AHSAA Sets Second Round Pairings for Football Playoffs

   MONTGOMERY – Six Number 4 seeds posted wins over Number 1 seeds as the AHSAA 2022 State Football Playoffs got underway with 104 games in first-round action Friday night. Number 1 seeds showed their muscle, however, with all eight winning in classes 1A, 2A, 4A and 5A.
     The six No. 4 seeds advancing included, in Class 3A: Mobile Christian (4-7), Pike County (8-3); Class 6A: St. Paul’s Episcopal (6-5), Parker ((7-4); and Class 7A: Vestavia Hills (7-4) and Dothan (8-3). Parker had perhaps the biggest upset knocking defending Class 6A state champion Clay-Chalkville 7-6.
      Only 36 of the 52 No. 2 seeds won first-round games. 16 No. 3 seeds won – including 4 of 8 in Class 3A. In Class 7A, all four qualifiers from Regions 2 and Region 3 advanced to the second round – guaranteeing a Region 2 vs. Region 3 Super 7 state championship game to open the 2022 Super 7 championships on Nov. 30.
      The most monumental news from the first round was UMS-Wright head coach Terry Curtis notching the 347^th win of his coaching career as the Bulldogs (11-0) advanced in Class 5A with  56-13 win over Headland. He tied AHSAA career wins leader Buddy Anderson of Vestavia Hills last week, and moved past Anderson, who had 346 coaching wins  — all at Vestavia — in his legendary career which came to an end with his retirement after the 2020 season. Current Vestavia Hills head coach, Robert Evans, who was a standout defensive back on the Rebels’ 1998 state championship team, guided Vestavia Hills to its first playoff win since 2016 Friday with a 52-10 win over Class 7A No. 1 seed Austin.
     Sneaking up fast on the wins leaderboard are Central of Clay County Coach Danny Horn and Fyffe Coach Paul Benefield. Horn notched the 341^st win of his career beating Holtville 50-0 Friday in Class 5A. He is now 341-95. Benefield’s Red Devils handed him the 333rd victory of his coaching career with a 55-8 win over Red Bay Friday. Benefield has just 55 losses.
     Two high schools had milestone victories as well Friday night. Class 1A Brantley (9-2) won its 600^th win in history beating Choctaw County 39-3 in Class 1A, and Class 4A Dora (8-3) won its 500^th victory overall beating Good Hope 34-6 in Class 4A. Also, in Class 4A, T.R. Miller (10-1) beat Montgomery Academy 41-13 and leads the state with 718 wins overall. Oneonta(9-1) downed Haleyville 56-14 in its first-round game Friday for its 717^th  victory. If both can survive three more rounds, the two schools would meet in the Class 4A Super 7 finals on Dec. 2 at Jordan-Hare Stadium with 1,441 wins between them.
     Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee (6-5) shocked Orange Beach (9-2) 46-43 to advance to Round 2 in Class 4A to host unbeaten Anniston (10-0) in round 2. It was the first football playoff win in school history for BTW. Hoover’s 45-19 win over Bob Jones in Class 7A, however, was the 105^th playoff win for the Bucs in school history – a state record.
      Thompson’s Class 7A shutout win (34-0) over Huntsville was the Warriors’ 13^th straight Class 7A playoff win. Ironically, Thompson was shut out by Hoover 9-0 in the final game of the regular season to snap a 70-game scoring streak that dated back to 2016. By comparison, the Warriors’ defense had 12 shutouts during that same time span.
     Unbeaten teams still in the playoffs include: (Class 1A) Elba (11-0); Meek (11-0); (Class 2A) Fyffe (11-0); (Class 3A) Dadeville (10-0); (Class 4A) Montgomery Catholic (11-0); Anniston (10-0); Deshler (11-0); Priceville (11-0); (Class 5A) UMS-Wright (11-0); Leeds (10-0); (Class 6A) Theodore (11-0); Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (11-0); Hartselle (11-0).
    AHSAA TV Network executive producer Vince Earley of WOTM TV announced the AHSAA TV Network/WOTM TV Game of the Week for the second round will a Class 5A battle between two 10-1 teams with Moody visiting Arab. The game will also be featured live over the NFHS Network.
      At least 40 of this week’s 52 Round 2 playoff games are expected to be aired live over the NFHS Network’s school broadcast program. Two playoff games, Class 1A Loachapoka (9-1) at Millry (10-1) and Class 5A Ramsay (9-2) at Guntersville (9-2), have been set for Thursday night. A third game, Pike County (8-3) at Alabama Christian (8-3), has been tentatively set for Thursday but is still awaiting both schools’ approval. If not agreed, it will be played on Friday, Nov. 11.
       The second-round playoff pairings and first-round results are listed below.

