In the Alabama High School Activities Association, this is simply tune-up week.
Prep football playoff action begins Nov. 9. From the coverage area, Lamar County, Aliceville and Pickens County have qualified for the playoffs.
Each team will play non-region games this week to complete the regular season.
Lamar County plays host to Winfield, Aliceville travels to Greene County and Pickens County plays host to Gordo. Neither Sulligent nor South Lamar made the playoffs. They will meet in a non-region game at Sulligent.
In the Alabama Independent School Association, Pickens County plays host to Lakeside Academy in a first-round Class A playoff game.
All games start at 7 p.m. Friday, except for the Pickens County-Gordo contest, which is at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Winfield (3-6)
at Lamar County (7-2)
Lamar County will open the AHSAA Class 2A playoffs by playing host to New Brockton (4-5) Nov. 9.
The Bulldogs nailed down the second spot in Class 2A, Region 4 play with last Friday’s 18-13 win at Hale County.
“After we dropped the first region game (to Oakman), we did a great job of responding,” Lamar County coach Ken Adams said.
“I thought we played with a lot of confidence in the second half of the season.
“If we protect the football and don’t make mistakes, we feel like we can compete with a lot of the teams in the playoffs.”
Lamar County finished region play with six straight wins, while averaging 37 points per game during that win streak.
Lamar County quarterback Dallas Cockerham has completed 31-of-66 passes for 662 yards and seven touchdowns. On the ground, Cockerham has rushed for 758 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Alex Wheeler has added 559 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Tim Harton has scored seven touchdowns for the Bulldogs.
Winfield finished fifth in Class 3A, Region 7 play. The Pirates snapped a four-game losing streak with last Friday’s 33-6 win at Good Hope.
Lamar County won last season’s meeting, 18-14.
Aliceville (5-4)
at Greene County (0-9)
Aliceville will begin its march in the Class 2A playoffs Nov. 9 with a first-round road trip to Elba (6-3).
The Yellow Jackets secured the third playoff spot in Region 4-2A with last Friday’s 68-8 win at Marion.
“We are excited to be back in the playoffs,” Aliceville coach Charles Moody said. “I think we learned a lot from last year’s experience. We are looking forward to getting started.”
Ironically, the Yellow Jackets will be trying to win their first non-region game. Earlier this season, Aliceville dropped non-region games to Gordo (38-21) and Pickens County (35-14).
Inside the region, Aliceville’s offense could not match scores with Lamar County (44-14 loss) and Oakman (50-36 loss).
Last season, Aliceville qualified for the Class 3A playoffs only to be bounced by Washington County in the first round.
Greene County has dropped all nine games it played this season, including seven Region 3-3A games.
The Tigers are averaging slightly better than seven points per game.
Greene County won last season’s meeting, 28-20.
South Lamar (0-9)
at Sulligent (2-7)
Neighboring rivals South Lamar and Sulligent look to end the season on a positive note when they renew their rivalry.
Sulligent finished 2-5 in Region 4-2A play. The Blue Devils hung tough against some of the region’s elite. Other than a 42-14 loss to Aliceville, the other four region defeats were by a combined 31 points.
The Blue Devils were eliminated from playoff consideration after a 13-7 overtime loss to Hale County. Sulligent lost 30-17 to Hatch in its last outing.
Against Hatch, Juwan Metcalfe led the way for Sulligent with 86 rushing yards and a touchdown. Roman Glass also scored on a 4-yard run as the Blue Devils actually held a 14-6 lead.
South Lamar finished winless in Region 5-1A play. The final region game was last Friday’s 48-22 home loss to Parrish.
For South Lamar, Hershel Smith carried 14 times for 163 yards and scored three touchdowns.
Sulligent won last season’s meeting, 45-35.
Godo (7-2)
at Pickens County (8-1)
Pickens County preps for its Class 1A playoff home opener with Falkville (6-2) Nov. 9 by taking on longtime rival Gordo.
Pickens County nailed down second place in Region 5-1A with last Friday’s 49-22 win at Berry. The Tornadoes bounced back strong from a 45-27 region loss to Marion County the week before.
“I think the Marion County loss showed us that we needed to keep working,” Pickens County coach Patrick Plott said. “We can be a dangerous team, but if we have to stay focused and play disciplined.”
In the win over Berry, Jermarcus Brown ran for 252 yards and scored five touchdowns. Brown had three rushing scores, a kick return score and caught a 50-yard touchdown pass from Devonte Simon.
“Our offense has really made strides since the beginning of the season,” Plott said. “They have become a complete unit. Defensively, we have played well. We knew when the season started to close the gap with the elite teams in the state, we would have to play better defense.”
Gordo will host a first-round game in the Class 3A playoffs Nov. 9. The Green Wave finished 6-1 in region play, thanks to last Friday’s 42-0 home win over Holt. Gordo’s lone region loss a 31-8 setback at Fayette County.
Pickens County won last season’s meeting, 27-21.
Lakeside Academy (5-5)
at Pickens Academy (8-2)
Region 2 champion Pickens Academy begins its postseason run with first-round home game against Region 1 No. 4 seed Lakeside Academy.
Pickens Academy finished an undefeated run through region play. The Pirates then saw their eight-game win streak snapped with back-to-back losses to Patrician Academy (34-28) and Clarke Prep (56-20) to end the regular season.
“We are trying to get our spark back,” Pickens Academy coach John Gartman said. “We have played two really great teams the past couple of weeks. Hopefully, that will have prepared us for the playoffs.”
Against Clarke Prep, quarterback Josh Lewis threw for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while also running for another score. Joseph McGlawn added 74 yards and rushing score, while Joel Pratt had 107 receiving yards, with a touchdown.
A year ago, the teams met in the regular season with Pickens Academy recording a 21-7 victory.
The Pickens Academy-Lakeside Academy winner will face either Ashford Academy or Sumter Academy in a semifinal matchup Nov. 9.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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