PREP CAPSULES (Week 1): A few firsts for second week of prep football season
STAFF REPORT
There were 12 teams from the River Region that were victorious in the season opener last week. Of those 12, six won over another River Region team.
Call that good or bad but it was a relatively nice start for the area.
Not so much for MPS schools, where only two of the four won games. Carver’s win over Vestavia Hills was the most impressive but Percy Julian opened with a road win in Tuscaloosa against Paul Bryant.
Catholic picked up where it left off and looks solid again as did some of the others such as Prattville, ACA and PCA, which has a chance to do something it hasn’t done since becoming a member of the AHSAA. Read about that below.
This week there are more intra-region matchups and a city game, the first of what is now a four-team league (although everybody is not playing everybody else). Carver and Julian will face off on Friday.
St. James plays its second-straight Capital City Conference game, traveling down Vaughn Road to face Montgomery Academy.
A couple of Elmore County rivalries are renewed with Prattville facing Stanhope Elmore and Tallassee visiting Elmore County.
Also, Autauga Academy is new to the AHSAA and will play its first game in the league this week.
Many of the AISA schools open play including Lowndes Academy, which will be after a fourth-straight title this season. The Rebels face Southern Academy.
Week 1
All games begin at 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise
PIKE ROAD (6A) at ENTERPRISE (7A)
Thursday at Wildcat Stadium
2024 Records: PR (0-1), Enterprise (1-0)
Last week: Pike Road lost to Prattville, 41-37 ; Enterprise def. Andalusia, 35-7
Series: First meeting
Key Numbers: Pike Road is still looking for its first-ever win over a Class 7A program after dropping last week’s game to Prattville.
The skinny: Pike Road coach Granger Shook made a comment after last week’s loss to Prattville, “Enterprise will be licking their chops after watching this film,” referring to the Patriots’ performance last Thursday. Shook may not be too excited about watching Enterprise, either. The Wildcats drubbed Andalusia in a road win. Enterprise is expected to be a playoff team at season’s end. Pike Road showed some offense behind Ja’Michael Jones’ 160 yards rushing in the loss last week. But this is a different type of cat, one that has proven it can stop the run. Pike Road might get their yards on the ground but not enough on the scoreboard to stay in the game.
PREDICTION: Enterprise, 35-24
PRATTVILLE (7A) at STANHOPE ELMORE (6A)
Friday at Foshee-Henderson Stadium, Millbrook
2024 Records: Prattville (1-0), SE (1-0)
Last week: Prattville def. Pike Road, 41-37; Stanhope def. Marbury, 28-13
Series: Prattville leads, 33-11-1
Last year: Prattville, 31-20
Key Numbers: Stanhope Elmore has not won in this series (on the field) since 2012. The only win was by forfeit in 2016.
The skinny: History aside, this game has the makings of a close battle. Why? Because neither team has shown a lot of consistency in the last few years. But last week, there were some signs of both coming out of whatever funk the programs were in a year ago. Prattville provided a “never say die” attitude in the win over Pike Road while the Mustangs were consistent in its win over Marbury. But not all was perfect as Prattville gave up a boatload of yardage although linebacker Sam Cook had 18 tackles and a sack to lead the Lions’ defense. He will probably have ample opportunity again this week when the Mustangs attempt to establish a running game. Once again, the money is on the team with the long winning streak in this rivalry.
PREDICTION: Prattville, 34-26
P. JULIAN (6A) at G.W. CARVER (7A)
Friday at Cramton Bowl
2024 Records: Julian (1-0), Carver (1-0)
Last week: Julian def. Paul Bryant, 29-26; Carver def. Vestavia Hills, 41-19
Series: Julian leads, 1-0
Last year: Julian, 26-14
Key Stats: Carver got three touchdown passes from TJ Russell in last week’s win over Vestavia Hills… The Phoenix got a rushing TD from QB Bryson McGrew in the win over Paul Bryant.
