No real dominant team in the Wiregrass

The halfway point of the season hit last week for the majority of the Dothan Eagle high school football teams.

And for most, it has been a sub-par first half.

Of 38 teams that have played five games, 22 have losing records (57.8 percent). Only 16 teams have a winning mark.

Eight of the other nine teams in the coverage area have played four games and one has only played three. Of those nine, only three have winning records, though one other team is at .500.

Overall of 47 coverage teams, only 19 have a winning record (40.4 percent) with one other at .500.

Of the 38 teams with five games, 13 have a better record than they did at this time last year, while eight others are even. As a result, 52.6 percent of teams have improved or even marks compared to last year at this time.

With new classifications and region assignments this year, opponents from last year to this year are different, resulting in more difficult opening-half schedules for some and softer for others.

The team with the most improved first-half record from last year is Pike Liberal Arts at four games. The Patriots were 1-4 halfway last year and are 5-0 this season.

Straughn has improved by three games (2 to 5), while Carroll (1 to 3 wins), Dale County (2 to 4), Daleville (2 to 4), Slocomb (2 to 4), Ariton (1 to 3) and Abbeville Christian (0 to 2) have two-game improvements.

Headland (0 to 1),  Barbour County (2 to 3), G.W. Long (0 to 1), Zion Chapel (0 to 1) and Pleasant Home (1 to 2) have a one-game improvement after five games.

Of eight teams with four games, only Ashford Academy (1 to 3) and Graceville (2 to 3) have improved records with one team with the same record.
Marianna, the lone team with only three games played, has the same record as last year after three games.

Top players: Six area players were honored this week for top performances by either the Alabama Sports Writers Association or Alabama High School Athletic Association from last week, including Goshen’s Marcus Jackson and Slocomb’s Jermaine Williams.

Goshen’s Jackson was named the ASWA offensive player of the week. He earned 230 yards rushing on 17 carries with touchdown runs of 9, 15, 44, 40 and 43 yards, had one catch for 16 yards, kicked five extra points and, for good measure, added 10 tackles and an interception with a 68-yard return on defense.
Jackson’s efforts helped Goshen defeat Pike County for the first time ever, 51-26.

Slocomb’s Williams was one of three finalists for the same honor. Williams had 342 yards rushing on 26 carries with four touchdowns, helping Slocomb run all over a normally stingy Houston Academy defense in a 42-17 win over the fourth-ranked Raiders. Williams scored on runs of 58, 25, 40 and 27 yards and had a 54-yard run to the 1.

Other honorees were Houston County’s Edward Robinson, Slocomb’s Scottie Burdeshaw, Abbeville Christian’s Gabe Newman and Elba’s Gavin Respress.
All were honored by the ASWA on either offense or defense/special teams.

Robinson joined Williams and Jackson in the AHSAA spotlight.

Robinson was moved from wide receiver to quarterback this week after an injury to the starting quarterback and threw for 307 yards and a touchdown and ran for 51 yards and two touchdowns in a 41-30 win over Abbeville. Robinson also intercepted two passes on defense.

Slocomb’s Burdeshaw had 148 yards on 24 carries with two scores, had nine tackles and a pass break-up on defense and three kick returns of 93 yards, giving him 241 all-purpose yards, in the Red Tops’ win over Houston Academy.

Newman rushed for 184 yards and two touchdown and also accounted for eight points off a safety, tackling a running back in the end zone, and three two-point conversions. He also recorded 13 tackles on defense, including nine solos.

Elba’s Respress returned a fumble 89 yards for the winning touchdown with 1:10 left in a 21-14 win over Geneva.

Army Man Honor: Six of the 10 finalists for the Army Man top two-way player of the week honor are from the Wiregrass.

The six are Slocomb’s Burdeshaw and Williams, Houston County’s Robinson, Goshen’s Jackson, Abbeville Christian’s Newman and Zion Chapel’s Wesley Black.

Black rushed for 204 yards and six touchdowns and returned a punt for a 48-yard touchdown, his seventh score of the game, as Zion Chapel beat Kinston, 66-16.

Fans can vote for the weekly winner online at http://www.TheSportsFlash.com. The winner will be announced later in the week.

Only three unbeatens left: Only three of the 47 Dothan Eagle coverage remain undefeated. The three are Straughn, Pike Liberal Arts and Marianna.

Straughn and Pike Liberal Arts are 5-0 and Marianna 3-0.

Winless list sliced: Four area teams got off the deck with a win last week, slicing down the list of winless to just six.

Rehobeth, Headland, Zion Chapel and Seminole County were the teams that moved into the win column last week.

Those remaining without a win are Dothan, Kinston, Dixie Academy, Holmes County, Chipley and Early County.

Florida poll: For the second straight week, both Marianna and Graceville received votes, but didn’t crack the top five of their respective class.

Misc: Providence Christian set three milestones last week in its 56-0 win over Donoho. The 56 points and 56-point margin of victory are both school records,
while the shutout was the first for the Eagles in their three-year history ... With its 36-0 win over Taylor Road Friday following a 21-0 win over Glenwood, Pike Liberal Arts earned its first back-to-back shutouts since the opening two weeks of the 2003 season ... Houston Academy lost for the first time before October in four years when it lost to Slocomb 42-17 last week. The Raiders had won 20 straight pre-October games. The last team to beat HA prior to October was Slocomb in 2004. The Raiders also had an 18-game home winning streak snapped ... The 42 points by Slocomb were the most by any team against Houston Academy in four years when the Red Tops posted 46.