The 2019 season begins this week with a partial schedule of games. Here are a few tidbits entering the season.

   *  Before we get to the usual things here, I want inform our fans that we are still here. While I did travel much of the past four months we will be here this football season and every one for a very long time hopefully. We will continue to travel extensively but the show must go on so we will still give you the best and most up to date coverage of high school football around.

   *  The season will open with a few schools no longer playing football for various reasons. Marengo Academy and Kingwood Christian closed their doors over the summer. Snook Christian. Coosa Valley Academy and Evangel Christian in Montgomery decided to not field teams in 2019. That leaves a huge gap in some of the AISA school's schedules. Among the AHSAA schools, Holy Spirit will not put a team on the field this year. Dothan and Northview combined their schools to form what we will call 'Dothan High' for lack of a better name for the new school. The Wolves will be a new school in our records from this year forward.

   *  Hoover has been ranked by the ASWA for an amazing 209 consecutive polls dating back to the 2000 season. The Bucs open the 2019 season as the #2 team in 7A and face the top ranked Red Evils of Central Phenix City.

   *  UMS-Wright is coming off a state championship season and enter this year with a nineteen game winning streaks which leads the AHSAA schools. Monroe Academy leads all teams with a 26 game winning streak.

   *   Barbour County hopes to end a string of fifty consecutive losses this season. They are followed by Calhoun (41) and Ellwood Christian (36). The streaks are not close to the longest in state history behind R.C. Hatch at 68 losses in a row.

   *   Brindlee Mountain has lost 38 consecutive region games but do not begin region play for a couple of weeks. Wilcox Central has lost 36 straight region contests.

   *  The Fyffe Red Devils have won 38 straight regular season games. They are well short of the 56 game mark set by Prattville a few years ago. Chambers Academy has a string of 34 over the past three seasons.

   *   Demopolis has a streak of 32 consecutive region wins with no signs of slowing down this year. The Tigers open region play in two weeks. Georgiana has a string of 30 straight region victories.

   *   The Volunteers of state champion Monroe Academy enter the 2019 season with a string of 40 consecutive home wins. Fyffe leads the AHSAA schools with a 31 game home winning streak.

   *   Hokes Bluff has won 12 consecutive road games. Chambers Academy leads the AISA schools with a streak of 22 straight road victories.

   *   Gordo will try to extend their streak of 26 straight winning seasons. The Green Wave last suffered through a losing season way back in 1992 when they finished with a 4-6 record. Oneonta owns the longest streak all-time when they won more games than they lost every year between 1956-1994.

   *   Maplesville has scored twenty or more points in 63 consecutive games. The Clay-Chalkville Cougars scored at least twenty points in 80 straight games to set the state record a couple of years ago.

   *   Fyffe hopes to avoid the dreaded shutout and extend their streak of consecutive games scoring. They are currently sitting on a string of 249 games without being shutout. T.R. Miller sits atop this list with a string of 354 games.

   *   The Luverne Tigers will be working hard to extend their string of qualifying for the playoffs to 37 consecutive seasons.

   *   Vina has suffered through twenty-eight consecutive losing seasons. That is the second longest in history behind only R.C. Hatch with a string of 36 straight losing seasons.

   *   No less than eight different coaches will be in search of their 100th win as a head football coach once the season opens. All have over 90 victories during their careers.

Team approaching the 500 win club
  493  -  Haleyville  (493-396-23)
  493  -  Hoover  (493-172-7)
  491  -  McGill-Toolen  (491-422-29)
  490  -  Hueytown  (490-432-32)
  489  -  McAdory  (489-390-25)

Coaches approaching the 100 win club
  99  -  Ben Blackmon (Spanish Fort)  (99-41)
  99  -  Matt Griffith (Sylacauga)  (99-92)
  97  -  David McKinney (Winfield)  (97-44)
  96  -  Toby Greene (Winfield)  (96-86)
  96  -  Don Jacobs (Scottsboro)  (96-49)
  94  -  Ronnie Cottrell (Mobile Christian)  (94-65)
  91  -  Chris Hilliker (Northside)  (91-60)
  91  -  Reuben Nelson (Ramsay)  (91-60)
  90  -  Gene Hill (Sardis)  (90-68)
  90  -  Roland Jones Jr. (Brantley)  (90-34)
  90  -  Brian Seymore (Demopolis)  (90-54)