ASWA releases high school football preseason poll

The Alabama Sportswriters Association’s pre-season poll is out for high school football, and two Franklin County teams merited a mention.

Russellville High School, which won 11 games last year, went undefeated in region play and made it to the semi-finals, ranked No. 5 in Class 5A in the pre-season poll.

“I think the thing that is going to drive this team is their commitment to doing things the right way,” Head Coach Mark Heaton said.

In Class 2A, Red Bay High School did not rank in the top ten but received votes. Red Bay finished the year with an 11-1 record and a second-round playoff appearance. The Tigers will have to replace 13 graduating seniors  this year, who contributed to last year’s team’s success.

“Our first four games are against teams that had coaching changes,” said Red Bay Head Coach Michael Jackson. “This will be a little bit harder on our game planning because we are not sure how those teams will attack us.”