PREP FOOTBALL: Pike Road adds tough opponents to 2026 schedule

By TIM GAYLE

There are a couple of new opponents on the upcoming 2026 Pike Road football schedule but don’t expect the journey to get any easier for the Patriots.

After reaching the semifinals twice and the quarterfinals once in the last three years, Pike Road coach Granger Shook has kept Enterprise on the schedule and added Hueytown and Hewitt-Trussville.

“This program has earned and garnered a lot of respect in a short amount of time,” Shook said. “That’s a tip of the hat to our players and how they’ve executed over the past several years. We expect to compete at a high level in this state and in order to do that, you’ve got to play top talent in this state. Four-quarter battles are not only fun to watch, but fun to be a part of as a coach and as a player.”

The Patriots will open the 2026 season on the road, playing at Class 7A Enterprise on Aug. 21 before returning home the following week to play Hueytown.

“(Former Bullock County coach) Jeremy Vines and I have a connection and he agreed to play,” Shook said. “My first two games, I expect to be very, very competitive. Hopefully, it’ll get us ready for region.”

Region play starts the following week with a home games against Julian on Sept. 4 and Park Crossing on Sept. 11, followed by a road game at Stanhope Elmore and an open date. The Patriots return to action on Oct. 2 with homecoming against Russell County, then travel to Alexander City to play new region rival Benjamin Russell.

“Past records do make it difficult at times to schedule opponents, but I’m looking forward to this season and our region play,” Shook said. “With the addition of Benjamin Russell, I expect for this region to be very competitive again.”

After region games at home against Wetumpka on Oct. 16 and at Rehobeth on Oct. 23, the Patriots close the regular season with a game against Hewitt-Trussville. The location for that game remains undecided and may turn out to be a Thursday home game for the Patriots.

“It presents challenges, for sure,” Shook said of the schedule. “Each team is different, year in, year out, regardless of how many players you return. We lost a lot of good players to this graduating class that are going on to play college football and they were good leaders for us for a long time.”

2026 PIKE ROAD FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Aug. 21 @ Enterprise  

Aug. 28 Hueytown

Sept. 4 * P. Julian

Sept. 11 *Park Crossing

Sept. 18 *@ Stanhope Elmore

Sept. 25 OPEN

Oct. 2 * Russell County (HC)

Oct. 9 * @ Benjamin Russell

Oct. 16 * Wetumpka H

Oct. 23 * @ Rehobeth

Oct. 29 Hewitt-Trussville (TBD)