MONTGOMERY - Four storied high schools, Class 7A Vestavia Hills (9-3) vs. Class 7A Carver-Montgomery (7-4) and Class 2A Reeltown (13-1) vs. Class 3A T.R. Miller (8-4), will be battling in the two games to be showcased at the 2024 AHSAA Kickoff Classic hosted by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors & Coaches Association (AHSADCA).

     Reeltown, the 2023 Class 2A state runner-up, and Class 3A T.R. Miller will officially open the 2024 high school football season in the 19th annual Kickoff Classic on Thursday night, August 22 at Montgomery's Cramton Bowl at 7 p.m. Vestavia Hills and Carver-Montgomery will play on 7 p.m., on Friday night, August 23 in the second game of the annual classic.  Both games will be at 7 p.m. and will be televised over the AHSAA TV Network and live streamed over the NFHS Network. AHSAA TV partner WOTM TV of Sylacauga will produce the game for the NFHS Network / AHSAA TV Network. The AHSAA Radio Network will also broadcast both contests over its statewide radio network.

     "We are thrilled to have these two matchups involving four great programs steeped in tradition," said Brandon Dean, Director of the AHSADCA, who announced the pairings Tuesday. "We appreciate the administration and coaches of each school for allowing us to highlight their programs here in Montgomery. As always, we thank Mayor Steven Reed and the City of Montgomery for their continued support of this event."

      The "small-school" match-up features  two powerful programs that have won 49 region or area titles between them - and two head coaches who were destined almost from the crib to coach high school football. Reeltown won its first 13 games last season before falling to Fyffe in the Class 2A state finals. Head coach Matt Johnson grew up in Reeltown and played for Hall-of-Fame Coach Jackie O'Neal. He returned to Reeltown after college and became an assistant on O'Neal's staff. When he retired after the 2015 season, Johnson moved up to head coach and has compiled a 68-28 record over the last eight seasons with two trips to the state finals (2019 and 2023). Johnson played on Reeltown's 2001 state championship team.

     O'Neal replaced Hall-of-Fame coach Duane Webster in 1988. Like Johnson, O'Neal played for Webster and then returned to coach with him until his retirement. O'Neal had a 241-110 career head-coaching record at Reeltown and Webster posted 208 of his 218 coaching wins with the Rebels and closed his career with a 218-93-9 slate.

     Hubbert also spent his high school days playing for a Hall-of-Fame coach - his dad Jim Hubbert - at Lanett. His dad, who coached 171 wins overall, moved to Maplesville where he retired after 11 seasons and leading the Red Devils to 113 victories and one state title. Brent (229-58), who began his head coaching career at Jemison, stepped in three years later after Maplesville fell on hard times and finished 1-8. Over the next 15 seasons, however, Maplesville enjoyed its winningest stretch ever going 166-26 with unbeaten regular seasons in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. The Red Devils finished state runner-up in 2013, then won three straight Class 1A state titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016. He moved to T.R. Miller in 2019 and has compiled a 46-17 record including last season's 8-4 mark over the last five seasons.

     T.R. Miller's  program is not just one of the state's top small-school programs, it is currently tied with Oneonta with the most football wins (726) in AHSAA history. The Tigers have reached the state playoffs in Class 3A and Class 4A over Hubbert's five seasons and upped their state playoff record to 95-37 in 43 appearances - second only to Hoover's 107 state playoff wins.

     While Reeltown is graduating its standout senior running back Arthur Woods,  who rushed for more than 2,000 yards each of the last two seasons, the Rebels are returning four talented players who earned first-team, second-team, or honorable mention All-State in 2023. That quartet, offensive lineman Bowman Brumbeloe, wide receiver/running back Tae Martin, linebacker Finn Henderson, and punter Demetrius Brown, forms a strong nucleus as leaders for the coming season. T.R. Miller will be returning All-State lineman J.R. Jernigan.

    Vestavia Hills (9-3) is coming off its best season since  2015 - when Hall-of-Fame Coach Buddy Anderson, who retired after 2020 as the AHSAA's all-time wins leader with 346 wins, was still running the program. Evans was a standout baseball and football star for the Rebels in high school playing for two legendary coaches - Anderson and baseball coach Sammy Dunn.  He led both teams to Class 6A state titles his senior year. He earned All-State and All-America honors in both sports and played in the 1998 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. After a strong college career at Samford, he became one of  the top assistant coaches in the state. He was named head coach in 2022 after Anderson's replacement finished 4-6 in his only year. In Evans' first two seasons at the helm, the Rebels have advanced to the Class 7A state quarterfinals each year with 7-5 and 9-3 seasons.

