RRS NOTES: Catholic to hold flag football camp; Tide's DeBoer named to Dodd watch list; CFP announces future playoff dates
Coach Whitney Toole and Catholic High School will hold the first-ever Flag Football Camp on Tuesday (July 14). (File Photo)
COMBINED REPORTS
Catholic High School will hold the area’s first-ever flag football camp next Tuesday, hoping to build the state’s newest sport in the River Region.
“We just wanted to do whatever we can to get the younger ones in the community involved in flag football,” Catholic coach Whitney Toole said. “So that maybe, by the seventh grade, that’s something they would be interested in. Or the ones who are already interested, show them how we do things at Catholic.”
The Knights have advanced to the state finals the past three seasons, winning the state championship in 2024. Catholic was the first team in the area to start a flag football program (in 2022) and has advanced to the state championship game in each of the last three years.
The flag football camp is open to participants in grades K through 6, running from 6-8 p.m., next Tuesday. Participants will learn the fundamentals of flag football, including passing, receiving, route running, defensive techniques and game strategy.
Toole said other sports at the school have youth camps -- including her participation as the head coach of the softball program -- and it just made sense to add flag football to help the area youth in that sport.
“We do the other camps,” she said. “We’ve never done a flag football camp and, honestly, we’re just trying to get people interested, whether it’s at our school or another school, just so that school could have enough players to field a team. We just want to see the sport grow.”
Catholic players will assist with the camp.
“We’ll just go through the normal drill stuff that we do at practice,” Toole said. “We’ll have the (players) out there to be hands on, but we’re mainly just going to do everything we can to make it fun while teaching them the skills of flag football.”
Cost of the camp is $15. For more information or to participate in the camp, email Toole at wtoole@montgomerycatholic.org or assistant coach Christie Binns at cbinns@montgomerycatholic.org.
DeBoer named to Dodd Trophy preseason list
Alabama head football coach Kalen DeBoer was named to the preseason watch list for the 2026 Bobby Dodd Trophy by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc . This year’s list includes 20 of the nation’s top college football coaches representing all Power Four conferences, as well as the Pac-12 and an independent institution.
DeBoer was joined by fellow SEC coaches Kirby Smart of Georgia, Mike Elko of Texas A&M, Steve Sarkisian of Texas and Brent Venables of Oklahoma.
Of the 20 coaches on the watch list, four are previous winners of the Dodd Trophy, including last year’s winner Curt Cignetti (2025) of Indiana, Kirk Ferentz (2015) of Iowa, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman (2024) and Willie Fritz (2022) of Houston.
This year’s watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. taking into consideration each program’s Academic Progress Rate (APR), Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, as well as projected success for the 2026 season.
Coaches in the first year with their current teams were not included as they are ineligible to receive The Dodd Trophy until the second year leading their programs. Head coaches named to this year’s watch list were also required to have an APR above the national average of 971.
Alabama State ranked fourth in initial Black College Football Poll
Alabama State University football enters the 2026-27 football season ranked fourth in the initial Black College Football Poll released on Thursday.
Defending HBCU National Champion South Carolina State tops the poll, followed by SWAC Champion Prairie View A&M and Jackson State.
The Top 10 includes:
South Carolina St (MEAC)
Prairie View A&M (SWAC)
Jackson St (SWAC)
Alabama St (SWAC)
North Carolina Central (MEAC)
Delaware St (MEAC)
Grambling St (SWAC)
Bethune-Cookman (SWAC)
Texas Southern (SWAC)
Florida A&M (SWAC)
College Football Playoff Committee announces future playoff dates
The College Football Playoff (CFP) announced the dates and bowl games for the CFP Quarterfinal and Semifinal games for the 2028-31 seasons. These games will all continue to be hosted by the CFP bowls on a rotating basis.
Below are the bowl assignments and game dates for the 2028-31 seasons:
2028-29 College Football Playoff
CFP Quarterfinals
Saturday, December 30, 2028, at the Capital One Orange Bowl
Monday, January 1, 2029, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and the Allstate Sugar Bowl
CFP Semifinals
Thursday, January 11, 2029, at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Friday, January 12, 2029, at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
2029-30 College Football Playoff
CFP Quarterfinals
Tuesday, January 1, 2030, at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl and the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential
Wednesday, January 2, 2030, at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
CFP Semifinals
Thursday, January 10, 2030, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl
Friday, January 11, 2030, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
2030-31 College Football Playoff
CFP Quarterfinals
Tuesday, December 31, 2030, at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
Wednesday, January 1, 2031, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential
CFP Semifinals
Thursday, January 9, 2031, at the Capital One Orange Bowl
Friday, January 10, 2031, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl
2031-32 College Football Playoff
CFP Quarterfinals
Wednesday, December 31, 2031, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
Thursday, January 1, 2032, at the Capital One Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential and the Allstate Sugar Bowl
CFP Semifinals
Thursday, January 8, 2032, at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Friday, January 9, 2032, at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
In February, the CFP announced that the 2026-27 CFP Quarterfinals would take place on Wednesday, December 30, 2026, at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and Friday, January 1, 2027, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential, while the CFP Semifinals would take place on January 14, 2027, at the Capital One Orange Bowl and January 15, 2027, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. For the 2027-28 season, the CFP Quarterfinals are scheduled for Friday, December 31, 2027, at the Allstate Sugar Bowl and Saturday, January 1, 2028, at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential. CFP Semifinals that year would take place on Thursday, January 13, 2028, at the Capital One Orange Bowl and Friday, January 14, 2028, at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.