By Brian Lentz
Special to the Dispatch
Pickens County High School knew replacing 17 seniors would be a major chore this football season.
The Tornadoes also had the added assignment of moving from the Alabama High School Activities Association Class 1A ranks to Class 2A.
So far, so good.
Pickens County clinched the Class 2A, Region 4 championship Friday night with a 26-7 win over Vincent.
The Tornadoes (6-2, 5-0 region) will try to finish an unbeaten run though region play when it travels to Fayetteville (4-4, 2-3) Friday night.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
“When the season started, we set the goal of winning the region championship,” Pickens County coach Nick Roberson said. “There was a lot of newness. It is a much bigger challenge when you are playing different teams. You have to learn different personnel and different plans of attack. The kids have really responded to the challenge.”
Pickens County wrapped up back-to-back region championships for the first time since 2009. The Tornadoes have outscored their first five region opponents by a combined score of 179 points.
“We played some really good teams in the non-region part of our schedule and I think that prepared us,” said Roberson, who is in his first season after serving as an assistant on last season’s Class 1A state championship team. “We lost to Greensboro and Aliceville. Both of those teams are in (Class 3A) and are fighting for their region championship.”
Aliceville (8-1) beat Pickens County 36-6, while Greensboro (5-3) won 19-0. While the Tornadoes struggled offensively in those contests, it was a good opportunity for a young team to grow up.
“We had some new faces in some critical spots, so we really wanted them to get tested early,” Roberson said. “When you haven’t lost a game in a while (Pickens County was undefeated in 2013), it is always interesting to see how your kids respond. We didn’t get down. We just came back out and kept working.”
Sophomore Zachary Thomas led the Pickens County offense with 214 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win over Vincent. Javarius Jefferson had three catches for 144 yards, including two touchdowns. Darrien Latham supported the passing attack by rushing for 112 yards and two scores on the ground.
“The key for our team is balance,” Roberson said. “When we have balance, we can be a difficult team to defend.”
Pickens County will close the regular season Oct. 30 with a non-region home game against undefeated Class 3A power Gordo (8-0).
“We want to carry some momentum into the playoffs,” Roberson said. “The kids are playing with a lot of confidence. That should help us compete in the last two regular-season games as well as the playoffs.”
Pickens County will host a first-round playoff game Nov. 7.
Elsewhere
The Class 3A, Region 4 has some suspense entering the final Friday of region play.
Locally, Aliceville (8-1, 4-1 region) will play at American Christian Academy (4-4, 2-3), while Lamar County (6-2, 3-2) plays at Greensboro (5-3, 3-2).
Gordo (8-0, 5-0) clinched the region championship and No. 1 seed with Friday’s 21-14 win over Lamar County.
Aliceville can secure the No. 2 seed from the region a first-round playoff game at home on Nov. 7 with a victory.
Lamar County has already clinched a playoff berth and can earn the No. 3 seed in the region with a win over Greensboro.
In Class 2A, Region 8, Sulligent (4-4, 4-1 region) plays at Mars Hill Bible (1-7, 0-5).
The Blue Devils are already firmly in the playoffs. However, Sulligent can lock up the No. 2 seed and a first-round playoff game at home with a win.
In Class 1A, Region 6 play, South Lamar (3-5, 2-3 region) can lock up the fourth and final playoff berth from its region by winning at Brilliant (1-7, 1-4).
South Lamar also qualifies if Meek loses at Marion County (4-4, 3-2).
If both South Lamar and Meek win, the two teams will join Marion County in a three-way tie for third place. The Stallions would still qualify for the playoffs in that tie-breaker.
In Alabama Independent School Association action, Pickens Academy plays host to Wilcox Academy.
All games start at 7 p.m.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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