Friday Night Lights Radio Preview for Oct. 30, 2020

Alabama High School Teams Preparing for Postseason

With region play concluded, high school teams across the region and state are focusing on the playoffs. Here are some area games we will keeping you informed on and staffing this week on Friday Night Lights Radio on Tide 100.9 FM and the app, hosted by myself and Jacob Harrison:

Demopolis Tigers [9-0, 6-0 Region] @ Hillcrest Patriots [8-1, 5-1]

For most of this season, Hillcrest seemed to be the team to beat in Region 4 of 6A. That changed after a Week 5 loss at Hueytown [where Hillcrest fans thought they got “Jordan-Hared” by the officials.] Hueytown won the region title after only losing once and owning a tiebreaker over Hillcrest.

All fall on FNL Radio we’ve raved about Hillcrest sophomore quarterback Ethan Crawford. In six of the Pats’ nine games so far, the team has scored over 30 points. Demopolis has looked just as explosive with six games of their own with over 30 points. This one should be a shootout.

Gordo Green Wave [8-1, 6-0] @ Pickens County Tornadoes [7-2, 6-1]

This is a Thursday game and Gordo won’t be using junior quarterback Tanner Bailey, as he told me on Twitter. He should be back next week for a playoff game. Since both teams’ football teams were founded in the 1910s, Gordo and Pickens County, only eight miles from each other, have had a fierce rivalry spanning 95 games. Gordo leads with 53 wins to the Tornadoes’ 39 victories. There were three ties.

Pickens County’s offense has been consistent all season. Seven of their games have seen them score over 26 points. The Tornadoes are coached by former Alabama tight end Michael Williams.

Tuscaloosa County Wildcats [2-7, 1-6] @ Northridge Jaguars [7-2, 4-2]

Last week against McAdory, Northridge’s defense put on a show with five interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns off star Bulldogs’ sophomore quarterback Cam Shepherd. In addition, the defense forced four fumbles. As for the whole season, the Jags have only allowed 110 points, a testament to the hiring of former Bama/Bengals star John Copeland as an assistant.

This week, this same defense will be looking at a big test against Wildcats’ running back/Troy verbal Damien Taylor, a three-star commit with 1,851 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns this season.

Though Tuscaloosa County’s record might not show it, this Wildcats team is talented. Three of their seven losses have been by seven points or less.

Central Falcons [3-6, 2-5] @ Fairfield Tigers [4-5, 3-4]

Central-Tuscaloosa had high hopes at the beginning of this season with the hiring of head coach Rodney Bivens Jr., but this season has been a tough one. The Falcons have only won three games in 2020, which is a slight downward trend from 2019’s four wins by CHS.

Fairfield has also had a tough season, but the Tigers managed to sneak into the playoffs with a 3-4 region record.

Hale County Wildcats [5-4, 2-4] @ Lamar County Bulldogs [4-5, 3-3]

The Wildcats upset a great Northside team last week at home which perfectly exemplifies this crazy 2020 season. Hale County almost snuck into the playoffs, but after losing to Greensboro two weeks ago, their fate was out of their hands.

Also finishing their regular season in the area, Brookwood will travel to Oak Grove. Northside will host winless Sipsey Valley. The Holt Ironmen will travel to Auburn High, which has a great team this year. Mars Hill forfeits this week to American Christian Academy.

Join Jacob Harrison, Producer James Ludeman and myself for updates on these and other games this Friday fron 6-9 p.m. CT on Tide 100.9 and the app.

Bryant Horn of Tide 100.9 FM contributed to this article.