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Sloth Nationzz
AHSFHS Moderator
294 Posts |
 Posted - 11/04/2021 : 17:29:21
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Welcome to the first round of the playoffs. Congratulations to all the teams that have made the playoffs and wish you all the best of luck. Let us get to it!
7A: Pratville vs Theodore
This should be a great game but do not overlook Daphne vs Central Phenix city as that should be a great game as Daphne has had close losses all season and are one of the best 4 seeds in the state. Theodore has notoriously struggled in the playoffs, will they break through this year? or will Pratville return to their early 2000's glory. My prediction: I think Theodore will win a close game and get sent home next week by CPC. Theodore wins 31-20
6A: Hartselle vs Gardendale
Today I saw that the Hartselle coach said this would be the best team they have faced all year and this should be a quarterfinal match up in the first round. Foreshadowing here, this will not be the last time I say those words. Hartselle has really surprised me, but their region is not the best. Gardendale's region is probably the toughest in the whole state. I smell an upset. My Prediction: My smell was wrong, Hartselle will win and maybe later be the last team that could knock off Clay-Chalkville. Hartselle wins 35-18.
5A: Russellville vs Lincoln
Shout out to my man Kody, had to pick your Golden Bears matchup this week for these reasons. The 5A south matchups this week are, laughable to say the least. Russellville's region has been criticized as one of the worst in the state many times. Lincoln is coming from a hard region is battle tested. My Prediction: Lincoln will keep it close, but Russellville will pull away late. Russellville wins 48-35.
4A: Saint James vs Anniston
Remember my foreshadowing back in 6A? well here is why. Anniston had to forfeit two games, causing them to go from Region champion, to 4 seed on the road about 2 hours away. Saint James offense is the second best in 4A, meanwhile Anniston has a very tough defense to score on. This is another game that very well could be a matchup in the quarterfinals that is happening in the 1st round. My Prediction: Saint James will win a very close game. Saint James wins 21-13.
3A: Sylvania vs Piedmont
Sylvania has been a very nice surprise this season, but no one really gave them their respect throughout the whole season. Piedmont might be looking ahead for reclaiming their 3A glory and could overlook this team. My Prediction: I am a fan of chaos. UPSET ALERT! Sylvania will take down the Piedmont Bulldogs in round one. Sylvania shocks 3A, 30-28
2A: Mars Hill vs Sand Rock
This will show us if Mars Hill is ready for the 2A playoffs this season or if Spring Garden will take their place on way to a title game. My Prediction: Mars Hill shows up and wins and will face Spring Garden down the road. Mars Hill wins 35-13
1A: Central Hayneville vs Kinston
So let me give you the run down of this game. Someone is getting their first round victory for the first time ever, which would be Central Hayneville, or their first round win for the first time since 1987. Either way both schools should be proud to be in the playoffs and I wish both could win. My Prediction: Central Hayneville gets their first ever playoff win. Central wins 26-12.
That is all for this week! The list will get shorter and shorter each week. Good luck to all the teams!! |
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kodyaufan2
AHSFHS Moderator
287 Posts |
Posted - 11/05/2021 : 10:52:00
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7A: Baker at Auburn
Auburn seemed to play way over their heads last week against IMG Academy, leading heading into the 4th quarter. The Tigers had some struggles earlier in the year, but they seem to have finally started buying into what Coach Etheridge is selling. Meanwhile, Baker has quietly had a very good year and been competitive in both region losses.
Pick: Auburn wins 28-13
6A: Pinson Valley at Muscle Shoals
It's weird to say this about a defending champion, but it feels like everyone is overlooking Pinson Valley. They were about the only team to give Clay-Chalkville a game on into the second half. Muscle Shoals is a bit more of a mystery. It's clear they're a good team, but I think just how good depends on how good their region turns out to be. They struggled against the playoff-caliber teams in their region while blowing out the rest.
