Remaining 6 Classes gearing for Semifinals this week

     MONTGOMERY – The Class 7A Super 7 state championship game set for Wednesday, Nov. 4 at  Birmingham’s Protective Stadium will have a familiar look.
    Defending state champion Central-Phenix City (10-2) beat Hoover 17-7 in the semifinals and last year’s Class 7A state runner-up Thompson (10-3) beat Enterprise 31-t in the other semifinal setting up a rematch in the Super 7 finals.
    The two teams also met in the 2021 Super 7 championship game, the 2019 finals, and the 2018 championship. Thompson, which is making its seventh straight appearance in the Super 7 Class 7A championship, beat Central 38-22 in 2921, 40-14 in 2019, and lost to the Red Devils in 2018.
    Central head coach Patrick Nix was head coach at Pinson Valley leading the Indians to the Class 6A state title in 2017 and 2018.  Thompson head coach Mark Freeman has coached the Warriors in all seven straight appearances since 2018. Thompson’s last state championship appearance prior to 2018 came in 1982 with the Warriors, coached by Larry Simmons, beating Oxford 14-11 in the Class 3A finals. The AHSAA had four classifications in 1982 – moving to six classes in 1984.
    The other six classes completed the quarterfinal round Friday night and with the semifinals set for Friday, Nov. 29. Eighteen No. 1 seeds are among the 24 teams advancing the semis – with three semifinal pairings featuring teams from the same region.
    In Class 2A, Region 5 top seed Tuscaloosa Academy (11-2) will be hosting Region 5 No. 3 seed Sulligent (9-4). The Blue Devils upset previously unbeaten Winston County (12-1) in the quarterfinals 38-12 and the Knights beat Pisgah (11-2) 44-34. Tuscaloosa Academy won the regular-season battle. The Class 2A championship is set for Friday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m., at Protective Stadium.
   Reeltown (12-1) is hosting Highland Home (13-0) in the other 2A semifinal game. Both won their region titles, the Rebels in Region 4, and the Flying Squadron in Region 3.
   In Class 4A, Jackson (12-1) and St. Michael Catholic (12-1) finished 1-2 in Region 2 and will meeting at Jackson’s Legion Field next Friday with the winner heading to the Super 7 Class. The Aggies beat the Cardinals 55-16 in the regular season  on Oct. 4, but St. Michael has won seven straight since then. The Cardinals have gone on the road the last two weeks to post playoff wins over Pleasant Grove (38-24) and Fairfield (42-25).  Jackson lost its season opener to Class 6A Saraland 35-27 and has won 12  straight since. The Aggies downed Tallassee 41-10 in the quarterfinals.
    And in Class 5A, Leeds will be at Moody in one of the most intriguing matchups in the semifinals. The distance from the Green Wave’s stadium to Bill Morris Stadium in Moody is 11.3 miles. Interstate 20 separates the two cities – which are also in two different counties. Moody (10-2), coached by Jake Ganus, is in St. Clair County, and Leeds (10-3), coached by Jerry Hood, is a city school located in Jefferson County.
    The other Class 5A semifinal will be pitting the top two defensive programs in the AHSAA this season – Vigor (12-1) and Montgomery Catholic (12-0). The Wolves of Coach John McKenzie have allowed just 62 points all season – 4.8 ppg; and the Knights (2-0), which will host the game, have allowed just 69 points, 5.8 ppg. Coach Kirk Johnson has guided Catholic to 27 straight wins, including a 21-9 victory over previous unbeaten Central, Clay County (12-1) in the quarterfinals. He is 53-2 in four seasons at Catholic, and McKenzie has a 43-8 record in five seasons at Vigor.
    The Class 6A semifinals feature four No. 1 seeds – with Region 2 champion Pike Road (10-3) hosting Region 1 champion Saraland (12-0) and Region 5 winner Parker (12-1) hosting Region 6 No. 1 seed Oxford (13-0).
    In Class 3A, Houston Academy (12-1) upset previously unbeaten T.R. Miller (12-1) in the quarterfinals 17-14, and Southside-Selma (11-2) stormed from a 24-12 deficit to beat Bayside Academy (9-4) in the quarterfinals 26-24. The two teams will meet at Dothan Friday.
    In the Class 3A north semifinals, Piedmont (13-0) beat Fyffe (9-3) in overtime 30-28, and Mars Hill Bible (12-1) defeated Winfield (11-2) in the other quarterfinal 28-13. Mars Hill will host the Bulldogs Friday.
     The home teams were 8-8 in Classes 1A through 4A in the quarterfinals, but in the top three classes, the home teams were 10-0 sweeping all eight contests.
     In another interesting note, at least five coaches with their teams still playing next week have had seasons where their teams finished 0-10 or 1-9. How is that possible?
      SPECIAL NOTE: These coaches never gave up on their dream and were opening to learning from others how to keep on working. Now these coaches, like the other two dozen coaches with teams still alive in the playoffs, are just two wins from being crowned a state champion.
      GIRLS’ FLAG FOOTBALL SEMIFINALS: The AHSAA girls’ flag football championships, which are now an officially a sanctioned sport, move into the semifinal round Nov. 26-27 with four teams in the mix ranked in the USA Today National Rankings Top 25.
     Central-Phenix City (17-0), ranked No. 1 nationally, is riding a 35-game winning streak into Tuesday’s Class 6A/7A semifinals with Auburn (11-4). The Red Devils won last year’s state tournament title, and Auburn won in 2022.
    Hewitt-Trussville (13-1) travels  to Spain Park (16-1-1) in the semifinal on Wednesday with the Huskies ranked No. 22 and the Jaguars No. 19. Defending Class 1A/5A champion Wenonah (16-2) heads to Moody (16-2) in the Class 1A/5A semis. The Dragons are ranked 14^th in the national rankings. Tallassee (13-1-1) are at Montgomery Catholic (15-4) in the other 1A/5A semifinal. Both games are set for Tuesday.

