A look at the statistical picture across area high school football as the season passes its early stretch.
Four Teams Still Unbeaten
Four teams enter this week’s games with spotless records, two of them in Class 4A.
Orange Beach is 4-0 overall and 2-0 in Region 1 play, while Williamson, the top-ranked team in Class 4A in the state sportswriters’ poll, is 3-0 and 1-0. Gulf Shores is 4-0 and 2-0 in Class 5A, Region 1, while Bayside Academy is 3-0 and 2-0 in Private Class A, Region 1 play.
Four Teams Still Looking for a First Win
Four teams also enter this week without a win.
Davidson is 0-4 overall and 0-2 in Class 6A, Region 1. Elberta — which has lost 14 straight games and 28 of its past 29 outings after falling to previously winless Murphy — is 0-4 and 0-2 in Class 5A, Region 1. B.C. Rain is 0-4 and 0-2 in Class 4A, Region 1.
The biggest surprise is in Private Class AA, where St. Michael, which won its first 13 games last season and was ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 4A when it lost in the state semifinals, is 0-3 and 0-2 in region play. The Cardinals’ starting quarterback and N.C. State commit Gunner Rivers was injured in the first game and has not yet returned to the lineup, although he is expected back before the end of the season.
Region Play: 11 Unbeaten, 11 Winless
There are 11 teams unbeaten in region play and 11 teams winless in region play.
The unbeaten teams include Daphne (6A), Fairhope (6A), Robertsdale (6A), Gulf Shores (5A), Spanish Fort (5A), Orange Beach (4A), Williamson (4A), McGill-Toolen (Private AA), UMS-Wright (Private AA), Bayside Academy (Private A) and Mobile Christian (Private A).
The local teams without a region win include Alma Bryant (6A), Davidson (6A), Baldwin County (5A), Elberta (5A), Citronelle (4A), B.C. Rain (4A), Chickasaw (2A), Faith Academy (Private AA), St. Michael (Private AA), Snook Christian (Private A) and Bayshore Christian (Private A).
The MGM Asterisk
Mary G. Montgomery does not have a region record because it is on restrictive probation by the Alabama High School Athletic Association. One of the sanctions leveled against the school, which was penalized for recruiting violations, is a ban from postseason play.
As such, the Vikings’ games against region opponents do not count toward their record or the record of the opponent. Their region record will read 0-0 all season even though they have played games against teams in their region.
LeFlore’s Turnaround
LeFlore has already scored more points this season (95) than it did in all of 2021 (85), 2022 (73) and 2023 (87).
The Rattlers’ three wins so far match or surpass the best win total by the program since 2014, when LeFlore posted a 4-7 record.
Defenses of Note
Williamson has allowed only 18 points in three games, and Cottage Hill Christian has allowed only 12 points in its three games. For both teams, all the points they have allowed came in a single game.
Williamson shut out Baker 33-0 and B.C. Rain 56-0 but slipped past Pine Forest of Pensacola 19-18 last Friday. Cottage Hill shut out Millry 53-0 and Snook Christian 42-0 but allowed 12 points to Mobile Christian in a 12-7 loss.
St. Paul’s Dead Even
St. Paul’s has had an interesting year by the numbers. The Saints are 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Private Class AA, Region 1 play. They have scored 130 points and allowed 129 — a one-point difference across four games. This week they play at home against St. Michael.
Satsuma Already Matching Recent Seasons
Satsuma has already matched its win total of three from each of the past two seasons under new head coach Jason Phillips. The Gators have not had a winning season since 2019.
Scoring: Least and Most
Elberta has scored the fewest points so far this season (20) and has given up the most points (184) of any team in the coverage area. The Warriors lost 33-6 to Murphy last weekend, which allowed Murphy to move past Snook Christian on the fewest-points-scored list.
In that category, Elberta leads, followed by Snook (37), Murphy (40), St. Michael (48), Faith Academy (52), Bayshore Christian and MGM (59), Chickasaw (60), Robertsdale (67) and St. Luke’s (68).
On the other end: Vigor has scored 136 and Bayside Academy has 133. St. Paul’s has 130. Next in the top 10 are Gulf Shores and Orange Beach with 128 each, followed by Mobile Christian (124), Satsuma and Blount (123), Foley (119) and Saraland (116).
Points Allowed
Cottage Hill’s 12 points allowed and Williamson’s 18 are the best in the fewest-points-allowed category. Bayside has allowed 31, followed by Mobile Christian (38), Vigor (39), Orange Beach (40), Spanish Fort (49), Saraland (57), Daphne (65) and LeFlore (70).
At the other end, Elberta has allowed 184 points in four games — an average of 46 per game. B.C. Rain is second with 161 allowed, followed by Chickasaw (152), Alma Bryant (148), Bayshore Christian (146), Foley (145), Theodore (131), St. Paul’s (129), Davidson (128) and MGM (118).
MGM allowed just 125 points in all of 2023 and 175 in all of 2024. Graduation losses and players lost via the recruiting violations have left the Vikings’ roster young and inexperienced.