Thursday's slate offers four games to watch

Area high school football fans have their choice of several Thursday night contests this week in addition to Friday's usual slate of games.

West Morgan High has moved its Class 2A, Region 8 home game against Phil Campbell to Thursday at 7 p.m.

The game originally was scheduled for Friday, but Rebels coach Pierre Coggins said the move was made because of concerns about the weather. Coggins said Phil Campbell's coaches readily agreed to the move.

"They said they were about to call us about moving the game," Coggins said.

Both teams are 0-2. West Morgan has fallen 21-7 to 3A power Munford and 27-19 to Tanner, which is ranked fifth in 2A.

Phil Campbell lost to Haleyville, 32-6 and Red Bay, 32-6.

Other Thursday night action involving local teams includes Decatur traveling to play 5A No. 1 ranked J.O. Johnson at Milton Frank Stadium in Huntsville and 4A Priceville playing a region game at Columbia-Huntsville at Goldsmith Stadium. Falkville will host Fultondale at 7.

Austin Touchdown Club: Former Austin High football coach Bearl Whitsett, who began the Austin program in 1963, will speak at the Austin Touchdown Club's game day breakfast Friday at 6:30 a.m. at Cracker Barrel on the Beltline in Decatur.

Austin head coach David Norwood also will review last week's game with Huntsville at the event and announce the team's players of the week.

Falkville is county's only undefeated: If football fans in Morgan County want to see an undefeated team at home this week, their ticket will be to see the Falkville Blue Devils. Falkville (2-0) will host Fultondale (2-0) on Thursday night in its home opener as the only
undefeated team in the county. The game was originally
scheduled for Friday, but with bad weather approaching, the coaches moved the game.

Jesse Owens Classic growing tradition: The Jesse Owens Runners' Club will host the ninth annual Jesse Owens Cross Country Classic on Oct. 6 with junior high and high school athletes. Race organizers are expecting an even larger number of entrants following a record-number 2,800 participants from seven states in the 2006 Classic. The race began in 1999 with about 450 participants.

The competition offers 12 divisions for boys and girls. The top 10 finishers in each division receive a special award with the overall winner in each division winning a trophy. For more information or to register for the event, visit
alabamahighschoolrunner.com.

Cross country state polls: Lawrence County and Decatur High girls and boys cross country teams have turned heads in the recent state coaches polls.

Lawrence County's boys team is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A-4A, while Decatur's boys received votes in 5A.

Lawrence County's girls are No. 3 in 3A-4A, while Decatur comes in at No. 5 in 5A.

Around the state

Williamson's major upset: Class 5A Williamson High pulled the first major upset of the 2007 prep football season last week, knocking off then top-ranked St. Paul's 40-7.

The win put the unranked Lions (1-1) into the ASWA 5A state rankings this week, breaking in at No. 10, while St. Paul's (1-1) dropped from first to ninth.

Prattville moves up nationally: Class 6A top-ranked Prattville (2-0) is now ranked No. 7 in the HRvarsity.com National Prep Poll and No. 8 in the Rivals.com Fab 50. The Lions host unbeaten Jeff Davis of Montgomery on Friday night.

Central-Tuscaloosa rolls up points: Class 4A No. 3 Central-Tuscaloosa (2-0), is averaging 63.5 points per game, with wins over Paul Bryant High, 55-0, and Greene County, 72-38.

Shades Valley snaps losing streak: Class 6A Shades Valley broke its 13-game losing streak with a 51-35 win over Pell City last week. The Mounties (1-1) will face Clay-Chalkville (1-1) this week.

Gardendale's Hilliard makes most of possessions: Gardendale's Trey Hilliard touched the ball six times in last week's 58-0 win over Hayden, scoring four touchdowns. Hilliard had a 72-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, a 9-yard touchdown reception and touchdown runs of 37 and 3 yards.

Predicting the preps

Daily Sports Writer Brooke Milam predicts how area teams will fare in this week’s games: Thursday’s games

Decatur 17, J.O. Johnson 14

Falkville 24, Fultondale 12

Priceville 21, Columbia 13

West Morgan 17,

Phil Campbell 14 Friday’s games

Addison 28, Winston County 7

North Jackson 34, Ardmore 21

Colbert Heights 35, West Limestone 21

East Limestone 42, DAR 10

Deshler 28, Lawrence County 14

Elkmont 15, Lexington 13

Austin 21, Florence 14

Speake 17, Hackleburg 7

Hatton 16, Cherokee 8

Hazlewood 45, Shoals Christian 24

Madison County 21, East Lawrence 7

Parkway Christian 24, Mount Hope 22

Muscle Shoals 36, Brewer 24

R.A. Hubbard 30, Phillips-Bear Creek 21

Hartselle 24, Russellville 21

Sheffield 19, Clements 14

Sumiton Christian 28, Danville 14

Tanner 21, Red Bay 12

Athens 34, West Point 7

Last week: 8-8 (.500)

Season record: 15-14 (.520)