By Johnny Sanders and John Goolsby
TRUSSVILLE – Five Tribuneland teams made it to the 2024 state playoffs. Only Pinson Valley, Shades Valley, and Springville did not make it, while Moody, Leeds, Center Point, Clay-Chalkville, and Hewitt-Trussville will all play in the postseason.
Jon Clements and Springville came up a little short of a second season at .500, but injuries and a very young team proved too much to overcome.
Shades Valley, led by Reuben Nelson, displayed moments of promise during the season but ultimately fell short of making the playoffs.
Pinson was introducing a new coach and coaching staff for the third straight year. Although James Thompson’s squad showed some promise, the challenging schedule—featuring seven playoff teams, the defending 7A and 6A champions, and several regional champions—proved overwhelming for the first-year coach.
Despite a lack of support from his community in Center Point, George Bates continues to power forward and put a playoff team and a good product on the field, making it to his seventh appearance in a row with the Eagles.
Jerry Hood…not much else has to be said. The Leeds Greenwave are hosting an opening-round playoff game for the fifth time in a row, which may be the most impressive. In the preseason, Hood said that he would be pretty happy with an 8-2 record and that is exactly where they are.
Jake Ganus continues to build a powerhouse at Moody that will give them the most success in school history. The Blue Devils won 7-2, snagging a previously unlikely win over Helena, winning all of their region games, and claiming the outright crown in 5A Region 6.
Stuard Floyd took over the defending 6A champions, and despite losing two of their last three, the Cougars of Clay-Chalkville played some great football in 2024. The Cougars look to make a big run in this year’s playoffs and defend that crown.
Josh Floyd and the Hewitt-Trussville Huskies went 8-2 in the regular season. Despite replacing a large number of seniors, the Huskies are one of the most dominant teams in Alabama football, with the best defense around. When the offense is “on,” the Huskies are tough to beat.
Below is your guide for each first-round matchup.
Hewitt-Trussville Huskies (8-2 overall; 5-2 in 7A Region 3) at Baker Hornets (8-2 overall; 6-1 in 7A Region 1): This one will be very interesting. Baker head coach Juan Johnson served as the Huskies’ offensive coordinator for the past four years. Expect Johnson to be familiar with the Hewitt-Trussville offense, but the Husky defense is the best in the state and should have some success in stopping the Hornet offense. Hewitt is peaking at the right time, outscoring their last three opponents 161-7 to end the regular season. Baker only lost to Jackson and Mary Montgomery, and they finished their season with a victory over previously undefeated Vigor, a 5A powerhouse. This game’s winner will draw the Austin vs Enterprise game-winner. These two teams have never played.
Clay-Chalkville Cougars (8-2 overall; 5-1 in 6A Region 6) vs Gadsden City Titans (6-3 overall; 4-2 in 6A Region 8): The Cougars started the season with seven consecutive wins, including victories over Thompson and region foe Mountain Brook. After those seven wins, most of which were by a large margin, the Cougars have taken a serious step backward. They fell to Oxford in the region championship game, bounced back with a 63-6 win over an improved Pinson team, but dropped the season finale to Vestavia Hills. The Titans lost to Hewitt-Trussville, Southside Gadsden, and Fort Payne. The vaunted Clay-Chalkville defense will need to step up, and Frye, Osley, Compton, Woods, and company will need to put up points on Friday night. The winner of this game will face the winner of the Muscle Shoals vs Mortimer Jordan winner. The Titans lead the series between the two teams 6-4.
Center Point Eagles (5-5 overall; 4-2 in 5A Region 6) at Boaz Pirates (8-2 overall; 5-1 in 5A Region 8): To say the Eagles have had an up-and-down season would be an understatement. Coach Bates’ boys have shown flashes of greatness as Deon Moore has been one of the better players in our coverage area this season, and Julius Finnerson has proven to be great out of the backfield. The Eagles have managed to do well in the region; however, they have dropped three (Bessemer City, JAGand Woodlawn) games that they likely would have won if they had played to their potential. They have done enough to get into the playoffs and draw a road trip to Boaz in the first round. The Pirates’ losses were to region foe Scottsboro, who won the region, and Geraldine. The Eagles will need great play by Moore and Finnerson and company and a good defensive effort to punch their ticket to the second round. The winner of this one will play against the winner of the Corner vs Lawrence County game. The two teams have played twice, in 2004 and 2005, splitting that series.
Leeds Greenwave (8-2 overall; 5-1 in 5A Region 6) vs Guntersville Wildcats (9-1 overall; 5-1 in 5A Region 8): The Greenwave have quietly been one of the most consistent teams in our area. They have handled their business in most of their games, with quarterback Conner Nelson doing a lot of damage on the offensive side of things and the defense playing well, with Carlos Plascencia anchoring the line and Reece Bitner in the backfield. The two losses came to Moody, who won the region, and Briarwood, who has won every game since that one and would be a big problem for 5A in the playoffs if they had not lost the first five games of the season and missed the postseason. Leeds is hosting their fifth straight playoff game on Friday with this matchup, continuing the dynasty that Jerry Hood has brought to the Greenwave. Guntersville finished with the best overall record in their region, only dropping one game. However, they finished third due to the tiebreaker rules, with their only loss coming to Boaz, who finished second. The winner of this game will play the winner of the Fairview vs Carver Birmingham game in round two. Leeds and Guntersville have played twice, in 1990 and 1991, splitting the series.
Moody Blue Devils (7-2 overall; 6-0 in 5A Region 6) vs Arab Knights (6-4 overall; 3-3 in 5A Region 8): Year three under Jake Ganus would look to be his least successful if you look at record alone. However, looking at the schedule, you may consider this his best team since taking over on 411. “I didn’t make this schedule to go 10-0; I made it so we would be ready in November.” With games against Gainesville (GA), Oxford, and Helena (the game against Auburn was canceled due to weather), it looked like Moody would have to win all their region games to have a winning season. Not only did they do that, but most games in the region were not close, and they even got a win over Helena. Moody’s defense has played well, with guys like Cam Mallory, Kaleb Goff, and Sidney Walton leading the way. The offense has improved over the year with Charlie Johnston progressing, Josiah Dozier catching everything thrown his way, and Bravis Cave Jr and La’Kameron Meadows sharing the ball out of the backfield. Arab beat Moody in Ganus’ first season with the Blue Devils, so this one has some revenge attached. The Knights finished fourth in Region 8 with close losses to Boaz, Guntersville, and Scottsboro. The winner takes on either Russellville or Wenonah in round two. The Knights hold a 2-1 overall lead over the Blue Devils.
