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  School Football over the past 100 seasons.






2024 Team Previews 

  


Houston County Lions

Head Coach: Tanner Harris (first season)
Career Record: 1 season, (3-7)
At Houston County: First season
Stadium: L.F. Tillery Field
2024 Enrollment:  147
Rank:  322nd in the AHSAA, 50th in Class 2A

 History 
Overall Record:   379-486-20   (44.0%)
Last 25 years:   114-150   (43.0%)  (Rank: 261st in the AHSAA, 40th in Class 2A)
Since 2010:   36-106  (25.4%)  (Rank: 360th in the AHSAA, 50th in Class 2A)
Last Playoff Appearance:   2017
Last Region Championship:   2001
Last Winning Season:   2023
Last Losing Season:   2022

 2023 
Class:  1A              Region:   2
Record:  5-5
Region Record:   4-4, (fifth)
Playoff Record:   Did not qualify.
Final ASWA Poll:   Not Ranked
Scoring:  232 (23.2)
Defense:  232 (23.2)


 2024 
Class: 2A              Region:   2
Strength of Schedule: 32-61 (48%) (227th in the AHSAA, 32nd in Class 2A)
Region Strength:  32-43 (46%)
Non-Region Strength:  0-18 (52%)



 2023 Results 
 8/24  vs. Northside Methodist Academy  (3A)   6-25   L  
 9/1  @ Brantley  (1A)  *  13-19   L  
 9/8  vs. Elba  (1A)  *  14-49   L  
 9/15  @ Red Level  (1A)  *  40-35   W  
 9/22  vs. Georgiana  (1A)  *  0-8   L  
 9/29  vs. Graceville FL    14-8   W  
 10/6  @ Florala  (1A)  *  14-24   L  
 10/13  vs. Pleasant Home  (1A)  *  35-7   W  
 10/20   OPEN 
 10/27  vs. McKenzie  (1A)  *  48-32   W  
 11/3  @ Kinston  (1A)  *  48-25   W  

 2024 Schedule 
 8/23   OPEN 
 8/30  vs. Graceville FL   (0-9)       
 9/6  @ Ariton  (2A)  *      
 9/13  @ Cottonwood  (2A)  *      
 9/20  vs. Abbeville  (2A)  *      
 9/27  @ Baker FL   (3-6)       
 10/4  vs. Samson  (2A)  *      
 10/11  vs. G.W. Long  (2A)  *      
 10/18  @ Geneva County  (2A)  *      
 10/25  @ Providence Christian  (2A)  *      
 11/1  @ Arnold FL   (0-9)       


Class  2A Region  2
Team 2023 Record Region Scoring                            
Cottonwood (2A) 10-2 7-0439-229
G.W. Long (2A) 7-4 6-1330-276
Ariton (2A) 6-5 5-2311-285
Providence Christian (3A) 5-6 5-3211-294
Houston County (1A) 5-5 4-4232-232
Samson (2A) 3-7 2-5157-304
Abbeville (2A) 1-9 1-6128-375
Geneva County (2A) 0-10 0-740-328

 2024 Preview 


       Houston County completed the 2023 season with a 5-5 record. Last year Houston County just missed making the playoffs with a fifth place finish in Class 1A region two with a 4-4 region record.

       The Lions last playoff victory came during the 2004 season. They would love to break through this year with a post season win.

       Since 2010, the Houston County football program has struggled with a record of 36-106.

       Over the past 25 seasons, Houston County has managed to compile a record of 114-150. Their 43.0% winning percentage ranks 40th in Class 2A and 261st in the AHSAA.

Coaching Change:
     Jake Allen  leaves Houston County after just two seasons leading the Lions. His two seasons produced a record of 7-13 without a playoff appearance.

2024 Head Coach:
    Tanner Harris  is returning home to Columbia this fall to lead the Houston County Lions football program. Harris spent last season as the head coach at Brilliant. His father was the head coach for the Lions between 1997-2001 and 2020-2021. In addition to his head football role at Houston County, Harris will also be the Lions' athletic director and a physical education teacher. He served as an assistant coach to his Dad in 2020-2021 at Houston County.

Season Outlook:

       The Houston County Lions will play in Class 2A region two during the 2024 season. The Lions move up in classification to Class 2A. They may find the going slightly tougher with the move.

      

       Houston County makes their return to 2A after a couple of seasons in 1A. They have not reached the playoffs the last six seasons but will be working hard to improve on the 5-5 record last year and grab one of the four playoff spots in region 2.

       The Lions will return five starters to the offense and eight on defense. Coach Harris will be counting on a few players to play on both sides of the football this season.

       Coach Harris told us about this year's team, ''Looking to improve each week and put our self in playoff position. Expecting huge seasons out of Azariel Todd (Alabama State, Tuskegee, Mississippi College Offers), Deshaun Wynn, Dallas Rich and Zykevious Neal-Culver.''

    The Lions could find themselves challenging for one of the playoff spots for region two this season with a few breaks and a little improvement. Houston County has failed to qualify for the playoffs since 2017 but hope to return to the post season this year.

Returning Starters:
OFFENSE: Azariel Todd, Deshaun Wynn, Luis Gomez, Martrez Allen, Riley Danley, Clay Hand
DEFENSE: Azariel Todd, Deshaun Wynn, Luis Gomez, Martrez Allen, Riley Danley, Clay Hand, Zykevious Neal-Culver, Tre Griffin, Dallas Rich
NEWCOMERS: Rashawn Mitchell

Season Opener:
       The Lions open the 2024 season on the road against non-region opponent Graceville FL on Friday, August 30.

       Houston County and Graceville FL have met a total of 5 times on the football field. The Lions have a 4-1-0 record against Graceville FL. They last met in 2023 with Houston County winning by a score of 14-8.

  


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