PREP CAPSULES (Super 7 edition): MA, Pike Road one win away from title

Staff Report

By the end of the week, seven teams will call themselves state champions in the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Two of those might be Montgomery Academy and Pike Road.

For the first time since 2002, two teams from the River Region are playing for a state title in the same year in the AHSAA.

That season, Jeff Davis made the Class 6A championship game, losing to Hoover while Autaugaville played for the 1A title but lost to Clay County.

The last time multiple River Region teams played and won a state title? Would you believe 1992 before the “Super 7” existed? That year, Robert E. Lee won the 6A championship while Billingsley won the 1A title. (For the record, there has never been a year when three teams from the River Region won the title in the same year.)

Montgomery Academy will face Piedmont on Thursday morning at 11 while Pike Road will take on Pleasant Grove in the nightcap at 7.

The Eagles are making their first trip to the finals since the program won it all in 1987, beating Billingsley that year under longtime head coach John Tatum.

Current head coach Robert Johnson was a senior on that team, playing center and nose guard for the Eagles.

Pike Road is breaking new ground with its maiden voyage to the championship game. Considering that this is the fourth year for the program, that’s pretty special.

At 13-0, the Patriots are one of four teams that enter the championship with a perfect record. The others include Central-Phenix City (13-0), Clay-Chalkville (14-0) and Sweet Water (13-0). Pleasant Grove won all 13 games but forfeited the first win of the season to Oxford. 

At 11-3, Montgomery Academy is the lone school with more than two losses.

Of the 14 teams in Birmingham this year, only two made it last season and of those two, Thompson is the only team to have a chance to repeat. Pleasant Grove will try to win its first state title in its fourth-straight appearance.

Thompson is making its fourth-straight appearance in the finals and will try to win the 7A title a third-straight time.

Montgomery Academy is the only private school to make the finals. The last time that happened was 2013 (Madison Academy). There has been at least one private school play for a title since 2009.

This year’s finals will also christen a new venue. Protective Stadium will be the host for the first time. Prior to 2021, 12 Super 6 events were held at Legion Field before the games were moved to alternate sites at Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium beginning in 2009. The event also used the Hoover Met for one year in 2004 for part of the schedule.

Games begin Wednesday with the Class 7A championship. Classes 1A, 3A ad 5A will follow on Thursday and 2A, 4A, 6A will be played on Friday.

AHSAA Super 7 Championship games

Protective Stadium - Birmingham

CLASS 5A

PLEASANT GROVE vs. PIKE ROAD

Thursday at 7 p.m.

Records: Pleasant Grove (12-1*), Pike Road (13-0) (* Loss was a forfeit to Oxford)
Coaches: Pleasant Grove – Darrell LeBeaux (4th year); Pike Road – Patrick Browning (4th year)
Last week: Pleasant Grove def. Fairview, 47-17; Pike Road def. Andalusia, 33-0

Road to Birmingham: Pleasant Grove: Douglas (55-0); Leeds (35-0); Center Point (49-21); Fairview (47-17); Pike Road: Holtville (37-0); St. Paul’s (29-17); Faith Aca (42-0); Andalusia (33-0)

Series: First meeting

Championship appearances: Pleasant Grove (0-3): 2014 – lost to  St. Paul’s (35-13); 2019 – Lost to Central-Clay Co. (31-27); 2020 – Lost to St. Paul’s (29-21);  Pike Road – First appearance

Key players: Pleasant Grove: QB Anthony Young (Sr.) – 2,087 yds/30 TDs passing; RB Demarcus Lacy (Sr.) – 2,004 yds/24 TDs; WR Cameron Harris (Sr.) – 756 yds/12 TDs; Pike Road: QB Iverson Hooks (Sr) – 1,013 yds/16 TDs passing, 989 yds/11 TDs rushing; RB Quinshon Judkins (Sr.) – 1,351 yds/23 TDs; RB Anthony Rogers (Fr) – 1,015 yds/16 TDs
The skinny: Is the key to this matchup which team can slow the other’s running attack? Maybe. Start with Pleasant Grove, which has Demarcus Lacy, who is solid at 6-foot-1 and 185 pounds. He will also return kicks and has a couple for touchdowns. The Patriots have a three-headed monster with Quinshon Judkins, Anthony Rogers and quarterback Iverson Hooks. All three have speed and agility to score on any play.  The Spartans have come close in the last couple of attempts at a title. Last year, they led at halftime and had a 21-10 lead in the second half only to watch as St. Paul’s turned a turnover into the winning score in the fourth quarter. The year before, the Spartans were a yard away from the winning points on the final play against Clay-Central. One has to figure all of that has been weighing on Darrell LeBeaux’s team. But Pike Road has dealt with their own demons and has, one-by-one, erased the problems over the past two seasons. This is one of the most talented teams in the state, regardless of classification. If the moment is not too big, they should win their first state title in school history.

PREDICTION: PIKE ROAD, 38-28

CLASS 3A

MONTGOMERY ACADEMY vs. PIEDMONT

Thursday at 11 a.m.

