By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
TRUSSVILLE — Few areas in Alabama have produced the sustained championship success found across Tribuneland.
From dramatic overtime victories and perfect seasons to heartbreaking runner-up finishes, Clay-Chalkville, Leeds, Pinson Valley, Moody, Shades Valley and Hewitt-Trussville have combined to make the area one of the state’s premier high school football regions.
Together, those six programs have reached 19 state championship games and captured 13 state titles.
No Tribuneland program has brought home more blue maps than Clay-Chalkville.
The Cougars own a 5-1 record in state championship games, capturing titles in 1999, 2014, 2021, 2023 and 2025.
Clay’s first championship was won in dramatic fashion. Facing the Lee-Montgomery Generals in the Class 6A state championship at Legion Field, the Cougars rallied from an early deficit before winning a 30-27 overtime thriller.
Quarterback Stuart Floyd threw two touchdown passes to game MVP Tavarous Doyle, who also rushed for a score while accounting for 167 total yards.
After Lee kicked a field goal in overtime, Dewey Stoudmire answered with the game-winning 10-yard touchdown run, delivering Clay’s first football state championship under head coach Hal Riddle.
In the 2014 Class 6A title game, Jerry Hood’s Cougars outlasted previously unbeaten Saraland 36-31 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Game MVP Ty Pigrome accounted for five touchdowns, rushing for 101 yards and three scores while throwing for 255 yards and two touchdowns.
T.J. Simmons caught five passes for 165 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown, while Nico Collins added a touchdown reception as the Cougars claimed their second title.
Clay looked to repeat but fell to Spanish Fort in the 2015 championship game 31-28.
The Cougars returned to the top in 2021 with a perfect 15-0 season under Drew Gilmer by defeating Hueytown 46-42.
Running back Edward Osley rushed for 152 yards and five touchdowns to earn game MVP honors.
Quarterback Khalib Johnson threw for 251 yards and two touchdowns, including scoring strikes to Nathan Owens and Mario Craver, as the Cougars held off a furious Hueytown comeback.
Clay followed with another thrilling win over Saraland in 2023. Game MVP Jaylen Mbakwe rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns while throwing a 40-yard scoring pass to Mario Craver in a 31-28 victory.
In 2025, the program came full circle. Under Stuart Floyd, who quarterbacked the 1999 champions, the Cougars added another title.
Behind game MVP Aaron Frye, Clay defeated Saraland 38-21 at Protective Stadium to finish a perfect 15-0.
Frye rushed for 183 yards and three touchdowns while completing 8-of-10 passes for 167 yards and two more scores. Jacari Johnson hauled in a 66-yard touchdown reception, Nasir Ray added a scoring catch, and the Cougars rolled up 413 total yards to claim the fifth championship in school history.
The Cougars have now won titles under four different head coaches: Hal Riddle, Jerry Hood, Drew Gilmer, and Stuart Floyd.
Leeds has built one of the state’s most successful championship résumés. The Green Wave are 4-1 in state title games, winning championships in 2008, 2010, 2014, and 2015 under Keith Etheridge.
Leeds’ first title came in 2008 when the Green Wave completed the first undefeated season in school history.
Quarterback Rush Perkins accounted for four touchdowns, rushing for three and throwing for another, as the Green Wave defeated Cordova 38-21 at Legion Field to capture the Class 3A state championship.
Two years later, Leeds defeated Hamilton 42-32 in the 2010 Class 3A championship game.
Dedric Forsythe opened the scoring with a 68-yard touchdown run, then Jonathan Rose added an 84-yard interception return for a score, and later caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Dylan Shelton.
Ladarius Rodgers rushed for three touchdowns, including scoring runs of 87, 34 and 75 yards, as Leeds built a 42-18 lead on the way to its second state championship.
The Green Wave came within one victory of another championship in 2013, advancing to the Class 3A title game before falling to Madison Academy.
In 2014, the Green Wave defeated Deshler 30-0 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Quarterback Tadarryl Marshall earned game MVP honors after rushing for 107 yards and throwing a touchdown pass to Jermaine Johnson. Leeds held Deshler to just 77 total yards, including only 36 rushing yards, while Demontrez Clark added a 65-yard interception return for a touchdown.
