No. 1 Hartselle at Hillcrest

Series: First meeting

Road begins again: Almost nine months ago to the day, Hartselle was playing in Tuscaloosa against Vigor, to clinch its first ever football state championship. Today, the Tigers begin the road to Auburn with a stop in Tuscaloosa against Hillcrest. Will the hometown of the reigning BCS Champions be kind to the Hartselle program again?

Hyche returns home: Tonight’s game is a bit of a homecoming for Hartselle High School Principal Hyche. He is a graduate of Tuscaloosa County High School and the University of Alabama. He was also Hillcrest’s principal for 18 years.

Hillcrest coming of best year: The Patriots set a school record with 12 wins last year. The lone loss came at the hands of state runner-up Hoover, which won the game only 21-14. However, Scott Martin wasn’t the coach last year.

Brewer at West Point

Series: Warriors lead 18-12

Last meeting: West Point won 49-7

Styles era begins: Former Hartselle defensive line coach Dan Styles is taking the helm at Brewer this Friday night. Not much is known about the Patriots since they didn’t play a jamboree game last week. However, the Patriots ended last spring with a 16-8 win over Good Hope.

Looking to end losing streak: The Patriots enter tonight’s game with a chance to end a 10-game losing streak, but it comes against a team, which soundly beat the Patriots last season. Can the Patriots close the gap?

Falkville at Southeastern

Series: First meeting

New era begins at both schools: Tonight, Falkville begins the Joel Schrenk era of football, but Southeastern School, located in Remlap near the Blount-Jefferson County border, is  playing its first football game ever. The school is so new at football that it doesn’t even have a home field. Tonight’s game and all of their home games will be played at Locust Fork High School in southern Blount County. The school is located at  77 School Road, Locust Fork, AL 35097.

Looking for things to turn around: Falkville is coming into this season only winning four games in the last three seasons. However, the Blue Devils have more players this season and have a good amount of experience returning. Look for the Blue Devils to gain some confidence tonight.