End of the 2019 Regular Season Notes

     The undefeated teams....... Our hats are off to the twenty-one teams that maneuvered the 2019 regular season without suffering a loss. A special congratulations to Decatur Heritage Christian, Mars Hill, Pike Road and Saraland for their first ever perfect regular season. Now the quest for a state championship begins for each of these teams. Below is a list of undefeated teams along with the last time they were undefeated:
           7A - McGill-Toolen 10-0 (2017)
           6A - Saraland 10-0 (Never), Muscle Shoals 10-0 (2015)
           5A - Faith Academy 10-0 (2004, first in AHSAA), Bibb County 10-0 (2011), Jasper 10-0 (1999)
           4A - Catholic Montgomery 10-0 (1979), UMS-Wright 9-0 (2018)
           3A - Pike County 10-0 (2007), Pike Road 10-0 (Never), Gordo 10-0 (2016), Susan Moore 10-0 (2000)
           2A - Fyffe 10-0 (2018), Luverne 10-0 (1996), Ohatchee 9-0 (2018), Red Bay 10-0 (2015)
           1A - Isabella 10-0 (2002) , Lanett 9-0 (2017), Decatur Heritage Christian 10-0 (Never), Mars Hill 10-0 (Never)
           AISA - Crenshaw Christian 9-0 (2011)

     Winning a region championship is a goal of every team in their quest for a state title. Teams that won their first region crown in 2018 include: Helena, Dothan High, Saraland and Pike Road. Several schools have gone a while since winning their last region title. They include; Fairview (1998), Northside (1991) and  Flomaton (1994). Faith Academy won their first region title this year as a member of the AHSAA. They won their last title in the AISA in 2006.

     The longest streak among teams winning a region title this season belongs to Central Phenix City with six in a row. Piedmont is close behind having won their fifth in a row along with Monroe Academy who has won five in a row in the AISA.

     Brantley also won their 30th region championship since 1974. That ranks them at the top followed by R.A. Hubbard/Courtland (29), Hazlewood (26), Deshler (26), and Sweet Water (25).

     Fyffe finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record. It is their seventh undefeated regular season over the past nine years. Fyffe now breaks a tie Maplesville with 14 undefeated regular seasons all-time. The Red Devils have owned the regular season the past nine seasons by going 88-2 during that span of time. That is really an amazing record. Oh yea, they also won a few state titles along the way.

     The Fyffe Red Devils have also won 48 consecutive regular season games. They rank fifth, tied with Clay County, on the all-time list behind leader Prattville who won 56 straight between 2001-2007. Could a new record be in store for the Red Devils next season?

     Barbour County has lost sixty consecutive games over the past seven seasons. The Jaguars have assumed second place on the all-time list for consecutive losses. The longest losing streak in history belongs to R.C. Hatch who lost 68 straight between 1997-2005.

     Maplesville has twenty-six ten win seasons in the history of the school. Last year they tied T.R. Miller who also has accumulated 26. The Red Devils are 7-2 this season and will need to win at least three more games to break the tie. Not an easy task for any team. If Colbert County came pull off four wins, they too would tie for the most 10 win seasons ever.

     Russellville set a record with eleven consecutive ten win seasons between 2000-2010. Monroe Academy tied Russellville last year can take over the top spot with twelve if they can win the next two playoff games.

     The strongest region title goes to Class 7A region three with five teams finishing with a winning record. They went 19-4 against non-region foes this year. Class 3A Region 6 had three teams, Piedmont, Randolph County and Walter Wellborn finish the regular season with 9-1 records.

     Class 6A Region 8 saw only one team finish above .500 as Fort Payne went 8-2 and the other five teams going a combined 4-21. In Class 1A Region 8, only two teams finished with a winning record (Mars Hill & Waterloo). Hackleburg (4-6) and Vina (3-7) qualified for the playoffs with losing records.

     Gordo has a streak of 27 consecutive winning seasons. Others with long streaks, along with their last losing season, include; Demopolis (1994), Opelika (1995), Fyffe (1996) and McAdory (1996). Although they did not make this list, the T.R. Miller Tigers have suffered only three losing seasons in the past fifty years.

     Teams that finished the 2019 football season with a winning record that have not enjoyed one in for a while with their last winning season include: Bullock County (1984) and Chickasaw (Never). Congrats to Dothan High. After combining the Dothan and Northview schools earlier this year the new school went 7- in the regular season. A marked improvement over the separate schools.

     Winless Vina has a string of 28 consecutive losing seasons dating back to the 1989 season. The streak is the longest in the AHSAA only surpassed by Southern Prep Academy (Lyman Ward) with a streak of losing 30 seasons. Lyman Ward changed the school's name this year and it seemed to work for the football team as they posted a 6-2 record playing 8 Man football. Their first winning season since 1989.

