Huskies rekindle postseason rivalries this fall
The Hewitt-Trussville High School football team was shifted to Class 7A, Region 4 in the latest round of AHSAA reclassification, putting the Huskies in a region primarily made up of teams in north Alabama.
They are not sweating that; in fact, offensive lineman Chipper Lartigue and linebacker Nick Jackson said they actually like the long road trips, because they allow players time to focus on the game without distractions.
“I don’t know what it’s going to be like,” said head coach Josh Floyd. “It’ll be exciting; it’ll be new. We’ll learn more about them as we go, obviously, but who knows? It’s a two-year deal. We can try to develop some region rivals. We’ll see what happens.”
Hewitt-Trussville kicked off the season with a pair of contests against out-of-state foes: a trip to play Montgomery Bell Academy in Tennessee and a home game against Florida’s Manatee High School.
The month of September begins the Region 4 slate for the Huskies, who have made the playoffs in each of Floyd’s first two seasons in Trussville. On Sept. 2, they travel to Gadsden City to renew a matchup that always has been heavily contested. The teams played each season from 2006-2014 (twice in 2008 and 2014) in a series that featured two playoff games and two overtime battles. The Huskies hold a slight 6-5 edge, scoring 255 points to 253 for the Titans in the teams’ games against one another.
On Sept. 9, Hewitt-Trussville welcomes Grissom to town. The two teams have never been in the same region, with their only previous meeting being in the 1993 playoffs, a 21-7 win for the Huskies.
Buckhorn is another new region foe, and the Huskies travel there to play the Bucks Sept. 16. In much the same fashion as Grissom, the two teams’ only matchup was a playoff bout, with Hewitt-Trussville taking a double-overtime victory in the 2010 postseason.
The Huskies take a respite from region play Sept. 23 to host Center Point. The two teams have a long and storied history against one another, dating back to 1965. The teams have not played since 2005, when Center Point was known as Erwin High School. Erwin won 18 of the first 20 meetings of the two teams, but Hewitt-Trussville won each of the last 12.
Hewitt-Trussville wraps up the month on Sept. 30, as it plays host to region opponent Bob Jones. Their last two meetings have been in playoff action, with the Patriots winning both times.
Floyd called it a “gauntlet of a schedule,” but said he believes the program’s depth and experience (35 seniors) will allow the Huskies to excel throughout the season. Guys like receiver Noah Igbinoghene and defensive back David Acfalle will be relied on heavily to make plays and lead the team.
“It’s the biggest and strongest team we’ve had physically,” Floyd said. “We’re excited about it. We have more depth overall than we had last year. We knew we had a chance last year to do something special. We really did. We were playing really well, then the injury bug hit us there at the end.”