Our county football teams obliged me quite well in the picks department last week. Heck, they pretty much have all season long. Our county schools went 4-1 last week, and as a result, I went 6-0 in my weekly area picks. That improves my overall record to 27-5 for the season.
I’m not going to pull any punches here. I foresee another solid weekend for our county teams in Week 6. The only question: Will we see the third undefeated week for the county in the past month? Read on to find out ‘What In The World Is Shannon Fagan Thinking?’
Sumiton Christian (4-1, 1-1) at Gaylesville (4-2, 2-1)
Let’s get the hard one out of the way first (and it just so happens to be Thursday night too).
Sumiton Christian’s lone loss this season has been to Cedar Bluff, a 21-14 setback on Sept. 10. The Eagles have posted three shutouts, including the past two weeks against Woodville (48-0) and Brindlee Mountain (39-0). Their other shutout came in a 46-0 victory over Cherokee on Aug. 27. They also defeated Victory Christian 26-6 in their season opener.
The Trojans have never beaten the Eagles. They’re 0-3 against them, including last year’s 12-6 loss.
Gaylesville is also a bit banged up in this one, so I’ll give the edge to the Eagles.
The pick: Sumiton Christian.
Woodville (0-6, 0-3) at Cedar Bluff (2-3, 2-0)
It’s homecoming at Cedar Bluff, and the Tigers are hosting a team they’ve had tremendous success against in the past.
Cedar Bluff has never lost to the Panthers. They’re 13-0 all-time against them.
Not only is history on the Tigers’ side, but Woodville has really struggled this season. The Panthers haven’t gotten in the win column so far this season. In fact, they haven’t come close. They’ve been shut out three times this season, and have scored just eight points in two other contests.
However, the Panthers did manage to score two touchdowns in their 55-14 loss to Decatur Heritage last week.
Last year, Cedar Bluff won this game 56-28 to begin a five-game winning streak that propelled the Tigers into the playoffs. I see a similar pattern beginning here.
The pick: Cedar Bluff.
Gaston (0-6, 0-3) at No. 7 Spring Garden (4-1, 2-1)
I could almost write the same thing for this matchup that I did for Woodville at Cedar Bluff, except for Spring Garden’s success all-time against the Bulldogs.
The Panthers have only beaten Gaston twice in 19 meetings, including last year’s 59-0 win on the road. The only other win Spring Garden has against Gaston came back in 1997, also on the road, 14-0.
Spring Garden has never beaten Gaston at Panther Stadium.
With it being the Panthers’ homecoming, it’s a perfect time for them to give the home crowd something they haven’t seen in the Garden before.
The pick: Spring Garden.
Sand Rock (4-1, 2-1) at Locust Fork (1-4, 0-3)
Here’s another contest with two teams heading in different directions.
The Hornets opened their season with a 34-19 victory over Appalachian, but haven’t won since. They’ve lost four in a row, including last week’s 26-13 setback against Hanceville.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats have been road warriors. They’ve won all four of their games away from Russell Jacoway Stadium, including last week’s 28-7 victory at Collinsville.
I look for Sand Rock to add another road win to their total.
The pick: Sand Rock.
No. 2 Piedmont (5-0, 3-0) at Ohatchee (2-3, 2-1)
The points have been piling up for Piedmont. The Bulldogs have scored no less than 27 in a game since the 2021 season began. Two weeks ago, they set a record with 70 in a blowout of Weaver. They followed that up last week with a 55-45 shootout with Class 4A Jacksonville.
For the season, Piedmont is averaging 47 points per contest.
Add in the revenge factor from last year’s 20-15 loss, and it sounds like it might be a long night for the Indians.
The pick: Piedmont.
Munford (2-4, 0-3) at Cherokee County (4-1, 2-0)
Speaking of putting up the points, the Warriors have done that quite well themselves the past two weeks, but their defense has been lights out as well in wins over White Plains (40-0) and Coosa, Ga. (53-0).
Meanwhile, the Lions have struggled of late. After a pair of promising wins on the road over Talladega and Fultondale, Munford has dropped its last four contests, including a 69-13 whipping at Lincoln last week.
Cherokee County won last year’s game in a thriller, 28-26, to tie the all-time series at two games apiece. I don’t think this one will be quite so close.
The pick: Cherokee County.