Sixth-ranked Helena is riding high headed to Alexander City on Friday to meet Benjamin Russell in a critical Class 6A, Region 3 showdown. The Huskies are unbeaten after eight games and in first place in region play. A win secures the home field for Helena in the opening round of the state playoffs.

However, coach Richie Busby’s squad is facing three hurdles to securing the No. 1 seed.

How will the Huskies deal with their success thus far this season? “It’s probably our No. 1 worry,” Busby said. “We haven’t been playing football that long. Our school is just 10 years old this year, so we don’t have a football tradition. In the last six years, we’ve been fortunate to have some good teams. People now know about Helena football.

“When you have a young program, dealing with the complacency is part of it,” he said. “You have to pay attention to the small details. A couple years ago, we were 9-0 and got beat in the first round” after falling at UMS-Wright in the regular season finale.

“We ran into a very good Baldwin County team and our depth has always been an issue here because we’re still building. When it gets to this time of year, you get some key injuries and some matchups that are not favorable, that can happen.”

The injury bug has hit Helena hard this season as well. Receiver Torrey Ward has been out with a hand/wrist injury that required surgery, the coach said. Ward had 16 catches for 215 yards with 3 touchdowns when he was forced out.

No. 1 receiver Hunter Hale is likely a gametime decision this week, Busby said. Hale, who has 40 receptions for 490 yards with 8 TDs, has a leg injury that could keep him out.

“We are battling significant injuries,” Busby said. “We’ve had three ACLs. Once you have one, it seems like they are a virus and you can’t stop them.

“Friday night may be the first time we’ve started the same five offensive linemen back-to-back all year.”

And, finally, Benjamin Russell is 6-2 and 4-1 in region play and riding a four-game win streak. The Wildcats’ roster features several college prospects, including 4-star Auburn commitment Malcolm Simmons at wide receiver.

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“It’s going to take a great team effort by our defense to defend him,” Busby said. “You have to be aware where he lines up. They put him everywhere. From the film we have, they are figuring out more ways to get the ball to him. He’s in the backfield, in the slot, out wide. The thing that scares me more is him in the kicking game. He’s also their punter and we watch him making tackles on punts. He’s an SEC receiver with elite speed and quickness. When he catches the ball, he has the intention to score every time.”

Simmons has 41 receptions for 792 yards – 99 a game and 19.3 yards per catch – with 9 touchdowns. He scored twice last week in a come-from-behind 25-21 win at Briarwood on receptions of 75 and 50 yards. Simmons scored on a 92-yard punt return against Pelham, averages 33.8 yards on 5 kickoff returns and averages 41.7 yards per punt.

“Everybody does everything they can to take him away from us,” Benjamin Russell head coach Smitty Grider said. “We’re fortunate that we have a lot of other guys making plays for us. Every week, we have to find new ways to get him touches and that’s a challenge sometimes.”

Benjamin Russell also has sophomore Cederian Morgan, a 6-foot-4, 201-pound receiver, as a target for senior quarterback Gabriel Benton. Morgan has 22 receptions for 317 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Benton has thrown for 1,645 yards and 18 TDs, completing 105-of-152 passes with 3 interceptions.

Junior Ta’Jerious Wilson is the workhorse in the backfield for the Wildcats, rushing for 693 yards and 6 touchdowns on 122 carries with four 100-yard games this season.

Defensively, Grider said his squad is young with two senior starters. Freshmen – Kalib Spivey and Kendarious Byrd – are handling the defensive end duties. Spivey, 6-3, 240 pounds, has an offer from Auburn. Byrd is 5-10, 225.

“They are not typical freshmen,” Grider said. “They are doing a great job, are really physical and really are exceeding expectations.”

Busby and Grider agreed that the Wildcats, who lost Week 2 to now No. 3 Class 5A Central-Clay County and on Sept. 22 to region foe Homewood, are improving as the season progresses.

“We’re getting them at the time they are playing their best,” Busby said.

“After the Homewood game,” Grider said, “we looked at some things we were doing and looked at ways to get the ball to our playmakers in space. Our defense has gotten better as we’ve gone along. Friday night will go a long way to see how far we have come as a program. Playing Helena, undefeated, highly ranked, is how we want to gauge our program.”

Helena is averaging 41.8 points a game and giving up 11.5. Senior Jordan Washington has run for 1,131 yards on 163 carries and with more than 3,500 career yards is Helena’s all-time leading ground-gainer. Washington has scored 16 touchdowns.

Senior quarterback Carson Acker has passed for 1,024 yards, completing 83-of-113 throws for 14 TDs with 2 interceptions. Senior linebacker Nathan Thomason has 77 total tackles to lead the Huskies with 19 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and an interception. Fellow senior LB Joseph Roberto has 71 total stops with 6 tackles for loss while senior lineman Parker has 13 tackles behind the line.

“Our defensive front and linebackers have to do their job in the pass rush this week,” Busby said. “We can’t let the quarterback have all day to pick our secondary apart. You can’t cover Simmons forever, so we have to pressure that quarterback and stay in our rush lanes.

“We have to play well and some younger guys have to step up so we can hold up our end of the bargain to make this a good game.”