Local teams begin region play in September
The month of September is when the high school football season heats up in earnest as the all-important region play arrives.
Hewitt-Trussville, Clay-Chalkville and Pinson Valley open their season with non-region games before diving into region play Sept. 4.
Hewitt-Trussville opened the season with a tough Class 6A opponent in Pinson Valley. Last fall, the Huskies knocked off the Indians in the first game of the year. The Huskies were scheduled to play Saraland on Aug. 28, but that game was canceled.
The Huskies begin Class 7A, Region 3 play Sept. 4 at Spain Park. The Jaguars notched an upset victory over Hewitt-Trussville last fall. Spain Park earned the 31-28 win on a late touchdown to seal the win. Hewitt has won three of the other four meetings between the two schools, all occurring in the last six seasons.
Hewitt-Trussville plays its third road game in four games Sept. 11 as the Huskies head to Tuscaloosa County. After being eliminated from postseason contention, Hewitt-Trussville struggled to a 24-21 victory over the Wildcats last fall. But Hewitt has won four of the five games played between the two schools.
Defending 7A state champion Thompson comes to town Sept. 18. Hewitt-Trussville upset Thompson 35-29 to conclude the regular season last fall, and the Huskies provided Thompson its only loss of the season. Malachi Moore sealed the Hewitt victory with a late interception after the Huskies had been knocked off both times the teams played in 2018. Hewitt-Trussville holds a 6-5 lead in the all-time series.
The Huskies conclude the month with a trip to Huffman, which has a new head coach in Bill Smith. What was once an entertaining rivalry has turned very lopsided in the last several years, as Hewitt-Trussville has won the last eight meetings with the Vikings. Last fall, the Huskies pulled out a 34-21 win and hold a 22-18 edge in the series.
Clay-Chalkville advanced to the Class 6A quarterfinals last fall and opened the 2020 season with road games against non-region foes Shades Valley and Hueytown in August. The Cougars start Region 6 play Sept. 4 at Jasper, a new region opponent. Clay last was in the same region as Jasper in 2017, when the Cougars won 41-6.
The Cougars host Gardendale on Sept. 11 for their first home contest of the fall. Clay-Chalkville suffered a 38-35 defeat to the Rockets last fall, the second of back-to-back region losses in September. In eight meetings, that was the first Gardendale win in the series.
Another road trip awaits Clay-Chalkville on Sept. 25, as it pays a visit to new region foe Minor. Clay-Chalkville has won seven of the 10 meetings between the two teams on the field, including a 45-14 victory the last time the teams met in 2017. Minor has advanced to the 6A playoffs in each of coach Adrian Abrams’ first two seasons at Minor.
Clay-Chalkville is off the final week of September.
Pinson Valley shares a couple Region 6 opponents with Clay-Chalkville in September, after opening the season with August contests against Hewitt-Trussville and Shades Valley. The Indians won back-to-back region titles in 2017 and 2018 before ceding the title to eventual state champ Oxford last year.
The Indians begin region play at home against Gardendale on Sept. 4. Pinson Valley pitched a 21-0 shutout against the Rockets last fall and has won the last three meetings between the two schools. Overall, Gardendale holds a 19-8 lead in the all-time series.
Pinson Valley heads to Minor the following week, when the teams will meet for the first time since 2017. That season, Pinson dominated to the tune of a 48-8 victory. Minor had won the previous three meetings between the schools.
Pinson plays its third straight region game Sept. 18, as it hosts Jackson-Olin. The two teams last met in the 2016 playoffs, in a game the Indians won 31-5. Pinson has won two of three games in the series. The Indians were originally scheduled to play Park Crossing the final week of September, but will now play Ramsay in a late addition to the schedule.