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Playoff Football Primer: Lions look to avenge lone region loss

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Photo by Neal Wagner

Here's a look at the local high school football playoff games this week.

Briarwood (12-1) vs. Pleasant Grove (12-1)

Last week: Briarwood held down Bibb County in a 7-3 win and Pleasant Grove outran Ramsay to a 51-22 win in the Class 5A quarterfinals.

What to watch: The Region 4 opponents meet again with a trip to the state championship on the line. Briarwood lost its first two games of the season, to Chelsea (later forfeited) and Pleasant Grove. Since the loss to the Spartans, the Lions have rumbled past everything in their path, winning 11 straight games. Pleasant Grove’s only loss this season came against Ramsay, the team it knocked out of the postseason last week.

Last meeting: Pleasant Grove opened 2019 region play with a 26-14 win over Briarwood on Sept. 6, 2019. The Spartans win snapped the Lions’ nine-game winning streak in the series.

The winner gets…: Central-Clay County or Mortimer Jordan in the Class 5A championship game, set for Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.

Pinson Valley (10-2) at Oxford (12-1)

Last week: Pinson Valley defeated Muscle Shoals 26-14 and Oxford rallied to defeat Clay-Chalkville 20-13 in the quarterfinals of the Class 6A playoffs.

What to watch: The two Region 6 foes meet for the second time this season, with Oxford claiming a one-point victory the last time they met. Pinson Valley has won seven straight contests since that defeat, while Oxford avenged its only loss of the season last week. This is the third straight year Pinson Valley has advanced to the semifinals, after having never reached the quarterfinals in program history prior to that.

Last meeting: Oxford outlasted Pinson Valley 34-33 on Sept. 20, 2019. Pinson Valley has only won one of the eight meetings between the two schools.

The winner gets…: Opelika or Spanish Fort in the Class 6A championship game, set for Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn.

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