Seven AHSAA high school football championships and two girls flag football championships will be decided this week at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.

Here are 10 storylines to watch for heading into Wednesday’s action.

The complete schedule follows.

Drive for 5

No team has won five straight state football championships in the AHSAA’s largest classification.

Thompson (11-1) has the chance to do just that on Wednesday night. The reigning four-time 7A champs face top-ranked and unbeaten Central-Phenix City (12-0) in the title game at 7 p.m.

The Warriors’ last playoff loss came against the Red Devils in the 2018 title game at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium. Mark Freeman’s team has won 19 straight postseason games since.

The only other AHSAA team to win five straight state titles in any class was Hazlewood (1988-92). Edgewood won six straight AISA titles from 2010-2015.

The top teams in T-town

Six of the No. 1 teams in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association rankings for 2023 have reached the Super 7.

The ASWA does not rank teams after the regular season.

B.B. Comer is the only No. 1 team to not make the finals. The Class 2A Tigers, who finished as the runner-up a year ago, lost to rival Reeltown 31-28 on Friday night.

No. 1s Central-Phenix City (7A), Saraland (6A), Gulf Shores (5A), Montgomery Catholic (4A), Mobile Christian (3A) and Leroy (1A) will all be in Tuscaloosa.

It marks only the second time (2013) that six teams ranked No. 1 by the ASWA made the finals, according to ASWA prep chairman A. Stacy Long. The No. 2 teams playing for a title are Thompson (7A), Clay-Chalkville (6A), Ramsay (5A), Madison Academy (3A) and Fyffe (2A).

Ladies first

For the first time, the Super 7 will open with a pair of girls flag football championships.

Montgomery Catholic will play Wenonah for the 1A/5A championship at 1 p.m. Wednesday. Central-Phenix City will play Vestavia Hills for the 6A/7A title at 3 p.m.

At its July meeting, the AHSAA’s Central Board voted to sanction girls flag football as a championship sport. It’s the third season girls have played football in the AHSAA but the first time it is sanctioned for championship play and the first time there are two championship games instead of just one.

Rare company

A pair of coaches have a chance to move up on the list of most state titles won.

Fyffe’s Paul Benefield and Thompson’s Mark Freeman are both sitting at six AHSAA state championships.

Wins this week would move either or both within one of overall leaders Danny Horn (Central-Clay County) and Terry Curtis (UMS-Wright). They both have won eight.

All six of Benefield’s crowns have come at Fyffe since 2014. The Red Devil’s semifinal victory over Pisgah also was the 350th of this career. He trails Horn for second-place on the AHSAA’s all-time list by one win and Curtis by five for the top spot.

In addition to his four titles at Thompson, Freeman also won a pair of 5A crowns at Spanish Fort. He won four AISA state titles at Bessemer Academy, giving him 10 overall titles for his career.

A first for the Dolphins

Gulf Shores will play in its first state title game Thursday night against reigning 5A champ Ramsay.

Mark Hudspeth’s team comes in undefeated at 14-0, but the playoff run hasn’t been without controversy.

Media reports in late October revealed another member school turned Gulf Shores into the AHSAA for alleged eligibility violations.

The AHSAA doesn’t comment on open investigations and Gulf Shores attorney Nash Campbell and superintendent Matt Akin each told AL.com last week they had not heard any updates on the situation.

The Dolphins have outscored the competition 555-124 this season. Hudspeth said last week on Sports Talk 99.5 that adversity has brought his team closer together.

“Adversity can do one of two things,” he said. “First, it can tear a family or a team apart or it really can galvanize your team or your family, and that is sort of the approach we took. We all rallied together and pulled this team and these kids together.”

Class 1A finalist Coosa Christian forfeited four games early this season after the AHSAA ruled it played ineligible players. Though the Central Board denied Coosa’s appeal on the issue, the Conquerors have responded with eight straight victories to move to 9-5. They play reigning champ Leroy on Thursday.

Who’s Mr. Football?

A handful of candidates will be on display this week in Tuscaloosa.

It will start Wednesday when Central-Phenix City QB Andrew Alford and new Auburn WR commit Cam Coleman take on Thompson at 7 p.m. The Warriors have several candidates as well, including QB Trent Seaborn and DB Anquon Fegans.

Later in the week, in a matchup many people have been waiting to watch, reigning Mr. Football and Alabama commit Ryan Williams along with his quarterback, Texas commit KJ Lacey, will take on Alabama commit Jaylen Mbakwe and Clay-Chalkville in the Class 6A title game.

