Region play is really heating up after this week. Here are a few tidbits from the fifth week of football action.

   *  Finally we get a weekend with great fall weather. It was a relief after a few weeks of rain and storms across Alabama.  Once again we had some fantastic football action to cover.

   *   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.

   *   Our series on "people you should know" continues this week with a new personality on Monday. Look for that too.

   *   Scoring averages will be posted for each classification and every team on Sunday along with the AHSFHS Power Ratings for all teams and our very own Power Ratings Top Ten for each classification on Monday.

   *   The AHSFHS Power Ratings got 165 of 195 games correct this week when picking the winners.  That is 85% of the games in the correct column.

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

   *  Most of the ASWA top ten teams won their games in convincing fashion with a few exceptions.

   *  There were some close matchups.  Carver Montgomery held on to beat Dothan High 35-28. It's the third seven point loss for the Wolves against some tough competition in Region 2.

   *  Mountain Brook led Oxford 28-14 with 6 minutes left before Caleb Wynn scored on a 2-yard run with 21 seconds to play. Oxford went for two and got it for a dramatic 29-28 win.

   *  Arab scored to take the lead over Guntersville with under a minute remaining.  Brandon Manganaris then booted a 25-yard field goal for Guntersville with only one second remaining in the game for a 17-15 victory.  Moody held off Helena to win 26-21 in a huge region contest.

   *  T.R. Miller played great football all night but had to stuff a late drive by Hillcrest Evergreen to preserve a hard fought 33-28 win for the lead in a tough region.

   *  Chandler Dixon kicked a 27-yard field goal in overtime to lift Florence to a 26-23 victory over Bob Jones.

   *  Alma Bryant pulled off the craziest finish of the season as the Hurricanes blocked a field goal with six seconds remaining in the game returning it for the game winning touchdown.  Go Canes!

   *  Elba and Alvin Henderson got back on the winning track by outscoring Brantley 57-53.  Henderson ended the game with 27 carries for 317 yards & 5 TDs. 

   *  A few teams have surprised everyone with their early season success.  All these schools have started the 2024 football season 5-0.  Central Florence, Hale County, Shelby County, St. Michael, Williamson and Winston County.  Berry, Southern Choctaw and Verbena are 4-0.  Great starts for these programs who have not found that kind of success recently.

   *  The biggest upset was likely Sheffield knocking off Colbert Heights 47-27 after entering the game as a  21 point underdog.  Hokes Bluff upset Anniston 37-18 after being a pregame 13 point underdog according to the AHSFHS Power Ratings.

   *   Overall Alabama schools have a record of 18-12 against other states following four weeks of action. They are 5-7 against Georgia, 9-5 versus Florida and 3-0 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 169 consecutive polls dating back to the 2009 season. The Red Devils are the #3 team in 3A following a 63-0 win over Brindlee Mountain.

   *   The current longest winning streak among the AHSAA schools now belongs to Catholic Montgomery with a string of 20 straight victories.  The Knights took care of Charles Henderson 63-6.  Lowndes Academy in the AISA has a 22 game streak going.

   *   Columbia now holds onto the longest losing streak at 85 straight contests. They now hold the all-time record for consecutive losses.  They did not play this week but will back on the field this Friday night.

   *   Catholic Montgomery has a streak of 35 consecutive region wins. The Knights continue region play next week against Carroll.  Russellville is not too far behind with 27 straight region wins.

   *   Barbour County has lost 67 consecutive region games after losing to Pike Liberal Arts by a score of 61-12.

   *  The #2 ranked Catholic Montgomery Knights have won 39 straight regular season games.

   *   The Saraland Spartans, ranked #1 in 6A, are rolling along with 27 consecutive home wins. The Spartans will entertain Catholic Montgomery this week in a great matchup of undefeated teams.

   *   Catholic Montgomery also holds onto the longest road winning streak having won 25 consecutive road games. The Knights next road trip will be to Saraland on September 27th.

   *   The Fyffe Red Devils extended their streak of consecutive games scoring.  They are currently sitting on a string of 325 games without being shutout. T.R. Miller sits atop this list with a string of 354 games.

   *   The Hale County Wildcats have started the season 5-0 and won the 500th game in school history Friday night against Thorsby by a score of 33-19.  They first fielded a team back in 1913 and have an overall record of 500-442-24 since.

   *   Mark Freeman ties Larry Simmons for the most wins at Thompson as a head football coach with 98 victories in ten seasons. Coach Simmons led the Warriors to a state championship in 1982 with a perfect 14-0 record.

Team approaching the 700 win club
  692  -  Thomasville  (692-350-49)

Team approaching the 650 win club
   

Team approaching the 600 win club
  599  -  Athens  (599-427-36)
  597  -  Prattville  (597-417-27)
  597  -  Fyffe  (597-310-13)
  596  -  Addison  (596-306-13)
  595  -  Sweet Water  (595-368-25)

Team approaching the 500 win club
  497  -  Greensboro  (497-443-37)
  497  -  Cottonwood  (497-377-20)
  494  -  Pike County  (494-394-18)


Coaches approaching the 150 win club
  149  -  Ben Blackmon (Enterprise)  (149-61)
  149  -  David McKinney (Winfield)  (149-56)
  149  -  Jerry Hood (Leeds)  (149-69)
  147  -  Roland Jones Jr. (Brantley)  (147-47)
  145  -  Smitty Grider (Benjamin Russell)  (145-74)

Coaches approaching the 100 win club