Fort Dale vs Edgewood

There’s an old proverb that goes something like this: “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

This week is going to be a true test for Fort Dale – after getting upset by Macon-East last week, the Eagles are facing Edgewood, who are one of the top teams in the AISA.

Last year, FDA only lost three games: two to Pike Lib and one to Edgewood.

Before Friday night, the Eagles also have a lot of things to get fixed.

“It’s the little things we’ve let slip,” said head coach Speed Sampley. “We’ve gotten sloppy in a lot of ways, and we have to start focusing.”

One of those areas is penalties (120 yards against MEMA) and another is special teams (giving up a kick return for a touchdown).

“When all that happens, you’re not supposed to win,” Sampley said.

Edgewood has put a pretty good whuppin’ on everyone they’ve played so far this year, scoring more than 34 points in four out of five games.

The Fort Dale defense will have their work cut out for them.

We’ll find out how well the Eagles can bounce back, but I’m going to give Edgewood the edge in this one.

Edgewood 27, Fort Dale 21

Greenville vs Wilcox

Last week was nearly a surprise for the Greenville Tigers too.

At halftime, the Tigers were tied with Andalusia 15-15.

Fortunately, Greenville woke up in the second half and went on to win pretty convincingly.

This week, they get a chance to fix some of the mistakes they made against the Bulldogs.

“This week is about getting us better,” said head coach Ben Blackmon. “It’s a lot like the Monroe County game.”

The Tigers will see a Jaguar team that has some athletes but hasn’t been able to put it all together so far this year.

“They’ve got a new coach, and they’ve definitely got some athletic kids, but they don’t have any wins,” Blackmon said.

Let’s be realistic for a moment: unless something freakish happens, like most of Greenville’s team comes down with food poisoning or something, the Tigers will win this game.

Wilcox is 0-5, and they’ve been outscored 208-21 so far this season.

I just hope Greenville can make it through without any injuries.

Greenville 48, Wilcox 0

BCMS vs McIntosh

This game ought to be a pretty solid matchup.

On one hand, you have the Panthers, who have shown that even though they’re young and small, they can make enough plays to win a game.

On the other, you have McIntosh, and I’m not sure what to think about them.

They thoroughly beat Fruitdale in the first game of the year, but Fruitdale has recently started playing much better football.

The Demons lost to Marengo last week, which is a bit of a surprise, but maybe Marengo is playing better football too.

Regardless, this is a McIntosh team that has playoff experience – they beat McKenzie in the first round last year.

“McIntosh is a team with good size and speed, and they’re going to have more of a smash-mouth style of play,” said BCMS head coach Shane Smothers.

With both teams losing last week, it’ll be interesting to see how they respond.

Both teams also need a region win, not only to help solidify a spot in the playoffs, but also to perhaps get home-field advantage.

I think the Panthers will be motivated enough to win, but it won’t be easy.

BCMS 22, McIntosh 19

McKenzie vs Geneva County

Last week was McKenzie biggest challenge of the season up to this point, but this week might top that one.

The Tigers will be traveling to the big city of Hartford to take on the Bulldogs.

Geneva County has been playing some very solid football over the last couple of weeks.

They beat Providence Christian 29-14 two weeks ago and just barely lost to Cottonwood 27-26 last week.

“They’re a very good football team,” said McKenzie head coach Miles Brown. “They’ve got a good running back and some really good linemen.”

One thing Brown said is that his team will have to cut down on mistakes against Geneva County.

“If you make mistakes against them, they’re going to beat you,” he said.

The question will be whether or not Geneva County’s defense can stop McKenzie’s offense.

The Tigers have great team speed, and they’re a tough matchup for any defense.

I’m leaning toward the Tigers pulling this one out, even though it’ll be a tough road trip.

McKenzie 42, Geneva County 20

Overall record: 16-4