If history tells us anything, it’s that the bullies from Birmingham’s largest schools have dominated Huntsville’s Class 7A football teams in the Alabama High School Athletic Association state playoffs.

It’s a lesson that James Clemens head coach Chad McGehee knows all too well.

“We have to be realistic,” said McGehee, now 21-10 in three seasons at the helm at the Madison school. “We’ve talked about it this week. We’re like 4-30 (North Alabama schools are actually 4-31 vs. Birmingham-area teams in the playoffs) in this region. James Clemens is 3-7.

“We’re trying to fight to change the narrative here. We’re trying to do something that hasn’t been done in a long time. The other three teams in the region are trying to do that, too.”

The Jets are on a three-game losing streak to Region 3 teams – falling 38-35 in 2021 to Oak Mountain and 55-12 to Hewitt-Trussville in 2020 in opening-round games and 23-20 in overtime to Hoover in a 2019 second-round game after beating Vestavia Hills 21-20 in a first-round game.

James Clemens will open this year’s tournament at Madison City Schools Stadium on Friday at 7 p.m. against Hoover.

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The fourth-seeded Bucs, who are led by the only coach ever to win a playoff game for James Clemens in Wade Waldrop, are looking at some history, too. Hoover brings a 4-6 record into the first round, the first losing record for the 13-time state champion since 1998.

“This (James Clemens) senior class were freshmen when I was there. I spent a lot of time with those guys,” said Waldrop, who was 54-35 for the Jets from 2013-2020 and is 15-8 in two seasons at Hoover. “My daughter is a senior and she’s familiar with a lot of those guys. They are a good group of kids.

“This is my second time going back. We went back the year I was at Florence the year after I left. They beat us on a field goal as time expired that basically cost us the region championship. That was tough. I’m a little more emotionally removed this time. I’m excited about going back, excited about being in the playoffs and seeing what our team can do over the next couple of weeks.”

James Clemens is the top seed from Region 4 and 7-3 on the year, 6-1 in region play. The Jets’ losses came to a pair of Class 6A Top 10 teams in No. 8 Mountain Brook (18-13 in Week 3) and No. 4 Muscle Shoals (42-28 in Week 6) and to 7A No. 10 Austin (28-7 in Week 8).

“We went through a stretch on the front end of the season and played a really tough schedule,” McGehee said. “We got through that and got through a maybe lighter part of the schedule at the end. We got some guys banged up, but having a bye week (at the end of the season) helped us as well.

“We are obviously happy to be in the playoffs, no matter who we’re playing. It’s going to be a big challenge for us playing Hoover. They are still Hoover. They still have the name, the legacy, all the tradition. They still have really good players and they’ve played a really tough schedule.”

All of Hoover’s losses have come to ranked teams – 7A No. 2 Thompson (21-11), No. 5 Auburn (39-14), No. 6 Vestavia Hills (26-7), No. 9 Hewitt-Trussville (28-7), 6A No. 8 Mountain Brook (34-24) and Mississippi No. 1 Oak Grove (28-21 in overtime).

“We’ve been blunt with our kids,” said McGehee, who was defensive coordinator for Josh Niblett at Hoover from 2018-20. “This is the very best team we’ve played. Whoever moves on will play a better team in the next round. Our kids are confident and I think they will go out and try to play a really good game and be a physical football team.”

The Jets are led by quarterback Ty Marsh, who has passed for 1,415 yards and 13 touchdowns. Running back tandem Cam Berry (a team captain with 99 carries for 617 yards and 6 TDs) and DJ Williams (83-395, 4 TDs) split duty handling most of the load in the ground game. Wide receiver/athlete Ty Doughty has 191 yards on 16 carries for 2 scores, caught 50 passes for 674 yards for 5 touchdowns and has 364 kick return yards.

“Ty Marsh was voted permanent team captain,” McGehee said. “That says enough about what type kid he is, how respected he is in the locker room. He’s a great leader and a great competitor. He’ll give his all to win a game for James Clemens. He’s doing a good job managing this team.

“Ty Doughty brings an element of explosion to our offense. We’re running the ball and trying to open it up with his explosiveness. He does it all. Ty is a special player.”

James Clemens has two Division I-committed defensive ends in Missouri-bound Jaylen Brown (6-foot-6, 235 pounds) and 6-5, 250 Nate Jennings, who has committed to South Alabama. Brown has 62 total tackles with 7 sacks and 9 tackles for loss and Jennings has 61 total stops with 10 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

“Our defense has been up and down,” McGehee said of the group that has allowed 21.5 points per game. “We’re hoping for some consistency out of our guys. We have to get lined up, we have to contain the speed they have on the perimeter and we have to do a good job controlling the pass rush and their quarterback.”

Waldrop said his team has learned needed lessons this season. “The schedule for us is always going to be the schedule,” he said. “There’s never an off week. Early on, this team had to figure out how to play together, to play to strain and as hard as you have to in order to win. It’s hard and takes a lot of effort and toughness.

“We had one or two injuries early in that Vestavia game. We just didn’t play well and the negativity fed for a couple of weeks.”

Against the Rebels, Hoover lost senior linebacker Cooper Darty. “He was kind of the leader of our team,” Waldrop said. “We lost him on the first play and we had to throw a sophomore in there. For a three-week stretch – Vestavia, Hewitt-Trussville and Mountain Brook – having a young guy being in the fire was asking a lot of him.

“The sophomore, Trey Sanders, is a really good football player. He played his best game against Thompson a few weeks ago. It just takes experience to know the toughness it takes on every play on a Friday night. It’s making our defense better.

“Micah Hampton (6-3, 270-pound senior defensive lineman) and (senior 6-3, 210 DL) Jamar Jones have elevated their play,” Waldrop said. “You can see a difference in how they are playing now as to how they were playing earlier in the year. That’s a big piece that has helped feed into other areas.”

The coach said his offense, averaging 25.2 points a game, has found its identity.

“We’re figuring out who we are,” he said. “Jonah Winston (a 5-9, 145-pound sophomore wideout/athlete), has become a little more involved in our offense. We’re finding ways to get him the ball more.

“Our running backs were banged up in that three-game stretch and we never had our full arsenal, and we never had our full offensive line healthy. Our receivers have been better and our quarterback play has improved in the last few weeks. We’re just excited about where we’re going.”

Noah Schuback has completed 99-of-186 passes for 1,256 yards with 10 touchdowns and 8 interceptions for the Bucs. Kamal Amerson and Fredrick Dunson are the top two runners, with 483 and 388 yards, respectively. Winston has 348 yards rushing on 49 carries to go with 25 catches for 330 yards. He also has 91 yards on kick returns. Jordan Woolen is the top Hoover receiver with 578 yards and 6 TDs on 34 receptions.