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By TYLER RALEY | Special to the Reporter

The Vincent Yellow Jackets are continually creating success, making playoff appearances in consecutive years for the first time since their four-year streak from 2009 to 2012.

They now enter 2024 with hopes of making it back to the postseason and playing deep into November.

The Yellow Jackets will take on Winterboro, B.B. Comer, Childersburg and Montevallo in non-region action, which pencils in Lamar County, Sulligent, Tuscaloosa Academy, Aliceville, Isabella and Greene County as region opponents.

Vincent begins its road by making a visit to play the Winterboro Bulldogs on Aug. 23 at Bulldog Stadium.

These two squads have a long history between each other, as this will be the 42nd all-time meeting. The Yellow Jackets won last year’s contest 29-0 and have not given up a point to the Bulldogs since 2021. Winterboro is trying to make another appearance in the playoffs this year after going 6-6 in 2023.

Vincent will then make the trip back home and take on the B.B. Comer Tigers on Aug. 30, a team that it has not had much luck against as of late.

Despite it being the 22nd meeting between the programs, the Tigers have had a firm grip on the series, winning the last five games of this series. In three of those wins, B.B. Comer has not allowed a single point, and over the entire stretch, scored 220 of its own.

The Tigers finished with a 13-1 record last season, winning Class 2A, Region 4 with ease, but fell just short of a state title last year with a loss in the semifinals.

The Yellow Jackets will then take their bye week and rest up before they start region play with a home game against the Lamar County Bulldogs on Sept. 13.

This will be Vincent’s first time to play Lamar County in school history, and it should be a competitive contest. The Bulldogs are coming off of a 7-4 season and playoff appearance in Class 2A, Region 5, losing to Tanner in the first round. They have a high-powered offense that should make for a back-and-forth battle between these two squads.

The Yellow Jackets will then hit the road again for two weeks, first with a trip on Sept. 20 to face the Sulligent Blue Devils.

This year’s game will be the second time that the two teams have played against each other, but just the first time in the regular season. The Blue Devils won a first round playoff game between the two in 1970, winning 14-0.

Sulligent had a successful campaign in Class 2A, Region 5 in 2023. It finished second in the region and lost in the second round of the playoffs to Locust Fork on its way to a 9-3 finish.

Next, Vincent will take a week away from region play to make the short trip to Childersburg to take on the Tigers on Sept. 27.

The Yellow Jackets are playing Childersburg for the 24th time in school history and will look to find some success against their local rival. They have won just two games over the Tigers with their most recent one coming 2022.

Childersburg is entering 2024 after a 4-6 season last year in Class 3A, Region 4, but won last year’s game in a low-scoring battle 16-14. The two teams have played for the last two years since renewing the series for the first time since 1989.

On Oct. 4, Vincent will take things back home to region competition and play arguably its toughest opponent on the schedule in the Tuscaloosa Academy Knights.

This year will be the first-ever time that the Yellow Jackets and Knights have seen each other. Tuscaloosa Academy is coming off of a 10-3 season for the second consecutive year, winning Class 2A, Region 5 but losing in the third round of the playoffs to Pisgah. The Knights are in a good position to have success again and will give Vincent a challenge.

The next week, the Yellow Jackets will hit the road again to face another team for the first time in the Aliceville Yellow Jackets on Oct. 11.

Aliceville is coming into the year following a 5-6 season in 2023, winning four out of its final five games and making a playoff appearance. Its offense showed up over the final four weeks of last year’s regular season, scoring 184 points in total, which could pose a challenge for opponents this year.

Vincent will then return home for a contest on Oct. 18 with the Isabella Mustangs.

The Yellow Jackets will take on the Mustangs for the 10th time in history and the third consecutive year. Vincent leads the series 7-2 but dropped last year’s game 35-28. Isabella comes into the year after a 9-3 season in which it made the playoffs before dropping a second round game to Cottonwood.

Following that meeting, Vincent will finish region play with a trip to Eutaw to take on the Greene County Tigers on Oct. 25.

The Yellow Jackets and Tigers have never met for a game before, which will make it four brand new opponents on the schedule for this year. Greene County is trying to bounce back in 2024 following a two-win campaign last season, so this could be a great opportunity for Vincent to earn a big win down the stretch should the standings get tight.

Finally, the Yellow Jackets will cap off the regular season at home on Nov. 1 with a contest against a county foe in the Montevallo Bulldogs.

This will be the 66th edition of this series, but Vincent has not seen the Bulldogs since 2013. While Montevallo leads the series 39-21-5, the Yellow Jackets have won the last three games, giving up less than 10 points in each.

The Bulldogs are looking to improve off of last season after going 7-3 in Class 4A, Region 3 and falling just short of a playoff berth due to a tiebreaker. Montevallo will now find itself in Class 5A in 2024, making it a tough test for Class 2A Vincent ahead of what it hopes is a playoff run.