slow down Twymon.

This Week: Victory Chr. (4-3) @ Wadley (5-0)

After a difficult loss against rival Ragland last week, Victory Christian must focus on the next task at hand, going on the road and competing with the 7th ranked team in ASWA Class 1A last week – Wadley.

Every opponent Wadley has faced this year has to find a way to deal with their explosive and relentless running attack. The Bulldogs roll in four quality running backs and slot backs (number 10, Quae Drake WR 6’2″ 170lbs, number 7, Coby Nunn FB 6’0″ 200lbs, number 2, Tyrese Sheppard RB 5’7″ 157lbs and number 3, Kerrion Birdsong RB 5’9″ 140lb). Wadley wears down their opponents with punishing running and exhaust defenses with their time of possession. The Lions must be able to sustain long, time consuming drives of their own and keep Wadley’s offense on the sideline. Keeping the game close into the fourth quarter and resting the defense is the recipe for a shot at beating the undefeated Bulldogs.