Thompson, Briarwood remain ranked; others inch closer to top 10

Published 1:16 pm Wednesday, August 24, 2022

By Alec Etheredge

The latest ASWA high school football rankings have been released and still feature two county teams ranked in their respective top 10 and two others inside the top 15. (File)
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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

With one week of the season in the books, there has been some shifts with the first ASWA regular season rankings of the 2022 season.

Both local county teams ranked in the preseason standings dropped down a bit, but neither slid far due to strong opening opponents.

The Thompson Warriors started the season No. 1 in the 7A classification, but they ultimately fell 38-7 to Buford in a matchup of top-20 teams nationally.

With that, Thompson slid down to No. 3 in the standings in the first regular-season poll, now sitting behind Auburn and Central-Phenix City, the two teams they’ve beaten to win the last three state championships.

Central sits atop the standings with 15 first place votes, while Auburn ranked second just ahead of the Warriors by four points.

In the opening loss, the Warriors had success defensively, but ultimately the offense struggled to get off the ground in their first game.

Taking on one of the top teams in the country, however, the Warriors had the toughest challenge of any team in the state to start the season and found themselves in a tight 7-0 game at the half.

Still a team that will be dangerous, there will be opportunity for them to climb back to the top with the ultimate goal of a fourth title in a row.

The Briarwood Lions also fell down a few spots from No. 4 to No. 7 in the Class 6A standings after losing to defending state champ and No. 1 Clay-Chalkville 48-0 in the opener.

Head coach Matthew Forester, however, was confident in his team’s ability to learn and move forward the rest of the season, and the pieces are still in place for them to have success. They currently sit behind Clay-Chalkville, Mountain Brook, Saraland, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa, Gardendale and Pinson Valley.

Also earning recognition in the standings were the Oak Mountain Eagles and Helena Huskies.

The Eagles were the first team left out of the Class 7A standings after a 23-14 win against Northridge in the opener, which currently makes them the No. 11 team in the classification.

As for the Huskies, they opened with a 28-6 victory against rival Chelsea and are now ranked 13th in the standings, just outside of the Class 6A top 10.

