Here’s what awaits football teams in The News Courier’s coverage area this week.
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Non-Region Matchups
Game: Mae Jemison (3-6) at East Limestone (2-7)
Quick Hitter: The Indians — seeking a third straight win to close the season — won last year’s matchup 45-6.
Coach Speak: “I feel like our guys are playing their best football — it just took us a while to get there. We are playing with a lot more confidence and continuity. We’re just disappointed we don’t have any more football after this one.” — East Limestone’s Clint Woodfin
“Mae Jemison is very athletic. They’ve got a whole new team from last year and we know they are kicking it up into high gear right now so they have some momentum going into their first-round game. We are looking forward to the challenge. Cavnar Field is always a tough place to play, so it’ll be a good football game.” — East Limestone’s Clint Woodfin
Game: Central Florence (5-4) at Ardmore (1-8)
Quick Hitter: The Wildcats edged the Tigers 49-41 in last year’s matchup.
Coach Speak: “This is going to be a tough test for us. They run Wing-T on offense and they are really good on that side of the ball. We are going to have to play really disciplined on both sides of the ball to try and waste the clock a little bit.” — Ardmore’s Jonathan Snider
“I hate that our season has not gone as people envisioned, but I especially hate it for these senior players. Those nine seniors have been around the program since I got here and they have done everything we could ask them to do. So, I just want to send them out with a win.” — Ardmore’s Jonathan Snider
Game: Russellville (8-1) at Athens (7-2)
Quick Hitter: The Golden Eagles clipped the Golden Tigers 32-31 last season and need a victory Friday for their first eight-win regular season since 2019.
Coach Speak: “We’ve got to come down off a thrilling win and get our feet back on the ground, because we’ve got a heck of a team coming into our home.” — Athens’ Cody Gross
“We still have not played our best ball yet and it’s time to start doing it now. The challenge for us each week is to go and get better, and this has been a fun team to coach this season.” — Athens’ Cody Gross
Game: Elkmont (4-5) at St. John Paul II (3-6)
Quick Hitter: A victory for the Red Devils over the Falcons would give them five wins in a season for the first time since 2014.