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Aug. 20—Baseball may be America’s pastime, but in the South, football is king.
In Alabama, the start of football is anticipated like a holiday, that first kickoff bringing the same feeling as Christmas morning. But while college football may dominate the headlines in this state, there’s just something special about those Friday night lights.
This week those lights will finally turn on again as we embark on yet another high school football season, and there’s no doubt that the stands will be packed.
There will be plenty of great action to serve those football-starved fans as well.
The highlight of the week will take place at J.P. Cain Stadium in Hartselle as the hometown Tigers host the Austin Black Bears. It’s become an annual opening game tradition between the two rivals, and this will be the seventh straight year they’ve opened the season against each other.
The two teams are an even 3-3 in the span with last season’s installment being an instant classic that Austin won with a late defensive score that ended Hartselle’s 23-game regular season winning streak.
This year’s game brings plenty of unknowns. Austin returns just three starters on defense and four on offense, while Hartselle has a new head coach, Bert Newton.
Speaking of new head coaches, Newton is one of seven new coaches in The Daily’s coverage area this year. John Ritter (Decatur), Seth Parker (Priceville), Will Johnson (East Limestone), Brick Pugh (Clements), Joel Schrenk (Elkmont) and Matt Smith (Tanner) are the other six.
Ritter, who holds an 85-42 career record, takes over at Decatur, replacing Aairon Savage, who lasted just one season after replacing longtime coach Jere Adcock. Decatur will open the season at Buckhorn on Friday. Buckhorm defeated the Red Raiders 26-21 last season.
Plenty of eyes will also be on Seth Parker as he coaches his first game as…
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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/prep-notebook-high-school-football-123200623.html
Author : The Decatur Daily, Ala.
Publish date : 2024-08-20 12:32:00
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