Each week this season AHSFHS.org will post games of the week provided by our forum friends better known as the "Barber Shop Gurus". Welcome TheMUBM, Kodyaufan2 and Sloth Nationzz as they analyze games of their choice and even give us a prediction for each contest.

TheMUBM Week 2 Picks

Last Week:  2-2    Season Total:  2-2

Florence (5-6) at  (#8)  Muscle Shoals (9-3)  at J.F. Moore Stadium Florence   Muscle Shoals 5-6 (5-2)  Record 9-3 (5-1) 7A-R4  Class/Region 6A-R7 NR  ASWA Ranking #8 70.8  Power Rating 70.6 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Muscle Shoals as a 2 point favorite. Last Meeting:   The Muscle Shoals Trojans defeated Florence by a score of 31-13 in week 2 on the road  on Fri., Aug. 30 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Muscle Shoals and Florence have met 13 times on the field.... Muscle Shoals holds a 9-4 edge in the games played. Comments:    This will be the 13th meeting in what I like to call the Singin' River Rivalry. Muscle Shoals hold a 8-4 advantage, after losing the first three in the series, they've won everyone since, except a forfeit loss in 2020.     Florence comes in off a tough 32-20 loss to a really good Hillcrest Tuscaloosa team. The game was a lot closer than most were expecting. Florence returns a lot from a pretty solid defense last year that gave up 16.6 ppg. Their biggest threat on offense is probably the RB Triplett.     Muscle Shoals also comes in after losing a heartbreaker last week to a very good Gadsden City team, 33-28. Muscle Shoals is having to replace some major production on offense, losing Jamir Goodloe and Cole Woods. Natarruean Hampton is a big threat from the RB position.     With both teams having new QB's this year, the team with the better running game may have an edge here. Both teams have good RB's, but I'd give slight edge to the Trojans offensive line.   Prediction:  Muscle Shoals 31 Florence 21

Red Bay (2-8) at  Lamar County (2-8)  at George Bell Stadium Red Bay   Lamar County 2-8 (2-3)  Record 2-8 (0-6) 2A-R8  Class/Region 2A-R5 NR  ASWA Ranking NR 34.4  Power Rating 32.8 AHSFHS Power Ratings have the teams as even.

Last Meeting:   The Lamar County Bulldogs defeated Red Bay by a score of 50-32 in week 2 on the road  on Fri., Aug. 30 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Lamar County and Red Bay have met 10 times on the field.... Lamar County holds a 8-2 edge in the games played.

Comments:    First game of the year for the Red Bay Tigers. They went 6-5 last year, bringing their record under coach Heath Childers to 14-17. This is not what most people expect out of Red Bay and I think Coach Childers can turn it around. Red Bay is a fairly young team but Jaxon Vinson returns to the lead the ground game for the Tigers. He rushed for nearly 1400 yards last year while finding the end zone 19 times.

Lamar County graduated a lot of contributing players from last years squad. They still have some weapons with Catcher Duncan at RB and Bobby Austin Westbrook at QB, but I do expect them to take a step back.

All in all this should be a pretty competitive game, with the Bulldogs ultimately pulling away. If Red Bay can put together some sustained drives, then the game could get interesting.

Prediction:  Lamar County 28 Red Bay 14

Woodville (3-7) at  Cherokee (5-6)  at W.L. Harris Stadium Woodville   Cherokee 3-7 (1-5)  Record 5-6 (3-4) 1A-R8  Class/Region 1A-R7 NR  ASWA Ranking NR 17.2  Power Rating 16.5 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Cherokee as a 1 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Cherokee Indians defeated Woodville by a score of 12-10 in week 2 on the road  on Fri., Aug. 30 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Cherokee and Woodville have met one time on the field.... Cherokee holds a 1-0 edge in the games played.

Comments:    Woodville had their hands full with 2A NSM last week falling 32-6. They are coming off a season where they failed to make it to the postseason for the third consecutive year, a trend they hope to turn around this year. Losing All-State QB Sam Peek to graduation won't help. They have some important starters returning on offense with Hucks, Franklin, Williams and Rosas.

