Huskies open regular season against Callaway of Mississippi

By David Knox
Sports Editor

TRUSSVILLE — Fresh off a powerful performance in the Champions Challenge preseason battle, the Hewitt-Trussville Huskies kick the 2017 season off for real Friday night at Huskies Stadium when Callaway High of Jackson, Miss., visits.

Kickoff is at 7 p.m.

Myles Mason

The state of Mississippi permits 12 regular-season games, so its season starts early. Callaway already has two contests under its belt, a 24-12 loss to Laurel in the opener and a 20-8 win over rival Murrah last week.

The Chargers, who went 7-5 in Darius Bown’s first season last year, are a Class 5A club. Callaway features wide receiver Malik Heath, running back La’kenith Thompson, safety Timothy Robinson and defensive lineman James Williams. Heath, a Mississippi State commit, is 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, and is regarded as the top receiver in the state. He also had offers from Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss. Thompson, a junior, rushed for 154 yards against Laurel and had the key TD against Murrah to seal the “Pride Bowl” between those schools.

Williams made 90 tackles last season, including 12 sacks, and is rated as one of the top defensive linemen in the state.

Williams is 6-6 and 265. He is considering Alabama, MSU, Ole Miss, Georgia, LSU and Louisville.

The Huskies looked sharp from the get-go against Pell City. quarterback Paul Tyson was almost perfect, and the Huskies had it wrapped up by halftime. The defense had little trouble with the Panthers in the 49-10 win.
Callaway brings some big-time talent to Trussville, but the Huskies look to be able to match that, especially if they play as a team.

Tribune prediction: Hewitt-Trussville 48, Callaway 18

Cougars return home

Bessemer City visits Cougar Stadium Friday night at 7 p.m. as Clay-Chalkville makes its home debut off a 31-27 win at Florence.

The Purple Tigers opened last week with a 20-7 win over Tuscaloosa-Central. They’re operating under an interim coach in Quintin Jackson, previously the line coach under Martez Edwards, but Bessemer City always plays tough defense. The Cougars held off the Tigers 33-30 last season when BC went 7-5 and two rounds deep in the playoffs. Four of their losses last year were to playoff teams: Clay, Hillcrest, McAdory and Park Crossing, with the fifth being to 7A Huffman.

Three starters transferred before the season to Bessemer Academy, but Marques Johnson-Mason returns at wide receiver, and he’ll need to be contained by the new and improved Cougars defense.

“I thought the defense played well,” Cougars coach Drew Gilmer said if its effort against Florence, “but we on some plays we lost containment.” Keeping BC from breaking big plays will be a key Friday.

The Cougars unleashed a power running tandem in 220-pound Curtis Blakely and Quentin Young. It’s a different look from the past several years, but the pass was still a part of the attack. “We want to be 50-50,” Gilmer said.

Tribune prediction: Clay-Chalkville 27, Bessemer City 21

Pinson Valley hosts top-ranked Ramsay

The ASWA ranking were not yet released when we went to print, but Ramsay, ranked No. 1 in the preseason coming off its Class 6A championship, was open in Week Zero and No. 6 Pinson Valley was a decisive winner over McAdory, so this will most certainly be a top 10 game, if not a top five game.

Ramsay lost a bunch of players to graduation, including quarterback Baniko Harley, but Reuben Nelson is back. Every week, we expected someone to bring the Rams back to earth, but except for Georgia power Grayson and 7A Mountain Brook in the regular-season finale, it didn’t happen.

Bo Nix and the Indians were everything we predicted and more against McAdory. And they say teams get better the most from week one to week two. In Alabama, that’s Week Zero to Week One, but who’s counting? The Valley rises at home to take care of the defending 6A champs.

Tribune prediction: Pinson Valley 41, Ramsay 14

Eagles still struggling

The Center Point Eagles opened the season at Hueytown and took a 30-8 loss. That makes it 18 straight losses since a win over Woodlawn in 2015. The Eagles travel to Shades Valley, another one of those clubs they let slip away in 2016.

The Mounties won last year’s meeting 22-18. A play here or there could have made the difference. Shades Valley traveled to Andalusia and came away with a 56-42 win over the Class 4A Bulldogs, ranked second in the state going in. It’s hard to draw any conclusions from that score.The game was tied with six minutes to play. Shades Valley has a playmaker at quarterback in Desmond Trotter and probably too many athletes. If the Eagles can keep it close, they’ll have a chance.

Tribune prediction: Shades Valley 38, Center Point 28

Springville hosts Moody on Thursday:

Except for a four-year break, Springville and Moody have met in football every year since 1982. Moody holds a 16-15 edge after nipping the Tigers 8-7 last season.

Springville took a 13-10 jamboree win at Boaz last week. Numbers are up and hopes are high for the Tigers, and this should be an interesting one to watch, even though it’s a non-region game.
Springville plans to be more multiple on offense this season, and we’ll see if it translates into more points for Steve Davis’ club.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. Thursday at Tiger Stadium.

Tribune prediction: Springville 23, Moody 14

Tribune record last week: 3-0.