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By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Managing Editor

There was some shakeup in the second to last high school football rankings of the 2021 season released on Wednesday, Oct. 27.

The Helena Huskies and Briarwood Lions remained in their same positions as previous week in the Class 6A standings with the Huskies at No. 4 and the Lions at No. 6

But in the Class 7A standings, there were some slight changes with losses from Thompson and Oak Mountain on the final night of region play.

The Warriors dropped one spot following their three-point loss to now No. 1 Hoover in a top-two battle to close out region play.

Now at No. 2 in the 7A standings, the Warriors will enter the postseason motivated to prove they are still the top team in the state as back-to-back state champions.

A team still giving up just five points per game and scoring 46.9 per game, Thompson won’t go down quietly this season. The 24-21 loss to the Bucs proved they could be challenged and human, but it was also with their backup quarterback for the entire second half and a few other contributors out as well.

With a bye week to get healthy before the playoffs, expect Thompson to bounce back and be ready for path of redemption in the postseason in hopes of a rematch with the Bucs in the semifinals.

As for Oak Mountain, the Eagles dropped out of the top 10 for the first time in a while, but they still received votes for a spot inside the top 10.

With 12 points in the voting, the Eagles were five points behind Baker for the final spot in the 7A standings.

With a record of 6-3, Oak Mountain’s losses are to No. 1 Hoover by seven points, to No. 2 Thompson and to No. 8 Hewitt-Trussville.

After a battle against Class 6A No. 1 Clay-Chalkville to end the regular season, the Eagles will hope to pull off another big first-round playoff win for the second year in a row with a test against Class 7A No. 5 James Clemens in the playoffs.

With the hopeful return of Evan Smith and a defense giving up just 17.1 points per game, the Eagles seem far from done this season.

For Helena and Briarwood, both will be hoping for possible deep playoff runs in the 6A classification.

The Huskies remained inside the top five of the standings after a bye week and will battle UMS-Wright on the road to close out the regular season before squaring off with Baldwin County in the opening round of the playoffs.

Briarwood’s lone loss this season remains to No. 3 Mountain Brook 14-0, which is the Spartans’ closest win of the season.

The Lions followed that loss with a 21-18 win against Homewood to earn the two seed out of the region going into the playoffs and will square off with Fort Payne in the opening round of the playoffs.

See the entire rankings for each classification below:

CLASS 7A

Team (first-place); W-L; Pts

1. Hoover (19); 10-0; 237
2. Thompson; 9-1; 177
3. Central-Phenix City (1); 9-0; 163
4. Auburn; 8-1; 137
5. James Clemens; 10-0; 112
6. Fairhope; 8-1; 104
7. Theodore; 8-1; 78
8. Hewitt-Trussville; 8-2; 70
9. Prattville; 6-3; 20
10. Baker; 6-3; 17

Others receiving votes: Enterprise (7-3) 13, Oak Mountain (6-3) 12.

CLASS 6A

Team (first-place); W-L; Pts

1. Clay-Chalkville (19); 9-0; 237
2. Hartselle (1); 10-0; 180
3. Mountain Brook; 8-1; 156
4. Helena; 9-0; 125
5. Spanish Fort; 8-1; 115
6. Briarwood; 8-1; 98
7. Saraland; 8-2; 85
8. Hueytown; 8-1; 75
9. Pinson Valley; 6-3; 31
10. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa; 7-2; 19

Others receiving votes: Opelika (7-3) 10, Muscle Shoals (8-1) 5, Gardendale (7-2) 3, Oxford (6-3) 1.

CLASS 5A

Team (first-place); W-L; Pts

1. Pike Road (17); 8-0; 231
2. Pleasant Grove (3); 8-1; 184
3. Alexandria; 9-0; 163
4. Guntersville; 8-1; 128
5. UMS-Wright; 8-1; 120
6. Russellville; 8-1; 86
7. Leeds; 9-1; 83
8. Parker; 8-1; 57
9. Central-Clay Co.; 7-2; 36
10. St. Paul’s; 6-3; 17

Others receiving votes: Fairview (8-1) 14, Sylacauga (7-2) 9, Tallassee (6-2) 8, Greenville (7-2) 4.

CLASS 4A

Team (first-place); W-L; Pts

1. Madison Aca. (16); 8-1; 226
2. Vigor (4); 9-0; 187
3. American Chr.; 8-1; 161
4. Handley; 7-1; 130
5. Northside; 8-1; 114
6. Brooks; 9-0; 97
7. Gordo; 7-2; 90
8. St. James; 8-1; 58
9. Jackson; 8-2; 36
10. Anniston*; 5-4; 28

Others receiving votes: Priceville (8-1) 5, Bibb Co. (8-2) 4, Oneonta (9-1) 4.

*–Record includes two forfeit losses.

CLASS 3A

Team (first-place); W-L; Pts

1. Catholic-Montgomery (19); 10-0; 237
2. Piedmont (1); 8-1; 170
3. Fyffe; 7-1; 154
4. Winfield; 10-0; 146
5. Lauderdale Co.; 9-0; 111
6. Saks; 9-1; 100
7. Trinity; 8-1; 74
8. T.R. Miller; 7-2; 66
9. Opp; 8-2; 30
10. Bayside Aca.; 7-2; 23

Others receiving votes: Geraldine (6-3) 11, Montgomery Aca. (7-2) 8, Ohatchee* (7-2) 6, Slocomb (6-3) 2, Hillcrest-Evergreen (5-5) 1, Southside-Selma (8-1) 1.

*–Record includes one forfeit win.

CLASS 2A

Team (first-place); W-L; Pts

1. Clarke Co. (14); 8-1; 220
2. Lanett (6); 8-2; 196
3. Mars Hill Bible; 7-2; 162
4. Elba; 9-1; 141
5. Spring Garden; 9-0; 113
6. Ariton; 9-1; 92
7. Cleveland; 7-2; 80
8. G.W. Long; 7-1; 65
9. Leroy*; 2-7; 28
10. B.B. Comer; 8-2; 18

Others receiving votes: Isabella (7-2) 11, Midfield (8-1) 6, Luverne (7-1) 3, Lexington (7-2) 2, Pisgah (6-3) 2, Tanner (6-3) 1.

*–Record includes six forfeit losses.

CLASS 1A

Team (first-place); W-L; Pts

1. Brantley (16); 8-0; 227
2. Sweet Water (4); 9-0; 191
3. Maplesville; 9-0; 162
4. Pickens Co.; 8-1; 137
5. Decatur Heritage; 8-2; 110
6. Wadley; 9-0; 105
7. Notasulga; 8-1; 81
8. Keith; 7-1; 57
9. Loachapoka; 6-2; 38
10. Cedar Bluff; 6-3; 10

Others receiving votes: Hubbertville (7-2) 8, Millry* (7-2) 7, Sumiton Chr. (7-2) 4, Kinston (7-3) 2, R.A. Hubbard (6-3) 1.

*–Record includes one forfeit win.

AISA

Team (first-place); W-L; Pts

1. Autauga Aca. (19); 9-0; 237
2. Escambia Aca.; 8-1; 177
3. Pike Liberal Arts (1); 8-1; 166
4. Chambers Aca.; 8-1; 140
5. Patrician; 6-2; 102
6. Lee-Scott; 6-2; 85
7. Jackson Aca.; 8-1; 84
8. Glenwood; 5-3; 53
9. Sparta; 7-1; 50
10. Lowndes Aca.; 7-3; 30

Others receiving votes: Tuscaloosa Aca. (5-4) 6, Crenshaw Chr. (6-2) 5, Macon-East (6-4) 5.