Cherokee just missed the playoffs last year. That in itself was a big accomplishment. There hasn't been a lot of winning in Cherokee the last decade or so. Goodloe and Hicks do provide some explosion at the WR position but they haven't had a very consistent passing game in the past.

One big take away from the NSM game was that Woodville did not tackle well. I get that NSM was a larger school who should be pretty solid this year, but there were a lot of open field misses. Cherokee of course isn't that level of opponent, but they do have some guys who can make you miss in the open field.

Prediction:  Woodville 26 Cherokee 20

Shades Valley (3-6) at  (#9)  Leeds (11-3)  at Homer Smiles Field Shades Valley   Leeds 3-6 (2-4)  Record 11-3 (5-1) 6A-R6  Class/Region 5A-R6 NR  ASWA Ranking #9 61.8  Power Rating 68.8 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Leeds as a 9 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Leeds Greenwave defeated Shades Valley by a score of 28-19 in week 2 on the road  on Fri., Aug. 30 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Leeds and Shades Valley have met 10 times on the field.... Shades Valley holds a 6-3 edge in the games played.

Comments:    Shades Valley comes in off a 41-20 victory over Woodlawn. They play in a really tough region, so they need to use these out of region games to get ready for the gauntlet. Leeds is a tough opponent which will test them. Shawn Gee is a big target at tight end that could give a lot of teams issues.

Leeds is coming off an impressive 42-20 win over Mortimer Jordan. Not that anyone was surprised Leeds won, but the margin was a bit of an eye opener. Conner Nelson, QB, had a total of 223 yards rushing & passing, RB ZJ Dale added in 123 yards on the ground.

Should be an interesting game. Leeds run defense was great against a good MJHS team known for a good ground game. SVHS does throw the ball a bit, so that may present problems for Leeds. In the end, I could really go either way on this one. Give a slight edge to Leeds.

Prediction:  Leeds 28 SVHS 24

kodyaufan2 Week 2 Picks

Last Week:  4-0    Season Total:  4-0

(#7)  Lynn (11-2) at  (#6)  Hackleburg (12-2)  at Ray Family Stadium Lynn   Hackleburg 11-2 (7-0)  Record 12-2 (7-0) 1A-R5  Class/Region 1A-R7 #7  ASWA Ranking #6 29.9  Power Rating 31.8 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Hackleburg as a 4 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Hackleburg Panthers defeated Lynn by a score of 32-19 in the third round of the playoffs at Home  on Fri., Nov. 22 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Hackleburg and Lynn have met 35 times on the field.... Hackleburg holds a 18-17 edge in the games played.

Comments:    Both of these teams won playoff games last season but may be trending in slightly different directions coming into this season as Lynn could be in for a bit of a rebuilding year. Meanwhile, Hackleburg looks to be a popular dark horse contender for the 1A state championship.

Hackleburg's championship hopes will likely ride or die with senior QB Blaise Vickery. He accounted for 1,900 total yards and 31 TDs as a junior and looked spectacular in their jamboree game a couple weeks ago. He's far from the only option for this Panther offense, though, as RB Davin Dulaney is also back after rushing for 1,000 yards and 10 TDs last season. The defense will be led by junior LB Noah Tubb, who is coming off a season in which he had 113 tackles.

The last couple of seasons have been of the best ever for this Lynn football program, but now they will have to replace three All-State players, including QB/ATH Cale Tittle who had 53 total TDs last season. The Bears still managed to get a season-opening victory over arch rival Meek last week, and seem to have settled on #1 Austin Dodd as their QB, although Sophomore #8 Caden Key has seen snaps against both Meek and in their jamboree game with Addison. Both guys look more-than-capable on film, so the Bears should be in good position to compete for a third straight region title.

