By David Knox
Sports Editor
PINSON — Listen for the drumbeats.
The showdown that seemed inevitable has arrived.
Pinson Valley, 12-0 for the first time in 48 years of football, travels to meet Austin, 12-0 and the season-long No. 1 team in Class 6A, Friday night at Decatur’s Shorty Ogle Stadium in the quarterfinals of the 6A football playoffs.
All season long, at least since Pinson Valley got past rival, regionmate and fellow 6A quarterfinalist Clay-Chalkville 34-32 in week four, this game has been looming large.
Pinson Valley and Austin aren’t natural rivals, but the past two seasons and Friday’s showdown have made them enemies.
Austin ended Pinson Valley’s season in 2015 with a 35-7 first-round playoff win. Last season, the Black Bears knocked off the Indians 44-38 in round two.
A loaded-for-Bear Pinson Valley team, under new coach Patrick Nix, now travels up I-65 to face maybe the best Austin team in school history. Jeremy Perkins, in his eighth year at Austin, has led the Black Bears to their first 12-0 season to go with two 10-win seasons in 2015-16.
Perkins is a Thompson High grad who served as an assistant at Hoover before taking the Austin job in 2010.
The Black Bears have never won a state title, though they made it to the 4A championship game in 1983 under Tom Calvin. They made it to the semifinals in both 2015 and 2016, losing to eventual state champs both years — Clay-Chalkville in 2015 and Ramsay in 2016.
They got to the quarterfinals by surviving Shades Valley 42-35. Pinson got here by beating Ramsay convincingly for the second time, 41-13. The Indians also beat the Rams in week two, 35-14.
The Indians are seeking their first semifinal berth ever.
The Bears feature Asa Martin at running back. Regarded as the top running back prospect in the state, he’s an Auburn commitment, and he’s been the key to the Bears’ school-record 45.1 points per game.
But it was the tough defense led by Reddy Steward and Sam Watkins and quarterback Paxton Montgomery that saved them against Shades Valley. Montgomery went 14-of-20 for 242 yards and three touchdowns. His 13-yard TD pass to Collin Moses gave the Bears a 35-28 lead and Watkins’ interception with about three minutes to play set up a TD run by Martin to push the margin to 42-28.
Martin is the man Pinson needs to stop, though. He’s been one of the state’s top prospects since his sophomore year when he rushed for 1,374 yards and 12 TDs. He played his junior year at Florida’s IMG Academy as a junior before coming back to Austin.
Although Austin was ranked No. 1 in the polls virtually all year and cruised through the regular season — a 14-point win over 7A James Clemens was its closest score till last week — Pinson Valley has every reason to believe it’s just as good.
The Indians, by numbers alone, are very comparable to the Bears; Pinson has scored 40.8 points per game and allowed just 13.0; the Bears, 45.1 ppg and 12.6 ppg.
Then consider the schedule. Pinson and Austin have four common opponents. Pinson has beaten Jasper 35-0, Florence 45-20, Carver 39-15 and Shades Valley 28-27 in overtime. Austin beat the Vikings 47-7, the Falcons 28-12, the Rams 48-0 and the Mounties 42-35.
The Indians have the edge in schedule toughness. Austin’s opponents have gone 70-80 overall to the Indians’ 88-69. Pinson beat the defending 6A champ Ramsay twice.
Then the Indians also played without quarterback Bo Nix for the latter half of the year, getting him back for the regular-season finale against Pleasant Grove.
The highly coveted junior passed for 291 yards and four touchdowns in the playoff win over Ramsay. He missed the Carver and Shades Valley games, as well as wins over Gardendale and Center Point.
He has playmakers around him, too. LiAllen Dailey caught seven passes for 187 yards and three scores against Ramsay. Dilan Henderson is a threat running and catching the ball, and Khymel Chaverst is a workhorse at running back. The defense, led by lineman Desmond Scott, end Joel Parker, linebackers Zeke Lawrence and Demarco Harris and defensive back Jackie Matthews, has held opponents to 8 points or less four times. It’s been solid all year, but it will face maybe its toughest test — and that’s saying something with Shades Valley and Clay-Chalkville in the rear-view mirror — on Friday.
Pinson Valley (12-0) at Austin (12-0), Friday, 7 p.m, Ogle Stadium (capacity approximately 9,000), 1101 Prospect Drive SE
Tribune’s prediction: Pinson Valley 31, Austin 27
Last week: 3-0
Season’s record: 47-7 (87%)