Erin Nelson
Under the Lights
Can you believe there are only four weeks left in the high school football regular season? Like it always does, it has flown by.
Thompson has all but locked up the Class 7A, Region 3 title after last Friday’s blowout of Hewitt-Trussville. The Huskies squandered a chance to take momentum into halftime and the rout was on over the final two quarters.
The disappointment on the Hewitt-Trussville side was evident following the game Friday night. The Huskies are a better team than what they put on the field, and a win over Thompson would have put them in a similar position in terms of the region.
But Hewitt-Trussville has no time to feel sorry for itself, as the Huskies head to Vestavia Hills this Friday in a game that will almost assuredly determine the No. 2 seed and a home playoff game in the first round.
Vestavia Hills, meanwhile, had a positive showing last week, cruising past Chelsea. The Rebels have looked like a team on a mission since their loss to Thompson last month. This will be quite a showdown at Thompson Reynolds Stadium on Friday night.
On another positive note, it sure was nice to see Hoover get back in the win column with its big win over Oak Mountain. The Bucs have been much maligned so far this season, so the importance of a strong showing cannot be overstated.
From the way it looks right now, this week’s Hoover at Tuscaloosa County game is going to be for the No. 4 seed out of Region 3. Who would have ever thought we’d be saying that at the outset of the season?
Spain Park had a solid win over that T-County team on Friday and the Jags get a chance at another region win this week at home against Chelsea.
In 6A, Region 3, Briarwood and Helena had a contest for the ages last week, with the Lions falling a bit short to the unbeaten Huskies. It’s a disappointing result for Briarwood, to be sure, but the Lions still have plenty of opportunities over the final few weeks to grab the No. 2 seed.
John Carroll’s winning streak came to an end Friday at the hands of Pleasant Grove. The Cavs, to their credit, made the Spartans work for it. The game was tight until midway through the third quarter. John Carroll has a similar challenge this week against Ramsay.
Mountain Brook, Homewood and Clay-Chalkville are back in action this week following open dates. Mountain Brook's game against Parker should be a great one.
The games Starnes Media will be covering this week:
- Briarwood at Calera
- Chelsea at Spain Park
- Hewitt-Trussville at Vestavia Hills
- Hiomewood vs. Chilton County
- Hoover at Tuscaloosa County
- John Carroll vs. Ramsay
- Mountain Brook vs. Parker
- Oak Mountain vs. Thompson
- Clay-Chalkville at Huffman