This is week 10 of the 11-week regular season schedule for AHSAA and AISA schools and going into the week of games every school in Marengo County has qualified for postseason competition.
Some teams will be hosting while others will be on the road. That’ll be discussed in the coming weeks.
This week for some schools will be about solidifying playoff seeding, while others will try to clear up formalities.
The Demopolis Tigers will look to secure an outright region championship when they host the Dallas County Hornets.
A.L. Johnson travels to Selma for a matchup against the Ellwood Christian Eagles in a Thursday night contest.
Linden Athletic Field will have double hosting duties this week as the Linden Patriots host the Greene County Tigers Thursday night and the Marengo Academy Longhorns host the Abbeville Christian Academy Generals.
Everyone else is on the road this week with Marengo High School traveling to Beatrice, Alabama to take on the J.F Shields Panthers and Sweet Water will take the ride to the Gulf Coast with a contest against Flomaton.

Demopolis looks to sweep region second consecutive year
Since Demopolis was reclassified into 5A Region 4 in 2014, the Tigers haven’t lost a game in the region. As a result, DHS have gone back to back like Jordan’s Bulls in 1996 and ‘97, dominating the competition.
The Tigers (7-1, 6-0) look to finish off this version of the region 14-0 before reclassification occurs early in 2016 with a matchup against the Dallas County Hornets (5-3, 4-2).
The Hornets still have a very remote chance of finishing in third place with a win coupled with a loss by Calera to Sumter Central. Dallas County had been on a four game winning streak before falling to Calera 31-7 last Friday.
DHS has outscored opponents 317-90 this season and the closest win was a 19-point spread in a 42-23 victory over Calera.
The Tigers have never lost to Dallas County, amounting a 14-0-1 record against the Hornets. Dallas County battled to the lone 6-6 tie in 1973.

Linden continues to sharpen the iron at home
Iron sharpens iron is a mantra used to describe how good competition helps make each side better. The Linden Patriots (5-2) are done with region play and look to finish the regular season as healthy as possible, all the while maintaining a sharp edge for playoff success. Linden will represent 1A Region 4 as the second seed and already have their playoff opponent set against McKenzie High School.
However, this week the Patriots must face the Greene County Tigers (1-7) out of 3A Region 4.
The Patriots are on a three game winning streak since dropping two straight to Maplesville and St. Paul’s and have only allowed six points in each contest.
Greene County has struggled this season unable to win a region game and only holds a victory over Francis Marion. It bears with mentioning that 3A Region 4 does currently house two top ranked teams in 3A in Gordo and American Christian as well as Aliceville who usually contend for a title.
Linden is 3-1 all-time against Greene County with the Patriots winning the last matchup 39-8 in 2011.

Marengo Academy looks to keep rolling
Football is a different sport where going to the past can in fact make the future seem more prosperous.
The Marengo Academy Longhorns (6-1) have been nothing short of dominant since going back to the wing-t offense under coach Webb Tutt.
Since taking over after a win against Clarke Prep, Tutt’s offense has resulted in the Longhorns going on a five game streak of scoring no less than 41 points a game. MA has outscored opponents 219-48 during this time.
Tutt has mentioned that the current players have a familiarity with the system and it has allowed this group to flourish after a sluggish start to the season.
The Abbeville Christian Generals (8-0) have issued a brand of dominance of their own in ASIA-A Region 2, outscoring opponents 357-57 with the closest margin of victory being a 27-point victory over Cornerstone Christian 33-6.
MA will concentrate on slowing down Drex Roach for Abbeville Christian. The senior has thrown for 1006 yards and nine touchdowns. Roach also has 434 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
Last week, the Longhorns and Generals were tied for fourth place in the Alabama Sportswriters Association polls. While the exact ranking may change, the challenge won’t and this will be a clash of two teams wanting to finish strong.
Marengo Academy leads this all-time series 3-0. They have met every year since 2012 and the margin of victory has increased each year. Last season, MA claimed a 59-12 victory.
Last week, the Longhorns clinched a second consecutive perfect slate in AA Region 1 with a 41-22 victory over Wilcox Academy.

