Countdown to kickoff: With a week to go, first Friday features stacked lineup

Aug. 15—There's nothing quite like the countdown to Friday night lights. Football preparation begins over a month in advance with practices, media days, photoshoots and more, all leading up to the first kickoff in late August. The countdown to that first Friday night is always much anticipated, but this year's first night of games is even more dramatic than usual. Some of the best opening games in the state will be played right here in The Decatur Daily's coverage area. If you're looking for a great game to go to on Aug. 21, you want have to drive far. The headliner will be Austin hosting James Clemens. Austin is back in the AHSAA's second-largest classification after the AHSAA revamped its system this year while keeping just 32 teams in Class 6A. The last eight years though the Black Bears were in Class 7A, and their biggest region game of the year was always against James Clemens. That's because one of those two teams went on to win the region in seven of the last eight years. Now the two meet in a non-region game to kick off the season. "Playing against a team like that the first week makes you mentally stronger because you know you have to be at your best right from the start," Austin running back Aidan Davis said. "There's already a lot of energy around here because we lost to them last year and we want a chance to get our revenge." Davis said the Black Bears are also eager to put on a better showing in their first game after a brutal 39-7 loss to open the season against Hartselle last year. "We're just in a better spot as a team. Last year we were young, but this year we have the communication down, the teamwork down and the brotherhood down," Davis said. Forty-six miles from Austin at Buckhorn, Decatur will be playing arguably its most important game of the season. The Red Raiders have suffered through back-to-back 2-8 seasons, which included season-opening losses to Buckhorn in both years. They believe their third season under coach John Ritter is the year the team will turn the corner, and a win over the Bucks could kick-start that momentum. "It would set the tone for us," Decatur quarterback Reid Roberson said. "The game is starting to slow down for us and we're finally starting to understand the standard that coach Ritter is setting at Decatur. That Buckhorn game will be a chance for us to go out and prove it to everyone else." Other big games around the area include Hartselle hosting Class 6A Bob Jones, Hatton hosting Brooks and multiple county rivalries including Priceville vs. Brewer, Lawrence County vs. East Lawrence and Tanner vs. Elkmont. Possibly the most interesting matchup, though, will take place in Athens when the Golden Eagles host West Morgan. West Morgan has been one of the hottest teams in north Alabama recently with a 46-5 record over the last four seasons. Now the Class 4A Rebels will take a step up in competition against a Class 5A team that spent the last 12 years in Class 6A. "I'm excited, everybody on the team is excited to play a team like that," West Morgan senior Kylen Stover said. "People think they're going to crush us because they're a much bigger school, but we're going to prove everybody wrong." West Morgan has the state's longest regular-season winning streak at 34 games. While the Rebels know that streak will end eventually, they're not going to let it go without a fight. "It keeps you motivated, makes you work harder, because you don't want to see it end," Stover said. "I think we can go undefeated (in the regular season) again and that's what we're going to try and do." — caleb.suggs@decaturdaily.com or 256-340-2395. Twitter @CalebSuggs2