Demopolis (5-0, 3-0) takes to the road this week to take on Greenville (2-3, 2-1) in a region matchup.

Demopolis is coming off of a big win on the road against rival Thomasville, and Greenville is coming off of a 14-13 loss to Charles Henderson.

Coach Tom Causey said that these road games give these teams the opportunity to grow up.

“We’ve got to grow up and win games on the road,” he said. “Greenville has had a lot of success recently, and they are a very good team.”

Causey added that being back in the region means that the games mean a lot more to the team’s playoff chances.

“This game will be like a playoff game,” he said. “Their record doesn’t indicate how good of a team they are. They’ve lost three games to high-caliber, high-quality opponents. We can’t look at their record and see what kind of team they are.”

Causey said the main part of preparation for road games within the region is preparing the team for the environment they are going into.

“The preparation doesn’t change from any other kind of game,” he said. “We just have to prepare the kids for the environment we are about to going into.”

Sweet water returns to region play

The Sweet Water Bulldogs (4-1, 3-0) go on the road this week to take on Flomaton (2-3, 1-2).

The Bulldogs are coming off of a 17-14 win over Maplesville and will look to continue that success against the Hurricanes this week, who are coming off of a 35-26 win over Pleasant Home.

“We are really healthy to be at this point in the season,” Stacy Luker said, “and we will be ready to play on Friday. Our number one goal is to make the playoffs and then win the region, so we have to keep working toward that.”

Luker is happy with how his team has played so far for the most part, but there are still improvements to be made.

“We have definitely been playing hard so far,” he said. “The kids are giving great effort every week. We need to improve as a team, though, especially offensively.”

Halfway through their first season in Class 2A, Sweet Water is undefeated in the region and looking to improve on their early success.

“We have had a couple of what I like to call character-building games,” Luker said. “It’s been tough, but it is about what we expecting going in.”

Marengo academy hits the road

Marengo Academy (4-2, 3-0) will face possibly its toughest opponent to date this season when they travel to Pickens Academy (6-0, 4-0) this weekend.

The Longhorns won their game last week against Meadowview Christian, despite falling behind big early in the game. They had lost the two previous games before that victory.

“We didn’t let the two losses to Patrician and Wilcox get us down,” Robby James said. “Those tough games will help us down the road this season.”

James said that Pickens is a team that is small in size, but are very aggressive.

“They are a well-coached team and they make very few mistakes,” he said. “They don’t fumble very much and we will have to play well against them. They will be tough to beat and we need to get out there this week and see what we can do against them.”

John essex holds homecoming

John Essex (2-3, 1-2) plays host to the Blacksher Bulldogs (0-5, 0-3) in their homecoming game Friday night.

Coach Jerome Antone said that even though Blacksher hasn’t won a game, his Hornets will still have to go out and play smart football.

“We still have to go out there and play the game and be smart,” he said. “We are real banged up, and having only 13 players, it makes it tough, but we just have to go out and play hard.”

He added that Blacksher is a well-coached and disciplined team and that they are going to come to play.

Hornets quarterback Cedric Cooks, who was taken to the hospital for neck trauma during last Friday’s 28-0 loss to Autaugaville, is expected to play this week.

“He is up and about and feeling as good as he was before the injury,” Antone said.

Hornets running back Demarcus Bennett is listed as “very questionable” for Friday’s game.

“DJ Bennett banged up his shoulder in last week’s game,” Antone said, “and he is very questionable this week.”

 

A.L. Johnson (3-2, 1-2) travels to Linden (5-0,3-0) to take on the Patriots for their homecoming game.

The Eagles are coming off of a win against Ellwood Christian and Linden is coming off of a win against Wilcox Central.

Marengo High (0-5, 0-3) travels to Mobile to take on St. Luke’s (3-2, 2-1). The Panthers are coming off of a loss to Akron High School.