PREP FOOTBALL SCHEDULE SERIES: Section’s schedule includes five games against long-time foes
Jason Bowen
Section head coach Riley Edwards is a big fan of playing local teams, and the Lions’ new schedule reflects that feeling, especially at the start.
Section opens the 2024 season with a three-game stretch against long-time and “close by” opponents Ider, Valley Head and Pisgah, and later in the season the Lions play county rivals North Sand Mountain and Woodville.
“Being around sports all my life, playing a county school or schools close by in DeKalb (County) brings more interest to the fan base and kids,” Edwards said. “We were able to play a lot of long-time, traditional opponents that Section has played a lot through the years. We’re glad to have those teams (on the schedule). Our kids know their kids, our fans know their fans. That makes those games enjoyable.”
Edwards is entering his second season as Section head coach, but the AHSAA’s latest round of reclassification had Edwards scheduling for the Lions for the first time.
“I think our schedule is good, got some really good teams on it, and is going to be fun,” Edwards said. “We’ve got a lot of local teams, and those are always fun, and we’ve got a good region schedule. I think our region is going to be really competitive.”
Section remained in Class 2A Region 7, but the region went from an eight- to a seven-team region that includes holdovers Section, NSM, Pisgah and Sand Rock and newcomers Cedar Bluff, Gaston and Pleasant Valley. Gone from the region are Whitesburg Christian, Ider, Edwards’ alma mater Collinsville and Fyffe, the winner of the past two Class 2A state championships.
Ider dropped to Class 1A for the next two seasons, but the Hornets
and Lions were able to keep their long-running series going (41all-time meetings). The teams meet to open the season Aug. 23 at Section.
“We were able to keep Ider as a non-region game, and that’s a team Section’s played for a long time,” said Edwards, whose first win as Section head coach came against Ider last season. “Valley Head (Aug. 30 at VHHS) is the same thing (30 all-time meetings). Those are two good games to start with, and then we start the region against a county rival.”
Section hosts Pisgah to kick off Class 2A Region 7 play on Sept. 6 for the 44th meeting all-time between the Jackson County rivals.
The Lions then host Sand Rock Sept. 13 and visit Cedar Bluff Sept. 20 before wrapping up region play in the second half of the schedule by hosting Gaston for Homecoming on Oct. 4 before visiting NSM Oct. 11 (51st all-time meeting) and Pleasant Valley Oct. 25.
Section plays Appalachian in a non-region game in Week 5, and the Lions host Woodville in the teams’ regular-season finale.
“We’re glad to have Woodville back on the schedule. “That’s been a good series looking back at (the history of the series),” Edwards said. “Appalachian, we picked that game up after we ended up in a seven-team region. We scrambled to pick that one up after we found out we had to find another non-region game.”
Section is 3-1 all-time against Appalachian. They last met during the 2005 season.
› The Jackson County Sentinel continues its series previewing local high school football teams’ 2024 schedules with a look at North Jackson's in Saturday's edition.
