5 Huntsville area HS football games to watch in the quarterfinals
Here are five games to watch in the Huntsville area this week with the complete schedule following.
CLASS 4A: NO. 2 CHEROKEE COUNTY (11-1) AT NO. 5 WEST MORGAN (12-0)
Time/location: 7 p.m. Friday, Rebels Stadium, Trinity
Last week: Cherokee County beat Haleyville 49-14. West Morgan won 35-14 at No. 10 Corner.
The skinny: These teams met in the second round last year; Cherokee County prevailed 42-28 behind Jacob Cornejo’s 262 rushing yards and four touchdowns. … West Morgan enters with the No. 1 scoring offense in Class 4A at 53 points per game. Cherokee County is No. 3 (44.0 ppg); the Warriors also have the No. 3 scoring defense (10.2). … West Morgan’s victory over Corner gave the Rebels a program record for wins in a season. … West Morgan lost in its previous two trips to the third round — 1994 and 1988. Cherokee County is 5-2 all-time in the third round; the Warriors advanced to the state title game last season. … Rebels quarterback Braxton Peters threw three touchdowns passes and ran for another score last week. He has 31 TD passes against only one interception for the season. Ti’Airrius Mosley has 14 TD grabs. Jalen Fletcher scored his 27th rushing touchdown last week. He accounted for more than 200 yards of offense and three TDs in last year’s loss to Cherokee County. … The Warriors’ offense revolves around Cornejo, who has rushed for 2,500 yards and 31 TDs this season. He eclipsed the 5,000-yard mark last week to become the school’s career leading rusher.
Winner plays: Westminster Christian or Brooks
CLASS 3A: NO. 9 SYLVANIA (10-2) AT NO. 2 MADISON ACADEMY (12-0)
Time/location: 7 p.m. Friday, Bill Washington Stadium, Huntsville
Last week: Sylvania defeated Winfield 35-10. Madison Academy beat No. 4 Mars Hill 21-14
The skinny: Sylvania edged Madison Academy 48-45 in overtime in the second round last season. It marked the first time this century that the Mustangs scored 40 or more points and lost; they had been 106-0 in such scenarios, according to AHSFHS.org. … Madison Academy has the No. 1 scoring offense in Class 3A (50.7) and the No. 2 scoring defense (10.1). … Mustangs running back Ken Cherry has rushed for 2,374 yards and 34 touchdowns this season, while Joshua Williams has 1,313 yards and 19 TDs. They combined for 298 yards and three scores against Mars Hill. In last year’s loss to Sylvania, Williams ran for 77 yards and three touchdowns, while Cherry finished with 182 yards and a TD. … Sylvania’s Aiden Parham rushed for 210 yards and three touchdowns against Winfield, giving him 2,200 yards and 13 TDs this season. He ran for 134 yards and a score against the Mustangs last season. … Madison Academy is 6-3 all-time in the third round; Sylvania is 2-2. The Rams advanced to the semifinals last season, while the Mustangs did so in 2021. … Madison Academy won regular season meetings with Sylvania in 2011 and 2010.
Winner plays: No. 5 Lauderdale County or No. 8 Geraldine
CLASS 5A: NO. 4 PLEASANT GROVE (10-1) AT NO. 8 GUNTERSVILLE (10-1)
Time/location: 7 p.m. Friday, Chorba-Lee Stadium
Last week: Pleasant Grove won 49-7 at Boaz. Guntersville edged host John Carroll 20-17.
The skinny: Pleasant Grove will pit its Class 5A top-ranked scoring offense (42 ppg) against Guntersville’s No. 5-ranked scoring defense (11.6). … Guntersville hasn’t advanced beyond the quarterfinals since winning the Class 4A state championship in 2006. Pleasant Grove has reached the semis the past four seasons, a stretch that included three state runner-up finishes. … Guntersville’s Emelson Davis has rushed for 275 yards and two touchdowns in the playoffs. … Pleasant Grove scored all 49 of its points against Boaz in the first half. Eric Handley passed for 234 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 30 TDs and nearly 3,000 yards this season; top target Clarence Taylor has 24 touchdown catches. … The three previous meetings between these programs came in the playoffs — Pleasant Grove won in 2020 and 2014, and Guntersville won in 1995.
