E.A. Sports Today

Second round playoff pairings

Three Calhoun County teams remain alive in the AHSAA football playoffs, two will play on the road in Round 2

From the AHSAA

MONTGOMERY – Six No. 4 seeds posted wins over No. 1s as the AHSAA State Football Playoffs got underway with 104 first-round games Friday night. No. 1 seeds showed their muscle, however, with all eight winning in classes 1A, 2A, 4A and 5A.

The six No. 4 seeds advancing included Class 3A Mobile Christian (4-7) and Pike County (8-3); Class 6A St. Paul’s Episcopal (6-5) and Parker ((7-4); and Class 7A Vestavia Hills (7-4) and Dothan (8-3). Parker had perhaps the biggest upset knocking off defending Class 6A state champion Clay-Chalkville 7-6.

Three of the nine Calhoun County teams in the playoff advance to the second round — Piedmont, Anniston and Jacksonville. Piedmont and Anniston will play their second-round games on the road.

The most monumental news from the first round was UMS-Wright head coach Terry Curtis notching the 347th 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 Clay Central’s Danny Horn and Fyffe’s Paul Benefield. Horn notched the 341st 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 programs had milestone victories Friday night. Class 1A Brantley (9-2) scored its 600th all-time win beating Choctaw County 39-3 in Class 1A, and Class 4A Dora (8-3) won its 500th beating Good Hope 34-6 in Class 4A.

Booker T. Washington of Tuskegee (6-5) shocked Orange Beach (9-2) 46-43 to advance to Round 2 in Class 4A and host unbeaten Anniston (10-0). It was the first football playoff win in its school history. Hoover’s 45-19 win over Bob Jones in Class 7A, however, was the 105th playoff win for the Bucs in school history – a state record.

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).

Here are the second-round pairings. All games, Friday, 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

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