REFORM, Ala. — Scott Marchant isn”t so concerned about where his Pickens County team will be in the Alabama High School Athletic Association playoffs.
No matter what the outcome of his team”s game at Holy Spirit on Friday, Pickens County will be in the playoffs. The only question is where Marchant”s team (5-3, 4-2 region) will be in the Class 1A, Region 4 standings after his team faces Holy Spirit (4-4, 3-3 region).
“I feel good about the playoffs,” Marchant said. “We need to play well. Injuries are probably more important right now than any other time of the year.”
Marchant said Hatton coach Jack Hankins is one of the state”s top coaches.
“He”s been there several years and has been dealing with injury issues this year,” Marchant said. “They run the straight-I or split running backs, a traditional look on offense, What they do is execute. You can tell they are a well-coached team.”
n Meek (2-6, 1-5) at South Lamar (2-6, 1-5): South Lamar coach Josh Harper doesn”t see anything special about Meek in the final Class 1A, Region 5 game for both teams at Millport, Ala.
“Nothing really stands out about them,” Harper said. “They are not a passing team; they are not a rushing team. They play with a lot of spirit and a lot of pride.”
Because the teams have identical records, Harper said he believes the game”s outcome will come down to execution.
“Whoever is more consistent and makes the least mistakes will win the game,” he said.
- Aliceville (5-3, 4-2) at Northside (2-6, 2-4): The Yellow Jackets wrapped up third place last week in the Class 3A, Region 4 standings and will play in the playoffs in two weeks.
Coach Eddie Hill said next weekend might be the most important date of the season. Aliceville has an open date the week before playoffs.
“That will give the players time to get their legs back up under them,” said Hill, a first-year head coach at the school who has been fighting the flu for the past two weeks. “I am real pleased with them being in the playoffs and the way they have played.”
Aliceville is coming off an 18-14 victory against Greensboro in which Marquise Colvin had 20 carries for 207 yards and Marquis Mayhew had 101 yards on 19 carries.
“Colvin is just a junior, so he”ll be a big part of our team next year too,” Hill said. “Mayhew is right at 1,000 yards this year. A thousand yards in eight games is pretty good.”
Mayhew also had nine tackles to lead the defense against Greensboro.
- Sulligent (6-2, 5-1) at Phil Campbell (4-4, 2-4): The Class 2A, Region 8 championship will come down to Friday night for Sulligent.
The Blue Devils must beat Phil Campbell to claim the title outright. Coach Ronnie Hubbert said his squad will have its hands full.
“I was just sitting here looking over the roster,” Hubbert said. “They have 15 seniors, so they are pretty top heavy in experience. Their quarterback is big; he reminds me of Jared Lorenzen, who played at Kentucky a couple of years ago. They say he played nose guard last year.”
Lorenzen, who had a spotty NFL career, was a 6-foot-4, 285-pound quarterback.
- Bessemer Academy (8-0, 6-0) at Pickens Academy (5-3, 3-3): The Pirates aren”t taking any time off after winning a berth in the Alabama Independent School Association playoffs.
Pickens Academy smashed Lakeside 34-0 last week to finish fourth in Class 2A, Region 1. Although Lakeside (4-3, 2-3) can equal Pickens Academy”s record by beating Restoration on Friday, the Pirates have the tiebreaker.
Next is Bessemer, which lost in the Class 3A finals last year. What does coach John Gartman plan to do against a larger team?
“We intend to put up a fight,” said Gartman, who is in his first year as head coach at the school. “They are very much a big-play team, and we have to make them grind it out on long drives.”
Gartman also said the Pirates have to stay healthy as they prepare for the playoffs.
- Lamar County (3-5, 3-3) at Hatton (3-5, 3-3): Lamar County is not mathematically eliminated from the Class 2A, Region 8 playoffs. Coach Ken Adams, however, knows his squad will have its hands full with Hatton while pinning its playoff hopes on someone else.
“Hatton has a big front line, big tight end,” Adams said. “They play the game in the trenches, and they also had 250 yards passing last week.”
Lamar County”s playoff hopes, however, hinge on the outcome of the Red Bay-Cherokee contest. Adams wants to make the playoffs, but on Lamar County”s terms.
“We have to realize we have got to be even better,” Adams said. “I don”t ever want to be in a position like this again.”
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