The 2021 AHSAA Football regular season has come to an end, but for four local teams, their hopes are alive for a championship.
Good Hope, Fairview, Cullman, and Vinemont have high hopes of making it deep into the AHSAA Playoffs, but the road ahead will be a tough battle. Week one of the 2021 AHSAA Playoffs will begin this coming Friday, November 5th. Fairview and Good Hope will have a home-field advantage while Cullman and Vinemont will have to travel.
On a high note, Vinemont finished the regular season by defeating Cold Springs 30-6 and sending the Eagles into the playoffs with a 5-5 regular-season record, and finished 4-3 in Class 3A Region 6. Vinemont will travel to the 3A Region 8 Champions, Lauderdale County. The Eagles undoubtedly have a tough battle ahead with teams like Lauderdale County, Winfield, Sylvania, and Ohatchee on their side of the bracket. Nevertheless, Coach Robinson will have his Eagles prepared to their fullest when they hit the field next Friday evening.
The Good Hope Raiders were off this week, gearing up to host Class 4A Region 8 third-place finisher, Central-Florence. The Raiders, led by Head Coach Alan Scott, finished the regular season with a 7-3 record and a 5-1 record in Class 4A Region 6. Note: One of Good Hope’s losses came as a forfeit to West Point in the second week of the season due to COVID issues. The Raiders appear to be in good shape behind Tanner Malin and crew to go deep into the playoffs. Coach Scott would love nothing more than to get revenge on rival Oneonta that defeated Good Hope last Friday to end the Raiders regular season.
Class 5A Region 7 runner-ups, the Fairview Aggies, pounded Holly Pond 57-16 last night in what you could consider a prep game for the upcoming first round of the ASHAA playoffs. Coach Redding and the Aggies finished their regular season with a 9-1 overall record and 5-1 in Region play. The Aggie’s one loss came to the Region 7 Champions from Guntersville in the season’s third week. The Aggie’s high-powered Offence has put up 55+ points in each of their last four games. They averaged 45.8 points per game during the 2021 regular season, while the defense gave up only 19.1 points per game. Fairview will host the third-place finisher, Fairfield, from Region 5 Friday night.
The Cullman Bearcats, who lost to Muscle Shoals 42-7 last Friday to end the regular season, look to rebound when they travel to Class 6A Region 6 runner-up Jackson-Olin Friday evening. The Bearcats, coached by Oscar Glasscock, finished the 2021 regular season with an overall record of 7-3 and 5-2 in Region 8. The Bearcat’s three losses were to 5A Jasper and 6A powerhouse Hartselle and Muscle Shoals. However, the Bearcats defense has been impressive this year and should keep Cullman in the playoffs for a while. The offense relies heavily on the run game, and senior Runningback Noah Kee is certainly up for the challenge. In addition, junior Quarterback Ryan Skinner’s arm is solid and accurate. If the Bearcats can find that balanced mix, there is no doubt you will see them go deep into the 2021 AHSAA playoffs.
