FC teams face region openers

It’s week two of the high school football season, which means it is time for region openers.

Phil Campbell will host Lexington in the Bobcats’ home opener.

Red Bay will host Hatton for an early homecoming game.

Russellville will host Corner. Tharptown will host Sheffield.

Vina will be the lone county team on the road this week, traveling to Phillips.

Phil Campbell (0-1) hosts Lexington (1-0)

The Phil Campbell Bobcats are coming off a tough loss to county rival Red Bay, where the Bobcats jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead three and a half minutes into the game.

Red Bay dominated the next 44 minutes, outscoring the Bobcats 54-6.

Lexington won a defensive battle last week over Rogers by a field goal, 3-0.

Last year the Golden Bears beat the Bobcats 35-12.

Phil Campbell Coach Kevin Barnwell: “Lexington is very similar to Red Bay. They are big and strong. They have a very good quarterback who can manage the game and beat you throwing or running.

“Most of their key players are back from last year. They are very well coached.

“We are going to have to do a better job of tackling and taking care of the football if we are going to have a chance to win.”

Red Bay (2-0) hosts Hatton (1-0)

The Tigers are 2-0 on the young season with two dominating performances – a 36-0 shutout of Colbert Heights and a 54-20 win over Phil Campbell.

Hatton beat West Morgan in its season opener last week, 20-9. Red Bay won last year’s contest 32-6.

This will be an early homecoming game for the Tigers, so there will definitely be some excitement in the air and obvious distractions for the home team.

Red Bay Coach Michale Jackson: “Hatton is extremely big. They are probably the biggest team we will face all year.

“They run the Wing-T offense, and they have a very good running back. We have to find a way to run the ball up the middle against their big line, and that will be a challenge.

“This is our first region game and our homecoming, so it is a big game, and we expect a big crowd.”

Russellville (1-0) hosts Corner (2-0)

The Russellville Golden Tigers are coming off another season-opening, overtime thriller against rival Deshler. This is the second straight year the Golden Tigers have gone into overtime against the Tigers – this time winning 27-21.

Russellville opens region play against undefeated Corner. Corner has bested Northside 20-12 and Oak Grove 45-0 so far this season.

Last year the Golden Tigers won a close one 24-13.

Russellville Coach John Ritter: “Our guys are resilient. They played their guts out against Deshler, even though we were not executing our assignments. We made the plays when we needed them the most.

“Corner has a good team. Coach Jon Clements does an outstanding job of scheming up people and getting his guys in the best position possible.

“We will have to play mistake-free football and play at a high level to have an opportunity to win this game.”

Tharptown (1-0) hosts Sheffield (1-1)

The Tharptown Wildcats got a couple of weeks to savor their season-opening win at Shoals Christian. The Wildcats had an open date last week and a chance to rest and recuperate before opening region play.

Tharptown’s first region assignment is Sheffield. The Bulldogs won their opener handily over Class 4A Wilson 39-16 but lost decisively to Class 1A reigning champions Mars Hill 48-6.

Last year Sheffield shut out Tharptown 49-0.

Tharptown Coach Kevin Lacey: “Sheffield is a very athletic team. They are also very physical.

“They have an elusive quarterback that can throw the ball downfield to a number of skill position players. They fly around on defense.

“We are going to have to be alert and not make mistakes.”

Vina (0-2) at Phillips (0-2)

Vina has had a tough start to the season with two lopsided losses to Marion County and Brilliant.

The Red Devils go on the road to Phillips, which has had its own season-opening woes with losses to Decatur Heritage and Lynn.

The Bears won last year’s game 41-0.

Vina Coach Ben Guin: “Phillips is a good football team. They run a spread offense, and they have run a four-man front on defense.

“They played hard against Lynn and Decatur Heritage. They attack you on both sides of the football.

“We will have to play much better than we did against Brilliant if we are going to be competitive.”