Football teams buckle down as playoffs near

With one more week behind them, Franklin football teams are seeing the end of the regular season loom large on the horizon.

PHIL CAMPBELL

Phil Campbell (3-3; 1-2) will be going on the road for the second straight week after a tough 55-6 road loss last week on the road at Westminster Christian. 

The road doesn’t get any easier this week, as Phil Campbell travels to Lauderdale County (6-1; 4-0). After losing its season opener to Brooks, Lauderdale County has won six straight games, including beating Clements last week 48-7. 

Phil Campbell has to pick up two region wins to have a shot at the playoffs. If the Bobcats don’t get one of those this week, they have East Lawrence and Colbert Heights remaining.

RED BAY

Red Bay (6-0; 3-0) is looking to sew up an outright region championship. The Tigers will make a major step in that direction if they can take down the Colbert County Indians (5-2; 3-1) on the road this week. 

The Indians were undefeated before losing the past two to Deshler and Addison. Colbert County was tied with Addison at halftime Friday night before getting manhandled in the second half by the Bulldogs.

RUSSELLVILLE

Russellville (6-0; 3-0) is also looking to remain unbeaten and win a region championship. 

The second half of the season was always going to be the Golden Tigers’ biggest test, and nothing has changed. Russellville struggled to squeak out a win at Lawrence County last week, 22-14. The season doesn’t get any easier with Hamilton this week and Jasper next week. 

The Aggies (5-1; 3-1) were winners of four straight before losing last week. The good news for the Golden Tigers is Hamilton lost mightily to a Hayden team Russellville beat easily.

THARPTOWN

Tharptown (1-4; 0-3) has had a tough road since winning the season-opener against Shoals Christian. The Wildcats will host the Hatton Hornets (2-4; 1-3) for homecoming Friday night. 

Tharptown has shown some resilience against good teams early, but the Wildcats have been worn down as the game progresses. 

The good news is Hatton is probably the easiest team the Wildcats face in the region. The bad news is Hatton is solid upfront, with a lineman already committed to Troy University. 

Hatton also easily beat a Tanner team last week that handled the Wildcats earlier in the year.

VINA

Vina (2-4; 2-1) still has play-off hopes in sight. 

The Red Devils faced an insurmountable task with Mars Hill last week, and this week isn’t going to be a walk in the park. Vina will host a Waterloo (6-1; 4-0) team that has won five straight games in relatively easy fashion. 

Vina still has a chance to make the playoffs with games at Shoals Christian and at home against Hackleburg.