An old rivalry is being renewed this Friday in Plantersville.

Dallas County High School and Maplesville High School are separated by just 11 miles of road down Alabama Highway 22, but the schools haven’t played in football since 2005.  That’ll change Friday night when Maplesville (3-0), the No. 1 ranked team in class 1A, faces a Dallas County (2-2) team that many feel has the potential to be the Hornets best team in about a decade.

“If the buzz is an indication of Friday night, I would advise all Maplesville fans and Dallas County fans to get here early and claim their seats,” said Dallas County coach Marty Smith. “The buzz surrounding the game is exciting, and it’s great for both communities.”

Maplesville continues to reload every year with new talent. Coming off of back to back state championships in 2014 and 2015, the Red Devils have outscored their opponents 159-0 this season.

This game will be a step up in competition for the Red Devils though. The 5A Hornets will be Maplesville’s first game against a team that isn’t classified as 1A.

Smith said the Red Devils have shown they can compete with just about anybody in the state, including up to the 5A level.

“They do everything to the nth degree. They carry out fakes to the nth degree. They run hard to the nth degree,” Smith said. “They finish blocks to the nth degree and you can tell they play with a lot of confidence and when you play with a lot of confidence you’ve got the opportunity to compete with anybody on any given night.”

Dallas County has overcome an 0-2 start to get back to .500 on the season. The Hornets lost big at McAdory, but played Calera to the final play before losing on a last second field goal. Over the last two weeks, Dallas County defeated Selma and Sumter Central.

Smith said he’s hoping to have several players back from injury this week, but on Tuesday afternoon he was unsure who would start at quarterback. Hunter Skinner and Octavious Palmer have both played the position over the last few weeks.

“We’ve got to find a way to compete for four quarters and we’ve got to find a way to put ourselves in a position to win the ballgame in the second half,” Smith said. “If we allow them to jump on us like they have their previous three opponents, it’s going to be a rough night and an uphill climb. We have to make sure they don’t start fast.”

 

Southside-Keith battle for county bragging rights
Every time Southside (3-1) and Keith (2-2) play one another, something strange seems to happen.

In 2014, the stadium lights in Orrville didn’t come on due to a mechanical error and the opening kickoff was delayed more than an hour. Last year, the game started on Friday, but didn’t end until Saturday due to bad weather that hit the Selma area.

Once it resumed, it took overtime — and five touchdowns from DeQuan Johnson — for Southside to win its third straight game over the Bears. This year when the teams meet Friday night in Orrville, coaches are going in expecting the unexpected.

“We are going to double check the lights this time,” said coach Harry Crum.

Both teams are still trying to figure out exactly where they stand. Southside went into last week’s game against Pike County undefeated, but left with a 49-6 loss and plenty of mistakes to work on.

“I told them don’t make one loss, two losses,” said Southside coach Daniel Flowers.

Flowers said the energy around the team has been encouraging this week and he’s ready for Friday to see how his team responds after their first adversity of the year.

The Bears should be well-rested. Keith won at Billingsley 22-20 on Sept. 9 but was off last week. The Bears have alternated wins and losses all season.

“We had nicks and bruises and that really helped our kids because we didn’t have to get into a Friday night contest,” Crum said.

If this year’s game is anything last year’s 38-32 game, fans will be in for a treat. Both Johnson and Keith running back Domonique Jones, who scored twice against the Panthers last year, figure to have the ball in their hands a lot Friday.

“Everybody is going to be here, the stands will be full and it’s going to be Friday night football at its best,” Crum said.

 

Sumter Central (1-4) at Selma (0-4)

Selma will look to jumpstart its season Friday against Sumter Central. The Saints lost 45-7 at Paul Bryant last week and have yet to score 20 points in a game this season.

Sumter Central (1-4) hasn’t had much better luck. The Jaguars lost to Dallas County 21-12 last week  and like the Saints, have struggled offensively. Sumter scored 37 points in its lone victory over Marbury, but has averaged only 10 points per game in its other four contests. Selma is averaging 10.8 points per game this season.
Meadowview (1-3) at Cahawba Christian (3-0)

Meadowview Christian will play its fourth consecutive road game at undefeated Cahawba Christian.

The Trojans lost last week to New Life Christian, but showed some growth offensively in the defeat. The Trojans showed an improving passing game, led by three touchdown passes by quarterback Jeremy Lee.

Cahawba has defeated Chilton Christian, Emerald Mountain Christian and Brooklane Baptist this season.
Sumter Central (1-4) at Selma (0-4)

Selma will look to jumpstart its season Friday against Sumter Central. The Saints lost 45-7 at Paul Bryant last week and have yet to score 20 points in a game this season.

Sumter Central (1-4) hasn’t had much better luck. The Jaguars lost to Dallas County 21-12 last week  and like the Saints, have struggled offensively. Sumter scored 37 points in its lone victory over Marbury, but has averaged only 10 points per game in its other four contests. Selma is averaging 10.8 points per game this season.
Ellwood Christian (1-4) at A.L. Johnson (1-4)

Both Ellwood Christian and A.L. Johnson will try to put last week’s losses in the rear view mirror, where both teams were blown out.

The Eagles haven’t scored in their last two games against Loachapoka or Maplesville. A.L. Johnson was also shut out last week by Marengo 34-0.