Records: Piedmont (12-2), MA (11-3)
Coaches: Piedmont – Steve Smith (21st year); MA – Robert Johnson (2nd year)
Last week: Piedmont def. Saks, 52-44; Montgomery Aca def. Catholic, 10-7

Road to Birmingham: Piedmont: Sylvania (40-20); Lauderdale Co (31-0); Winfield (43-14); Saks (52-44 OT); MA: Flomaton (35-7); Trinity (21-17); T.R. Miller (28-0); Catholic (10-7)
Series: First meeting

Championship appearances: Piedmont (4-1): 2009 – Def. Cordova (35-28 OT); 2015 – Def. Bayside Aca (44-7); 2016 – Def. Mobile Christian (22-12); 2018 – Lost to Flomaton (23-12); 2019 – Def. Mobile Christian (26-24). MA (1-0): 1987 - Def. Billingsley, 13-6.

Key players: Piedmont: QB Jack Hayes (Jr.) 1,944 yds/24 TDs passing; 545 yds/ 15 TDs rushing; RB Brayden Morgan (Sr.) 805 yds/9 TDs rushing; WR Austin Estes (Sr.) 41 rec/841 yds/12 TDs; MA: QB Jamal Cooper (Sr.) 422 yds/2 TDs pass; 789 yds/9 TDs Rush; RB Jashawn Cooper (Jr.) 1,472 yds/21 TDs rush.

The skinny: If you like no-nonsense, hard-nose football, you will love this matchup. Piedmont and Montgomery Academy are not that similar but both will dare you to stop their bullish running attack while shutting down the opponents’ ability to rush the football. If there is an advantage, Piedmont has been here. The Bulldogs are making their sixth appearance and fifth in six years. Coach Steve Smith has been at this a while being his 21st season at the school and 27th overall. Their style of play hasn’t changed much over the years. They depend heavily on the quarterback, in this case, Jack Hayes, who will carry the football at least 15 times a game and throw it that many times as well. He is responsible for 29 touchdowns and averages more than 220 yards in total offense. If the name sounds familiar Jack is the second of the Hayes clan to lead Piedmont to the state title game, following in the footsteps of his brother, Tyler. The QB position was a problem for the Eagles until Robert Johnson moved Jamal Cooper there a few weeks ago. It has worked out tremendously. Cooper isn’t necessarily more versatile than his counterpart but has more speed. His brother, Jashawn, may be the key for MA due to his speed. Piedmont will load the box and force MA to throw the football. The Bulldogs have plenty of bulk across the line but the Eagles have faced that before. If there is one thing we’ve learned, it’s not to pick against Johnson. He has proven too many times that he can scheme against anyone. If last week didn’t teach us that, nothing will.

PREDICTION: MONTGOMERY ACADEMY, 20-17

SUPER 7

1A: Sweet Water (13-0) vs. Wadley (13-1) (Thursday, 3 p.m.): Sweet Water has not lost in a state championship game since 1984 and has won all but two of its 13 appearances. Wadley is making its first-ever appearance, although it has made six appearances in the semis, including one against Sweet Water in 2017. Both teams put up a lot of points with Sweet Water averaging 42 points while Wadley averages almost 38 points. Wadley has traditionally been a wide-open offense but Sweet Water has been as good as any 1A program in the state going on 50 years. No reason to think it can’t pick up another state title. SWEET WATER, 35-20

2A: Cleveland (12-2) vs. Clarke County (12-2) (Friday, 3 p.m.): It might have taken Stacy Luker a little longer to get Clarke County into the finals than some might have expected but the former Sweet Water coach has the Bulldogs in the title game for the first time in school history. Ironically, Cleveland is in the same situation, making the championship game for the first time. Cleveland, which is located in Blount County just west of Huntsville, knocked off a good Mars Hill squad to make it to the finals. But it’s hard to pick against Luker and the Bulldogs. CLARKE COUNTY, 42-20.

4A: Vigor (13-1) vs. Oneonta (13-1) (Friday, 11 a.m.): The alumni reads like a Who’s Who for high school and college football in the state. Vigor has produced the likes of  RB Lectron Williams, QB Scott Hunter, OL Willie Anderson and WR Marvin Shinn. Oneonta had RB Anthony Mostella, TE/WR Lamonde Russell and TE Steve Johnson. The Wolves owned Mobile-area football for many years, winning championships at the Class 5A and 6A levels. But they haven’t won a title since 2008. Oneonta hasn’t won a title since 2013 when former Alabama quarterback Don Jacobs coached the squad. There will be talent all over the field but Vigor will have a little more. VIGOR, 29-23.

6A: Clay-Chalkville (14-0) vs. Hueytown (13-1) (Friday, 7 p.m.): As good as Hueytown has been at times in its history, the Golden Gophers have never won a state title - actually they’ve never played for one having lost three chances in the semis. Clay-Chalkville reached the finals back in 2015 and won two other times dating back to a win over Robert E. Lee in 1999 (St. James coach Jimmy Perry’s last year there). The Gophers are averaging an incredible 53 points per game offensively but ironically their lone loss came at the hands of Clay-Chalkville back in August, a 57-40 game. Expect more craziness in this one with the Gophers pulling off the win in the rematch. HUEYTOWN, 45-41. 

7A: Central-Phenix City (13-0) vs. Thompson (12-1) (Wednesday, 7 p.m.): The rematch of 2018 and 2019 with the two teams splitting the two games. Mark Freeman has built a mini-dynasty in Alabaster while Patrick Nix has learned to reload at Central.  Two epic offenses in a game that might come down to who has the ball last. The quarterbacks will throw for 400 or more yards. Most remember how Thompson won last year’s title as Auburn collapsed in the final minutes.  This one might go four overtimes.. .but wait. We’ve already done that in the last few days…. CENTRAL-PHENIX CITY, 45-42.

RECORD: Last week 8-4; Season 194-57 (.772)