Now that region play is over, many teams across west Alabama are preparing for the first round of the playoffs. With that being said, the final week of the regular season stands in the way. From games that can determine a 10-0 perfect season to an intense cross-county rivalry, these games might not be regional, but they are still just as important.
As the end of the high school football season in Alabama approaches, schools are starting to get a better picture of what the playoffs will look like. With only two weeks of the regular season left, it’s anyone’s game in west Alabama.
From COVID forfeitures to many of the games in west Alabama being moved to Thursday due to Hurricane Delta, last week of high school football was a wild one. As the regular season starts to wrap up, its crunch time for many schools as they make a final push for a playoff spot.
The Thomasville Tigers (7-0, 4-0) traveled to Moundville, Alabama on a special Thursday night football game to take on the Hale County Wildcats (6-3, 2-3). The Tigers came up with a huge win to remain undefeated with a final score of 45-20.
With Hillcrest’s huge win over Northridge last week, the doors of Region 4 of 6A were opened wide for an arms race involving almost all of the teams in the region. Now that we’re in October with only four weeks of the regular season left, its “put up or shut up” time for teams on the edge of a playoff berth.
After several teams took the week off last week to prepare for the second half of the schedule, most of Tuscaloosa county is back and ready for more area play. Three different 6A Region 4 matchups might be the difference makers for teams to make a playoff run. In addition, several surprise teams have matchups that could affect their comeback seasons.
This week, many of the Tuscaloosa-area schools are looking at off weeks, but many other schools in west; Alabama are taking on cross-division and even cross-class showdowns. These may not affect playoff races, but they can definitely halt some of the valuable momentum that teams have been storing as they progress through the season.