AHSAA 2022 FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
Second-Round Pairings
(All games, Friday, Nov. 11, 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted)

CLASS 1A
Leroy (9-1) at Maplesville (8-3)
Brantley (9-2) at Linden (9-1)
Sweet Water (8-2) at Elba (11-0)
Loachapoka (9-1) at Millry (10-1), Thursday, Nov. 10

Pickens County (8-3) at Meek (11-0), Arley
Valley Head (10-1) at Marion County (8-3), Guin
Coosa Christian (7-4) at Spring Garden (10-1)
Addison (9-2) at Lynn (10-1)

CLASS 2A
B.B. Comer (9-2) at Wicksburg (6-5)
G.W. Long (8-3) at Reeltown (9-1)
Highland Home (10-1) at Ariton (10-1)
Vincent (10-1) at Clarke County (6-5), Grove Hill

Tuscaloosa Academy (9-2) at Lexington (9-2)
Fyffe (11-0) at Winston County (7-4), Double Springs
Pisgah (9-2) at Southeastern (9-1), Remlap
Falkville (7-4) at Aliceville (10-1)

CLASS 3A
Thomasville (8-3) at Dadeville (10-0)
Saint James (9-2) at W.S. Neal (7-4), Brewton
Trinity Presbyterian (9-2)  at Mobile Christian (4-7)
Pike County (8-3) at Alabama Christian (8-3), Montgomery, Faulkner U., Thursday, Nov. 10 (tentative)

Mars Hill Bible (10-1) at Geraldine (7-4)
Sylvania (8-3) at Madison Academy (9-2)
Piedmont (9-2) at Colbert County (7-4), Leighton
Lauderdale County (7-4) at Gordo (10-1)

CLASS 4A
Anniston (10-0) at Booker T. Washington (6-5), Tuskegee
Andalusia (10-1) at American Christian (9-2),Tuscaloosa
Montgomery Catholic (11-0) at Jacksonville (8-3)
Handley (10-1) at T.R. Miller (10-1), Brewton

Priceville at Oneonta
Etowah at Deshler, Tuscumbia
West Morgan at Cherokee County, Centre
Randolph at Dora

CLASS 5A
Gulf Shores (10-1) at Central, Clay County (9-2)
Demopolis (10-1) at Faith Academy (9-2), Mobile
Charles Henderson (9-1) at Tallassee (7-4)
Beauregard at 1: UMS-Wright (11-0), Mobile

Pleasant Grove (9-1) at Russellville (7-4)
Moody (10-1) at Arab (10-1)
Scottsboro (7-4) at Leeds (9-1)
Ramsay (9-2) at Guntersville (9-2), Thursday, Nov. 10

CLASS 6A
Saraland (10-1) at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (11-0)
Pike Rod (7-4) at Homewood (9-2)
Pelham (6-5) at St. Paul’s Episcopal (6-5),  Mobile
Hueytown (8-3) at Theodore (11-0)

Mountain Brook (9-2) at Gadsden City (7-4)
Center Point (9-1) at Hartselle (11-0)
Muscle Shoals (9-1) at Parker (7-4), Birmingham
Gardendale (8-3) at Decatur (9-2)

CLASS 7A
Dothan (8-3) at Auburn (10-1)
Enterprise (8-3) at Central-Phenix City (9-2)

Hewitt-Trussville (8-3) at Hoover (10-1)
Vestavia Hills (7-4) at Thompson (8-3), Alabaster

AHSAA PLAYOFF RESULTS
Friday’s First-Round Scores
(In bracket order)
CLASS 1A
Maplesville 55, R.C. Hatch 8

Leroy 47, Georgiana 12

Linden 54, Autaugaville 8 (corrected score)

