Second round of high school football playoffs set to kick off: What to know + games to watch
Reading time: 3 minutes
The field of teams who can still take home a football state championship was cut in half last week as we are just three weeks away from the Super 7 at Protective Stadium.
The second round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s state football playoffs take place and there are plenty of great matchups happening across the state.
Keep reading for a quick recap of the highlights from the first round + check out some of the key games to keep an eye on this Friday.
First round
All seven top-ranked teams in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association poll advanced to the second round, combining to outscore their opponents by 300 points.
The state’s region champions combined to go 46-6 in the first round of the playoffs. Home teams went 80-24 in the opening round, meaning just 24 lower seeds advanced to this week.
The biggest surprise may have come in Class 7A where Vestavia Hills went on the road to take down #3 Mary Montgomery. However, anyone familiar with recent 7A history won’t be too surprised by success from any team coming from Region 3.
That region nearly went undefeated again in the first round this season but Baker held off Hewitt-Trussville in overtime. Thompson and Hoover both advanced as well.
However, 7A Region 2 did see all of its teams advance to the quarterfinals including:
- Auburn
- Opelika
- Central-Phenix City
- Enterprise
Second round
While there were plenty of blowouts during the first round of the postseason, teams should be expecting much tougher tests this week.
Just eight teams remain in Class 7A while the other six classifications are down to their final 16 teams. Almost everyone can be considered a state title contender at this point. Find all seven brackets with live updates here.
Here’s some of the top matchups we’re watching this week, including two big ones thanks to the new 7A playoff format:
- 7A #5 Thompson at #1 Auburn
- 7A #7 Opelika at #2 Hoover
- 6A #10 Hartselle at #3 Oxford
- 6A #2 Parker at #6 Mountain Brook
- 6A #5 Clay-Chalkville at #9 Muscle Shoals
- 5A #9 Leeds at #4 Fairview
- 5A #8 Williamson at #2 Clay Central
- 4A #6 St. Michael at #2 Pleasant Grove
- 3A #6 Gordo at #5 Fyffe
- 1A #6 Sweet Water at #7 Maplesville
Who do you think wins a state championship this season? Let us know by tagging The Bama Buzz on Instagram, X, Facebook + LinkedIn.
