The 2024 high school football season has officially reached its midseason milestone, with teams completing regional play this week.
Scottsboro and Pisgah are undefeated heading into this week’s games against Central Clay County and Randolph, while North Jackson and North Sand Mountain both boast 4-1 records. Sectional and Woodville, who have been battling injuries, are 1-4 entering week five.
North Jackson is off this week, so not all of its players will be in the field, and the Chiefs will carry their three-game winning streak and seven-game winning streak dating back to last season into a crucial Class 4A Region 8 regional game next Friday at Madison Academy.
Here’s a preview of the Week 5 matches:
Thursday
Valley Head vs. NSM — The North Sand Mountain Bison will get ahead of other Jackson County teams in a non-region matchup against Valley Head on Thursday night at 7 at Lloyd Dobbins Field in Higdon.
This marks the 20th meeting between the two teams, with Valleyhead leading 11-8. The teams have split their past two meetings, with the Bison beating Valleyhead 15-0 in last year’s season opener.
Both teams are 4-1 through their half of the season and are in position to compete for playoff spots in their respective regions.
NSM lost to Sandrock in Class 2A Region 7 in Week 3 but bounced back with a 21-20 overtime win over Cedar Bluff and a 43-21 victory at Gaston. Coach Jay Lipscomb said the Bison learned from those mistakes.
“You don’t want to lose, but sometimes I’m glad we lost,” he said. “We did a lot of soul searching. We all got together and said let’s figure out what we need to fix. We’re still working on some of that, but I think we’ve gotten better since that (loss). Hopefully it continues.”
Valleyhead suffered its first loss of the season last week, falling 32-13 to the sixth-ranked team in a Class 1A Region 8 match. Lipscomb said the game was closer than the final score indicated, adding that NSM expects a Valleyhead team to be motivated on Thursday. The Tigers will deploy a run-heavy offense aimed at gaining yards and clock.
“We know it’s going to be a competitive game,” Lipscomb said. “They’re going to want to force us into the box and try to force us, and we’ve had a lot of success doing that in the past. We’ve got to get them on third down and get them off the field. We’ve got to come at them hard and stop them.”
Friday
Central Clay County vs. Scottsboro — A Class 5A top-10 showdown between two unbeaten teams will take place Friday night (7 p.m.) at Trammell Stadium as No. 7 Scottsboro hosts No. 3 Central Clay County.
It’s the first meeting between the two programs. It’s also a homecoming for the Wildcats.
Central Clay County is in its 13th season in the program’s history. CCCHS was founded in 2012 with the merger of Clay County High School and Linville High School, two former small-school powerhouses that combined to create a larger-school powerhouse. According to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society (ahsfhs.org), Central Clay County has compiled a 120-35 record during its existence, winning six region titles and two Class 5A state championships in 2018 and 2019. The Volunteers are coached by Danny Horn, who is second in AHSAA history for all-time wins (356-97), and has also won eight state championships, six with the former Clay County and two with Central. Horne’s 2000 Clay County team defeated Pisgah in the Class 2A state championship.
Central Clay County (5-0) comes into the matchup with Scottsboro averaging 41 points per game and allowing just 9.4 points per game. The team is coming off non-region wins over Class 4A Handley, 40-7, and 6A Benjamin Russell, 35-28, and Class 5A Region 4 wins over Valley, 48-0, Marbury, 34-3 and Sylacauga, 48-9.
“They’re a really good football team. They’re very physical and have athletes everywhere,” Scottsboro head coach Tyler Vann said. “The quarterback is a good passer, but he’s probably an even better scrambler. No. 15 is a really good running back. They’ve got some big guys up front. They’re in the spread and they go into the wishbone, so they’re tough for defenses. They’ve played well defensively and are giving up less than 10 points (per game). We’ve allowed big plays, but they’ve never driven on us.”
Vann said Scottsboro (5-0) will have to be the more physical team and will have to protect the ball in what’s called a “playoff-type matchup.”
“If we get to the playoffs, we’re going to be facing teams like this, so I’m excited to see our team go up against teams like this,” Vann said. “I know a lot of people have given up on us, but if we play physical, take care of the ball and control what we can control, I think we have a chance to surprise people.”
Pisgah vs. Randolph — The Eagles, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, will travel to Huntsville to take on Randolph, playing a 4A Region 8 team for the second straight week.
This is the third time the two teams have met in the series, with Pisgah leading 2-0, and the first time the two teams have met since meeting as Class 3A regional rivals in the 2011-12 season.
Pisgah (4-0) is fresh off a 39-14 win over Plainview, coached by Dale Pruitt, father of Pisgah head coach Luke Pruitt. The Eagles trailed 14-6 at halftime but dominated in the second half.
“Our guys took control at halftime and played at their full potential in the second half,” Pruitt said.
Randolph (4-1) opened its season with a 31-0 loss to Class 4A No. 5 West Morgan but comes into the game on a four-game winning streak after defeating Madison Academy 32-31, Plainview 35-14, Westminster Christian 35-9 and St. John Paul II 49-17 in 4A Region 8.
“It’s a very well-coached team,” Pruitt said of Randolph. “They spread their guys out and throw passes. The quarterback does a good job of distributing the ball to a lot of the guys that are playing.”
SECTION AT APPALACHIAN — The Lions travel to Blount County for a non-region matchup against Appalachian on Friday (7 p.m.).
This will be the fifth time the teams have met in the series, with both teams leading 3-1, having last met in 2005 after four years as Class 1A regional rivals.
The Class 2A sectional (1-4) is fresh off a 41-24 loss in regional play at Cedar Bluff. The Lions recorded season highs in points and total yards, and head coach Riley Edwards said the sectional will have to keep that momentum going this week against Appalachian.
“We had 398 total yards and other than three turnovers I’m really happy with (the offense),” he said. “We still have some things to fix and some mistakes that a young team makes, but I think we’re getting more and more comfortable with our blocking schemes. We just need to be more consistent and find our rhythm.”
Appalachian (4-1) has beaten Class 3A Holly Pond 28-18, 2A Cleveland 20-6, 1A Region 8 powerhouse Galesville 33-14 and Idar 42-8 this season. The Eagles’ lone loss was a 38-28 defeat to unbeaten 3A team Locust Fork.
“They’re a solid veteran group,” Edwards said of the Eagles, “They’re senior-heavy and really physical. They’ve got a good running back, a quarterback who can pass and run and a strong offensive line.”
Brindley Mountain vs. Woodville — The Panthers will look to celebrate a happy homecoming when they host Class 3A Brindley Mountain at Frazier Field on Friday at 7 p.m.
This will be the third time the two teams have met, with the Panthers winning against Brindley Mountain each of the past two seasons.
Woodville (1-4) is fresh off a 50-20 loss to Ragland. The Panthers were within 21-20 at halftime, but the Purple Devils pulled away to secure the Class 1A Region 8 victory.
Brindley Mountain (0-5) is still looking for its first win of the season. The Lions began the season with overtime losses to non-region rival DAR, 22-8, and Vina, 52-44, before losing to Class 3A Region 8 rival Whitesburg Christian, 48-6, Holly Pond, 54-8 and No. 3 Fife, 63-0. The Lions enter the game against Woodville on a 22-game losing streak.
› All series recordings are available at ashfhs.org.
