Jacy Todd is a retired high school football coach. Todd spent 20 years coaching high school football with stops at Daphne, Fairhope, Auburn, Northridge and Baker. He was defensive coordinator at each of his last four stops. Each week he breaks down one of the state’s biggest games.

The 2022 edition of THE high school football game on the Gulf Coast happens Friday night at C.A. Douglas Field in Theodore.

Eric Collier’s Bobcats, ranked No. 3 in the state in their first year back in Class 6A, host top-ranked Saraland in a battle for the top spot in Region 1.

Both teams are 8-0 overall and 6-0 in region play.

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High-scoring Saraland, with sophomore sensations K.J. Lacey and Ryan Williams leading the way, is averaging 43.8 points a game. Theodore, with Brayden Jenkins leading a punishing ground attack, is averaging 36 points a game. Defensively, the Bobcats are giving up an average of just 8.8 points a game. Saraland is yielding 13.6.

“We have to do a good job against their run game,” Saraland coach Jeff Kelly said this week on Sports Talk 99.5 FM in Mobile. “We had a lot of question marks on defense going into the season, but we’ve really been playing good defense throughout the year.

“For us to be successful, we’d love to make them one dimensional as we would for every opponent, and we have to be balanced offensively. We throw it around and do a lot of good stuff, but really the last 3-4 weeks Santae (McWilliams) and the offensive line have come on. We’ve had some good runs and are doing some good things there.

“Whoever comes out on top will be able to run it, be able to stop the run, be able to make the big plays in big situations, perform on special teams. We just have to go play and see what happens.”

Here is Jacy Todd’s take on what each of these teams may need to do to win Friday night.

THEODORE

1. For the last decade, Theodore’s identity has been pretty much the same – run the football, play great defense. Friday night, the Bobcats will need to rely on that to come away with a win. Theodore running back Brayden Jenkins is one of the best in the region and runs behind a very big a physical offensive line. The Bobcat defense continues to be their calling card and has playmakers all over the place.

2. Can Theodore limit early mistakes and not spot Saraland points early on? Theodore has had some games that were a little closer in the first half than they would have liked. They have been able to pull ahead of teams like Murphy and McGill-Toolen after they have given up more points than they would have liked in the first few quarters. To beat a well-coached Saraland team, they can’t fall too far behind and absolutely can’t have turnovers.

3. Will Theodore throw something at Saraland that the Spartans may not be expecting? Theodore LB Demon Jones has been a force on defense the last few years but lately he has shown up in the stat column on offense running the ball in short yardage packages as well. With this being the region championship game, does Theodore show everything it has on offense to get the 1 seed for the 6A playoffs? Will Southern Miss commit Will James return to the secondary? He’s been out since Week 1 with an injury.

SARALAND

1. Saraland has been explosive on offense with multiple young stars so how does coach Kelly approach this game? Alabama sophomore commit Ryan Williams has been explosive at receiver and will also line up in the backfield and run the ball. Sophomore QB K.J. Lacey has been very successful as a dual-threat guy, which puts pressure on the defense. The Spartans have a very talented running back as well in Santae McWilliams. Coach Kelly will have the opportunity to rely on multiple options even if Theodore is able to take a few away.

2. Can the Saraland defense stop or even limit the Theodore run game? Saraland is well coached on defense and has young talent up front, but they will have a tough task in front of them. The problem with stopping a good run game is it can wear on your defense. The physicality of stopping the run tests your depth and what you are made of. If you are able to get a few 3-and-outs, it feels like a win. But if Theodore is able to have some 12-15 play drives, it will be an uphill battle come the fourth quarter.

3. How will a very talented but young team be able to handle a very tough environment in a hostile away game? Other questions remain about both teams that will be answered on Friday. Has either team been tested by previous competition? Who will make plays when needed and who will limit mistakes?

WHAT WOULD JACY DO?

If I am Theodore, my offensive plan is simple. Run the ball. It sounds easy but can you extend your drives with a few fourth-down runs? Run the ball well and you know the play-action pass will be there. On defense, it is a tough test for the Bobcats. How do you take away the multiple weapons on Saraland’s offense? If I am making the plan, we would be very aggressive on first down, bringing four and five guys from different areas and mixing coverage on the back end. If you can some how keep Saraland in negative down and distance situations after first down, I think you have a better chance at keeping some of their playmakers at bay.

If I am Saraland, my offense has to be balanced so Theodore isn’t able to focus on making it one dimensional. My defensive plan is easy. How can we stop the run? Saraland is multiple on defense. Can they move between four and five-man fronts to confuse the Theodore offensive line and slow the run game down?

SARALAND (8-0) AT THEODORE (8-0)

Time/location: 7 p.m. Friday, C.A. Douglas Field, Theodore

Last week: Saraland was idle; Theodore defeated McGill-Toolen 37-10

On the air: TV – MCPSS-TV; Radio – WNSP-FM 105.5

Region standings: Both teams are 6-0 in Class 6A, Region 1

The skinny: Winner clinches the top seed from Region 1 with one game left in the regular season. … The teams split two previous meetings with Saraland winning 42-21 in 2020 and Theodore winning 28-14 a year ago. … The Spartans have outscored their opponents 351-109 this season. Their closest game was a 35-24 win over Spanish Fort on Sept. 9. Sophomore QB K.J. Lacey is completing 69 percent of his passes for 1,676 yards and 25 TDs with 3 interceptions. Sophomore Alabama WR commit Ryan Williams has 15 receiving touchdowns and 5 rushing TDs. Fellow sophomore Santae McWilliams (117 carries, 662 yards, 9 TDs) is the leading rusher. C.D. Gill has 451 yards receiving and 6 TDs. … Theodore has outscored its opponents 291-71 in its first year after dropping from 7A to 6A. Junior QB Cam Rigby has thrown for 890 yards and 14 TDs. Vandy commit Kamrean Johnson has 6 TD receptions, while Tevaris Sullivan has 4. Senior RB Brayden Jenkins is the offensive key. He has rushed for 1,185 yards and 18 TDs on 149 carries – an average of 148 yards per game and 8 yards per carry. The defense is led by Navontay Richardson (65 tackles) and Cameron Pruitt (61 tackles). Southern Miss DB commit Will James has been out since the opener due to injury.