PC, Vina kick off football this week
Football kicked off last week for local high school teams, but Franklin County will have another limited slate of games this week because of coronavirus-related cancellations.
All games have moved to Thursday in response to the severe weather expected Friday. Phil Campbell and Vina will play their season openers. Tharptown will try to improve to 2-0.
Russellville (1-0) was originally scheduled to play the annual rivalry game with Deshler this week; after planning instead to host Florence in an exhibition game, Russellville has ultimately canceled for this week because of the threat of severe weather Friday.
Red Bay will have to wait another week to start the quest for another undefeated regular season. The Tigers were scheduled to play Biggersville, Miss., this week but will now open up the season next week hosting Lexington.
Phil Campbell (0-0) at Lamar County (1-0)
Lamar County opened the season last week with a big 28-12 win over rival South Lamar. The PC Bobcats will face Lamar County Thursday.
The Bulldogs went 1-9 last year. Their only win was a 34-0 shellacking of Hale County. The other nine games were pretty bad, as they were outscored 292-92.
The Bobcats are 6-12 against the Bulldogs historically. The two teams did not play each other last year and historically only play when it is a regional contest.
Phil Campbell hosted Hubbertville last week in a jamboree game. The Bobcats will be without senior running back Trey Leindecker, who went down with a knee injury. Leindecker was one of the top running backs in northwest Alabama last year.
“Lamar County is a very skilled team,” said Phil Campbell Coach Kevin Barnwell. “They beat a very good South Lamar team last week. We have our work cut out for us.
“They have some very good skill players, and they know how to get the ball into the hands of their playmakers,” Barnwell added. “We will have to make tackles and get them to the ground.”
Vina (0-0) at Marion County (0-0)
Vina opens the season Thursday in Guin against the Marion County Red Raiders. Vina is 3-11 overall against Marion County. The Red Devils lost to the Red Raiders last year 41-12.
“This is the third straight year we have opened with Marion County,” said Vina Coach Luke Childers. “They are a well–coached team and very good at the quarterback position. He can run and pass the ball.
“They have a lot of speed on offense. They primarily run the spread with some jet sweeps and power plays.”
Tharptown (1-0) hosts Phillips (0-0)
Tharptown is coming off a big 48-14 season-opening win over Shoals Christian. The Wildcats will now face Phillips Thursday.
Tharptown last beat Phillips in 2013. The Bears have won four in a row since.
The two teams have met 11 times, with Tharptown winning two of those matchups. Phillips went 2-8 last year, the two wins coming against Shoals Christian and Cherokee.
“We played a good game last week against Shoals Christian, and we need to keep that momentum going,” said Tharptown Coach Kevin Lacey. “We have to correct some mistakes we made last week, like protecting the football, but I like the focus and intensity our players showed.”