A record-setting offense got all the headlines for Lynn last season, but they return enough pieces from a defense that allowed just 13.5 ppg that I could see that being their strongest unit this season. We will learn more about them this week as they take on what should be a high-powered offense from Hackleburg.

Prediction:  Hackleburg 30, Lynn 20

(#3)  Spring Garden (11-1) at  Pleasant Valley (8-3)  at Raider Stadium Spring Garden   Pleasant Valley 11-1 (6-0)  Record 8-3 (5-1) 1A-R8  Class/Region 2A-R7 #3  ASWA Ranking NR 35.9  Power Rating 30.9 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Spring Garden as a 3 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Spring Garden Panthers defeated Pleasant Valley by a score of 34-12 in week 2 on the road  on Fri., Aug. 30 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Pleasant Valley and Spring Garden have met 10 times on the field.... The teams have both won 5 games.

Comments:    This is a game that many people will overlook this week, but it will serve as a solid early measuring stick for two teams that feel as though they could be in the midst of their best season in their schools' histories.

Pleasant Valley is coming off just their fifth playoff appearance in school history in 2023, but according to head coach Jonathan Nix, their goal in 2024 is not only to make it back to the playoffs, but to host a playoff game and get that first postseason victory in school history. They got their campaign off to a great start last week with a 28-12 victory over West End Walnut Grove in a game they led 28-0 before taking their foot off the gas. Third-year starting QB Braxton Salster threw for two TDs in that one, including an impressive throw to the back corner of the end zone in the first half. MLB Brayden Pappa led the defense with 10 tackles.

Spring Garden returns a talented and experienced team, with 9 returning starters on offense and 10 on defense. They have come into this 2024 season with a chip on their shoulder following their 1st round exit to Coosa Christian last year, the first time they had failed to reach the 2nd round since 2014. They lost former QB Chapel Pope to graduation, but their best units should be the offensive and defensive lines, which should take some pressure off new QB Noah Barber.

Spring Garden won this game comfortably last season and will likely be the favorite again this time around. But don't count out a much-improved Pleasant Valley squad in what should be their toughest test in the lead up to their region opener against top-ranked Pisgah in a couple of weeks.

Prediction:  Spring Garden 36, Pleasant Valley 22

(#9)  Bibb County (8-4) at  (#6)  Gordo (10-2)  at Green Wave Stadium Bibb County   Gordo 8-4 (5-2)  Record 10-2 (6-1) 4A-R4  Class/Region 3A-R5 #9  ASWA Ranking #6 58.8  Power Rating 56.0 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Bibb County as a 1 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Gordo Green Wave defeated Bibb County by a score of 36-35 in week 2 on the road in overtime on Fri., Aug. 30 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Gordo and Bibb County have met 24 times on the field.... Bibb County holds a 12-11 edge in the games played.

Comments:    Bibb County has beaten Gordo each of the past two seasons in a series that has only been played four times since 1974. This will be a huge matchup between two teams that come into the season thinking a state championship is not out of the question.

We often see offenses struggle early in the season, but Gordo had no such struggles as they opened their season with a big win over Fayette County. It was the kind of game where pretty much everything they tried worked. The Green Wave racked up nearly 500 yards of offense, 378 on the ground, while allowing just 153 yards on defense. A 99-yard TD run by Jase Neel on a QB Power was the highlight of the night for the Green Wave, and the Tigers struggled to bring him down all night. Two-way player AJ Latham added a pick six for the Gordo secondary.

Bibb County has high hopes coming into the 2024 season. They return seven starters on both offense and defense, but do have to replace three starters on the O-line and two starters on the D-line. The good news is that being tough up front has been the basis for success for the Choctaws for the entirety of coach Matt Geohagan's nine-year tenure.

That Bibb County toughness will be tested this week by the Green Wave offense. Gordo will score a bunch of points this season, but this will likely be their stiffest test of the entire regular season.

