Playoffs go to home teams early on

After four weeks of practice and 11 weeks of games, only four Wiregrass teams in Alabama remain.

Overall, 18 Alabama Wiregrass teams made the playoffs. Of those, 14 were wiped out with losses last week.

Only Daleville, Slocomb, Houston Academy and Pike Liberal Arts survived the opening week and are left to represent the Wiregrass in this week’s playoff action.

Daleville rallied past Bayside Academy 21-17, and Slocomb routed Straughn 46-14 in Class 3A of the Alabama High School Athletic Association. Houston Academy downed Flomaton 32-14 in AHSAA Class 2A, and Pike Liberal Arts defeated Marengo Academy 28-12 in Class AAA of the Alabama Independent Schools Association.

This week, Daleville hosts Luverne, Slocomb travels to T.R. Miller, Houston Academy visits Leroy and Pike Liberal Arts hosts Tuscaloosa Academy.
The Daleville, Slocomb and Houston Academy games are second-round games, while Pike Liberal Arts is playing a semifinal game for a shot at the Class AAA state championship game.

Area teams falling in playoff games last week were Enterprise in Class 6A, Charles Henderson and Eufaula in Class 5A, Opp in Class 4A, Straughn, Pike County and Dale County in Class 3A. Also losing were Barbour County, New Brockton, Elba and Goshen in Class 2A, Ariton and Geneva County in Class 1A and Ashford Academy in Class A of the AISA.

In each of the last three years, eight Wiregrass teams advanced to the second round, twice as many as this year, after 20 (2007 and 2005) and 19 (2006) made the playoffs.

In an interesting twist, the four remaining teams left this year all lost opening-round games a year ago.

Road blues: It was a rough night for area teams on the road last week — all of them.

All 12 teams that loaded up buses for trips out of town lost in the opening round.

Home sweet home: While teams that traveled had a tough night, teams that played in the friendly confines of home fared well as four of six won.
The four winners were Daleville, Slocomb, Houston Academy and Pike Liberal Arts. The two that lost at home were Charles Henderson and Barbour County.
Home was good elsewhere too: The homefield advantage was apparently just that statewide — an advantage.

Of 108 state playoff games in the AHSAA and AISA last week, 80.6 percent were won by the home team, going 87-21.

In the AHSAA, home teams went 76-20 for a 79.2 winning percentage. Home was even better in the AISA as 11 of 12 home teams captured wins.

Broken down in the AHSAA, the home teams records were as follows:
In Class 6A, 13-3.
In Class 5A, 15-1.
In Class 4A, 13-3.
In Class 3A, 15-1.
In Class 2A, 10-6.
In Class 1A, 10-6.

Seminole prepares for playoffs: While Alabama teams prepare for second-round games, Georgia teams, including Dothan Eagle coverage team Seminole County, open the playoffs this week.

Seminole County (5-5) travels to Rochelle, Ga., to face second-ranked Wilcox County (10-0).

The game is a rematch of a season opener between the two teams. The Patriots won the first meeting, 40-0.
The Indians have already turned around a similar losing result in a rematch. Last week, they beat Lanier County 34-7 after losing to the Bulldogs in week three, 34-14.

Florida playoffs set for coverage teams: Two Dothan Eagle coverage teams in Florida — Marianna and Graceville — have their playoff opponents and sites set for next week’s opening round.

For both, it is a familiar one.

Both will face the same opening foe in the same site as last year, and for Marianna it will be the same opponent and site for the third straight year.
Marianna will once again travel to Madison County in Madison, while Graceville will play at Eagle’s View in Jacksonville.

The Marianna-Madison County game is a Class 2A opener, and Graceville-Eagle’s View is a Class 1B matchup.

Last year, Marianna lost to Madison County 41-6 and Graceville beat Eagle’s View 58-42.

Two years, Marianna lost at Madison County 42-0. The two also played in 2003 with Madison County winning 43-16 and in 2000 when Marianna won a classic, 28-21 in overtime.

Marianna and Graceville, like all Florida teams, close out the regular season this week. Marianna plays at Port St. Joe and Graceville hosts Chipley.

Playing the top teams: Two Wiregrass teams play a top-ranked team this week and another faces a No. 2 ranked team.

Slocomb faces 3A No. 1 T.R. Miller, and Houston Academy plays 2A No. 1 Leroy. Seminole County, meanwhile, meets No. 2 ranked Wilcox County.

Pike Liberal Arts, No. 4 in the AISA state poll, plays No. 5 Tuscaloosa Academy.

If things stay the same after this week, Marianna will also face a No. 1 team in Madison County next week.

Top performances: Six area players were honored by the Alabama Sports Writers Association for play last Friday.
The six were Houston Academy’s Travis Gardner and Andrew Dauphin, Slocomb’s Scottie Burdeshaw and Jermaine Williams and Pike Liberal Arts’ Jerel Foster and Corey Goodson.

Gardner was one of three finalists for the top defensive/special teams honor.

In the Raiders’ 32-14 win over Flomaton, the senior punted three times for a 43.7 average and placed one punt — his shortest of 39 yards — out of bounds at the 6-yard line. On defense, he recorded nine tackles, seven solos, broke up six passes and had an interception. One of the broken-up passes and the interception both came in the end zone to snuff out scoring threats.

Dauphin had a career performance, racking up 243 yards rushing on 21 carries with four touchdowns, including a 91-yard TD run that broke the game open in the fourth quarter.

Burdeshaw and Williams combined to rush for 408 yards and six touchdowns, leading the Red Tops to a 46-14 win over Straughn. Burdeshaw rushed for 225 yards and three scores, and Williams had 183 yards and three scores.

Pike Liberal Arts’ Foster rushed for 231 yards and two touchdowns while Goodson had 14 tackles and an interception in the Patriots’ 28-12 win over Marengo Academy.

The AHSAA did not have its spotlight, and the Army Iron Man award was not done this week.