The skinny: The new age of MPS football has arrived. Julian, formerly R.E. Lee, now has mostly erased the previous name from its school grounds. The uniforms are all neat and tidy and you can take the all-time series results and put them in the past. This is a new series, began last year with a Phoenix victory. Carver should like that, considering with Julian was Lee, the Wolverines were well behind in wins and losses. Ironically, Julian figured out how to beat Carver last year, mostly by moving the football at will in the second half. McGrew played a large role in that game, and has a chance to repeat the performance. But this Carver squad has a different look, at least after one game. Bobby Carr had the offense working on most cylinders last week. The penalties need to be reduced but if the Wolverines perform as they did last week, they will be a tough out the rest of the way.
PREDICTION: Carver, 41-16
ST. JAMES (4A) at MONTGOMERY ACADEMY (3A)
Friday at McLemore Field
2024 Records: STJ (0-1), MA (1-0)
Last week: STJ lost to Catholic, 42-14; MA def. Tallassee, 22-16
Series: MA leads, 28-21
Last year: STJ, 49-13
Key Stat: These two programs have not been in the same classification or region since 2020. They both moved again this year with MA falling back to 3A and St. James moving up to 4A.
The skinny: The next two seasons will have both of these teams playing in different classifications but that’s nothing new. Thanks to Competitive Balance factors, one or the other has enjoyed success but it has been in opposite years. But this year might be one where the two are similar in many ways. Both are looking for stability at quarterback. Talent is in the backfield at at the wideouts for both teams. The lines are relatively solid. St. James would like to forget last week but the Trojans did run into a buzz saw in Catholic. MA won but had to hold on for its life after Tallassee threatened a few times late in the game to overcome a 22-0 deficit. A win will not make the season for either one of these teams but there is a rivalry here and expect both to pull out a few tricks in this one. MA is at home and will get a nod.
PREDICTION: MA, 26-24
KEY GAMES
Reeltown (2A) at Trinity (3A) - Possibly the hardest pick on the board this week with the Rebels falling last week in the Kickoff Classic. Trinity’s win at Holtville wasn’t necessarily impressive but it still counts. Wildcats will need to find another motor to beat the Rebels. Not sure they find it. Reeltown, 25-23.
Elmore County (5A) at Tallassee (4A) – Plenty of good and bad in LA O’Neal’s debut as the Tigers’ head coach. Take care of the bad and they are probably celebrating a win this week. Elmore County got a nice win in the opener. Good rivalry that will come down to… you guessed it, mistakes or lack of them. Based on one game, Panthers have the edge. ECHS, 29-25
Alabama Christian (4A) at Goshen (2A) – Season opener for Goshen while ACA enjoyed a hard-fought win a week ago. ACA should have more depth and size. They win on the road. ACA, 27–20.
St. Clair County (5A) at Catholic (5A) – Home opener for the Knights and the sacrificial lamb will be the Fighting Saints who will need a miracle to win. Catholic, 45-6.
McKenzie (1A) at Prattville Christian (3A) - Can PCA make it two straight to start the season? It’s never happened since the program joined the AHSAA (2012) and hasn’t happened at all since 2010. They break that streak. PCA, 30-23.
Wetumpka (6A) at Chelsea (6A) - The Indians got the win last week which was important to get off to a good start after last year’s disappointing season. What can be made of Chelsea’s win over Mobile Christian? .Not much but the Hornets are better than last year. Still…. WHS, 34-30.
Southern Aca (0-1) at Lowndes Academy (0-0) - Season opener for the three-time state champs, although they will be in a different class this time. Shouldn’t matter. New version of the Rebels win Lowndes, 35-6.
Autauga Academy (1A) at Thorsby (3A) - First-ever AHSAA game for the Generals’ program. Thorsby isn’t a world beater but they are bigger than AA. It spoils Jeff Foshee’s opener. Thorsby, 28-20
THE REST
Park Crossing over Bullock County, 20-15; Shelby Co over Holtville, 35-30; Marbury over Bayside Academy, 25-23; Autaugaville over Calhoun, 14-12; Billingsley over Fayetteville, 29-7; Edgewood Academy over Hooper Aca, 34-21; Valiant Cross over Abbeville Christian, 24-15; Lakeside over Macon East, 25-21; Evangel Christian over Meadowview, 41-0.
OPEN: JAG
RECORD: Last week 13-4; Season 13-4 (.765)