The 2024 season is underway with some great games this past week. Here are a few tidbits from the second week of football action.

   *  If the entire season is as good as the first two weeks we are in for another great year of high school football in Alabama. If you missed any of the action we will give you a weekly rundown of everything. Be sure to catch our podcast this Sunday as we will be posting a new episode covering all the action with Kurt, TP and myself.

   *   Something new we are going to try is a Facebook group. You can find a link on the homepage in the right column.  It's easy to join and all we discuss is football.

   *   Follow the Barber Shop Gurus on Wednesday morning for their latest game analysis and predictions.  Last week the guys were 9-3 in their predictions.  You can also try your luck at beating them in the forums on Wednesday.

   *   High school football in Alabama isn't just about sports; it's about tradition, it's about pride and it's way of life in the communities across the state. This weekend proved that point.

   *  Still way too early to panic folks.  Many really good teams have opened their season against tough opponents.  Teams will begin region play this week so the chase for a playoff spot is on.  Twenty AHSAA top ten teams lost this past week according to the ASWA polls.  That is down from the 26 who lost last week.

   *  We will start of with a few Thursday night games where a few of teams proved they belong at or near the top of our rankings.  Clay-Chalkville took care of Ramsay 62-7.  Thompson traveled to Nashville and came home with a big win over Lipscomb Academy 27-21 and Tuscaloosa Academy shutout Pickens County 46-0.  Lastly Highland Home secured a victory with a shutdown over Charles Henderson 24-0.

   *  The game of the week and our second #1 vs. #1 matchup in as many weeks say Pisgah defeat Fyffe on an eleven yard touchdown pass from Luke Gilbert to Jackson Smalley with just :39 seconds remaining. Pisgah had lost to the Red Devils four times in the previous two seasons.

   *  There have been 28 games since 1984 where both teams were ranked #1 by the ASWA. The lower classified team won eight of those games including the 2A Pisgah vs. 3A Fyffe game this year.  Courtland accomplished it four times as a 1A school defeating opponents who were ranked #1 at the time.  All the games were between 1990-1994.  The last lower ranked #1 team to defeat a team from a higher classification who was also ranked #1 was Madison Academy beating Leeds 19-14 in 2015.

   *  The McGill-Toolen Yellow Jackets accomplished that same #1 vs. #1 feat twice in the same season in 2016 by knocking off 6A #1 Spanish Fort to open the season and 6A #1 Blount a few weeks later.

   *  There were some great finishes but none bigger than Spain Park knocking off rival Hoover.  The Jaguars scored with just 50 seconds remaining to defeat the Bucs for just the third time on the field in history.  Gordo also beat 4A Bibb County 36-35 in another great contest.

   *  Mary Montgomery held off Gulf Shores  21-17 even as Kolin Wilson went off in the first half rushing for 297 yards. He finished the game with 359 yards on 32 carries and 2 TDs. The all-state running back subbed at quarterback for the injured Judson Harris.

   *  The biggest upset was likely 2A Coosa Christian defeating 6A Pell City by a score of 17-7 after entering the game as a 25 point underdog.  Hokes Bluff upset Southside Gadsden 21-13. The Eagle were a 21 point underdog in this game. 

   *  Other teams went out and proved they were deserving of being ranked among the best in the state this preseason.  Saraland bombed Blount 59-6, Enterprise got by Pike Road 24-6, Auburn dominated Vestavia Hills 52-17, Catholic beat up on St. Clair County 51-14, Jackson beat Demopolis 42-20 and Highland Home shutout Charles Henderson 24-0.

   *   Overall Alabama schools have a record of 14-9 against other states following two weeks of action. They are 4-6 against Georgia, 7-3 versus Florida and 2-0 versus Tennessee. They have won the only game against an opponent from Mississippi.  We are only counting the AHSAA schools.
  
   *  Fyffe has been ranked by the ASWA for an amazing 166 consecutive polls dating back to the 2009 season. The Red Devils opened the 2024 season as the #1 team in 3A but lost to Pisgah Friday night. They will not fall far in the ASWA polls this week.

   *   The current longest winning streak among the AHSAA schools now belongs to Catholic Montgomery with a string of 17 straight victories. Lowndes Academy in the AISA has a 20 game streak going.

   *   Columbia now holds onto the longest losing streak at 83 straight contests. They now hold the all-time record for consecutive losses.  They got run over by Huffman 52-14 on Thursday.

   *   Catholic Montgomery has a streak of 34 consecutive region wins. The Knights open region play next week against Eufaula on a big game. Madison Academy (26) and Russellville (25) are the next two schools with long region winning streaks.

   *   Barbour County has lost 65 consecutive region games and will begin region play this week by hosting Highland Home.

   *  The #2 ranked Catholic Montgomery Knights have won 36 straight regular season games after knocking off St. Clair County 51-14. The Elba Tigers saw their string of 28 consecutive regular season wins come to an end with a 49-22 loss to Glenwood School.

   *   The Saraland Spartans, ranked #1 in 6A, are rolling along with 26 consecutive home wins. The Spartans take to the coast this week as they travel to Gulf Shores.

   *   Catholic Montgomery also holds onto the longest road winning streak having won 24 consecutive road games. The Knights travel to Eufaula this Friday night.

   *   Fyffe may have lost the game but the Red Devils extended their streak of consecutive games scoring. They are currently sitting on a string of 322 games without being shutout. T.R. Miller sits atop this list with a string of 354 games.

   *   Jeremy Perkins, the head football coach at Austin, picked up his 100th win in his career as the Black Bears defeated Decatur 41-0 Friday night.  Congrats Coach on reaching that milestone.

Team approaching the 700 win club
  689  -  Thomasville  (689-350-49)

Team approaching the 650 win club
   649 -  Guntersville  (649-414-21)
   648 -  Jackson  (648-374-41)

Team approaching the 600 win club
  597  -  Athens  (597-427-36)
  595  -  Prattville  (595-416-27)
  594  -  Fyffe  (594-310-13)
  594  -  Addison  (594-305-13)
  593  -  Sweet Water  (593-367-25)

Team approaching the 500 win club
  499  -  Minor  (499-486-22)
  496  -  Greensboro  (496-441-37)
  497  -  Hale County  (497-442-24)
  494  -  Cottonwood  (494-377-20)
  492  -  Pike County  (492-393-18)


Coaches approaching the 150 win club
  148  -  Ben Blackmon (Enterprise)  (148-59)
  146  -  David McKinney (Winfield)  (146-56)
  146  -  Jerry Hood (Leeds)  (146-69)
  145  -  Roland Jones Jr. (Brantley)  (145-46)
  143  -  Smitty Grider (Benjamin Russell)  (143-73)

Coaches approaching the 100 win club
  99  - David Smothers (Addison)  (99-42)