PREP CAPSULES (Week 6): Weather causing changes in weekend schedule
STAFF REPORT
The latest weather forcast may reek havoc on the Friday night schedule.
A weather system from the Gulf will dump several inches of rain on the southeastern part of the country over the course of late Thursday through Saturday with possible thunderstorms. The bulk of the rain should be on Friday into Saturday evening.
That has caused schools to reschedule Friday games to Thursday.
At press time only a handful of games in the River Region have been rescheduled (the list will be updated through Thursday afternoon). Those games include (according to published reports):
Tallassee at Charles Henderson (7:30 p.m.)
St. Paul’s at Catholic
Trinity at St. James
Montgomery Academy at Prattville Christian
Chambers Academy at Edgewood Academy
Check back to this list for any additions.
Week 6
All games begin at 7 p.m. unless noted otherwise
RUSSELL COUNTY at PIKE ROAD (5A R2)
Friday at Patriots Field
2026 Records: Russell Co (4-2, 2-1), Pike Road (4-1, 3-0)
Series: Pike Road, 4-0
Last year: Pike Road won, 49-6
Last week: Pike Road did not play; Valley def. Russell Co.,24-23
Key Notes: Pike Road and Russell County have met each of the last four years with the Patriots winning by an average margin of 49.5 to 13.5 or a margin of victory at 36 points.
The skinny: For the last couple of years, this has been the deciding game for the region title. This year, there is at least one other team that will be in that equation (Benjamin Russell) and maybe one or two more. But that will be resolved in the next couple of weeks. The Warriors have entered this game each season with the idea of pulling off the win and knocking the Patriots from their perch. But they really haven’t proven to be up to the challenge. Through the first four games this season, they looked as though they would have another shot at the upset. But the loss to Valley last week after dropping their first game in region play to Ben Russell and suddenly it’s an uphill climb. A loss this week will put them out of contention for a top two seed unless there is an upset on the horizon. Pike Road has provided consistency since the loss to Enterprise and there is no reason to think that will change this week. That 36-point margin of victory sounds about right again in meeting No. 5.
PREDICTION: Pike Road, 42-16
MARBURY at VALLEY (4A R4)
Friday at Rams Field, Fairfax
2026 Records: Marbury (5-0, 3-0), Valley (5-0, 3-0)
Series: Valley leads, 7-0
Last year: Valley, 34-21
Last week: Valley def. Russell County, 24-23; Marbury did not play.
Key Notes: Valley has not started a season with a 5-0 record since 2006… Marbury can go 6-0 for the first time since 1989.
The skinny: Raise your hand if you had Valley and Marbury playing for first place at the start of the second half of the season. Or if you had both of these teams undefeated after five games. It might not be neighborly to point out that neither of these have been in this position in quite a while, yet we get to see this one play out with the winner having a leg up for the region title. In that category, Marbury hasn’t been region champs since 1998. Valley - 2019. But it’s too early to have that conversation. The Rams won on a last-second play to beat Russell County last week so expect them to be riding high. Marbury got some rest with the week off but should be ready in what should be a good one in Fairfax. This one is tough difficult to call but when two opponents are this close and have so much on the line, it’s hard not to pick the home team. But not by much…
PREDICTION: Valley, 28-27
ST. PAUL’S at CATHOLIC (Private AA R1)
Thursday at Knights Field (NOTE - Change of dates)
2026 Records: St. Paul’s (2-3, 1-2); Catholic (4-2, 3-0)
Series: St. Paul’s leads, 1-0
Last meeting: 1980, St. Paul’s, 17-7
Last week: Briarwood def. Catholic, 24-21; St. Paul’s did not play
Key Notes: This is the first of four straight games Catholic will play against Mobile-area teams. They enter the week tied for first in the region with two of those teams, McGill-Toolen and UMS-Wright. Those two are on the schedule the two weeks following this Friday.
The skinny: Pat Dye used to call the November schedule for the Auburn Tigers “Amen Corner,” in honor of three holes, Nos. 11, 12 and 13, at Augusta that usually separated the winners and losers of the Masters every year. The AU stretch included a schedule of Florida, Georgia and Alabama. It basically told the tale of the Tigers’ fate. Catholic has a similar position beginning this week. The most important message to the Knights - don’t get ahead of yourselves. They made a good showing against a very good Briarwood team last week but Aubrey Blackwell isn’t about moral victories and, in fact, they don’t help with this upcoming schedule. In what some called an upset, St. Paul’s lost to St. Michael two weeks ago, giving the Cardinals two wins after falling in the first three games. But Catholic has shown resilience against everyone on its schedule. They are at home and that might be enough to get them over the hump. Knights win a close one.
PREDICTION: Catholic, 30-27
KEY GAMES
Carver vs. JAG (6A R2) –Both teams had a hiccup in their respective Homecoming games but Carver had a better shot at winning theirs than the Jaguars. But look for JAG to come back with a little assertion after what was somewhat of an embarrassing performance last week. Still, the Wolverines prevail. CARVER, 33-21.
P. Julian vs Park Crossing (6A R2) (Thurs) – Any thoughts of a playoff berth between these two might be premature but lose this one and they are out the door. Park Crossing has lost three straight after winning the first two. Julian has struggled on offense against the better teams on their schedule. The Phoenix has won the last two meetings in the series. But that streak ends this week. PARK CROSSING, 25-20.
Stanhope Elmore at Rehobeth (5A R2) - Stanhope Elmore finally broke into the win column last week and now has a chance to make it two in a row. Why mess with a streak? SE, 23-18.
Spain Park at Prattville (6A R3)- The Lions had the week off but it’s a good bet they would have enjoyed another game, being as hot as they are. But they wll pick it back up this week and next before a showdown with Thompson. PRATTVILLE, 50-19.
Wetumpka at Benjamin Russell (5A R2) – Most would consider last week’s loss an upset for the Indians and now the timing brings them to the toughest part of the schedule with the Wildcats this week and Pike Road the next. They might put up a good showing but it won’t be enough. BEN RUSSELL, 34-19.
Montgomery Academy at Prattville Christian (PVT A R2) (Thur) - What a showing by the Eagles last week. it was close to perfect and could have been much worse. PCA has struggled after winning three of its first four games. A third straight loss is about to befall them. MA, 45-15.
Trinity at St. James (PVT A R2) - Usually this is one of the key matchups of the weekend. But the Trojans have stumped their toe the last couple of weeks, albeit against good competition. Trinity is on
a four-game winning streak and should make it five but expect a close one. TPS, 26-21.
Lowndes Academy at Abbeville Christian (AA) - Lowndes faces Chambers Academy next week but the attention should be on the Generals who have pitched shutouts in the last two games. Generals win a close one. LA, 28-24.
THE REST
Elmore Co over Greenville, 24-21; Holtville over Beauregard, 35-13; Ch. Henderson over Tallassee (Thur), 22-14; Billingsley over Red Level, 29-6; Alabama Christian over Wadley, 25-14; Autauga Academy over Crenshaw Christian, 35-23; Chambers Academy over Edgewood, (Thurs) 31-24; Hooper Academy over Valiant Cross, 45-12; Macon East over Evangel Christian, 40-23.
OPEN: None
RECORD: Last week 8-6; Season 84-30 (.737)