10 volleyball teams have hopes for state: Pressure-filled sub-state games set for Thursday

Ten volleyball teams in The Daily's coverage area will play Thursday in sub-state matches across the state for berths in the state volleyball tournament. Class 6A Austin, 5A Hartselle, 4A East Limestone and Lawrence County, 3A Danville, 2A West Morgan and Addison, and 1A Athens Bible, Speake and Hazlewood are among the area teams still alive in the postseason, trying to qualify for the state tournament next week at the Pelham Civic Complex. Sub-state games are single elimination.

Hartselle, Addison, Danville and Athens Bible are looking for return trips to the tournament, which features the top eight teams in each classification.

And while just making it this far in the postseason is an accomplishment, Danville coach Holly Little said expectations have been raised at many area schools including Danville, and they aren't ready for the excitement to end.

"When our players see us going to the state tournament as eighth- and ninth-graders, they get hungry for it, and they want to be part of the tradition," Little said.

"We're young, but we've improved all year long, and I like our chances. Everything from here on is icing on the cake. We're just having fun now."

Hazlewood vs. R.A. Hubbard this week: Any time Hazlewood High and R.A. Hubbard play, the game doesn't need much build-up.

The two Class 1A schools, separated by about 5 miles but with a lot of history and tradition between them, will kick off Friday at 7 p.m. in Town Creek.

Neither community has more than 1,500 residents, but that doesn't stop the schools from being powerhouses.

Throughout the 1980s and '90s, they boasted two of the top programs in the state. From 1988-95, Hazlewood and R.A. Hubbard combined to win nine state titles and three runner-up finishes.

The two schools began playing each other twice a year in the late 1980s when both teams found difficulty scheduling games because of their dominance.

Although it's a once-a-year match-up now, it's a region contest with plenty to play for.

What's on the line this season other than pride?

Hazlewood (8-0), ranked No. 4 in the state, is undefeated and will finish the 1A, Region 8 champions regardless of Friday night's results, but for R.A. Hubbard (3-5) a win could be the difference in a playoff berth or an early end to the season.

If the Chiefs win, they could be in a three-way tie for the final playoff spot and would hold the tiebreaker of having beaten the top-ranked team in the region.

Falkville still needs a win: The Falkville Blue Devils (5-3, 4-2 in Class 2A, Region 5) come into their final region game with Cleveland (5-3, 4-2) on Friday in the same situation as they were a year ago — needing a win to see the postseason.

Falkville got its win last year — a 20-12 victory with the Blue Devils winning on a late touchdown.

It should be just as close this year.

Falkville coach Neil Estes said his team's region record and scores are comparable to Cleveland's this season.

"We've beaten the same teams and lost to the same teams, and done it the same way," Estes said. "On paper it's a very even match."

Falkville's record is better than it was a year ago when it made the playoffs, but still the Blue Devils find themselves fighting for a postseason spot, and Estes points to one major reason why.

"We're a game better than we were last year, but we're in no better shape," Estes said. "That loss to Fultondale — that's killing us."

Estes is right. In fact, if Falkville had beaten Fultondale, the Blue Devils would be playing for a region championship Friday night. Instead, Falkville fell 29-24 on Sept. 13 in a tight game with some controversial calls late.

Falkville's 4-2 mark in the region is a good enough for most teams in the state to know they're in the playoffs. But Estes said Region 5 has been tangled the top all year and it will take this week's match-ups to decide who's in and who's out of the postseason.

"The teams at the top of our region have kind of all beaten each other," Estes said.

"Nobody has just run through. Everybody's pretty close at the top."

Tide's Collins speaks to Touchdown Club: The University of Alabama's Geoff Collins, in his first season as director of player personnel, will be the speaker at the Touchdown Club's weekly breakfast Friday from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. at Cracker Barrel on Beltline Road Southwest.

Collins oversees Alabama's coaching clinics, camps and other events while organizing on-campus recruiting, and was in a similar capacity and was tight ends coach at Georgia Tech.

He served as defensive coordinator at Western Carolina, where he also coached defensive backs and linebackers. As a player, Collins was an outside linebacker and defensive back at Western Carolina. Collins is a native of Conyers, Ga., where he attended Rockdale County High.

Also, Austin High head coach David Norwood will announce the players of the week, who will be honored for last week's victory over Grissom.

All club members and
football fans are invited to attend.

Cross country gets final tune up: With the state cross country meet nearing, local teams will compete for Morgan County Championship honors on the same course as the state meet will be run on, Thursday at the Northwest Alabama Championships at Oakville's Indian Mounds Park.

Falkville High's boys and the Decatur girls are the defending county team champions. The top seven finishers for both girls and boys will be named to the all county team.

The state meet will be Nov. 10 in Oakville.

Predicting the preps

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

Friday's games

Ardmore 27, DAR 6

Speake 31, Brilliant 21

Austin 21, Buckhorn 18

Falkville 20, Cleveland 17

Colbert County 32, Elkmont 20

East Limestone 32, Columbia 14

Danville 22, Hanceville 7

Decatur 32, Brewer 21

J.O. Johnson 21, Athens 17

Hamilton 34, Lawrence County 17

Priceville 16, East Lawrence 7

Hazlewood 24, R.A. Hubbard 16

Red Bay 28, Hatton 12

Tanner 28, Cherokee 20

Clements 21, West Limestone 19

West Morgan 24, Addison 20

Hartselle 34, West Point 10

Last week: 14-7 (.670)

Season record: 107-42 (.720)