This is an opinion piece.

With so much negativity seemingly always in the news – sports and otherwise – I think it’s important to point out the positives in our community and world.

Last week, we witnessed a couple of selfless scenarios that both moved me.

The first one happened in Elba where Auburn running back commit Alvin Henderson broke the state’s all-time career rushing record. Obviously, that achievement was noteworthy in its own right.

It’s also worth noting that the previous record holder, former Alexandria star Mac Campbell, made the trip from his home in Huntsville to Elba to be there for the occasion. As most of you know, Elba is not close to Huntsville. This took effort on Campbell’s part. He awarded Henderson the game ball afterward.

“This is my first time seeing him in person and I’m impressed,” Campbell said after the game. “You’ve got to earn it because I earned it. Look how long it’s been. He deserves it. I heard he’s a good kid and stuff like that. And I can see that.”

Campbell starred for the Valley Cubs in the late 1990s. His rushing record of 9,839 yards stood until last week. Henderson now has 9,937 yards with at least one game – a first-round playoff game – and possibly more left to play.

“I never imagined myself doing this,” Henderson said. “But him coming down just to see me break his record and support me and him be proud of me breaking it, it meant a lot to me. In years to come, somebody will be able to break my record, and I want to be able to go watch them do the same thing.”

I have no doubt Henderson will repay the favor if someone ever breaks his record, though it certainly seems unlikely. Congratulations to Henderson for an amazing record and to Campbell for giving back to a sport that made him a legend in Alabama high school sports almost 30 years ago.

While that was going on in Southwest Alabama, Class 3A No. 1 T.R. Miller was taking on Bayside Academy in Daphne with the Region 1 title at stake. The Tigers ended up running away with the game in the second half, but the pregame actions of the host school showed again what can happen when we come together for a common cause.

Every Bayside player and cheerleader wore shirts in support of T.R. Miller player Ken Lett, who suffered a broken neck earlier this season and is now rehabbing at Shepherd Center in Atlanta. Bayside presented a check for $2,000 to T.R. Miller just before kickoff and pledged further support as Lett continues to recover.

“We got beat, but we are as blessed as we can be to be able to play the game we all love,” Bayside Academy coach Barrett Trotter told Randy Kennedy. “Football is important to all of us, but there is a lot more to life and there are lessons we can teach these young men through football. We want to support the young man and T.R. Miller in any way we can.”

There is plenty of good in our world. God is moving all the time. It’s not hard to see if you truly look for it.

Thanks to Mac Campbell and Bayside Academy for showing it to us again this week.

Everyone is impacting someone today. What type of impact do you want to have?

3 teams out of playoffs

The official AHSAA football playoff brackets will be released late tonight or early in the morning by the AHSAA.

Three teams that expected to be in the postseason bracket will not be.

Pike Liberal Arts, Fultondale and Coosa Christian have all forfeited games in the last two weeks for violations of AHSAA rules. They will be on the outside of the postseason looking in.

I hate it for the student athletes on those teams, but new executive director Heath Harmon has continually said the AHSAA under his leadership will enforce the Association’s rules.

I’ve heard that Coosa, which was put on restrictive probation — meaning it will not be allowed in the 2025 playoffs either unless changes are made — is planning to appeal the ruling.

Will there be more schools affected in the next seven days?

Time will tell.

Coming up

It’s going to be a busy week on AL.com.

Coming Sunday, we will have the top candidates to be this year’s Mr. and Miss Basketball in the state of Alabama as we continue to gear up for the season. On Thursday, we will have girls and boys storylines to watch in Mobile, Huntsville and Birmingham as action officially gets started that day.

Also, with the football playoffs starting next week, we will have you covered for that was well.

Keep reading.

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Sign up for the Birmingham, Huntsville or Mobile high school sports newsletters at al.com/newsletters.

Thought for the Day

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” – John 13:35

Ben Thomas is the high school managing producer at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.