By Justin Fedich | The Selma Times-Journal

One team is 3-0. The other is 0-3. None of that matters when the Ellwood Christian Eagles and the Keith Bears meet up at Memorial Stadium Thursday.

Ellwood (3-0, 0-0) meets Keith (0-3, 0-2) in a class 1A, region 4 matchup of two teams that have experienced opposite starts to the season. Ellwood has gotten off to its best start in school history while Keith has endured losses to the top two teams in the class 1 rankings the past two weeks.

Keith head coach Harry Crum is undeterred by his team’s slow start to the season.

“We’re going into it wide open,” Crum said. “Nothing on our mind but playing hard and going for the win. That’s all we think about.”

This game is more than just a rivalry. The outcome of the game could be the deciding factor between which team makes the playoffs and which team is the lone team in its region excluded from the postseason.

Keith already sits at 0-2 in the five team region and could use a win against an Ellwood team opening region play against the Bears.

“That’s what it’s all about,” Crum said. “Playoff positioning at this time.”

Last season, Ellwood defeated Keith 38-16 and made the playoffs while the Bears were left on the outside looking in.

The Eagles are in an even stronger position this season.

Ellwood head coach Trey Pike doesn’t expect his team to slow down just because the Eagles have gotten off to their best start. He expects much more than three wins out of his players this season.

“I challenge my kids, I said, ‘who do you want to be? Do you want to be average, good or great? What category do you want to fall into?’ I challenge them with that every day,” Pike said.

Ellwood has won two straight games on the road and plays its first home game Thursday in nearly a month. Keith is coming off a 41-0 defeat at No. 1 Maplesville. The week before that, the Bears fell to No. 3 Linden 48-24 at home.

Crum said a win for Keith could jumpstart a potentially great season for the Bears, who know this game could make or break their playoff hopes. Conversely, Pike knows that despite the strong start for Ellwood, a loss could derail the team’s playoff chances.

“They’re real excited and everything. The challenge is just keep them level-headed,” Pike said.

Dallas County (1-2, 1-1) vs. Sumter Central (1-2, 1-1), Thursday

If Dallas County hopes to get back into the playoffs this year, Thursday’s homecoming game against Sumter Central is one the Hornets will probably need to win.

Dallas County enters off its most lopsided defeat of the season, a 31-7 loss to Helena, while Sumter Central is coming off its first win of the year. The Jaguars defeated Wilcox Central 28-2 last week.

Dallas County’s defense was tremendous in the first two games of the season, holding Jemison and Selma to a combined 19 points. The Hornets will likely look to their defense to get another mark in the win column this week.

 

Selma (2-2, 0-2) vs. McAdory (3-0, 1-0), friday

After getting off to a 2-0 start, Selma has stumbled back to .500 in its last two games. In the Saints’ losses, their young offense has been unable to keep up with their talented defense. Selma’s defense will be tested yet again Friday.

McAdory has scored 35 or more points in each of its three wins. The Yellow Jackets are playing in their third consecutive road game, but they will be well-rested coming off a bye week.

Last week, Selma couldn’t score any points against Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa. If the Saints’ offense can find a rhythm against McAdory, Selma has a chance to get its season turned around with a win against an undefeated foe.

 

Southside (1-3, 0-2) vs.  Thomasville (3-1, 2-0), Friday

Southside will look to get its season back on track this week against Thomasville, a team that has beaten it the last three times they’ve played.

If Southside is going to turn things around, it’ll probably start on defense. Southside has given up 32 or more points in all four games this season, including last week’s 40-27 loss at Monroe County.

Southside’s last two losses were to Satsuma and Monroe County, but Thomasville has already defeated both of those teams this season. Thomasville’s only loss this season came to Demopolis. If the Panthers hope to stay in the class 4A, region 1 race they’ll probably have to win this one.

 

Meadowview (2-1) vs. Victory-Millbrook (3-1), Friday

Meadowview faces perhaps its toughest test since Week 1 as Victory-Millbrook comes to town. The Trojans are coming off two straight wins and had a bye week to rest last week.

The Eagles are fresh off a 71-7 victory against Brooklane Baptist. The only loss for both teams came to Cullman Christian, who is 4-0 and appears to be one of the top teams in 6-man football.