Brantley 39, Choctaw County 3

Elba 42, Southern Choctaw 20

Sweet Water 48, Verbena 8

Millry 55, Florala 7

Loachapoka 28, Keith 24

Meek 46, Cedar Bluff 6

Pickens County 34, Wadley 15

Valley Head 61, Phillips-Bear Creek 20

Marion County 59, Ragland 22

Spring Garden 35, South Lamar 7

Coosa Christian 51, Hackleburg 8

Lynn 42, Donoho 0

Addison 66, Appalachian 22

CLASS 2A
B.B. Comer 45, Lanett 20

Wicksburg 34, J.U. Blacksher 7

Reeltown 49, Thorsby 6

G.W. Long 19, Saint Luke’s Episcopal 16

Ariton 61, Chickasaw 22

Highland Home 29, Isabella 21

Clarke County 27, Cottonwood 7

Vincent 36, Luverne 35

Lexington 49, North Sand Mountain 14

Tuscaloosa Academy 42, Locust Fork 28

Fyffe 55, Red Bay 8

Winston County 50, Cleveland 14

Southeastern 16, Lamar County 7

Pisgah 40, Hatton 20

Aliceville 62, West End 13

Falkville 42, Collinsville 7

CLASS 3A
Dadeville 33, Southside-Selma 8

Thomasville 20, Straughn 9

Saint James 54, Walter Wellborn 7

W.S. Neal 27, Opp 13

Trinity Presbyterian 37, Saks 0

Mobile Christian 30, Houston Academy 3

Pike County 42, Excel 14

Alabama Christian Academy 63, Randolph County 30

Mars Hill Bible 62, Danville 7

Geraldine 24, Winfield 8

Madison Academy 49, Phil Campbell 28

Sylvania 35, Fayette County 6

Piedmont 61, Oakman 0

Colbert County 57, J.B. Pennington 28

Gordo 50, Ohatchee 6

Lauderdale County 41, Vinemont 7

CLASS 4A
Anniston 52, Sipsey Valley 0

B.T. Washington 46, Orange Beach 43

American Christian Academy 16, Munford 13

Andalusia 25, Jackson 10

Catholic-Montgomery 41, Bayside Academy 13

Jacksonville 35, Bibb County 28

T.R. Miller 41, Montgomery Academy 13

Handley 46, West Blocton 6

 

 

Priceville 49, Central-Florence 28

Oneonta 56, Haleyville 14

Deshler 68, Madison County 34

Etowah 42, Northside 21

Cherokee County 47, Corner 10

West Morgan 27, Westminster Christian 7

Dora 34, Good Hope 6

Randolph 54, Rogers 15

CLASS 5A
Central – Clay County 50, Holtville 0

Gulf Shores 42, Carroll-Ozark 0

Demopolis 48, Elmore County 28

Faith Academy 21, Eufaula 15

Charles Henderson 20, Williamson 16

Tallassee 49, Selma 16

UMS-Wright 56, Headland 13

Beauregard 35, Marbury 10

Russellville 63, Boaz 10

Pleasant Grove 43, Alexandria 14

Arab 54, East Limestone 14

Moody 29, Jasper 21

Leeds 39, Fairfield 13

Scottsboro 45, Brewer 14

Ramsay 61, Southside-Gadsden 25

Guntersville 24, Fairview 13

CLASS 6A
Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 38, Calera 0

Saraland 48, Wetumpka 14

Homewood 35, McAdory 30

Pike Road 22, Spanish Fort 21

St. Paul’s Episcopal 13, Carver-Montgomery 0

Pelham 44, Northridge 14

Theodore 35, Sidney Lanier 20

Hueytown 56, Benjamin Russell 28

Gadsden City 41, Cullman 24

Mountain Brook 49, Pinson Valley 7

Hartselle 52, Buckhorn 7

Center Point 26, Jackson Olin 8

Parker 7, Clay-Chalkville 6

Muscle Shoals 58, Hazel Green 7

Gardendale 31, Oxford 14

Decatur 31, Fort Payne 8

CLASS 7A
Dothan 42, Foley 28

Auburn 35, Fairhope 17

Central-Phenix City 58, Mary Montgomery 7

Enterprise 35, Baker 26

Hoover 45, Bob Jones 19

Hewitt-Trussville 38, Florence 20

Vestavia Hills 52, Austin 10

Thompson 34, Huntsville 0