Vigor Climbs to No. 1 in ASWA Class 4A Poll After Shutout of Williamson

MOBILE, Ala. — Vigor is No. 1 in Class 4A. One week after shutting out then-top-ranked Williamson 12-0 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, the Wolves moved up two spots to claim the top position in this week’s Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) prep football poll.

Williamson and Vigor essentially swapped places, with the Lions falling to No. 3 after holding the No. 1 ranking for most of the season. The Wolves are now the only team from Mobile or Baldwin County ranked first in any classification as the regular season enters its final two weeks.

The ASWA does not produce rankings once the playoffs begin, so the next two polls will be the last of the season.

How Vigor earned the top spot

Vigor entered last week’s game at No. 3 and left with the most impressive win in Class 4A this season. In front of a large crowd at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 15, the Wolves held Williamson to 41 total yards and handed the Lions their first loss. Running back Demetris Johnson carried 31 times for 190 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown run, and Vigor’s defense, led by Texas commitment Jabarrius Garror, posted its first shutout of the year.

The win carried weight beyond the rankings. Entering this week, Vigor, Williamson and Orange Beach are tied atop Class 4A, Region 1, and the three teams have each beaten one of the others: Orange Beach beat Vigor, Vigor beat Williamson and Williamson beat Orange Beach. Tiebreakers will likely be needed to settle the region’s seeding after this week’s games, when Satsuma visits Vigor, Williamson travels to LeFlore and Orange Beach plays at Citronelle.

Orange Beach gives Class 4A a third local team in the top 10, holding at No. 9.

Class 6A: Daphne slips to No. 10

Daphne is the area’s only ranked team in Class 6A, at No. 10. The Trojans were No. 6 a week ago before a 20-19 loss at Mary G. Montgomery on Friday, Oct. 16. Fairhope is receiving votes but is not in the top 10.

Those two teams meet this week with the Class 6A, Region 1 championship at stake. Daphne enters 5-0 in the region and Fairhope is 4-1, and the winner claims the region title.

Prattville moved to No. 1 in Class 6A after beating Thompson, which had held the top spot, last Friday.

Class 5A: Saraland No. 4, unbeaten Gulf Shores No. 5

Saraland is ranked No. 4 and Gulf Shores is No. 5 in Class 5A, even though Gulf Shores defeated Saraland earlier this season and remains undefeated. The Dolphins clinched the Class 5A, Region 1 title last Friday with a 36-0 win at Spanish Fort and are 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the region.

Saraland, coming off a 56-14 rout of Blount in which quarterback Jamison Roberts threw a school-record seven touchdown passes, plays at Spanish Fort this week, while Theodore visits Gulf Shores. Those results will settle the region’s playoff seeding. Clay-Chalkville is No. 1 in Class 5A.

Private schools: McGill-Toolen and UMS-Wright collide

The ASWA ranks only the top five teams in each private school classification, because those classes include fewer schools than the public school divisions.

In Private Class AA, McGill-Toolen is No. 2 and UMS-Wright is No. 3. The two rivals meet Friday night at McGill-Toolen with the region championship on the line; both are 6-0 in region play. St. Michael received votes but is not in the top five. Briarwood Christian is No. 1.

In Private Class A, Bayside Academy is No. 3 and Mobile Christian is No. 4. Bayside rallied past Mobile Christian 27-20 last Friday to win the region title. Westbrook Christian holds the top spot in Private Class A.

Area teams in this week’s ASWA poll

• Class 6A: No. 10 Daphne; Fairhope receiving votes
• Class 5A: No. 4 Saraland, No. 5 Gulf Shores
• Class 4A: No. 1 Vigor, No. 3 Williamson, 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: Prattville
• Class 5A: Clay-Chalkville
• Class 4A: Vigor
• Class 3A: Plainview
• Class 2A: Fyffe
• Class 1A: Maplesville
• Private Class AA: Briarwood Christian
• Private Class A: Westbrook Christian
• Alabama Independent School Association (AISA): Patrician Academy

What the rankings mean

The ASWA poll is a weekly vote of sportswriters from around the state. It is a measure of how teams are viewed, but it has no bearing on the postseason. Playoff berths and seeding are determined by the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) region standings, which is why this week’s slate of region games matters so much more than any ranking.

Every game next week for teams in the Mobile County-Baldwin County area is a non-region game, so this week’s results will decide which local teams make the playoffs and where they are seeded. For Vigor, a win over Satsuma would keep the Wolves in the mix for the top seed in Class 4A, Region 1, depending on how the region’s three-way tie is broken.

The AHSAA state championship games will be played Dec. 1-5 at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama campus, giving local contenders such as Vigor a chance to finish their seasons close to home.