WEEK 7 PREVIEWS: Region/playoff implications abound for Jackson County teams in Week 7
Story By Jason Bowen
Week 7 of the 2025 high school football season for Jackson County teams involves six region games with playoff implications.
If the playoffs started this week, all six Jackson County teams would be playoff teams. And while there are still three weeks of region play, it’s been a lot of years in which all of the team’s in the Sentinel’s coverage area remained in the playoff race deep in the second half of the region play.
North Sand Mountain and Pisgah can officially clinch playoff berths in with Class 2A Region 7 wins this week, while Woodville could so with a win and losses by Gaylesville or Ragland. Meanwhile, Scottsboro could also secure a playoff berth with wins this week and a Brewer loss.
NSM at SECTION
There’s a showdown between Jackson County rivals that has playoff implications when Class 2A No. 9-ranked North Sand Mountain travels south on Highway 71 to take Section Friday at 7 p.m.
It’s the 52nd meeting between the teams in a series NSM leads 28-22-1. The Bison have the last eight meetings, the longest win streak by either team in series history. NSM is Section’s most all-time played opponent while Section is NSM’s third-most played opponent.
A ninth straight win over Section would clinch a playoff berth for NSM (6-0, 3-0) and would also give the Bison their best start to a season in school history. While the game has rivalry, playoff and historic implications for the Bison, NSM head coach Jay Lipscomb said his team can’t let external factors cloud the mission at hand.
“It’s a local game, and those matter,” said NSM head coach Jay Lipscomb. “But you can’t make it more than it is — the same things that win every game win these games. We’ve got to play good defense, play physical, get a hat-on-hat on offense and run hard. Coming off a bye, you can get sloppy, so we’ve got to make sure we do a good job at the little things.”
Meanwhile, Section (2-5, 2-2) has won two straight region games to climb into the playoff hunt in Region 7.
“Riley does a good job with them. They have a lot of formations on offense and they spread you out and make you defend the whole field. They’re battling (for the playoffs) so we know they’ll play hard and have a good plan,” Lipscomb said.
While NSM was off last week, Section is coming off a 42-30 win at Gaston last week.
“We’ve gotten better each week and it’s good to get those wins and reinforce that growth,” Edwards said. “They’ve stepped up and overcame some of the injuries we’ve had and found a way to get these wins. I’m proud of how the kids have responded.”
Edwards said the Lions will try to continue that trend against “a really good” NSM team.
They’ve got a lot of athletes that make plays, and they’re really solid upfront. They move people off the ball and do a good job of opening up space for their athletes and then they do really well in space.”
GUNTERSVILLE at SCOTTSBORO
Scottsboro and old rival Guntersville meet again with major region/playoff implications on the line.
Kickoff is set for Friday at Scottsboro’s Trammell Stadium
It’s the 90th meeting between the teams in a series Guntersville leads 47-41-1. Guntersville has won the last two meetings, but Scottsboro won the team’s last two meetings at Trammell Stadium.
No. 5-ranked Guntersville (6-0, 3-0) enters the matchup after defeating 7A Grissom 34-16. The Wildcats from Marshall County currently sit atop the Class 5A Region 8 standings, and a win over Scottsboro would leave them on the cusp of winning the region title.
“Guntersville is well coached, their physical play stands out and they’ve got a lot of weapons,” said Scottsboro head coach Tyler Vann. “Street Smith, their quarterback, does a lot of running and can throw it. They’ve got two really good receivers (including three-star Cincinnati commit Dadrien Waller) and two good running backs. Their defense is very sound. You have to game plan some things against them.”
Defending region champion Scottsboro is coming off of a shocking 34-31 loss at home to Brewer, and Vann said the Wildcats can’t afford that disappointment from the setback to linger.
“I told them we’ve been backed into a corner, and I expect them to fight our way out,” Vann said. “I thought we played hard last week, but we made mistakes we hadn’t made all year. It hurts, but win this week, win this week, and we’re region champs again and we’re smiling at the end.”
VALLEY HEAD at WOODVILLE
The Woodville Panthers return to action after bye looking to remain undefeated in Class 1A Region 8 play when they host Valley Head Friday at 7 p.m. at Frazier Field.
It’s the 20th meeting between the teams in a series Valley Head leads 15-4. The Tigers are one of two teams that Woodville has played/will play every season since starting its program in 2006.
