Photo by Frank Couch.
Oak Mountain's wide receiver Noah Young (2) during a game against Thompson in September 2019 at Heardmont Park in Birmingham.
With the high school football season officially underway, the month of September marks the start of the ever-important region slate for the local teams.
Briarwood and Chelsea are now both in Class 6A, Region 5, as Briarwood moved up from 5A. Both programs made the playoffs last year and will look to do the same again.
Oak Mountain and Spain Park are both in Class 7A, Region 3, arguably the toughest region in the entire state. Neither team qualified for the playoffs last fall, but both have expectations to change that this season.
Briarwood and Chelsea square off Sept. 4 in the first region contest for both schools. It’s been a series that Briarwood has controlled throughout the years, but Chelsea picked up a 17-14 victory last fall before being forced to vacate the win. Briarwood had won the previous two meetings before last year.
Briarwood hosts region foe Woodlawn on Sept. 11. Woodlawn has won just two region games over the past three seasons and is coming off a 2-8 campaign in 2019. The two teams have met each of the last four years, with the Lions winning all of those contests.
The Lions then host Huffman on Sept. 18. The Vikings have not had a winning season since 2005 but have a new coach in Bill Smith, formerly at Shades Valley. Briarwood and Huffman have never met on the gridiron.
Briarwood plays a familiar foe from recent years, as the Lions head to Mortimer Jordan on Sept. 25 in a non-region contest. Like the Lions, Mortimer Jordan moved up to 6A after many successful seasons on the 5A level. Briarwood has won all four meetings between the two teams.
Following the Briarwood game, Chelsea heads to Homewood for another region game. Homewood has made the playoffs eight straight years and has knocked off the Hornets each of the last two years. Last fall’s contest was a good one, with the Patriots earning a narrow 27-26 win.
Chelsea takes its open week then concludes the month with a non-region game at Pelham. Chelsea earned a 64-38 win against Pelham last fall, as the teams have been region adversaries for the last four years. In the all-time series, Pelham leads 8-4.
Oak Mountain begins the month by heading to Gadsden City to open region play. Gadsden City went 1-9 last fall and has not had a winning season since 2016. The two teams have met just once, a 45-28 Gadsden City win in the 2014 state playoffs.
On Sept. 11, the Eagles host Vestavia Hills, which went 7-4 in 2019 and is now in Buddy Anderson’s final season as head coach of the Rebels. Vestavia Hills has typically had the upper hand in the series, winning 13 of the 16 contests between the schools, including a 31-10 win last fall.
Oak Mountain heads to Hoover on Sept. 18 to play the Bucs. Oak Mountain has fallen in each of the 17 previous iterations of the matchups. The Eagles take their open week to conclude the month.
Spain Park begins the month of September at home against region foe Hewitt-Trussville. The Jags and Huskies have a history of entertaining contests. In 2014, Hewitt outlasted the Jags 64-63 in four overtimes. Last fall, Spain Park took home a 31-28 win on a late touchdown.
The Jags host defending state champion Thompson on Sept. 11. Spain Park holds a 9-5 lead in the all-time series between the teams, but Thompson has won easily in each of the last three games.
Spain Park travels to Gadsden City on Sept. 18 to take on the Titans. Spain Park has won three of the four meetings between the two programs, including a 31-19 win in 2017. Spain Park concludes the month with its open week.
