By Staff
Glen Jackson
Franklin County Times
The regular season is over, but the five-week playoff season starts tonight.
Two Franklin County teams, No. 4 Red Bay and No. 8 Russellville, will host the first round of the playoffs tonight.
Below is a recap of Week 10 and a look ahead at tonight's playoff matchups.
Rusellville Goldent Tigers
The ninth-ranked Russellville Golden Tigers closed out the regular season in style Friday night by whipping then-No. 10 Florence 41-13.
A combination of clutch third-down passing from senior quarterback Cory Trapp, a dominant rushing performance by Mike Abernathy and a strong defensive performance led by Caleb Mitchell capped off a 9-1 regular season for the Golden Tigers.
Trapp threw four times for 85 yards in clutch, third down situations, and Abernathy rushed for 219 yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries.
The Golden Tiger defense was led by Mitchell, who had two bone-jarring tackles and a key interception, and Kory Suggs, and held the Falcons' Shawn Southward to less than 50 yards rushing on the night and forced four Florence turnovers.
Russellville will host Erwin (7-3) tonight at 7 p.m. in the first round of the playoffs.
Red Bay Tigers
Perfection is the way to describe the Red Bay Tigers' regular season as they capped their season with a dominating 35-6 win Friday night at 4A Wilson.
The No. 4 Tigers compiled a 10-0 record and won the Class 2A, Region 8 title to give head coach Dale Jeffreys his third undefeated season and the seventh in school history.
The Tigers used a powerful rushing attack and timely passing in the win. Josh Senkbeil, the area's leading rusher with 1,350 yards and 22 total touchdowns, and Cody Armstrong each had a pair of rushing touchdowns on the night, and Anthony Horton added a rushing touchdown and intercepted Wilson once on defense.
The Tigers offense rolled up almost 300 yards on the night, including 225 on the ground. The stingy Red Bay defense held Wilson to just 72 yards rushing.
Red Bay will host Pleasant Valley (7-3) in the first round of the playoffs tonight.
Tharptown Wildcats
The Tharptown Wildcats enjoyed a great year of football and it would be fair to say the program was impressive in just its second year.
The Wildcats (7-3) completed their first full varsity schedule Friday night as Akron defeated them 20-12, and will receive their region assignment next season and will be eligible for the playoffs in 2008.
Daniel Scott had180 yards rushing on the night, but the Wildcats lost junior quarterback Tyler Cagle early in the second quarter to knee injury.
Vina Red Devils
The Vina Red Devils lost their season finale to the Hubbertville Lions 27-6 last Friday night.
This has been a year of rebuilding for the Red Devils, who had to play several young players and dealth with injuries to the some key starting players.
Senior running back Nash Creekmore totaled 17 tackles and 52 yards rushing on nine carries, while sophomore quarterback Brent Townsend was 15-of-24 for 191 yards passing for the Red Devils.
Phil Campbell Bobcats
The Phil Campbell Bobcats jumped out a 10-7 halftime lead but an injury to quarterback Jonathan Dill and second-half turnovers helped Hackleburg come back to win 27-10
The Bobcats fell to 0-10 t suffer their first winless season in years, but they will return several starters on both sides of the ball in 2008. Phil Campbell will also be searching for a new coach in 2008 after longtime coach Kelly Kiser, who led the Bobcats to the Class 2A state quarterfinals twice in 2000 and 2001, announced that he would not return next season as head coach.
Glen Jackson is a guest columnist for The Franklin County Times. Jackson is president and CEO of Southeastern Athletics, Inc. He can be reached at (256) 332-5513.