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The best of the best in Alabama High
School Football over the past 100 seasons.

2024 Team Previews




Decatur Red Raiders
Head Coach: John Ritter (first season) Career Record: 11 seasons, (85-42) At Decatur: First season Stadium: Shorty Ogle Stadium 2024 Enrollment: 843 Rank: 58th in the AHSAA, 26th in Class 6A

History

Overall Record: 660-368-27 (64.0%)
Last 25 years: 171-113 (60.0%) (Rank: 90th in the AHSAA, 17th in Class 6A)
Since 2010: 80-74 (51.9%) (Rank: 175th in the AHSAA, 29th in Class 6A)
Last Playoff Appearance: 2022
Last Region Championship: 2007
Last Winning Season: 2022
Last Losing Season: 2023

2023

Class: 6A Region: 7
Record: 3-7
Region Record: 1-4, (fifth)
Playoff Record: Did not qualify.
Final ASWA Poll: Not Ranked
Scoring: 237 (23.7)
Defense: 281 (28.1)

2024

Class: 6A              Region: 7
Strength of Schedule: 56-53 (51%) (168th in the AHSAA, 36th in Class 6A)
Region Strength:  34-32 (52%)
Non-Region Strength:  22-21 (51%)

2023 Results

8/25	vs. Mae Jemison (6A)	54-23	W
9/1	vs. Austin (7A)	3-35	L
9/8	@ Athens (6A) *	16-44	L
9/15	vs. Cullman (6A) *	14-21	L
9/22	@ Hazel Green (6A)	45-21	W
9/29	OPEN
10/6	vs. Columbia (6A) *	42-0	W
10/13	@ Muscle Shoals (6A) *	3-56	L
10/20	vs. Hartselle (6A) *	19-20	L
10/27	@ Buckhorn (6A)	21-26	L
11/3	@ Scottsboro (5A)	20-35	L

2024 Schedule

8/23	@ Buckhorn (6A)
8/30	@ Austin (7A)
9/6	@ Jasper (6A) *
9/13	vs. Muscle Shoals (6A) *
9/20	vs. Hartselle (6A) *
9/27	vs. Lee Huntsville (6A)
10/3	@ Columbia (6A) *
10/10	vs. Mae Jemison (6A)
10/18	vs. Cullman (6A) *
10/25	@ Athens (6A) *
11/1	OPEN

Class 6A Region 7
Team	2023 Record	Region	Scoring
Muscle Shoals (6A)	11-1	5-0	510-204
Hartselle (6A)	9-3	4-1	359-234
Athens (6A)	8-3	3-2	419-301
Cullman (6A)	5-6	2-3	257-282
Decatur (6A)	3-7	1-4	237-281
Columbia (6A)	0-10	0-5	50-413
Jasper (5A)	1-9	1-6	164-372

2024 Preview

       Decatur finished the 2023 season with a disappointing 3-7 record. Last year Decatur just missed making the playoffs with a fifth place finish in Class 6A region seven with a 1-4 region record.

       The Red Raiders hope to rebound after a down year. Last season they struggled winning just three games which followed a 9-3 record in 2022.

       Since 2010, Decatur has gone a combined 80-74. Their 51.9% winning percentage ranks 29th in Class 6A over the past fourteen seasons.

       Over the past 25 seasons, Decatur has managed to compile a record of 171-113. Their 60.0% winning percentage ranks 17th in Class 6A and 90th in the AHSAA.

Coaching Change:
     Aairon Savage stepped down as the head football coach at Decatur in January after just one season leading the program. His only team finished a disappointing 3-7. A school know for coaches with long tenures will be out to fill the spot soon.

2024 Head Coach:
    John Ritter moves on to Decatur after spending the last six seasons as the head football coach at Russellville. Each of his teams reached the playoffs and had a combined record of 52-19. In eleven seasons as a head coach his teams have an overall record of 85-42 and all but one qualified for the playoffs. His previous head coaching jobs were at Red Bay for two seasons and West Morgan for another three before landing at Russellville. Over the course of his career, Coach Ritter's teams have qualified for the playoffs a total of ten times and won five region championships.

Season Outlook:

       The Decatur Red Raiders will play in Class 6A region seven during the 2024 season.



       This season the Red Raiders will face seven teams that qualified for the playoffs last year. Region seven will be competitive with the likes of Hartselle, Muscle Shoals, Cullman and Athens awaiting the Red Raiders on their region slate in 2024.

       Decatur will return just three starters from last season to the offense but will have seven back on defense. Coach Ritter, in his first year at Decatur, will be counting on a number of younger players to step up and fill some positions especially on offense.

       Coach Ritter told us ''The 2024 team will be young and inexperienced but have a talented Sophomores class that will need to grow up quickly. Trey Greenwell, Levi Jeffers, Martin Johnson and Louis Truffa lead a small senior class that all played significant minutes for the Red Raiders last season.''

    The Red Raiders could find themselves challenging for one of the playoff spots for region seven this season with a few breaks and a little improvement. Decatur came up short of the playoffs last year but are optimistic of a return to the post season this year.

Players to Watch in 2024:
      WR Rhys Dorsey will be back for his junior season after catching 59 passes for 450 yards and 6 TDs last season.

Returning Starters:
STARTERS: LB Dylon Martin, WR Rhys Dorsey
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Devin Haley-TB, Isaiah Allen-TB/LB, Donte Ross-H, Martin Johnson-OL, Harris Penley-OL, Brayden Simpson-WR, Jason Tennison-DL, Quaylen Hampton-Corner/WR, Cayden Oliver-LB, Trey Greenwell-DB/WR, Jayden Davenport-DE

Season Opener:
       The Red Raiders open the 2024 season on the road against non-region opponent Buckhorn on Friday, August 23 at Tommy R. Ledbetter Stadium. Last year the Buckhorn Bucks finished with an overall record of 6-5 and in third place in Class 6A region eight. The Bucks lost in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs to Mountain Brook by a score of 35-14.

       Decatur and Buckhorn have met a total of 11 times on the football field. The Red Raiders have a 7-4-0 record against the Bucks. They last met in 2023 with Buckhorn winning by a score of 26-21.

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