By Robert Hudson

The Selma Times-Journal

With the regular season now in the books, the Keith Bears now set their sites on the first round of the Class 1A state playoffs and the quest for a state championship.

The Bears (8-2, 5-2) will hit the road to play the No. 6 Sweet Water Bulldogs (7-3, 5-1) in the first round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 1A state playoffs Friday at 7 p.m.

Keith head football coach Harry Crum said the Bears will face one of the toughest teams in the state in defending Class 1A state champion Sweet Water.

“They’re a traditional power,” Crum said. “They’ve been a power for a long time. Sweet Water has a tradition that’s over 40 years old, as far as their winning ways. They’ve been winning, that I know of, since the 70s.”

Crum said, while some may consider this a down year for Sweet Water, the Bulldogs are still a dangerous opponent, and their three losses come against top-notch competition.

“Even in years where people consider them to be down because of their record, that’s very misleading,” Crum said. “They’re 7-3, but they lost to Thomasville, who may end up in the championship in 4A, they lost to Linden, which is arguably the best team in 1A, and they lost to Handley, which is one of the top teams in 3A. You have to look at the caliber of teams they’ve lost to.”

Crum said the Bulldogs will pose a challenge offensively for the Bears.

“They run the Wing-T,” Crum said. “It’s a system where you’re trying to outflank your opponents, you’re trying to pull and trap and out formation your opponent to get an advantage. So, you have to deal with that every single play. You have to prepare for the big play every single play.”

The Bulldogs are averaging 41.6 points per game, while giving up an average of 20.8 points on defense.

Crum said the Bulldogs’ Wing-T attack will look familiar to his team.

“Preparing for Sweet Water is going to be like looking in the mirror,” Crum said. “We also run the Wing-T.

“Our guys see that every single day in practice. We have to see what Sweet Water’s strengths are with that.”

The Bears Wing-T has produced 31.6 points per game, while their defense holds opponents to an average of 12.2 points per game.

Crum said the Bears will have to control the line of scrimmage in order to continue their success on the ground.

“They attack the line of scrimmage, so we’re going to have to do something to neutralize that,” Crum said. “They’re an attacking defense. We can’t have any false steps.

“We’ve got to be sharp and crisp and fire off the ball on offense, so Sweet Water can’t twist our hips and bust up our plays. We have to minimize our mistakes.”