BamaPreps Roundtable Week 2

Welcome to the BamaPreps Weekly Roundtable! Each week, the team will break down the biggest matchups and the best performances across the state of Alabama. From Huntsville to Mobile, the best coverage of the gridiron is right here on BamaPreps.

Week 2 is here, and as region play begins for many teams across the state, the contenders and pretenders are beginning to emerge. There are a few huge games this week with massive playoff implications – let’s dive right into the action.

With NFL players now potentially returning to college football, let’s play a game: if you could bring any current college football player back to their former high school team for this season, who would you pick, and what high school team would instantly become a contender?

VLAD VALASIUK: Malcolm Simmons, Ben Russell. Would instantly make Benjamin Russell the favorite in 5A. 

TP HAMMOCK: KJ Jackson selfishly for Saint James because we need all the help we can get

NOAH WILLOUGHBY: Julio Jones at Foley

DAVID PARKER: EJ Crowell. They miss him at Jackson.

TREY LEE: Adding Omar Mabson back to this Auburn team would make an extremely good team that much better.

JON LUNCEFORD: EJ Crowell to Jackson. Of course it’s a new era at Jackson with a new coach, but even dropping to 3A, they are off to an 0-2 start and could definitely use him! He was electric to watch and I can’t wait to see what he does in Tuscaloosa. Football is the kind of sport that one player alone can’t make you go from pretender to contender, but he’s the kind of player that gets you close.

What was the biggest surprise from Week 1 matchups?

VLAD: Hillcrest dominating the second half. Down 17-14 at half, won 42-20

TP: Leroy losing to Clarke County to fall to 0-2.

NOAH: Hillcrest beating Hewitt Trussville by 20

DAVID: How huge the gap between the best teams in 6A and the others has grown. Region 3 from top to almost the bottom is far superior to Regions 1 and 4. It is ridiculous. They are just playing a different game in the Birmingham area.

TREY: UMS-Wright over Mountain Brook. The Bulldogs get a statement win and are now firmly in the mix of the Double A South contenders.

JON: Hillcrest dominating Hewitt. I know Hillcrest just came from that region and would have made the playoffs likely in the new format, but they look really good. Hewitt was coming off a win on the road in Auburn then lose by three touchdowns? Hillcrest will be a contender for a state title in 5A no doubt. The big question thought is how Hewitt responds with Hoover coming to town this week.

Best individual performance from Week 1?

VLAD: Blaine Bowen – QB Winfield – 515 Total Yards 8 TDs 

TP: Trent Seaborn looked surgical versus a great Clay Chalkville team

NOAH: Blaine Bowen Winfield City

DAVID: Trent Seaborn is even better than previous seasons if that is possible. He is the real deal. Also Will Mckay, QB at Prattville. 

TREY: Kole Moody going back to Southside Selma and throwing for 273 yards and 7 touchdowns to get the win for Selma.

JON: Colby Weaver from UMS-Wright, made a huge play blocking Mountain Brook’s field goal and returning it for a touchdown as the game changing play to give UMS the win.

What team or teams have benefitted the most from the Public/Private split this season?

VLAD: Larger school size privates like Briarwood and McGill

TP: Briarwood, and any public school in 3A

NOAH: All the 2A/3A publics

DAVID: All of Class 3A. The privates have pretty much dominated that classification recently.

TREY: It has to be Briarwood. The Lions opened the year with a win over Moody and now look to dominate the Double A Private division as one of the largest schools in that classification.

JON: Briarwood. They were a 2nd or 3rd round team at best in 5A and they should be very successful in AA. They started with wins over defending 5A champ Moody and rival Homewood (although both teams are weaker than they were last year).

What matchup are you most looking forward to most in Week 2?

VLAD: Pelham v Helena and Loachapoka v Winterboro

TP: Opelika vs Enterprise

NOAH: Homewood v Mtn Brook

DAVID: Mars Hill at Westbrook Christian. I think we see the passing of the torch this Friday night.

TREY: Westbrook Christian vs. Mars Hill. This game has huge implications for Single A Private postseason, and both teams are looking to make a statement early.

JON: Homewood vs Mountain Brook – after maybe the craziest play of the year last year that made SportsCenter and went viral across the internet, two of the top teams from 6A last year are playing in what could be the region title in the first week of region play. Plus both found themselves in close losses last week to AA teams.

Can Columbia continue their hot streak this week against Mae Jemison?

VLAD: Love the 2-0 Start, probably not. Expect Columbia to win another game or two this season, but Mae has been impressive this season

TP: Yes, but will be much harder than the other two games

NOAH: Gonna be tough. I say no, but anything can happen.

DAVID: I don’t think so. But if the Eagles do win this game I think a playoff spot is not out of the question. I believe they have two more wins on their schedule and if they win this week it could be a 5-5 season for Columbia in 2026.

TREY: The winning streak extends to 3 this week for the Eagles.

JON: I so badly want to say yes, but Mae Jemison is a team that sneaks into the playoffs and could pose a challenge. It wouldn’t shock me if Columbia pulls off three in a row but I think the new streak ends here.

Bold Predictions for Week 2 across the State?

VLAD: Gulf Shores defeats Saraland

TP: A ranked number 1 will lose

NOAH: Orange Beach upsets Vigor 👀

DAVID: Moody, Anniston, Jackson and Coosa Christian are all 0-3 on Saturday.

TREY: Opelika drops their second straight in a loss to Enterprise

JON: At least two #1 teams go down. It’s not an easy start to region play for many teams at the top, so wouldn’t surprise me if some go down.

What is an under the radar game that no one is talking about this week that people should be paying attention to?

VLAD: St. Clair Co. and Oxford. This is the year. The Saints have been waiting on, let’s see if they can pull it off against Oxford.

TP: Eufaula vs Ashford could be for a region title

NOAH: Opelika v Enterprise

DAVID: St. Michael’s vs. UMS-Wright. The injury to Gunner Rivers, Can he play this week and how effective will he be?

TREY: Auburn vs. Carver Montgomery

JON: Russellville at Hartselle – Russellville was always a contender in the old 5A, so what can they do in this region that has been dominated by Muscle Shoals and Hartselle? Never mind the fact that Austin and Florence have also dropped down into this region.

What will be the biggest upset this week across the state?

VLAD: Huffman looked great to open the season, I think their odds against Jasper are better than you think

TP: Barbour County will start 2-0 and beat Abbeville, BOOK IT!

NOAH: Orange Beach beats Vigor

DAVID: Escambia County beats Jackson.

TREY: St. Clair County builds off their momentum from last week’s win against Leeds and shocks the Oxford Yellow Jackets.

JON: Hewitt over Hoover – just when everyone counts Hewitt out, they storm back and surprise everyone with a win over Hoover.

Predictions and Scores for Westbrook/Mars Hill

VLAD: 28-21 Westbrook

TP: 24-21 Westbrook

NOAH: 27-21 Westbrook

DAVID: 31-28 Westbrook

TREY: Westbrook 27 Mars Hill 13

JON: Mars Hill 28-17

Got a question you want answered or a game you want us to pick here in the next few weeks? Reach out to us on socials @BamaPreps!