As high school football enters the back half of the schedule, region games dominate the landscape.  

This week’s matchups should bring many of region races into focus. All county schools will be on the road this week; Tharptown has a bye week.

Red Bay and Russellville will trying to keep their unbeaten seasons intact Friday as they head to nearby away games. Red Bay goes on the road to Sheffield, while Russellville travels to Lawrence County.  

Red Bay (5-0; 2-0) had a close call but a big win against a physical Addison team in the first half of region play. The Tigers played most of the first half of the season at home; in contrast, the last half will be dominated by road games.  

The next two road contests will be big tests for the Tigers at Sheffield and Colbert County. Sheffield is 2-1 in region play with a 56-24 win over Tharptown and 20-8 win over Hatton. The Bulldogs lost to Addison 26-6.  

This region came down to a coin toss last year. Red Bay controls its own destiny and will try to prevent a repeat of last year beginning Friday night at Sheffield.

Russellville (5-0; 3-0) breezed through the weaker half of the region with big wins over West Point, Hayden and Corner. Those three teams are a combined 1-8 in region play.  

The Golden Tigers have a tough stretch over the next few weeks, though, beginning with Lawrence County. 

Lawrence County is 2-1 in region play with a 27-14 win over Hayden and a 37-14 win over Dora. LC lost to West Point 42-14.  

The Golden Tigers should win this game and get ready for critical matchups with Hamilton and Jasper looming in the distance.

Phil Campbell (3-2; 1-1) is still very much in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Bobcats go on the road to play reigning region champion Westminster Christian.  

The Bobcats haven’t done themselves any favors with self-inflicted wounds. Phil Campbell had to play non-region Phillips with 17 players suspended because of a fight at Vina two weeks ago. Some players were given two-game suspensions, which will roll over to this region game.  

Westminster Christian is 2-1 in region play with a 39-0 win over Lexington and a 59-34 win over Clements. Westminster, however, lost to Colbert Heights 27-20.

Vina (2-3; 2-0) has a good shot at making the playoffs this year. The Red Devils have been a surprise in the first half of the season, beating Phillips and Cherokee in region play.  

Vina has some winnable area games in the second half of the season – but not this week. The Red Devils will be without six players who were suspended because of the fight against Phil Campbell two weeks ago. 

Even with a full roster, the Red Devils would be totally outmatched this week, as they travel to Mars Hill to take on the top-ranked team in Class 1A – and probably one of the top three teams in northwest Alabama.