Woodville (5-1, 3-0) enters the matchup on its best start to a season in school history. A win Friday would clinch the program’s second ever winning regular season, and a victory coupled with a Gaylesville loss to Spring Garden would secure the Panthers’ first playoff berth since the 2020 season.
While Panthers were on a bye last week, Valley Head (3-4, 2-2) suffered a 58-21 loss to Ragland a week ago. The Tigers played without starting quarterback Tytan Blevins due to injury, with running back Ben Johnson taking the snaps in the Tigers’ spread offense.
“(Johnson) threw it a lot and threw it well last week,” Poole said. “We’re preparing for two people (at quarterback). They spread you out and make you play sideline to sideline. They are a typical Valley Head team. They’re scrappy, real tough, play hard and play physical. The (Cayson) McElrath kid may be the best receiver in the region. He made some special catches last week. Defensively they put a lot of pressure on you. We’ve got to play discipline and do what we’re coached to do against them.”
Coming off the bye week, Poole said the Panthers “must continue to do the things” that have led to their five-game winning streak.
“On one hand you think it’s going well, you don’t want to stop, but we needed the break,” he said. “We got some good work in and hopefully got some good rest.”
PISGAH at CEDAR BLUFF
The Eagles will try to lock up a playoff spot with a win on the road at Cedar Bluff’s L.D. Bruce Field Friday night (7 p.m.).
It’s the seventh all-time meeting between the teams in a series Pisgah leads 4-1-1. The Eagles have won the last three meetings in the series, including a 53-13 victory a year ago in the teams’ first meeting in 23 years.
Pisgah (4-2, 3-0) is coming off a win over Cedar Bluff’s archrival Sand Rock, a 56-0 rout that was the Eagles’ largest victory since a 63-0 win over Ider in 1999.
While Pisgah’s offense turned out a season-high point total, head coach Adam Gilbert was prouder of the team’s defensive effort in getting a shutout in the second week of a new-look defense they started installing after the a Week 4 loss at Plainview.
“The kids have taken to it and we’ll just continue to add more fronts and coverages to it,” he said. “We pressured the quarterback on 80% of his throws and sacked him eight times. That was good to see. I’m just very pleased with the defense and the growth in the changes so far.”
Meanwhile, Cedar Bluff is coming off a 34-6 loss to No. 8-ranked Pleasant Valley. The Tigers have dropped four straight games since opening 2-1 following a 42-20 win over Gaston. Cedar Bluff is averaging 17 points per game while allowing 31.6.
“They’ve been decimated by injuries but should have some back this week,” Gilbert said.
The game is Pisgah’s longest road trip of the regular season.
“It’s going to be good to experience that,” Gilbert said, “because it’s something that you likely see in the playoffs at some point.”
NORTH JACKSON at PLAINVIEW
Another week, another Top-10 showdown in Class 4A Region 8 as No. 9-ranked Plainview visits No. 10 Plainview.
Kickoff for the eighth all-time meeting between the Chiefs and Bears is Friday at 7 p.m. Plainview High School in Rainsville. North Jackson leads the series 4-3, although Plainview edged the Chiefs 33-32 in Stevenson last season.
The rematch has major playoff implications in Region 8. Plainview (6-0, 4-0) is tied with Madison Academy (5-1, 4-0) for the lead in the region standings while North Jackson (4-2, 3-1) is one game back in third place. A win Friday would help keep the Chiefs region-title hopes intact following a heartbreaking 57-56 loss to No. 7 Madison Academy last week.
“This group is resilient. Everything is still in front of us and what happened last week will have no impact on this week,” Hollis said. “We’ll correct what we need to correct and our attention will be on Plainview. We’ll start that on Monday and carry that through everyday (in preparation) this week. If you go 1-0 everyday at practice it sets you up for success on Friday.”
Meanwhile, Plainview posted a 41-21 win at Madison County last week for legendary head coach Dale Pruitt’s 325th career win, 232 of which have come during his three separate tenures as the head coach at his alma mater. The Bears staff also includes Pruitt’s son and former Alabama, Georgia and Florida State defensive coordinator and Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt. The Bears are off to their best start since the 1999 season and are averaging 45.2 points per game while allowing 16.
“Coach (Dale) Pruitt and his staff have done a great job,” Hollis said. “They’ve got a really talented football team, play physical, big everywhere, especially on the offensive line and defensive line.”
Hollis doesn’t expect physicality to be a problem for either team Friday night based on each team’s mentality and track record in that department.
“You’ve got to be as physical as you can be at the point of attack on both sides (of the football),” he said.
