Williamson Holds No. 1 in ASWA Football Poll Before Vigor Showdown; Fairhope Falls Out of 6A Top 10

MOBILE, Ala. — Williamson is still the team to beat in Class 4A, at least for another day. The unbeaten Lions held their No. 1 ranking in this week’s ASWA football poll, released Wednesday by the Alabama Sports Writers Association, and now get their stiffest test yet: a Thursday night meeting with No. 3 Vigor at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Williamson is one of 13 teams from Mobile and Baldwin counties that are either ranked or receiving votes this week. The biggest change for the area came in Class 6A, where Fairhope slipped out of the top 10 after its first loss in more than a month.

Williamson defends No. 1 against Vigor

Williamson (6-0) has outscored opponents 245-25 and is 4-0 in Class 4A, Region 1. The Lions kept their top spot after a 42-7 win at Citronelle on Oct. 8, a game in which quarterback Thad Wilder threw for 402 yards and four touchdowns. The week before, Williamson shut out then-unbeaten Orange Beach 42-0.

Vigor (6-1, 3-1 in the region) stayed at No. 3 after a 56-6 win over B.C. Rain. The Wolves’ only loss came early in the season at Orange Beach, 21-19, and they have won four straight since, including a road win over Class 5A Benjamin Russell.

The rivalry has grown in recent years. Last season, Williamson won the regular-season meeting 22-14 in overtime, but Vigor won the rematch 21-14 in the state semifinals to end the Lions’ season. Thursday’s game was moved to Ladd-Peebles Stadium because of the crowd expected.

Orange Beach is the area’s third ranked team in Class 4A, holding at No. 9. The Makos (7-1, 4-1) bounced back from the Williamson loss with a 38-14 win over Satsuma in a makeup game Monday and are idle this week.

Fairhope drops out of the 6A top 10

A week ago, Fairhope cracked the Class 6A top 10 at No. 10, rewarded for a five-game winning streak under first-year coach Caleb Ross. That streak ended Oct. 8, when Baker rallied for a 31-21 win in Fairhope. The Pirates (5-2, 3-1 in Class 6A, Region 1) are still receiving votes but are no longer in the top 10.

Daphne remains the area’s highest-ranked Class 6A team at No. 6. The Trojans (6-1, 5-0 in the region) have won six straight, most recently a 24-17 comeback at Foley led by quarterback Christian Segar, and visit Mary G. Montgomery on Friday. Thompson is again No. 1 in Class 6A.

Class 5A: Saraland and Gulf Shores hold, Spanish Fort gets votes

Saraland is ranked No. 4 and Gulf Shores No. 5 in Class 5A, the same spots they held last week. Saraland (6-1) beat Murphy 64-0 for its second straight shutout, and Gulf Shores (7-0) stayed perfect with a 49-6 win at Elberta. Spanish Fort is receiving votes.

Friday brings a key Class 5A, Region 1 matchup when Gulf Shores visits Spanish Fort. The Dolphins are 5-0 in the region and the Toros are 5-0 as well, with Spanish Fort having outscored opponents 151-21 during a five-game winning streak. Clay-Chalkville is No. 1 in Class 5A.

Private schools: McGill-Toolen, UMS-Wright, Bayside, Mobile Christian ranked

In Private Class AA, McGill-Toolen is No. 2 and UMS-Wright is No. 3, with St. Michael receiving votes. McGill-Toolen and UMS-Wright are both 6-1 and tied for first in their region at 5-0. UMS-Wright is coming off a 33-27 double-overtime win over Montgomery Catholic and plays at St. Paul’s on Friday in the “Battle of Old Shell Road,” while McGill-Toolen travels to Montgomery Catholic. St. Michael (4-3) has won four straight, including a 34-28 win over Houston Academy on Monday in quarterback Gunner Rivers’ return from a knee injury.

In Private Class A, Bayside Academy is No. 3 and Mobile Christian is No. 4. The two meet Friday at Bayside in a game that will likely decide first place in Private Class A, Region 1, where both are 5-0.

Only five teams are ranked in each of the AHSAA’s private school classifications and in the Alabama Independent School Association, compared with 10 in the public school classes. That is because there are far fewer schools in those groups.

Area teams in this week’s poll

• Class 6A: No. 6 Daphne; Fairhope receiving votes
• Class 5A: No. 4 Saraland, No. 5 Gulf Shores; Spanish Fort receiving votes
• Class 4A: No. 1 Williamson, No. 3 Vigor, No. 9 Orange Beach
• Private Class AA: No. 2 McGill-Toolen, No. 3 UMS-Wright; St. Michael receiving votes
• Private Class A: No. 3 Bayside Academy, No. 4 Mobile Christian

No. 1 teams across Alabama

• Class 6A: Thompson
• Class 5A: Clay-Chalkville
• Class 4A: Williamson
• Class 3A: Plainview
• Class 2A: Fyffe
• Class 1A: Maplesville
• Private Class AA: Briarwood Christian
• Private Class A: Westbrook Christian
• AISA: Patrician Academy

Williamson is the only Mobile or Baldwin County team ranked No. 1 in any classification.

What the rankings do and don’t decide

The weekly poll is a vote by sportswriters from around the state and does not affect playoff qualification. Playoff berths and seeding come from the AHSAA region standings. In Class 6A, the top six teams in each region make the playoffs, while the top four qualify in the other public school classes. Every team in the two private classifications reaches the postseason, so their regular season is about seeding and home-field advantage.

The road ends close to home this year: all AHSAA state championship games will be played at the University of South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile during the first week of December.

Ranked matchups to watch this week

• Thursday, Oct. 15: No. 3 Vigor vs. No. 1 Williamson, Ladd-Peebles Stadium (Class 4A)
• Friday, Oct. 16: No. 5 Gulf Shores at Spanish Fort (receiving votes, Class 5A)
• Friday, Oct. 16: No. 4 Mobile Christian at No. 3 Bayside Academy (Private Class A)
• Friday, Oct. 16: No. 3 UMS-Wright at St. Paul’s (Private Class AA)
• Friday, Oct. 16: No. 2 McGill-Toolen at Montgomery Catholic (Private Class AA)
• Friday, Oct. 16: No. 6 Daphne at Mary G. Montgomery (Class 6A)