Marengo will looks to return to win column
Marengo had an opportunity to completely change the script from last season, going from just missing the playoffs to region champions. However, the Panthers (5-3, 3-2) fell short to the J.U. Blacksher (7-1, 5-1) and had to watch the Bulldogs celebrate clinching the 1A Region 1 championship.
Marengo still has a chance to finish as the three seed in the region with a little help, but first the Panthers must focus on defeating the J.F. Shields Panthers (0-6, 0-5).
J.F. Shields has yet to score this season, being outscored 319-0. Last Friday, J.F. Shields surrendered McIntosh’s first win of the season in a 52-0 score in favor of the Demons.
With a victory and a win from Millry, Marengo can finish as the third seed in the region. However, a Chickasaw victory of Millry or a loss will result in Marengo being the fourth place team and facing the 1A Region 3 champion.

A.L. Johnson looks for redemption on the road
The Eagles knew the challenge would be tough and Maplesville proved to be too much as A.L. Johnson just couldn’t slow down the powerful Red Devils in a 42-0 loss in Thomaston.
This week A.L. Johnson (1-6, 1-2) will look to close the fourth consecutive week of 1A Region 4 competition with a road matchup against Ellwood Christian Eagles (3-5, 0-3).
Currently on a four game losing streak, the Eagles have hit some hard times since starting the season 3-0.
While a win wouldn’t knock A.L. Johnson out of the playoffs, a win would allow Ellwood in the postseason as the third place finisher in the region and push A.L. Johnson down to fourth place and Keith out thanks to tiebreakers.
This contest allows for A.L. Johnson to get the offense back on track and the Eagles to get ready for postseason play.
A.L. Johnson leads the all-time series with a 2-1 record with that first loss coming last season 40-26 in the first contest as region opponents.

Sweet Water set for important region matchup
The Sweet Water Bulldogs (5-3, 4-2) have finally moved from must win games to would like to win games. Following a 28-6 victory over Choctaw County, the Bulldogs have clinched a playoff spot in 2A Region 1.
This week, the Bulldogs will travel to face the Flomaton Hurricanes (6-2, 4-2) where the winner finishes in third place and avoids facing Elba who finished runner up to Fyffe in the 2A State Championship game last season and currently undefeated.
Both teams have loses to Washington County and Mobile Christian and have had similar paths to get to this point.
Flomaton has outscored opponents 290-171 while Sweet Water is winning the points spread 235-193.
Sweet Water will have to avoid the turnover bug that has plagued the Bulldogs lately, which almost cost them a game against Southern Choctaw. Two fumbles led directly to two fourth quarter touchdowns for the Indians. Sweet Water did rally for an overtime victory, but mistakes made against Flomaton may not allow for a Sweet Water rally.
The Bulldogs and Hurricanes have met four times on the gridiron and Sweet Water has won all four games including last year’s 38-12 contest at Nolan Atkins Stadium.

College Quick Hits
The Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1, 3-1 SEC) rode the back of Derrick Henry en route to a 41-23 victory over Texas A&M. Henry finished with 236 yards and two touchdowns.
The quests of Alabama’s identity have been answered. They’ll be a traditional Crimson Tide running team and that is just fine for longtime fans.
Tennessee (3-3, 1-2) heads to Bryant-Denny Stadium for the “Third Saturday in October” rivalry game that’s been on the fourth Saturday most years recently.
Alabama has holds a 49-38-7 record over the Volunteers and currently rides an eight game winning streak in the series including last year’s 34-20 victory.

Auburn Tiger football is back. On a Thursday night in Lexington, the Tigers (4-2, 1-2 SEC) found a way to pull out a tough 30-27 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Sean White managed the game responsibly at quarterback with no interceptions and Peyton Barber played a big role on third downs converting time after time late in the game. Barber also finished with two touchdowns.
Auburn is on the road for the second consecutive week and travel to Fayetteville for a matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks (2-4, 1-4).
Arkansas is good at what Auburn struggles to stop, which are those power runs up the middle. Putting records aside, this will not be an easy affair for the Tigers.
Auburn is 13-10-1 against the Razorbacks including a season opening 45-21 victory last season.

Homecoming weekend will go down as a complete success for the West Alabama Tigers (5-2, 1-2 GSC) as the Tigers collected a 52-27 victory over the Shorter Hawks.
In the victory, Javae Swindle became the all-time leading rusher in school history on a 50-yard touchdown run.
Harry Satterwhite also won his second GSC Freshman of the Week Award with 216 yards and three touchdowns. He was the first quarterback to take every offensive snap this season for the Tigers.
UWA must now prepare for a road matchup against the Delta State Statesmen (5-2, 1-2 GSC) who are ranked number 22 in the AFCA poll. DSU is coming off 28-7 loss to West Georgia.
Delta State leads the all-time series 35-22-3 including last year’s 45-24 victory, but UWA has won two of the last three.