PREP FOOTBALL PREVIEWS: Scottsboro, Pisgah aim to advance to the AHSAA state quarterfinals
Story By Jason Bowen
Two Jackson County high school football teams survived Round 1 of the AHSAA State Playoffs to keep their state-championship hopes alive.
Scottsboro and Pisgah posted convincing opening-round victories at home last week, and both will get to play on their home fields again as they try to advance to next week’s quarterfinal round.
Here is a look at the AHSAA second-round playoff games that involve Jackson County teams. All series records are courtesy of the Alabama High School Football Historical Society (ahsfhs.org):
ST. CLAIR COUNTY at SCOTTSBORO
The Wildcats will try to advance to the state quarterfinals for the first time in nine years when they host No. 7-ranked St. Clair County in a Round 2 matchup Friday at 7 p.m. at Trammell Stadium.
It’s the first official meeting between the two schools, who did square off in a preseason jamboree in Odenville in 2020.
The Scottsboro-St. Clair County winner plays either No. 4 Fairview or Jacksonville in the Class 5A quarterfinals. If it advances, Scottsboro would travel for a quarterfinal matchup regardless of the opponent.
Region 8 champion Scottsboro (7-4), which is averaging 31.7 points per game while allowing 16.7, defeated Region 7 No. 4 seed West Point 45-14 in Round 1.
“I was really pleased with how we played last week. That’s the brand of physical football we want to play,” said Scottsboro head coach Tyler Vann, who has led the Wildcats’ to back-to-back region titles and a second straight second-round playoff appearance. “
Meanwhile, St. Clair County (10-1) posted its first playoff win in eight years last Friday with a 41-22 win over Region 5 No. 3-seed Carver-Birmingham.
The Saints are on an eight-game winning streak and were the runner-up in Class 5A Region 5 behind No. 3-ranked and 2024 state runner-up Moody, which handed the Saints their only loss of the season 55-0 back on Sept. 12. St. Clair County posted wins over Center Point 47-9, Leeds 50-49 in double-overtime, Springville 42-21, Lincoln 42-35 and Jacksonville 27-0 in region play along with non-region wins over Jemison 61-21, Shelby County 42-7, Ashville 42-7 and defending 5A state champion and 5A Region 2 champion Catholic-Montgomery 42-28.
Vann and St. Clair County head coach Tyler Robinson became friends while both were attending Jacksonville State University. Robinson is in his third season as St. Clair County head coach.
“He’s done a good job with them. They do a lot of good things. They’re 10-1, and you don’t get there not being good in all three phases,” said Vann of Robinson, who has taken the Saints from three wins in 2023 to five last season and 10 this season. A victory Friday would give the Saints their most wins in a season since they went 15-0 during their Class 2A state-title winning season in 1993.
St. Clair County is averaging 39.6 points per game while allowing 23.1. The Saints’ offense relies heavily on the pass — junior quarterback Landyn Little is 172-of-255 passing for 2,395 yards and 33 touchdowns — and Vann said a veteran Scottsboro defensive secondary must step up to the challenge.
“Our secondary is one of my favorite (position) groups,” he said. “They know they’ve got to play well. They’ve got to be physical. They’ve got to get a hat on people when the ball arrives. They’ve got to make plays.”
VINCENT at PISGAH
The Eagles will battle a fellow ranked team as they try to reach the state quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season.
No. 3-ranked Pisgah hosts No. 8 Vincent in a Class 2A second-round contest Friday at 7 p.m. at Sam Kenimer Stadium.
It’s the third all-time meeting between the teams. Pisgah posted a 55-15 second-round win at Vincent during its Class 2A state runner-up season in 2000, but the Eagles fell at Vincent 20-7 in the opening round the following season.
The Pisgah-Vincent winner plays either Red Bay or Southeastern in the Class 2A quarterfinals next week. If it advances, Pisgah would host Red Bay but would travel to Southeastern.
Pisgah (9-2), which is averaging 40.4 points per game and allowing 20.4 carries a seven-game winning streak into Friday’s matchup. The Region 7 champion Eagles built a 42-0 halftime lead over Region 8 No. 4-seed Tanner in Round 1 on the way to a 42-14 victory.
Meanwhile, Vincent (9-2) was the runner-up in Region 5 this season and it has won five straight games following last week’s 34-6 Round 1 over Falkville. Vincent, located in Shelby County, also has wins this season over region foes Lamar County 53-18, Sulligent 34-8, Aliceville 27-0, Isabella 33-28 and Greene County 38-8 along with non-region wins against B.B. Comer 37-18, Childersburg 40-15 and Montevallo 47-19. The Yellow Jackets opened the season with an 18-8 loss to Winterboro and its lone region loss was to No. 9 Tuscaloosa Academy 30-12 back on Oct. 3.
Vincent is averaging 33 points per game while allowing 15.3.
Pisgah head coach Adam Gilbert said Vincent runs a run-heavy “Wing-T out of the gun,” an offense similar to what it saw in games with Fyffe, Plainview and Sylvania.
“I think those games will help us, especially after the defensive changes we made (after the Plainview game),” Gilbert said. “Vincent, they’re a lot like us in they’ve got five or six guys they’ll get the ball too. No. 8 (senior running back Jayden Roberts) carries it the most, but other guys get touches and can make big plays too. The quarterback is small but elusive and can take it to the distance. They’re simple but efficient. They’re really athletic, so we’ve got to keep them contained and not give up explosive plays.”
