Vigor is 5-0
Photo | Mike Kittrell
Taking a look at what’s happening among the prep football teams in the Lagniappe coverage area, there are quite a few aspects of the game and the competition that have presented themselves this week. Here’s a look at Five Things that stand out:
Shutouts abound: There have been a lot of zeroes floating around this season among teams in the Lagniappe coverage area. In fact, of the 32 teams, only eight — Chickasaw, Davidson, Elberta, Robertsdale, Satsuma, Spanish Fort, St. Paul’s and Vigor — have not been involved in at least one shutout, either on the good or bad side of the outcome.
Two teams have played in three shutouts with wins in each — Baker (13-0 vs. UMS-Wright), 48-0 vs. Alma Bryant, 43-0 vs. Mary G. Montgomery) and McGill-Toolen (14-0 vs. Gulf Shores, 59-0 vs. Citronelle, 38-0 vs. Murphy). Four teams have gone 2-0 in shutouts — Baldwin County, St. Luke’s, Theodore and Williamson. The 1-0 teams in this scenario include Cottage Hill Christian, Fairhope, Faith Academy, Foley and St. Michael.
Orange Beach has played in more shutout games than any other local team, posting a 3-1 record in four such games. The Makos, who have played six games thus far, have beaten J.F. Shields, Fruitdale and Pleasant Home, but lost a shutout game to Clarke County (1-0 is the official score given to the game forfeited by the Makos because of COVID-19 issues). UMS-Wright has a 2-1 record in shutouts. Two teams — Gulf Shores and Saraland — have posted 1-1 records in shutout games.
The teams that have fared the worst in shutouts thus far include 0-3 teams LeFlore, MGM and Murphy. B.C. Rain, Bayside Academy and Daphne are all 0-1, while Alma Bryant, Blount and Mobile Christian have posted 1-2 records in shutout games.
Streaks abound, too: Eighteen teams are currently on winning or losing streaks heading into this week’s games. On the good side of the streaks, No. 1-ranked Spanish Fort, Theodore and Vigor have 5-0 records. Fairhope, which opened with a loss at Spanish Fort, has now won four straight games, as has UMS-Wright, which lost to Baker to open the season but is on a four-game win streak. Saraland, which lost its first two games (Theodore, Hewitt-Trussville) has now won four straight.
Baker, McGill-Toolen (after opening the season with two losses) and Williamson are all currently enjoying three-game win streaks. St. Michael, which is 4-1 and one win away from matching the total number of victories combined in its four previous seasons, is on a two-game win streak. Orange Beach has an interesting pattern going to its season. The Makos won their first two games, lost their next two outings and are currently on a two-game win streak.
Teams not trending in a positive manner include LeFlore and MGM, both teams carrying 0-5 records into this week’s lineup of games. Foley, which opened the season with back-to-back wins, has now lost four consecutive games. Davidson finds itself on a three-game losing skid, as does Alma Bryant, which started the year 2-0 but is now 2-3. Elberta, Mobile Christian and Murphy have lost their past two outings. Murphy started the year with three losses, beat MGM, and has now lost two straight.
Statistical leaders: According to recent stats, several local teams are among the best in their respective classifications (Top 15) in terms of scoring offense and/or scoring defense. In Class 7A, Theodore is No. 6 in scoring offense (36.6 points a game), with Baker at No. 9 (32.8), Fairhope at No. 12 (30.2) and Daphne at No. 15 (26.5). In scoring defense, Theodore is No. 2 (10.2), Baker No. 5 (12.8), Fairhope No. 8 (13.8) and Daphne No. 15 (21.5). In Class 6A, McGill-Toolen is No. 7 in scoring offense (37.4) and Spanish Fort is No. 11 (34.0). In scoring defense, Spanish Fort is No. 3 (10.4), Blount is No. 7 (12.7) and Gulf Shores is No. 12 (15.2).
Class 5A finds no Top 15 teams in scoring offense but scoring defense leaders include No. 1 UMS-Wright (8.2) and No. 2 Faith Academy (10.4). In Class 4A, St. Michael is No. 5 in scoring offense (37.0) and Vigor is No. 15 (33.6). In scoring defense, Vigor is No. 3 (12.0) and Williamson is No. 4 (12.3). Class 3A has no scoring offense leaders but Bayside Academy is No. 10 in scoring defense (13.3). In Class 2A, Orange Beach is No. 11 in scoring offense (36.4), while in scoring defense St. Luke’s is No. 6 (11.2) and Orange Beach is No. 8 (12.2).
Region races: It’s the midway point of the season, which is a good time to start looking closely at the respective region races and looking for clues as to which teams appear playoff bound — the top four teams from each region advance to the postseason, with the top two teams securing home games in the first round. A couple of region races involving teams in the Lagniappe coverage area caught our attention this week.
In Class 6A, Region 1, there are eight teams vying for the four spots. Heading into this week’s games, Spanish Fort, the top-ranked team in 6A, is 3-0 in region play and 5-0 overall, followed by Saraland, which is 4-2 and 3-0. The two teams face off this week. In third place is McGill-Toolen at 2-1 in the region and 3-2 overall. The next four teams behind McGill all share equal 1-2 region records — Baldwin County, Gulf Shores, Robertsdale and Blount — setting the stage for an interesting race down the stretch for that fourth spot. Of course, it’s possible McGill could be overtaken as well. Citronelle, the remaining team in the region, is 0-3.
In Class 3A, Region 1, getting a team from the Lagniappe coverage area in the postseason may be tough. Currently, T.R. Miller (3-0) and Flomaton (2-0) are the top two teams, followed by Hillcrest-Evergreen (2-1) and Excel (1-1). All the local teams are in the bottom three slots — Bayside Academy (1-2), Cottage Hill Christian (0-2) and Chickasaw (0-3).
Switching teams: Caden Pierce, who was Daphne’s starting quarterback through the Trojans’ first four games this season, has reportedly left the school and has enrolled at Gulf Shores, where he is expected to join the Dolphins’ team. Gulf Shores was off this week, as was Daphne. Both teams return to action this week, with Gulf Shores traveling to Citronelle for a Class 6A, Region 1 game, while Daphne is at home against Alma Bryant in a Class 7A, Region 1 matchup.
Pierce, who will be eligible because the family is making a move to Gulf Shores, reportedly practiced with the Dolphins last week. It is not known if he is expected to play this week.
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