Eagles, Jags in 7A’s ‘Region of Doom’; Briarwood, Chelsea in 6A
High school football is a Southern tradition, and Alabama is one of its leading celebrants. It’s been that way for generations But this season finds Alabama high school football undergoing its biggest change in 30 years.
The Alabama High School Athletic Association, by unanimous vote of its central board, has added a seventh class for the largest 32 schools in the state. This creates entirely new regional and class alignments and affects rivalries, travel and, most importantly, whether your school will make the playoffs.
This is the first major classification change the AHSAA has adopted since 1984, when the governing body increased from four classes to six. By moving the largest schools into their own class, it removes some of the numbers disparity that is especially difficult to overcome in football as opposed to basketball and baseball. The largest schools in the state in some cases had more than twice as many students than the smallest 6A schools. Most of the schools in 7A will be within 200-300 students of each other.
A new 7A class
Over the Mountain, the so-called “Region of Doom” returns in a slightly different form in highly competitive Class 7A, Region 3. Oak Mountain and Spain Park are grouped with back-to-back Class 6A state champ Hoover — rated by some preseason sources as a national championship favorite — along with Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Thompson, Tuscaloosa County and Hewitt-Trussville. Six of those eight made the 2013 Class 6A playoffs; three were region champions. But only four of these teams will make the 16-field 7A playoff bracket in 2014.
“I think it’ll be great for the fans,” said Oak Mountain coach Cris Bell. “Every Friday night there are going to be multiple good games, and it ought to be fun.”
As for being back in the region Hoover’s Josh Niblett calls “the SEC of high school football,” Bell is realistic but hopeful.
“I don’t think our schedule was weaker the past two seasons, but from the standpoint of the level of coaching you’re seeing week in and week out, it is going to be very, very good,” he said. “I’m excited and I know our kids are excited. I’ll let you know about mid-October if I’m still excited about it.”
Spain Park coach Shawn Raney echoed the thoughts of his Oak Mountain counterpart..
“It’s exciting. It’s a challenge every week, great coaches, great players. Our kids are excited, the coaches are excited about it,” Raney said.
No other Metro Birmingham schools are in Class 7A. Removing Hoover — which has won eight 6A state titles since 2000 — cracks the door open for some other very good programs to make a run at a state crown.
A more competitive 6A
Some members of the media have taken to calling Class 7A a “super class,” but with 60 schools in eight regions, 6A may be even more competitive.
Briarwood Christian joins nearby Homewood and John Carroll in Class 6A, Region 5, along with Pelham, Minor, Jackson-Olin, Hueytown and Walker.
Moving to Class 6A, Region 3 is Chelsea. The Fighting Hornets, who played in the very difficult Class 6A region last season, now have a travel challenge, playing in a region with Alexander City’s Benjamin Russell, Opelika, Valley of Fairfax (north of Auburn near the Georgia line), Pell City, Oxford and Chilton County.
“There is more distance in the new 6A,” said AHSAA director of communications Ron Ingram, “especially in the southern portion of the state. Chelsea is the southernmost 6A school in the Birmingham area and had to be placed in the southern portion to help fill out the regions in the south.”
On the plus side for the Hornets, they were in a region that included four schools that are now in Class 7A, so they were at a disadvantage in that department. And Ingram notes that as a 5A school, Chelsea traditionally played teams east of and on the 280 corridor.
“We’ve definitely got some traveling,” said Chelsea coach Chris Elmore. “The closest schools are Pell City and/or Chilton County, however you want to look at it. We were able to get all our non-region games close — we’re playing Briarwood, Helena, Thompson. I was a little disappointed [because] I was hoping we wouldn’t get Valley and Opelika on the road in the same year and we did. But if you want to put it in a positive spin, we won’t have to go there next year.
“I think our (6A) region last year was deeper. I thought we were the ‘bad’ team, and I thought we were pretty competitive. Spain Park and Prattville were the only two games last year that midway in the fourth quarter I didn’t think we had a chance to win. I think this region is real top-heavy with Opelika and Oxford. Then the rest of them are like us, been up and down.”
In all classes except 7A, 32 schools will make the playoffs. The Super 6 Championships now become the Super 7. The championships this year are in Auburn.