Winner plays: No. 2 Ramsay or No. 6 Moody
CLASS 2A: NO. 8 TUSCALOOSA COUNTY (10-2) AT NO. 5 PISGAH (11-1)
Time/location: 7 p.m. Friday, Same Kenimer Stadium
Last week: Tuscaloosa Academy defeated Southeastern 38-6. Pisgah won 66-38 at Tanner.
The skinny: Pisgah is playing in the quarterfinals in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history; the Eagles reached the semifinals last season. … Tuscaloosa Academy reached the quarterfinals last season in the program’s first year as an AHSAA member. .. Pisgah averages 50.2 points, second-most in Class 2A. … Eagles quarterback Mason Holcomb accounted for five touchdowns — four passing and one rushing — against Tanner as Pisgah matched its season high for points scored. He has accounted for nine TDs in the playoffs. … Tuscaloosa Academy’s Preston Lancaster has passed for 3,515 yards and 45 touchdowns this season; seven of those TDs have come in the playoffs. Mills Powell leads the receiving corps with 15 touchdown catches.
Winner plays: No. 2 Fyffe or No. 7 Locust Fork
CLASS 4A: WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN (10-2) AT BROOKS (8-4)
Time/location: 7 p.m. Friday, E.D. Redding Stadium, Killen
Last week: Westminster beat Deshler 39-35. Brooks defeated Priceville 70-42.
The skinny: Both teams are adept at lighting up the scoreboard — Westminster averages 44.3 points and Brooks averages 41.1. But they both often struggle to slow down the opponent — Brooks yields 34.6 points per game, while Westminster allows 30.7. … Prolific Westminser quarterback Brandon Musch accounted for 304 yards of offense and five touchdowns against Deshler. For the season, he has rushed for 1,961 yards and 30 touchdowns and passed for 1,624 yards and 26 TDs. Musch ranks second in AHSAA history for career total offense and touchdowns accounted for. … Brooks’ Omar Joyner ran for 320 yards and five touchdowns against Priceville. He entered the game with 304 yards and three TDs. Quarterback Garrett Burrough is the Lions’ leading rusher with 1,476 yards and 21 touchdowns. … Westminster is making the second quarterfinal appearance in program history; the first was in 2018. Brooks is 1-6 in the quarterfinals, with the lone victory coming in 2007. … This is the first meeting between the Wildcats and Lions.
Winner plays: No. 2 Cherokee County or No. 5 West Morgan
The complete AHSAA Round 3 schedule
CLASS 7A
Mary Montgomery (12-0) at Central-Phenix City (11-0)
Hewitt-Trussville (9-3) at Thompson (10-1)
CLASS 6A
Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (12-0) at Saraland (12-0)
Pike Road (10-2) at Benjamin Russell (10-2)
Gadsden City (9-3) at Parker (11-1)
Clay-Chalkville (11-0) at Muscle Shoals (11-0)
CLASS 5A
Gulf Shores (12-0) at Headland (10-2)
Eufaula (9-3) at Demopolis (10-2)
Ramsay (10-2) at Moody (10-2)
Pleasant Grove (10-1) at Guntersville (10-1)
CLASS 4A
Jackson (11-0) at BTW-Tuskegee (8-4)
Catholic-Montgomery (12-0) at Jacksonville (10-2)
Westminster Christian (10-2) at Brooks (8-4)
Cherokee County (11-1) at West Morgan (12-0)
CLASS 3A
Mobile Christian (12-0) at Trinity (11-1)
St. James (10-2) at Thomasville (10-1)
Geraldine (11-1) at Lauderdale County (12-0)
Sylvania (10-2) at Madison Academy (12-0)
CLASS 2A
B.B. Comer (12-0) at Clarke County (7-5)
Reeltown (11-0) at Cottonwood (10-1)
Tuscaloosa Academy (10-2) at Pisgah (11-1)
Locust Fork (12-0) at Fyffe (11-1)
CLASS 1A
Leroy (10-0) at Brantley (7-4)
Elba (12-0) at Maplesville (8-4)
Hackleburg (11-1) at Coosa Christian (6-5)
Wadley (11-1) at Pickens County (9-3)