Best Bets in Class 1A for Week Three

Some of the best football and most passionate fans belong to this 1A level. Sweet Water hosts the longest winning streak in all classes with win number 30 last night. Here are some of the important region match-ups of the week.

McKenzie (2-0) (1-0) travels to ninth ranked Ariton (2-0) (1-0) in a Region 2 battle. McKenzie boasts wins over Excel (34-29) and region opponent Florala (54-7) in the first two weeks of the season.

Ariton defeated Pleasant Home last week (40-8) and 3A Headland the week before (34-12).

Last year’s game was a lopsided affair when (5-1) McKenzie hosted Ariton (2-4) for homecoming and the Purple Cats took the 57-6 win back to Dale County.

Key Players:

Ariton:
Craig Sanders (6-4, 235 pounds) junior running back/linebacker. Sanders has scholarship offers to Alabama, Georgia Tech and Southern Miss

McKenzie:
Freddie Banks sophomore running back. The youngster is a speedy back who is capable of making a big play every time he touches the ball for the Tigers.

The fifth ranked Linden (2-0) (1-0) Patriots will take the short jog east to meet the 12th ranked Eagles of A.L. Jones (2-0) (2-0) in a Region 3 game.

Linden defeated 3A Cottage Hill (38-20) in the first week of the season and added a region win over Akron (64-20) last week.

Johnson plays their first home game this week after traveling to John Essex for a 40-0 win and Autaugaville for a 20-8 victory. Both were region contests.

Linden handed A.L. Johnson a big road loss last year, 60-8.

Key Players:

Linden:
Maurice Tate (5-11, 225 pounds) senior running back rushed for over 200 yards in last week’s win over Akron.

A.L. Johnson:
Cleophus Daniel, senior running back had 97 yards rushing on seven carries in their win last week over Autaugaville.

The 11th-ranked Speake (1-1) (1-1) Bobcats hosts the Bears of 10th-ranked Phillips, Bear Creek (2-0). The Bobcats started the season with a Region 8 win over Tharptown (41-8), but faltered in a tough 7-6 region loss to Hubbard.

Phillips, Bear Creek ran their record to two wins with an opening region game against Mount Hope 80-40 and took a non-region contest (56-7) over Marion County.

Speake won this game last year 67-28.

Key Players:

Speake:
Demetrae Griffin (6-2, 265) junior defensive lineman made 70 tackles last season and has started off with strong defensive efforts. The Bobcats have only allowed 15 points in two games.

Phillips, Bear Creek:
Adam McCarley (5-11, 160) senior quarterback ran for 46 yards last week and completed seven of 12 passes for 206 yards and three touchdowns for the Bears’ high octane offense.

The Tigers of Valley Head (1-1) (1-0) will move south to face Region 6 opponent Spring Garden (2-0) (1-0). The Tigers lost their opening game against 2A Section 21-7, but rebounded with a region win over Skyline 57-6 last week.

Spring Garden opened with a win over Appalachian (21-6) and followed that up with their first region victory over Collinsville (24-14).

Valley Head won this game 43-20 in 2007.

Key Players:

Valley Head:
Clinton McCrary, the running back shifted to quarterback during their win over Section and passed for 287 yards.

Spring Garden:
Trey Littlefield (6-0, 175) and Tyler Messer (6-0, 225), running backs, the duo rushed for 260 yards last week. Class 1A schedules and scores [click here].

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