The following season, Leeds successfully defended its crown with an overwhelming 55-7 victory over Fayette County in the 2015 Class 3A championship game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Game MVP Tre’ Nation rushed for 186 yards and five touchdowns as the Leeds rushing attack piled up 395 yards on the ground.
Marshall added a touchdown pass to Koi Freeman, and the Green Wave scored on eight of their nine offensive possessions to claim the school’s fourth title.
The Pinson Valley Indians put together one of the state’s greatest four-year runs during the late 2010s.
The Indians captured three state championships in four seasons.
Future NFL star Bo Nix led Pinson Valley to its first championship in 2017, posting a perfect 15-0 record and a 31-10 victory over Wetumpka in the Class 6A state championship at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Nix accounted for three touchdowns, rushing for two scores and throwing another touchdown pass to LiAllen Dailey. Running back Khymel Chaverst added a rushing touchdown, while Dailey finished with five receptions for 93 yards.
The Indians’ defense limited Wetumpka to just 166 total yards as Pinson Valley captured the first football state championship in school history under Pat Nix.
Nix then guided the Indians to another title in 2018. Pinson Valley defeated Saraland 26-17 in the 2018 Class 6A championship at Jordan-Hare Stadium behind another standout performance from Nix. He threw for 306 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing score. Geordan Pollard hauled in an 83-yard touchdown reception, Demarion Holloman added a touchdown catch, and Kendall Thornton sealed the victory with a 32-yard interception return for a touchdown as the Indians repeated as state champions.
Following a one-year absence from the finals, the Indians returned in 2020 under first-year head coach Sam Shade.
Quarterback Zach Pyron threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes as Pinson Valley defeated Spanish Fort 23-13 to claim its third championship.
Moody added its name to the championship list in recent years.
After reaching the state championship game for the first time in 2024 and falling to Catholic-Montgomery, the Blue Devils returned the following year to capture the first football state championship in school history.
Le’Kameren Meadows rushed for 186 yards and three touchdowns as Moody dominated Vigor 25-0 in the 2025 Class 5A championship game. The Blue Devils controlled the game from start to finish, rushing for 277 yards while pitching a shutout to finish the season 13-2.
Not every championship story in Tribuneland ended with a trophy.
Shades Valley came within one possession of bringing home a championship on two occasions, reaching the state championship game in 1987 and again in 1994 under Robert Higginbotham.
In 1987, the Mounties dropped a 19-13 decision to Vigor despite taking a halftime lead in their first finals appearance before suffering an equally heartbreaking 16-14 loss to Anniston seven years later.
In the 1994 championship, Shades Valley drove to the Anniston 5-yard line in the fourth quarter, only to have a potential go-ahead score end with an interception.
The Mounties also hold a unique place in Alabama football history as one of the participants in the AHSAA’s first-ever playoff game in 1966.
Hewitt reached the finals in 1992 under Jack Woods. The Huskies fell to Lee-Montgomery 14-0.
Championship success has spanned generations throughout Tribuneland.
Hal Riddle guided Clay-Chalkville to its first state title in 1999. Keith Etheridge built Leeds into a championship power with three titles before adding another in 2015. Patrick Nix and Sam Shade each delivered championships at Pinson Valley, while Jerry Hood, Drew Gilmer and Stuart Floyd continued Clay-Chalkville’s winning tradition. Jake Ganus brought Moody its long-awaited first football championship in 2025.
Those coaches also developed some of Alabama’s most recognizable players.
Rush Perkins, Stuart Floyd, Tavarous Doyle, Ty Pigrome, Nico Collins, T.J. Simmons, Edward Osley, Jaylen Mbakwe, Aaron Frye, Bo Nix, Zach Pyron, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Tre’ Nation and Le’Kameren Meadows all authored unforgettable championship performances that helped define their respective eras.
From Legion Field to Jordan-Hare Stadium to Bryant-Denny Stadium and Protective Stadium, Tribuneland programs have spent nearly four decades competing on Alabama’s biggest stage. Thirteen blue maps and countless unforgettable performances later, the region’s championship legacy remains one of the state’s finest—and it’s still being written.
