Several teams have shot at playoffs

By Staff
Justin Schuver, Sports Editor
It’s hard to believe that high school football is literally just a week away. Next Thursday, Hartselle will face Austin at Ogle Stadium in Decatur to officially kick-off this year’s pigskin action.
As is the case with every season, this year has no lack of story lines.
As if Hartselle didn’t have it hard enough in 2005, now the Tigers’ region includes Decatur while retaining Athens and Russellville. Cullman and Walker — two teams who made the playoffs in 2005 — are gone, but that doesn’t mean the Tigers will have a cakewalk to that last playoff berth assuming that the three powerhouses of Decatur, Athens and Russellville make the postseason.
West Point is making a huge step up in classification, but the Wildcats were competitive in Class 4A in 2005, outscoring their opponents 256-192 and finishing with a 7-4 record. Muscle Shoals, J.O. Johnson and Brewer should all be improved as well, so it should be a dogfight to the end.
Another team to keep an eye on is Priceville, who is making the jump from Class 2A to Class 4A. Normally a team making such a jump expects to merely compete, but there is plenty of reason for the Bulldogs to aim even higher.
The Bulldogs had a 5-5 record in 2005, but that mark is somewhat skewed. Priceville was competitive in all its games — the Bulldogs scored 175 points and allowed 176 points in its 10 games. The Bulldogs were only blown out in one game — a 41-0 loss to Cordova — their other four losses were all by 14 points or less.
Priceville’s new Region 7 includes two schools that are playing their first year of varsity football in Columbia and DAR and two schools in Ardmore and East Lawrence that combined for a 1-20 record in 2005. Powerhouses North Jackson (12-1 in 2005) and East Limestone (9-3) will certainly be tough, but the next best team in the region is a 5-5 Madison County team who was outscored 257-187 during the regular season.
It would not be too much of a stretch to expect the Bulldogs to not only be competitive in their first year of Class 4A football, but to also make the playoffs.
Falkville is perhaps the most intriguing team to watch. The Blue Devils made the playoffs in 2005, but they did so with a less than impressive 4-6 regular season record while being outscored 183-107 during those 10 games. Still, they were the only team in the area to make the playoffs and they accomplished that feat after finishing 0-10 in the 2004 season.
The question then, is can the Blue Devils return to the postseason in 2006? A big plus for Falkville is that realignment has given the Blue Devils a gift with Cordova (defeated Falkville 51-16) and Lamar County (36-6 win over Falkville) no longer on the region schedule. Newcomers Fultondale (1-9 record in Class 3A), Westbrook Christian (5-5), Vincent (6-5) and Victory Christian (5-5 in Class 1A) don’t scare anyone. If the Blue Devils win the games they should win, a return to the postseason is in the cards.
Danville suffered through a disappointing 4-6 season in 2005, but could experience a rebirth in a new Region 7. Other than Madison Academy (10-3 in 2005) and Sumiton Christian (9-3), there simply isn’t a standout team in this region. The region is wide open and the Hawks are just as capable as anyone else to pick up one of those four playoff spots.
As an extra note on Danville, you can never underestimate the rivalry of the sexes, especially when it comes to high school kids. You can be certain that the Hawks are well aware that it has been the girls’ programs — softball and volleyball both made the state tournament last year — taking most of the school’s sports headlines recently.
After a 2005 season where just one of the five area high schools made the playoffs, 2006 might be a banner year with as many as four making the postseason.
But nothing will really be determined until the teams strap on pads and helmets and go after each other on the field. And that’s just 168 hours away.