Pick: Pinson Valley wins 34-21
5A: Tallassee at Greenville
I don't know much about either of these teams, and that's why this game is so intriguing to me. They share two common opponents--Carroll, who both beat in close games, and Wetumpka, who beat Tallassee by 4 and beat Greenville by 20. Tallassee has the noteworthy achievement of dominating Central Clay County in their region finale.
Pick: Tallassee wins 33-24
Bonus: Also, I'm very excited about our matchup with Russellville. I don't expect to win, but it wouldn't surprise me at all if it ends up being a close game. For years we've had the issue of playing down to lesser competition while playing great against better teams, but fortunately, we're playing a good team tonight. Our offense isn't very good, but our defense is good enough to keep us in any game against a team lacking far superior talent. I have hope because Russellville has struggled recently in opening round playoff games, and I always think back to 2016 when I was still in high school and we were 3-7 and went on the road and pulled a shocking upset over Demopolis in the first round.
Pick: Russellville wins 27-14
4A: Etowah at Priceville
No one would mistake Priceville's region for being world-class, but it's hard to ignore an offense scoring 40 points a game. They'll have even more incentive to play well as it would be just their second playoff win in school in history in their fourth appearance. Etowah is a proud program and a solid team, but this has not been the year they had hoped for by any means. Also, in response to Sloth, I have Anniston actually reaching the semifinals again even as a 4 seed.
Pick: Etowah wins 27-21
3A: Geraldine at Ohatchee
I feel like Ohatchee is the better team on paper, but Geraldine has done what no other team had in over 4 years--beat Fyffe. Ohatchee has a very impressive feather in their own cap, however, after beating Piedmont for the second year in a row. It wouldn't surprise me if this game ends up being tougher than the second round game for whichever team wins. My dad went to Ohatchee, so I'll be pulling for them.
Pick: Ohatchee wins 27-19
2A: Geneva County at Lanett
My pick would have been that B.B. Comer-G.W. Long game had it not been played last night. Watch out for Comer. They could win the whole thing. There's so many good games in 2A, and I think this is the most intriguing class this year because of the amount of good teams. We've yet to see Alabama RB committ Emmanuel Henderson play a full game against a quality opponent this year, and I've yet to hear his status for this game. He's all Geneva County has, but even so, no one seems to be able to stop him. If he plays, Lanett better be ready.
Pick: Lanett wins 44-21
1A: Woodland at Cedar Bluff
I love your pick for the 1A game. Those are the stories that make the playoffs special. It'll be a historic night for one of those programs. As for this game, you're probably wondering why I picked a game that includes a 3-7 football team. Well, another first round matchup from this region pairing is a rematch from an early regular season game between Ragland and Valley Head. Go look at the score from that game. Ragland dominated 40-18. Now look at the scores from the Ragland-Woodland and Valley Head-Cedar Bluff games. Ragland beat Woodland just 22-21, while Cedar Bluff beat Valley Head just 33-26. Those were all early season matchups, so a lot could have changed, but I'd have this game on upset watch.
Pick: Cedar Bluff wins 34-26 |
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kodyaufan2
AHSFHS Moderator
287 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2021 : 08:53:23
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Sloth it looks we both kind of correctly predicted how Lincoln's game would play out, we just missed on the final score. It was a close game most of the way. From what I heard it was 20-14 heading into the 4th quarter. We just got blown out in the final period.
Also, I should have been bolder and picked Woodland to pull the upset straight up rather than just keep it close. |
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TheMUBM
AHSFHS Moderator
704 Posts |
Posted - 11/06/2021 : 10:26:40
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| One thing to take away from that Etowah Priceville game is that everyone had this belief that R6 was far superior to R8, even the local radio network in R8 country kept talking about the strength of that region. However, the regions only crossed once during the regular season and R8 non-qualifier West Morgan took down R6 2 seed Good Hope. I really thought R8 could win 3 last night and with that effort from Central, they got dang close. |
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Games to Watch Round 1