Prediction:  Bibb County 27, Gordo 21

(#4)  Moody (11-3) at  (#3)  Oxford (13-1)  at Lamar Field Moody   Oxford 11-3 (6-0)  Record 13-1 (6-0) 5A-R6  Class/Region 6A-R6 #4  ASWA Ranking #3 67.0  Power Rating 74.0 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Oxford as a 9 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Oxford Yellow Jackets defeated Moody by a score of 24-21 in week 2 on the road in overtime on Fri., Aug. 30 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Oxford and Moody have met one time on the field.... Oxford holds a 1-0 edge in the games played.

Comments:    Both teams are coming off of tough games against opponents from Georgia that served as quality early-season benchmarks, but they will turn their attention back inside the state this week in what should be a fantastic matchup in the Oxford offense vs the Moody defense.

Oxford overcame multiple 10-point deficits last week to pull out a 56-46 win over Central-Carrollton (Ga). QB Mason Mims, a Louisville commit, was 28 of 35 for 442 yards and 3 TDs in that contest. Receivers Nick Richardson and Jalin Taylor had spectacular outings as well, combining for 24 catches and 336 yards. Those connections will give defenses a headache all season. Giving up 46 points on defense is a bit shocking for a unit that never allowed more than 28 in a game last season, but it's too early to sound the alarm bells after a single game against a really good opponent.

Moody played valiantly in their loss to Gainesville (Ga), holding them to just a 3-0 scoreline at the half and 10-0 late into the 3rd quarter before Gainesville's depth allowed them to pull away. But keep in mind that not only is Gainesville nearly four times larger than Moody (they would be roughly the third largest school in Alabama), and quite a bit larger than Central-Carrollton, but they are ranked in the top 75 high school teams in the nation by MaxPreps. While the Moody offense never really got much going, I wouldn't bank of Louisville QB commit Charlie Johnston and the rest of this offense to struggle for long this season. Defensively, Moody will have an advantage at the line of scrimmage against most teams, so the Moody D-line vs the Oxford O-line will be the matchup to keep an eye on.

Moody has the players to keep this game close, so I wouldn't count them out. Like last week, however, I expect that Oxford's depth will play a factor in the 4th quarter and will allow the Yellow Jackets to pull away late.

Prediction:  Oxford 27, Moody 17

Sloth Nationzz Week 2 Picks

Last Week:  3-1    Season Total:  3-1

(#4)  Spain Park (12-1) at  (#2)  Hoover (10-3)  at Regions Park Spain Park   Hoover 12-1 (6-0)  Record 10-3 (7-0) 6A-R3  Class/Region 7A-R3 #4  ASWA Ranking #2 75.8  Power Rating 77.2 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Hoover as a 3 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Spain Park Jaguars defeated Hoover by a score of 39-37 in week 2 on the road in overtime on Fri., Aug. 30 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Hoover and Spain Park have met 24 times on the field.... Hoover holds a 20-4 edge in the games played.

Comments:    In what is one of the biggest rivals in the Birmingham area, Hoover has historically owned Spain Park. With Hoover leading the all time series 20-3 it hasn't been much of a rivalry. The Jaguars have not defeated Hoover since 2015 and they have played every year since then. Hoover has gone through a lot of offseason turmoil, but went on the road and got an impressive victory against Western(FL).

However, am I going to let a victory on the road down in South Beach cloud my vision of a Jaguars victory over the Buccaneers for the first time in nine years? This is the Jaguars best chance in a long time, but can they get over the mental hurdle of beating Hoover.

Players won't tell you but that is a real thing when you haven't beaten your rival in a long time, you don't want anything to go wrong and when something does it can have an avalanche effect on your team. Hoover has talent, but Spain Park does as well with Brock Bradley throwing the football.

My Prediction: Give me the Jaguars to win in overtime.

