PREP FOOTBALL: Reeltown moves to top of 2A poll

As if back-to-back region championships and a trip to the state semifinals last year wasn’t enough motivation for Reeltown’s opponents, here’s something else to pile on.

The Rebels are the No. 1 team in Class 2A.

With a 47-0 win over Notasulga and losses by Leroy, Pickens County and Clay County, Reeltown jumped all the way from No. 4 to the top of the latest Alabama Sports Writers Association poll, released today.

This marks the first time since the 2002 preseason poll — when the Rebels were 1A — that they’ve been No. 1 and the first time since 1993 they’ve topped the 2A poll.

But it wasn’t unanimous. Reeltown’s 295 points outpaced Leroy by a margin of 20, and it is sharing first-place votes (11) with Leroy (8), Elba (7), Pickens County (4) and Lamar County (2).

Reeltown’s stellar season, one that included six shutouts over the final seven games, has been rewarded with a first-round matchup against 7-3 Vincent, which just capped off its regular season by beating 3A playoff-bound Montevallo.

“We’ve got the best system in the US as far as the playoffs are concerned,” Rebels coach Jackie O’Neal said. “It’s just sometimes unfair that you have to match up against a region with a lot of good teams. But from all this chaos comes a true champion. It’s not like in the past where you had to go through playing some teams that were 2-8 or 1-9. You get to play teams that deserve to be there.”

The other area movers were Central, which jumped up a spot to sixth in 6A and Loachapoka, which jumped up a spot to fifth in 1A.

Auburn High stayed atop 6A, Dadeville held steady at eighth in 3A, and Tallassee (5A), Lee-Scott and Springwood (AISA) all received votes.

Alabama Sports Writers Associaton Prep Football Poll

Class 6A
1. Auburn (27) (10-0) 369
2. Prattville (5) (8-2) 290
3. Vestavia Hills (9-1) 253
4. Fairhope (10-0) 227
5. Hoover (9-1) 200
6. Central-Phenix City (9-1) 121
7. Jess Lanier (9-1) 120
8. Bob Jones (9-1) 98
9. Gadsden City (8-2) 62
10. Theodore (9-1) 50
Others receiving votes: Spain Park (8-2) 17, Hewitt-Trussville (8-2) 7, Davidson (8-2) 6, Murphy (8-2) 2, Oxford (8-2) 1, Florence (8-2) 1.

Class 5A
1. Cullman (25) (10-0) 362
2. Greenville (7) (10-0) 302
3. Carver-Montgomery (9-1) 257
4. Shelby Co. (9-1) 204
5. Russellville (8-2) 169
6. Spanish Fort (8-2) 147
7. McAdory (8-1) 121
8. Hartselle (8-2) 69
9. Walker (8-2) 45
10. Briarwood Chr (7-3) 40
Others receiving votes: Muscle Shoals (8-2) 31, Vigor (7-3) 25, Demopolis (7-3) 21, Fort Payne (8-2) 12, Tallassee (8-2) 11, LeFlore (7-3) 4, Gulf Shores (8-2) 3, Boaz (7-2) 1.

Class 4A
1. Cherokee Co. (29) (10-0) 371
2. Handley (1) (10-0) 259
3. Deshler (9-1) 252
4. Bibb Co. (2) (10-0) 233
5. Jackson (9-1) 188
6. Thomasville (9-1) 160
7. UMS-Wright (8-2) 155
8. Guntersville (8-2) 76
9. Midfield (9-1) 72
10. Brooks (8-2) 36
Others receiving votes: Calera (8-2) 7, Oneonta (8-2) 7, North Jackson (7-3) 4, Haleyville (8-2) 3, Alexandria (7-3) 1.

Class 3A
1. Trinity (24) (9-0) 356
2. Cordova (6) (9-1) 292
3. T.R. Miller (9-1) 240
4. Pike Co. (1) (9-0) 218
5. Madison Acad. (1) (10-0) 184
T6. Piedmont (8-2) 143
T6. Leeds (8-2) 143
8. Dadeville (9-1) 118
9. Hamilton (9-1) 84
10. Susan Moore (8-2) 16
Others receiving votes: Straughn (7-3) 13, Glencoe (8-2) 8, Daleville (7-3) 7, Gordo (6-4) 2.

Class 2A
1. Reeltown (11) (9-1) 295
2. Leroy (8) (8-2) 275
3. Elba (7) (10-0) 250
4. Pickens Co. (4) (9-1) 212
5. Lamar Co. (2) (10-0) 209
6. Clay Co. (9-1) 186
7. Tanner (9-1) 124
8. Houston Acad. (8-1) 102
9. Lexington (9-1) 83
10. Fyffe (8-2) 34
Others receiving votes: Ider (9-1) 18, Winston Co. (8-2) 11, Washington Co. (8-2) 10, Millry (8-2) 6, Westbrook Chr. (8-2) 5, Lineville (8-2) 3, Sulligent (7-3) 1.

Class 1A
1. Sweet Water (31) (9-1) 378
2. Linden (1) (10-0) 282
3. Brantley (9-1) 252
4. Maplesville (9-1) 225
5. Loachapoka (8-1) 179
6. Hackleburg (10-0) 146
7. R.A. Hubbard (8-2) 127
8. McKenzie (9-1) 91  
9. McIntosh (7-1) 75
10. Berry (9-1) 47
Others receiving votes: Coosa Chr. (9-1) 8, Gaston (7-3) 6, Cedar Bluff (7-3) 5, Appalachian (8-2) 2, Lynn (8-2) 1.

AISA
1. Fort Dale Acad. (26) (8-1) 364
2. Patrician Acad. (4) (9-0) 289
3. Southern Acad. (9-1) 250
4. Edgewood Acad. (2) (8-1) 235
5. Pike Liberal (8-1) 191
6. Crenshaw Chr. (9-1) 145
7. Monroe Acad. (8-2) 131
8. Macon-East (8-2) 88
9. Cornerstone Chr. (8-1) 60
10. Bessemer Acad. (8-3) 36
Others receiving votes: Lowndes Acad. (7-3) 14, Lee-Scott (6-4) 5, Prattville Chr. (7-4) 5, Morgan Acad. (6-4) 4, Escambia Acad. (6-5) 2, Coosa Valley (7-3) 2, Springwood (7-3) 2, Restoration (5-3) 1.