PREP FOOTBALL SCHEDULE PREVIEW: Scottsboro’s schedule features seven 2023 playoff teams
By Jason Bowen
Tyler Vann won’t have to wait long to face two of Scottsboro’s top rivals during his first season as the Wildcats head football coach.
Scottsboro opens the 2024 high school football season at Trammell Stadium by hosting TopCat rival Fort Payne on Aug. 23 before traveling up Highway 72 for the 37th annual Battle of the Valley against archrival North Jackson on Aug. 30.
“Fort Payne and North Jackson starting out — those are big ones,” said Vann, who got a taste of both rivalries as an assistant at Scottsboro during the 2018 season.
Vann was hired as Scottsboro head coach in January after a three-year run at Sylvania that included two Class 3A state quarterfinal appearances and one semifinal appearance. The 2012 North Sand Mountain graduate and former four-year Bison starting quarterback is 33-16 during his head coaching career, which started at Woodville in 2020.
“The early games are key to a new program, and we’re playing two (non-region) teams early that are going to be very good teams,” Vann said.
Scottsboro’s non-region slate is challenging, as it also includes Central Clay County and Mars Hill. All four of the Wildcats’ non-region opponents this coming season reached the state playoffs a year ago when they combined for a 31-15 record.
“That’s a really challenging non-region schedule. It’s good for us,” Vann said. “I want to face adversity, and I don’t think I’ll have to ask for it with these games. We need some adversity to get us ready for region play, and those later in the year, hopefully get us ready for the playoffs.”
Scottsboro played Mars Hill for the first time last season, losing a 36-35 heartbreak in Week 9. The Wildcats travel to Florence to play Mars Hill in the 2024 regular-season finale Nov. 1.
Meanwhile, the matchup with Central Clay County at home on Sept. 27 is the first meeting between the programs. Central Clay County is entering its 13th season as a program after the school opened in the fall of 2012 following the consolidation of small-school powers Clay County and Linville. The Volunteers, who won back-to-back Class 5A state championships in 2018-19, went 10-1 last season.
Scottsboro’s region schedule offers plenty of tests as well. The Wildcats play in Class 5A Region 8 against Arab, Boaz, Brewer, Douglas, Guntersville and Sardis. Six of the teams were in Scottsboro’s region the past two seasons, with Brewer being the region’s lone newcomer. Scottsboro defeated Brewer in the opening round of the 2022 Class 5A playoffs. Guntersville, Arab and Boaz all reached the playoffs last season, meaning the Wildcats will play seven teams this season that reached the AHSAA postseason last fall.
Scottsboro, the region runner-up last season, opens region play at home against Boaz Sept. 6 before visiting Douglas Sept. 13, hosting Sardis Sept. 20, visiting Brewer Oct. 4 and Guntersville Oct. 11. The Wildcats close region play at home against Arab Oct. 18.
“It’s a good region,” said Vann, whose team has a bye in Week 9. “I’ve watched them all on film. There’s not just a region game that you can just walk out there and win.”
Scottsboro’s first taste of action is Aug. 16 when it hosts Chattanooga Christian (Tennessee) in a jamboree at Trammell Stadium.
