AHSAA Football Playoffs: 21 Mobile, Baldwin Teams Learn First-Round Matchups; Flag Football Opens Tuesday

MOBILE, Ala. — The brackets are set for the AHSAA football playoffs, and 21 teams from Mobile and Baldwin counties are in the field. Sixteen area teams also qualified for the flag football playoffs. Flag football’s first round is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3, and most first-round tackle football games will be played Friday, Nov. 6.

Both tournaments end close to home this year. The Alabama High School Athletic Association will play its state championship games in both sports at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus in Mobile. The flag football finals are set for Dec. 1, and the football title games are scheduled for Dec. 2-5.

A postseason unlike any before it

This is the first year the AHSAA has split its state championships in every sport into public school and private school classifications. In football, that means eight champions will be crowned instead of the usual seven, with Private Class A and Private Class AA joining the public school classes.

Class 6A also has a bigger bracket. Six teams from each region now make the playoffs instead of four, and the top two seeds in each region receive first-round byes. In Private Class AA football, every team qualifies for the postseason.

In flag football, Class 1A through Class 4A schools compete together for one public school title, and Private Class A and Class AA schools are combined in a single private school bracket.

Class 4A football

All four local teams from Class 4A, Region 1, one of the most competitive regions in the state this season, are in the field. Vigor, which held the No. 1 ranking in the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Class 4A poll in October, earned the region’s top seed despite a 29-21 loss at Fairhope in its regular-season finale.

• Orange Beach at Charles Henderson
• Valley at Vigor
• Elmore County at Williamson
• Citronelle at Marbury

Orange Beach finished the regular season 8-2 after a 50-14 win at Holtville and heads to Troy to face Charles Henderson. Citronelle, which beat Orange Beach 38-7 in a late-October upset, goes on the road to Marbury.

Class 5A football

Class 5A, Region 1 sends four teams to the playoffs, and the top two seeds host first-round games.

• Theodore at Homewood
• Ramsay at Gulf Shores
• Pelham at Saraland
• Spanish Fort at Helena

Gulf Shores completed a 10-0 regular season with a 41-0 win over Bayside Academy and went 7-0 in region play to earn the No. 1 seed. The Dolphins host Ramsay of Birmingham.

Saraland, the region’s No. 2 seed, finished 9-1 after a 48-34 win over Class 6A Auburn on Thursday, Oct. 29, its eighth straight victory. The Spartans have outscored opponents 521-151, have played in four straight state championship games and won the Class 6A title in 2022. They host Pelham.

Spanish Fort (7-3) travels to Helena, and Theodore (5-5) visits Homewood.

Class 6A football

Six area teams are in the expanded Class 6A field, including both of Region 1’s top seeds.

• JAG at Foley
• Robertsdale at Carver-Montgomery
• Enterprise at Baker
• Alma Bryant at Opelika
• Fairhope: first-round bye
• Daphne: first-round bye

Fairhope (8-2) won the region title on Oct. 23 when Trey Garner threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Hayden Woodford with three seconds left in a 27-24 win at Daphne, then closed the regular season by beating Vigor. In Caleb Ross’ first season as head coach, the Pirates will open at home in the second round on Friday, Nov. 13.

Daphne (7-3), the No. 2 seed, beat Tate of Cantonment, Fla., 18-13 in its finale. The Trojans will play the winner of the Robertsdale-Carver-Montgomery game on Nov. 13. Robertsdale reached the postseason as the region’s No. 6 seed.

Foley (6-4) hosts JAG after beating St. Michael 53-32 in its regular-season finale in Bryan Moore’s first season as head coach. Baker (5-5) hosts Enterprise, and Alma Bryant travels to Opelika.

Private Class A football

• St. James at Bayside Academy
• Cottage Hill at Trinity
• Alabama Christian at Mobile Christian

Bayside Academy and Mobile Christian each host first-round games, while Cottage Hill Christian goes on the road to Trinity.

Private Class AA football

Every Private Class AA team made the playoffs, which turned the end of the regular season into a race for seeding.

• Houston Academy at UMS-Wright
• St. Paul’s at Montgomery Catholic
• Glenwood at St. Michael
• Faith Academy at McGill-Toolen

UMS-Wright clinched the Region 1 title and the No. 1 seed with a 20-17 win at McGill-Toolen. McGill-Toolen (8-2), the No. 2 seed, hosts Mobile rival Faith Academy.

St. Michael (6-4), the No. 3 seed, hosts Glenwood of Phenix City, a team the Cardinals beat 48-27 on the road earlier this season. Coach Philip Rivers has said he hopes his son, senior quarterback Gunner Rivers, will be ready for the playoff opener after missing most of the season with a knee injury. St. Paul’s (4-6) visits Montgomery Catholic.

Flag football first round

Girls flag football has grown quickly along the Gulf Coast, and 16 local schools reached the state playoffs. First-round games are Tuesday, Nov. 3.

Class 1A-4A flag football

• Vigor at Brewbaker Tech
• Holtville at LeFlore
• Marbury at Satsuma

Class 5A flag football

• Blount at Homewood
• Pelham at Spanish Fort
• Baldwin County vs. Hueytown
• Theodore at Helena

Spanish Fort, the Class 5A, Region 1 champion, enters the postseason as one of the area’s hottest teams after a long winning streak this fall.

Class 6A flag football

• Opelika at Alma Bryant
• Baker at Auburn
• Carver-Montgomery at Mary G. Montgomery
• Robertsdale at Enterprise
• Fairhope: first-round bye
• Daphne: first-round bye

As in tackle football, the top two Class 6A seeds in each region receive byes. Fairhope and Daphne will open in the second round on Nov. 10.

Private A-AA flag football

• McGill-Toolen at Glenwood
• Northside Methodist at Mobile Christian
• St. Michael: first-round bye

Mobile Christian reached the playoffs in the program’s first season, and St. Michael will meet the McGill-Toolen-Glenwood winner in the second round.

Area playoff teams at a glance

• Football (21): Orange Beach, Vigor, Williamson, Citronelle, Theodore, Gulf Shores, Saraland, Spanish Fort, Foley, Robertsdale, Baker, Alma Bryant, Fairhope, Daphne, Bayside Academy, Cottage Hill Christian, Mobile Christian, UMS-Wright, St. Paul’s, St. Michael, McGill-Toolen
• Flag football (16): Vigor, LeFlore, Satsuma, Blount, Spanish Fort, Baldwin County, Theodore, Alma Bryant, Baker, Mary G. Montgomery, Robertsdale, Fairhope, Daphne, McGill-Toolen, Mobile Christian, St. Michael

Championships come to Mobile

Hancock Whitney Stadium, which opened on the South Alabama campus in 2020 and is home to the Jaguars’ football program, will host every state final in both sports. The flag football championships will be played back to back on Tuesday, Dec. 1, followed by the football title games Dec. 2-5.

For Gulf Coast families, it means a chance to watch a local team play for a state title without a long trip upstate. Higher seeds host early-round games, so fans should check with the host school for kickoff times, ticket details and any digital ticketing requirements. The AHSAA posts updated brackets and results as the postseason unfolds.