Thursday night, Daphne will visit Spanish Fort for a 7 p.m. kickoff, opening the 2026 high school football season for teams across the Mobile County-Baldwin County area. The following night, 18 games involving local teams are scheduled, with two more on Saturday.
In many ways the season begins like recent ones, with excitement and the belief among players, coaches and fans that this could be their year. But locally, this season will look markedly different from those before it.
A split for state titles
For the first time, the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) has split state championship play between its public and private school teams. Public and private schools can still meet during the regular season, but at championship time the AHSAA will crown two private school champions and six public school teams will win blue maps, the trophies symbolic of a state title.
For the first time, the state championship games will also be played in Mobile. The Mobile Sports Authority and Executive Director Danny Corte led the city’s bid to join the rotation of host sites. The championship format is changing too, expanding from three days to five — Tuesday, Dec. 1 through Saturday, Dec. 5 — with four flag football title games on Tuesday, the two private school title games on Wednesday and the public school title games played Thursday through Saturday.
Local teams in the hunt
According to the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) preseason polls, several local teams are positioned to make a run at a championship at South Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium. McGill-Toolen (Private Class AA), Bayside Academy (Private Class A) and Williamson (Class 4A) hold the No. 1 rankings, with Vigor (Class 4A), Saraland (Class 5A) and St. Michael (Private Class AA) ranked No. 2. Other teams to watch include Cottage Hill Christian (No. 4, Private Class A) and Mobile Christian (No. 5, Private Class A).
The season also brings eight new head coaches to area teams: Caleb Ross at Fairhope, Alex Page at Mary G. Montgomery, Gus Smith at Blount, Rick Cauley at St. Luke’s, Bryan Moore at Foley, Jonathan Mitchell at LeFlore, Jason Phillips at Satsuma and Randy Larson at Theodore.
Top prospects and rivalries
The region is rich with college talent. Three of the top four prospects in this year’s senior class, as rated by national recruiting analysts, play for area teams: St. Michael QB Gunner Rivers (a North Carolina State commit) is the top prospect, followed by Vigor LB Isaac McNeil (Auburn) at No. 2 and Vigor edge rusher Jabarrius “Chicken” Garror (Texas) at No. 4. Others include Williamson S Jaylen Scott (Oklahoma) at No. 12, Saraland QB Jamison Roberts (Oklahoma) at No. 15, Williamson LB Ellis McGaskin (Florida) at No. 23, Gulf Shores WR/KR Carter Davis (West Virginia) at No. 34, McGill-Toolen DL AJ Pauley (Alabama) at No. 36, Williamson CB Julian McDonald (Mississippi State) at No. 40 and Vigor CB Miguel Wilson (Kentucky) at No. 44.
Rivalries remain a highlight. The “Battle of Prichard” is set for Saturday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The “Battle of Old Shell Road” between St. Paul’s and UMS-Wright, to be played Oct. 16 at St. Paul’s, carries added meaning with both teams in the same classification and region (Private Class AA, Region 1). The “Battle of West Mobile” between Baker and Mary G. Montgomery will be played Oct. 2 at Baker, and the “War on the Eastern Shore” between Fairhope and Daphne is set for Oct. 23 at Daphne. Longtime rivals Foley and Fairhope meet Sept. 4 at Fairhope, and Foley and Robertsdale meet Sept. 18 at Robertsdale. One rivalry, the “Battle for the Cannon” between Murphy and McGill-Toolen, has been lost in the shuffle of the AHSAA’s public-private split.