Cancellations because of COVID-19 issues continued on Tuesday with three more area teams hitting the pause button.
Providence Christian, Opp and Charles Henderson all halted activity Tuesday. The three join Carroll, which announced Monday it is canceling its last two regular-season games.
Providence Christian headmaster Emory Latta confirmed the school canceled this Friday’s game against Daleville because “of a direct exposure” within the football program. He said no decision had been made on next week’s game against Florala.
Opp, though it has no positive tests, has a taken a “proactive” stance to cancel Friday’s game against W.S. Neal, said head coach Brent Hill.
Hill said the program wanted to get ahead of any potential positive tests before the first round of the playoffs in two weeks by isolating players as much as possible now. He added Opp doesn’t plan to practice this week and since the Bobcats had no game scheduled game next week, they will take two weeks off before the playoffs.
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Charles Henderson, which played Carroll last Friday, will not play its last two games of the season because of contact tracing issues, said head coach Brad McCoy in a text reply to the Dothan Eagle. The Trojans were scheduled to play at Headland this week and at home against Brantley next week.
As a result of the cancellations, Charles Henderson’s season will be through as the Trojans failed to make the playoffs. They have a 1-8 record (counting the forfeits) with the win coming in their last on-the field game last week over Carroll.
Playoff bound: Fourteen Dothan Eagle coverage teams in Alabama have clinched a state playoff berth as teams hit the final week of region play.
The 14 teams with a playoff ticket are Enterprise in AHSAA Class 7A, Eufaula in Class 6A, Carroll and Rehobeth in Class 5A, Slocomb, Wicksburg, Opp and Providence Christian in Class 3A, G.W. Long, Abbeville and Geneva County in Class 2A and AISA programs Pike Liberal Arts (Class AAA), Abbeville Christian and Lakeside (Class A).
Two other are teams are guaranteed a spot and a couple of others could also earn one this week. Dale County or Geneva will make the Class 4A playoffs and Ariton or Elba likewise in 2A.
Pike County in Class 3A and Samson in Class 1A could also reach the playoffs.
Region title scenarios: The Wiregrass is assured of two region champions and maybe a third, but who those are still up for grabs heading to the last week of region play.
In Class 3A, Region 2, Slocomb (5-0 in region) can win its first region title since 2003 with a win over Wicksburg (4-1) Friday. However, if the RedTops fall to the Panthers, the two along with Opp (already 5-1) will be tied for the top spot.
The tiebreaker to determine that top spot comes down to “the team whose defeated opponents have the most victories.” At present time, Opp leads that tiebreaker, but the last week of non-region games could alter that.
Slocomb and Wicksburg both lost ground in the tiebreaker because their wins over Northside Methodist are negated since the Knights are not eligible for championship play this year. AHSAA rules state “contests against teams that are not eligible for the championship program are not used in figuring any tiebreakers.”
All three teams, however, are in the playoffs and will make up the top three spots. Providence Christian is the fourth-place team.
Meanwhile in Class 2A, Region 2, G.W. Long and Abbeville battle Friday in a winner-take-all contest. If Long wins, it takes first and drops Abbeville to third with Geneva County, which beat Abbeville, finishing second. If Abbeville wins, G.W. Long finishes second and Geneva County third. Ariton finishes fourth if it beats Cottonwood, but if it losses, Elba sneaks into the playoffs at fourth.
In AISA Class AAA, Region 1, seventh-ranked Pike Liberal and top-ranked Glenwood (both 3-0 in area) meet in Troy Friday with the winner taking the region title and the loser finishing second.
Other playoff scenarios: Below is a look at other playoff scenarios for area teams.
In Class 7A, Enterprise can finish third if it beats Auburn and Prattville loses to Jeff Davis. If neither one happens, the Wildcats finish fourth. The other Wiregrass team in 7A, Dothan, has been eliminated from postseason.
In Class 6A, Eufaula can finish second to fourth based off possible scenarios, but the most likely scenario has the Tigers earning second off a tiebreaker after a three-way tie with Carver and R.E. Lee as the three teams are heavy favorites to win this week against bottom-level region teams. EHS would win the tiebreaker off defeated opponents who have the most victories.
The Class 5A, Region 3 standings are resolved with local teams Carroll and Rehobeth finishing third and fourth behind Pike Road and Andalusia.
In Class 4A, Dale County can clinch third with a win over Straughn or losses by Bullock (to Alabama Christian) and by Geneva (to St. James). Geneva can reach the playoffs with a win over St. James or with losses by Straughn (Dale County) and Bullock (Alabama Christian).
In Class 3A, Region 4, Pike County can clinch a playoff spot with a win over Reeltown or a Dadeville loss to Beulah.
In Class 1A, Region 1, Samson can secure a playoff spot with a win over Kinston or if Georgiana loses to McKenzie
In AISA Class A, Region 1: Abbeville Christian and Lakeside meet Friday with second and third place in the region at stake. ACA (3-1 in region) can secure second with a win. If Lakeside (2-2) wins, it forges a three-way tie between them, ACA and Lowndes. Lakeside must win by 13 or more to earn second off the tie-breaker, but if Abbeville Christian losses by 12 or less, it takes the second spot.
One unbeaten left: With just two weeks left in the regular season, only one area team remains unbeaten – G.W. Long. The Rebels are 7-0 with games left with Abbeville and Houston Academy.
Three winless: Three area teams are currently winless, though one appears like to receive a forfeit win this week. The three are Daleville (0-9), Goshen (0-8) and Zion Chapel (0-8). Daleville, though, is expected to receive a forfeit this week from Providence Christian.
Thursday football: This week’s action gets started with a Thursday night game as Northside Methodist hosts Rehobeth at Rip Hewes Stadium.
Eufaula’s Townsend selected to Alabama team: Eufaula senior wide receiver Jay’Juan Townsend, a recent verbal commitment to South Alabama, has been selected to play in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. Townsend is the lone area player tabbed for the Dec. 12 game at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl.
North-South moving: The North-South AHSAA All-Star Game is moving back to Mobile, set to be played at the University of South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium on December 18.
The 25,000-seat stadium, which opened this season, is the home of the USA Jaguars.
Mobile was home to the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic from 1988 to 2010 at Ladd-Peeples Stadium. The game has been at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl since 2011.