Mbakwe was injured in last week’s win over Parker, but Clay coach Drew Gilmer told AL.com in a text message Monday morning that he would be good to go on Friday. Mbakwe will play defensive back at Alabama but has been the Cougars’ quarterback this season.

It’s possible the winner could come from one of those two games. The Alabama Sports Writers Association does not vote on the All-State team or Mr. Football team until after all the games are played. Mr. Football is set to be announced Jan. 16 in Montgomery.

Other top players on display this week include Madison Academy RB Ken Cherry, Cherokee County RB Jacob Cornejo, Mobile Christian RB PJ Brown and QB Damien Gatson, Gulf Shores RB Kolin Wilson and ATH Ronnie Royal and Ramsay RB Ashton Ashford.

Other players whose teams did not make it to Tuscaloosa but will likely be in the Mr. Football discussions include Elba RB Alvin Henderson and Westminster Christian QB Brandon Musch.

Call of Duty

Leroy head coach Jason Massey is expected to miss his team’s championship game Thursday against Coosa Christian.

Massey, a longtime member of the National Guard, was deployed after the Bears’ first four games. Defensive coordinator Chan Lowe took over the team and has led Leroy to nine more wins and a second-straight title game berth.

Lowe told AL.com last week that he is able to talk to Massey several times a week but that he does not expect the coach to be able to return for the game.

Getting over the hurdle

Montgomery Catholic is in the Super 7 for just the second time in school history.

Despite a 40-2 record in three years under coach Kirk Johnson, the Knights missed out on the championship games the last two seasons, losing semifinals to Montgomery Academy in 2021 and Andalusia in 2022.

This year, Johnson’s team knocked off B.T. Washington 28-0 to reach Friday’s final against last year’s runner-up, Cherokee County. The semifinal victory was Catholic’s eighth shutout of the season. The Knights have outscored their competition 579-73 in 14 games.

Last go-around at Bryant-Denny?

The AHSAA state football championships have rotated between Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium and Alabama’s Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2009. Birmingham’s Protective Stadium was added to the rotation and hosted its first Super 7 in 2021.

Bryant-Denny is set to host the games this year along with 2025, 2029 and 2031. Auburn is set to host in 2026, 2028 and 2032. Birmingham will host 2024, 2027 and 2030.

However, with the college football playoff expanding to 12 teams next fall that will include home games for the first time, there is certainly a question about whether Auburn and Alabama particularly will still want to continue to host the Super 7 games. AHSAA executive director Alvin Briggs has reiterated that the association has a contract with the schools through 2032, but will that matter if the schools want to bow out?

Time will tell.

TV and ticket information

For the second straight year, all seven boys’ championship games and the girls’ flag finals will be televised live over the Alabama Public Television Network. The games are being produced by the NFHS Network. All games will also be live streamed over the NFHS Network and over the AHSAA Radio Network as well.

Tickets are available at GoFan at the following link: https://gofan.co/app/school/AHSAA

The Schedule

The Super 7 schedule opens with a pair of flag football games and the 7A championship on Wednesday.

Here is a look at the complete schedule:

(Home teams listed second in each pairing)

CLASS 1A FINAL

Coosa Christian (9-5) vs. Leroy (13-0), Thurs., 3 p.m.

CLASS 2A FINAL

Fyffe (13-1) vs. Reeltown (13-0), Fri., 3 p.m.

CLASS 3A FINAL

Mobile Christian (14-0) vs. Madison Academy (14-0), Thurs., 11 a.m.

CLASS 4A FINAL

Montgomery Catholic (14-0) vs. Cherokee County (13-1), Fri., 11 a.m.

CLASS 5A FINAL

Gulf Shores (14-0) vs. Ramsay (12-2), Thurs., 7 p.m.

CLASS 6A FINAL

Saraland (14-0) vs. Clay-Chalkville (13-0), Fri., 7 p.m.

CLASS 7A FINAL

Central-Phenix City (12-0) vs. Thompson (11-1), Wednesday, 7 p.m.

GIRLS’ FLAG FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

CLASS 1A/5A FINAL

Montgomery Catholic vs. Wenonah, Wednesday, 1 p.m.

CLASS 6A/7A FINAL

Central-Phenix City vs. Vestavia Hills, Wednesday, 3 p.m.