Full rankings below:
CLASS 7A
Team (first-place); W-L; Pts
1. Central-Phenix City (15); 1-0; 234
2. Auburn (1); 1-0; 183
3. Thompson (4); 0-1; 179
4. Fairhope (1); 1-0; 136
5. Hoover; 0-1; 109
6. Hewitt-Trussville; 0-1; 104
7. Enterprise; 1-0; 101
8. Opelika; 1-0; 62
9. James Clemens; 0-1; 35
10. Prattville; 1-0; 33
Others receiving votes: Oak Mountain (1-0) 7, Dothan (1-0) 5, Baker (0-1) 3, Grissom (1-0) 3, Sparkman (1-0) 3.
CLASS 6A
Team (first-place); W-L; Pts
1. Clay-Chalkville (21); 1-0; 252
2. Mountain Brook; 1-0; 181
3. Saraland; 1-0; 170
4. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa; 1-0; 137
5. Gardendale; 1-0; 115
6. Pinson Valley; 1-0; 74
7. Briarwood; 0-1; 53
8. Theodore; 1-0; 50
9. Pike Road; 0-1; 48
10. Hueytown; 0-1; 45
Others receiving votes: Hartselle (1-0) 25, Spanish Fort (0-1) 23, Helena (1-0) 10, Muscle Shoals (1-0) 7, McAdory (1-0) 4, Homewood (1-0) 3.
CLASS 5A
Team (first-place); W-L; Pts
1. UMS-Wright (17); 1-0; 240
2. Vigor (2); 1-0; 185
3. Ramsay (1); 1-0; 166
4. Pleasant Grove; 1-0; 143
5. Alexandria (1); 0-0; 118
6. Leeds; 1-0; 91
7. Gulf Shores; 1-0; 78
8. Guntersville; 1-0; 75
9. Central-Clay Co.; 0-0; 41
10. Moody; 1-0; 15
Others receiving votes: Fairview (1-0) 13, Eufaula (0-0) 12, Arab (1-0) 6, Greenville (0-0) 6, Demopolis (1-0) 5, Faith-Mobile (0-0) 1, Headland (1-0) 1, Russellville (0-1) 1.
CLASS 4A
Team (first-place); W-L; Pts
1. Catholic-Montgomery (16); 1-0; 230
2. Handley (3); 1-0; 181
3. Andalusia; 1-0; 165
4. Jacksonville (1); 1-0; 138
5. Northside (1); 1-0; 128
6. Oneonta; 1-0; 92
7. Jackson; 0-0; 85
8. Etowah; 1-0; 62
9. Anniston; 1-0; 51
10. Montgomery Aca.; 0-1; 24
Others receiving votes: T.R. Miller (1-0) 22, Orange Beach (0-0) 6, Priceville (1-0) 5, Brooks (1-0) 4, Cherokee Co. (1-0) 2, Deshler (1-0) 2.
CLASS 3A
Team (first-place); W-L; Pts
1. Piedmont (20); 0-0; 249
2. Gordo (1); 1-0; 181
3. St. James; 1-0; 157
4. Mobile Chr.; 1-0; 121
5. Alabama Chr.; 0-0; 118
6. Mars Hill Bible; 0-1; 91
7. Winfield; 1-0; 77
8. Opp; 0-1; 60
9. Saks; 1-0; 51
10. Flomaton; 1-0; 25
Others receiving votes: Hillcrest-Evergreen (0-1) 14, Straughn (0-0) 14, Excel (1-0) 9, Houston Aca. (1-0) 9, Lauderdale Co. (1-0) 8, Sylvania (0-0) 5, Madison Aca. (0-1) 3, Phil Campbell (1-0) 1, Thomasville (0-0) 1, Trinity (1-0) 1, Walter Wellborn (0-1) 1, Westbrook Chr. (1-0) 1.
CLASS 2A
Team (first-place); W-L; Pts
1. Fyffe (18); 0-0; 243
2. Clarke Co. (3); 0-0; 192
3. Lanett; 1-0; 163
4. Ariton; 1-0; 147
5. Highland Home; 1-0; 122
6. Aliceville; 1-0; 114
7. G.W. Long; 0-0; 78
8. Pisgah; 0-0; 63
9. J.U. Blacksher; 1-0; 31
10. B.B. Comer; 0-1; 30
Others receiving votes: Cleveland (0-1) 6, Horseshoe Bend (1-0) 3, Lexington (1-0) 2, Chickasaw (1-0) 1, Locust Fork (1-0) 1, Tanner (0-1) 1.
CLASS 1A
Team (first-place); W-L; Pts
1. Brantley (15); 1-0; 230
2. Spring Garden (3); 1-0; 185
3. Sweet Water (3); 0-0; 171
4. Leroy; 0-0; 152
5. Elba; 1-0; 126
6. Decatur Heritage; 1-0; 86
7. Linden; 1-0; 80
8. Cedar Bluff; 1-0; 43
9. Wadley; 0-1; 36
10. Pickens Co.; 0-1; 23
Others receiving votes: Kinston (1-0) 19, Valley Head (1-0) 19, Millry (1-0) 17, Meek (1-0) 5, Loachapoka (1-0) 2, Maplesville (0-1) 1, Marengo (1-0) 1, Verbena (1-0) 1.
AISA
Team (first-place); W-L; Pts
1. Autauga Aca. (11); 0-0; 218
2. Glenwood (7); 0-1; 187
3. Patrician; 0-0; 163
4. Macon-East (1); 1-0; 154
5. Jackson Aca. (1); 1-0; 103
6. Edgewood; 0-0; 99
7. Lee-Scott (1); 1-0; 81
8. Escambia Aca.; 0-0; 67
9. Lowndes Aca.; 0-1; 40
10. Bessemer Aca.; 0-0; 37
Others receiving votes: Chambers Aca. (0-1) 29, Abbeville Chr. (1-0) 6, Crenshaw Chr. (0-0) 6, Clarke Prep (0-0) 5, Sparta (0-0) 2.

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