Sports Editor

Here are short previews of this week’s high school games.

CHHS at Hillcrest-Evergreen

AHSAA Hall Power Rankings: CHHS (5A) 24, Hillcrest-Evergreen (5A) 14

A Jamboree win over rival Pike County was great as was the 40-32 triple-overtime victory over Opp. The Livingston game was a confidence builder.

Now Coach Hugh Fountain and his Trojans (2-0) head into hostile territory as they travel to Evergreen to take on the Jaguars (2-1).

This game is big.

Real big.

Should CHHS be able to win this one, they’ll put themselves in position as one of the top teams in the region.

Hillcrest suffered a loss last Friday night to another regional foe, Wilcox-Central. The Jaguars came into the game and took an early 14-0 loss, before falling 20-14. When it comes to staking a claim to the Class 5A Region Two title, this is a do or die situation for Hillcrest.

On offense, it looks like the Trojans can only stop themselves. The only points given up last week against Livingston was on the offensive side of the ball.

The CHHS defense played well enough to win against Opp and they dominated the Cougars last week. The wild card in this game could be Roderick Burden. Just a freshman, Burden has come close to turning a few kick returns and punt returns into touchdowns the past few weeks.

 

Pike County at Dadeville

AHSAA Hall Power Rankings: Pike County (3A) 6, Dadeville (3A) 36

Both teams have identical records (2-1) coming into the game, but the Bulldogs have the edge when it comes to playing tougher competition.

Thus far, Pike County has dominated in regional play, smacking Lanett 20-7 and beating Lafayette 35-6 last week. Dadeville is coming off a big win over area foe Calhoun.

Instead of running the Wing-T, new head coach Richard White has installed the I-formation for this year’s Dadeville team. But like Coach Grant at Pike County, Baker doesn’t have a lot of depth on the offensive line. This will be a battle to see which team is the most conditioned and could be decided by turnovers.

Jay Neese (6-1, 170) is a quarterback much like PCH’s Marquez Foster. Neese is an athlete who can hurt you running the football or passing it. And he has quality group of receivers to look to, including Atonious Freeman (6-1, 175).

On defense the Bulldogs’ offensive line will have to handle nose guard Tim Johnson (6-6, 375).

 

Lee-Scott Academy at PLAS

AISA Hall Power Rankings: Lee-Scott (3A) 5, Pike Lib (3A) 11

Last Friday night’s loss to Meadowview Christian was a disappointing one for the Patriots. Coach DeWight Ward’s team had the Trojans on the ropes all night long before falling to Meadowview 21-14.

But despite the loss, the Patriots’ showed they have a made great amount of improvement since week one. Layton Sanders and Druid Conrad are quickly turning into a deadly combination at quarterback and receiver and the PLAS running attack, led by Bill Hughes and Scott Kirby, is one of the best around.

Still defense wins games and because of the lack of depth on both sides of the ball, Ward’s team is going to have to rely on the offense plenty going into regional play.

Lee-Scott has spent most of the season in the Alabama Sports Writers Asscociation’s AISA top ten, but suffered a 34-0 pounding at the hands of No. 1 Morgan Academy last weekend.

 

Goshen at Gulf Shores

AHSAA Hall Power Rankings: Goshen (2A) 11, Gulf Shores (3A) 59

Gulf Shores did not field a varsity football team last season and this year will be facing an experienced Eagles squad on Saturday night. The Dolphins have yet to win a ball game this season, mostly because the majority of the team is ninth and tenth graders.

Goshen should be 4-0 heading into next week to face regional foe Red Level, but Coach Joe Thornton’s main job will be to keep his team focused on Gulf Shores.

Goshen will be with out two offensive linemen, Cedric Bean and Nathan Jones. Bean will be out two to three weeks because of knee surgery. Jones suffered a broken arm in last week’s win over Barbour County and will miss the rest of the year.

One more injury on the line and Goshen’s problems go from bad to worse.