     The Fyffe Red Devils allowed 23 points in ten games during the regular season. It is the fewest since UMS-Wright allowed 21 last year and Clay County gave up just 18 during the 1996 season.

     Calhoun, as mentioned above has really been struggling the past few seasons. The Tigers have been shutout in 22 of their past 30 games and scored just 72 points this year but that was triple what they scored all of last season.

     Teams that finished the 2019 football season with a losing record for the first time in a while with their last losing season include: Beauregard (2005), Bob Jones (2006) and Hartselle (2007).

    The biggest turnarounds this year belongs to Rehobeth which went from 0-10 last year to 7-2 this season. Other notables include; G.W. Long 2-7 to 8-2, Marbury  0-10 to 6-4.

    The biggest disappointments this season include Highland Home 12-2 to 3-7 (6 games forfeited), North Jackson 11-1 to 2-8, St. Luke's 11-2 to 2-8, Hartselle 11-1 to 4-6, Jackson-Olin 10-1 to 3-7, Pike Liberal Arts 10-2 to 3-8 and Weaver 7-4 to 0-10.

    The teams with the most victories this decade (2010-2019) ........
      1  Fyffe 123-9
      2  Maplesville 120-11
      3  Hoover 119-19
      4  Piedmont 116-17
      5  Monroe Academy 115-12
      6  Spanish Fort 115-20
      7  UMS-Wright 108-23
      8  Madison Academy 108-26
      9  St. Paul's 107-24
     10  McGill-Toolen 103-21
     10  Gordo 103-21

     Playoff Notes

    Hoover, with 98 playoff wins, holds the record for most post season wins. Colbert County (89) and the T.R. Miller Tigers (87) are just behind the Bucs. The Tigers also hold the record with thirty-three first round wins.

    The Colbert County Indians have made the most playoff appearances with 42 and extended that streak this year. Sweet Water (39) follows closely. T.R. Miller, Fyffe, Brantley, Marengo Academy and Oxford are right behind with 38 post season appearances.

    The Hoover Bucs have won 21 consecutive opening round playoff games. The Bucs are surpassed Hazlewood at 20, a record they set between 1970-1996.

    Bullock County, Dothan High and Southeastern are teams which qualify for the playoffs for the first time. Dothan High is in their first season as a new school. Southeastern makes the post season for the first time since the school first fielded a team back in 2012. Bullock County first played football back in 1909 over 110 years ago. They are the last team to qualify for the playoffs that had a team in 1966 when the playoffs began. Carbon Hill makes the post season for the first time since 1999.
    
    The Hoover Bucs hold another streak of winning 22 consecutive home playoff games dating back to the 1993 season. That streak was broken last year when the Bucs fell to Thompson in the semi-finals.
    
    Lee Montgomery misses the playoffs despite a 7-3 record. Winterboro will stay home despite a 6-3 record. Six other teams missed the playoffs with 6-4 records. Another fifteen teams won at least five games but failed to garner a playoff spot this year.

    Vina, J.B. Pennington, Rogers, Central Florence and Park Crossing finished with 3-7 records but still managed to secure a post season spot. Sidney Lanier squeaked into the post season with a 3-5 record. Thirteen playoff teams won just four games during the regular season among the AHSAA teams. In the AISA, nine of the 24 teams making the playoffs finished with a losing record.

    Luverne continues their streak of consecutive playoff appearances with a state best thirty-seven straight appearances. The next longest streaks belong to Briarwood (27), UMS-Wright (26), Demopolis (24), Aliceville (24), McAdory (23), Brantley (23) and Eufaula (22).

    Daphne saw their string of 21 straight appearances snapped when the lost the final regular season game to Blount. Other teams failing to gain a playoff spot after many consecutive seasons of post season play include; Thomasville (17), Bob Jones (14), Hillcrest Tuscaloosa (12), and Beauregard (10).

    T.R. Miller and Colbert County have won 33 first round playoff games, the most all-time. Brantley (31), Maplesville (29) and Deshler (29) are close behind.

    Teams who have never won a first round game that qualified for the playoffs in 2019 include; Bullock County (0-0), Chickasaw (0-3), Dothan High (0-0), Northside (0-12), Pike Road (0-1), Paul Bryant (0-5), Priceville (0-2), Southeastern (0-0), St. John Paul II (0-1), Talladega (0-9) and Woodville (0-3). Each of these teams would like to get their championship hopes underway with a win next Friday night.

    We wish all the teams well in the post season. Good luck and see you at the AHSAA Super Seven Championships.