    Carver-Montgomery finished 7-4 last season. Head coach Marcus Gardner stepped down after the season after three straight winning seasons and a 20-12 overall record. His replacement has not yet been named, however.  The new Wolverines head coach will step into an exciting situation, however. Sidney Lanier High School, perhaps the state's most storied program in history since opening its doors in 1910, is closing after this school year with the students merging with Carver next year - a merger that pushes the Wolverines (379-343-8) from 6A to 7A next season. Sidney Lanier (613-440-39), which won the first two state titles in AHSAA state playoff history, is also coming off two straight playoff years. More importantly, these two strong rivals have a rich history of producing some of the top college and NFL players in AHSAA prep lore - beginning with Bart Starr at Lanier in 1950 to Richmond Flowers, Johnny Davis, Tavaris Jackson, and Reggie Barlow.

    Carver's list of standouts is also long - with collegiate and NFL stars Willie Alexander, Byron Braggs, Aundray Bruce (first pick of the 1988 NFL Draft out of Auburn), Ceasar Belser, and Mack Wilson, to name a few, wearing the Wolverine green.

      Carver is making its fifth appearance in the Kickoff Classic, which ties Hoover for most of any school in the AHSAA. The Wolverines lost to Prattville 37-0 in 2009, 20-6 to Opelika in 2014, 37-30 to Bob Jones in 2015, and beat Jeff Davis 18-13 in 2019.  Vestavia Hills is making its first appearance. Reeltown is also making its first appearance in the Kickoff Classic while T.R. Miller defeated Leeds 27-7 in the 2009 Kickoff Classic, and Hubbert coached Maplesville to 20-7 win over Fyffe in the 2017 Classic.  Thompson defeated Opelika 44-13 in last year's large-school matchup, and Beauregard downed Selma 29-6 in the other game.

     A total of 63 different high schools have participated in the Kickoff Classic since its inception in 2006. That list includes one out-of-state school (North Gwinnett, GA) in 2007. The 2008 Kickoff Classic contest between Prattville and Oxford was canceled due to inclement weather.


AHSAA Kickoff Classic History
2023
Thompson 44, Opelika 13
Beauregard 29, Selma 6
2022
Helena 28, Chelsea 6
Auburn 17, Hoover 14
2021
Handley 55, Guntersville 21
Dothan 42, Bob Jones 32
2020
Pike Road 63, Montgomery Catholic 34
Prattville 40, Wetumpka 10
2019
Hoover 17, Central-Phenix City 14
Carver-Montgomery 18, Jeff Davis 13
2018
Clarke County 20, Sweet Water 14
Thompson 38, James Clemens 7
2017
Hewitt-Trussville 49, Pell City 10
Maplesville 20, Fyffe 7
2016
Andalusia 34, Brooks 13
Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 42, Demopolis 7
Hoover 23, Central-Phenix City 7
2015
Bob Jones 37, Carver-Montgomery 30
Gordo 28, Glencoe 21
Madison Academy 19, Leeds 14
2014
Spanish Fort 42, Stanhope Elmore 14
Opelika 20, Carver-Montgomery 16
Dadeville 14, Piedmont 8
2013
Benjamin Russell 28, Walker 14
Straughn 35, Walter Wellborn 26
Bob Jones 23, Enterprise 20
2012
Spanish Fort 33, Muscle Shoals 22
Central of Clay County 25, Beauregard 13
McGill-Toolen 27, Northridge 0
2011
Hueytown 36, Thomasville 27
Hamilton 38, Sweet Water 35
Daphne 24, Clay-Chalkville 21

2010
Opelika 34, Greenville 6
Auburn 30, Spain Park 3
Jackson 30, Trinity Presbyterian 8                                     

2009
Prattville 37, Carver-Montgomery 0
T.R. Miller 27, Leeds 7
Hoover 32, Oxford 27

2008
Prattville vs. Oxford, canceled due to inclement weather

2007
Prattville 36, North Gwinnett, Ga. 3

2006
Hoover 38, UMS-Wright 0
Clay-County 41, Addison 6