Prediction:  Spain Park 32 Hoover 31

(#2)  Parker (14-1) at  (#5)  Mountain Brook (8-4)  at Spartan Stadium Parker   Mountain Brook 14-1 (6-0)  Record 8-4 (4-2) 6A-R5  Class/Region 6A-R6 #2  ASWA Ranking #5 79.4  Power Rating 75.6 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Parker as a 2 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Parker Thundering Herd defeated Mountain Brook by a score of 28-7 in the second round of the playoffs on the road in overtime on Fri., Nov. 15 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Mountain Brook and Parker have met 9 times on the field.... Mountain Brook holds a 6-3 edge in the games played.

Comments:    A former region title matchup now an out of region game. The Spartans have also historically been the better team over Parker. But you have to remember that Parker has only played Mountain Brook seven times, and those times were mostly when Parker was building up to what they are now.

The Thundering Herd got the better of the Spartans last year for the first time to get their first win over Mountain Brook 13-10. This Thundering Herd team is better than last year, but this Mountain Brook team is also better. Not a lot of people are talking about this game, but these two could absolutely see one another in November again.

Parker has a big question mark for me, and that is how will the offense continue to progress throughout the season. My question for Mountain Brook is how will their offense handle the excellent defense that Parker has. My Prediction: If this game was played in October, I think I would go the other way, but I still need to see more from Parker's offense and they played a very tough defense in Mountain Brook.

Give me the Spartans in the upset over Parker.

Prediction:  Mountain Brook 17 Parker 13

Demopolis (7-4) at  (#1)  Jackson (14-1)  at Legion Field Demopolis   Jackson 7-4 (6-0)  Record 14-1 (6-0) 5A-R3  Class/Region 4A-R1 NR  ASWA Ranking #1 59.1  Power Rating 63.9 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Jackson as a 7 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Jackson Aggies defeated Demopolis by a score of 42-20 in week 2 on the road in overtime on Fri., Aug. 30 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Jackson and Demopolis have met 16 times on the field.... Jackson holds a 8-7 edge in the games played.

Comments:    Two teams that rarely start 0-1 now will be battling so they don't start 0-2. Jackson started off rough against Saraland, but was able to continue battling and made the game close but wasn't able to get over the Spartans.

Meanwhile Demopolis hosted the Mountain Brook Spartans and was shut out on their home field. Jackson has the talent to play with anyone in the state as last Friday showed. Demopolis's region is not the best so that is why they are playing some great non region opponents.

My Prediction: Jackson bounces back and gets the win. Demopolis is the best 0-2 team in the state and will bounce back and still win the region.

Prediction:  Jackson 35 Demopolis 20

Bullock County (5-6) at  Park Crossing (0-9)  at Cramton Bowl Bullock County   Park Crossing 5-6 (4-3)  Record 0-9 (0-6) 4A-R3  Class/Region 6A-R2 NR  ASWA Ranking NR 40.4  Power Rating 55.4 AHSFHS Power Ratings have Park Crossing as a 17 point favorite.

Last Meeting:   The Bullock County Hornets defeated Park Crossing by a score of 7-0 in week 2 on the road in overtime on Thu., Aug. 29 during the 2024 football season. Series:   Park Crossing and Bullock County have met one time on the field.... Bullock County holds a 1-0 edge in the games played.

Comments:    Now this is a game I don't think anyone thought I would be picking. Why am I picking this game? Because I want to. I love both of these programs. Bullock County under coach Jeremy Vines has started to build their way towards winning and hopefully playoff appearances soon.

I think Coach Vines is the right man for the job. Bullock County has historically just been in very difficult regions, and this year is no different. Park Crossing is in a similar boat as Bullock County, just in 6A. I think a lot of people don't realize that, but Park Crossing's regions have always been difficult even since they've fallen on hard times. I think both programs are on their way up.

Watch out for the Hornets and Thunderbirds. However one team has got the win, and personally I think it will be Bullock County. Bullock has the coach that has been there longer and Park Crossing's coach just got there. I think this will come down to coaching, and the Hornets get a victory over a 6A program, which I am not sure if they have ever done that.

Give me the Hornets to win!

Prediction:  Bullock County 16 Park Crossing 14