AHSAA STATE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS
(All games Friday, Nov. 29)
CLASS 1A
Elba (11-2) at Maplesville (11-2)
Hackleburg (12-1) at Wadley (11-0)

CLASS 2A
Highland Home (13-0) at Reeltown (12-1)
Sulligent (9-4) at Tuscaloosa Academy (11-2)

CLASS 3A
Southside-Selma (11-2) at Houston Academy (12-1), Dothan
Piedmont (13-0) at Mars Hill Bible (12-1), Florence

CLASS 4A
St. Michael Catholic (13-1) at Jackson (12-1)
West Morgan (13-0) at Cherokee County (12-1), Centre

CLASS 5A
Vigor (12-1) at Montgomery Catholic (12-0)
Leeds (11-2) at Moody (10-2)

CLASS 6A
Saraland (12-0) at Pike Road (10-3)
Oxford (13-0) at Parker (12-1), Birmingham

CLASS 7A
Super 7 Finals
Central-Phenix City (10-2) vs. Thompson (10-3), Wed., Nov. 4, Protective Stadium, Bimingham

AHSAA STATE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
QUARTERFINAL PLAYOFF RESULTS
CLASS 1A
Maplesville (11-2) 42, Millry (8-5) 7
Elba (11-2) 62, Georgiana (8-5) 20
Wadley (11-0) 67, Berry (11-2) 26
Hackleburg (12-1) 32, Lynn (11-2) 19

CLASS 2A
Reeltown (12-1) 42, Cottonwood (12-1) 20
Highland Home (13-0) 44, Ariton (7-6) 13
Sulligent (9-4) 38, Winston County (12-1) 12
Tuscaloosa Academy (11-2) 44, Pisgah (11-2) 34

CLASS 3A
Southside-Selma (11-2) 26, Bayside Academy (9-4) 24
Houston Academy (12-1) 17, T.R. Miller (12-1) 14
Piedmont (13-0) 30, Fyffe (9-3) 28 (OT)
Mars Hill Bible (12-1) 28, Winfield (11-2) 13

CLASS 4A
St. Michael Catholic (13-1) 42, Fairfield (9-4) 25
Jackson (12-1) 41, Tallassee (9-3) 10
Cherokee County (12-1) 21, Brooks (9-4) 14
West Morgan (13-0) 50, Anniston (7-6) 20

CLASS 5A
Montgomery Catholic (12-0) 21, Central, Clay County (12-1) 9
Vigor (12-1) 41, UMS-Wright (6-7) 10
Moody (10-2) 49, Ramsay (8-4) 7
Leeds (11-2) 57, Corner (11-2) 36

CLASS 6A
Pike Road (10-3) 11, Hueytown (9-4) 8
Saraland (12-0) 45, Spain Park (12-1) 19
Oxford (13-0) 28, Fort Payne (10-2) 26
Parker (12-1) 35, Muscle Shoals (10-3) 10

CLASS 7A
SEMIFINALS
Thompson (10-3) 31, Enterprise (8-5) 7
Central-Phenix City (10-2) 17, Hoover (10-3) 7

AHSAA FLAG FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS
Nov. 26-27
CLASS 6A-7A
Auburn (11-4) at Central-Phenix City (17-0), Tues., Nov. 26, 6 p.m.
Hewitt-Trussville (13-1) at Spain Park (16-1-1), Wed., Nov. 27, 6 p.m.
CLASS 1A-5A
Tallassee (13-1-1) at Montgomery Catholic (15-4), Tues., Nov. 26, 6 p.m.
Wenonah (16-2) at Moody (16-2), Tues., Nov. 26, 6 p.m.

AHSAA QUARTERFINAL RESULTS
CLASS 6A-7A
Auburn (11-4) 26, Opelika  (9-6) 6
Central-Phenix City (17-0) 34, Alma Bryant (12-2) 0
Spain Park (16-1-1) 34, Vestavia Hills (21-3) 18
Hewitt-Trussville (13-1) 27, Prattville (15-3) 20
CLASS 1A-5A
Montgomery Catholic (15-4) 20, B.T. Washington, Tuskegee (11-3-1) 0
Tallassee (13-1-1) 26, Marbury (7-6) 0
Moody (16-2) 35, Boaz (8-3-1) 13
Wenonah (23-1) 19, John Carroll Catholic (13-5) 13 (OT)