PREP FOOTBALL: Little movement in Power Poll's final week

The regular season is over. Which means that this will be the final Opelika-Auburn News Prep Power Poll of this, its inaugural season.

Yes, all good things must come to an end.

Not much movement this week, as the top six teams either won or were idle — and thus stayed put. Beauregard fell from seventh to 10th after its 48-7 loss to Class 4A No. 3 Handley, leaving room for Ballard Christian to move up.

Valley stayed in ninth, but broke the tie with Opelika, which, through no effort of its own last week, was left out of the playoffs for the first time since 1997.

The O-A News Prep Power Poll is voted on by sports designer Tim Cottrell, AU beat reporter Andrew Gribble, prep sports reporter David Morrison and sports editor Mike Szvetitz. First-place votes are in parentheses.

This week’s poll:
1. Auburn High 40 (4) — (10-0), beat BTW, 49-14, on Friday. The Tigers wrapped up their first back-to-back undefeated seasons in the modern era with yet another blowout win. Calvin Jenkins, who, again, only played about a half, finished 6-of-8 for 101 yards and a score as well as running for a 50-yard touchdown. Kevin Griffin and James Ponder combined on a sack defensively, and Dequavious Cobb picked off his seventh pass of the season. Last week: No. 1. This week: vs. Lee-Montgomery (4-6)

2. Reeltown 34 — (9-1), beat Notasulga, 47-0, on Thursday. The Rebels recorded their sixth shutout of the season and made it look exceedingly easy, holding the Blue Devils to 5 yards of offense. Milton Chambliss was 3-of-3 for 65 yards and a touchdown pass to Dara Riley, and Trey McKeithen led the rushing attack with 59 yards. Reeltown recorded six sacks, with Shaquille Roberson picking up two, and Nelson Robinson intercepted two passes. Last week: No. 2. This week: vs. Vincent (7-3)

3. Central 32 — (9-1), beat Wetumpka, 20-12, on Friday. The Red Devils capped off the regular season by punishing the Indians to the tune of 268 yards on the ground. Cordary Clark-Allen ran for 114, Deon Hill ran for 102 — the second week in a row both have eclipsed 100 yards — and Antonio King added two field goals. Last week: No. 3. This week: vs. Stanhope Elmore (5-5)

4. Loachapoka 30 — (8-1), idle last week. Patrick Moore led the Indians this regular season, completing 60 percent of his passes (89-of-148) for 1613 yards and 14 touchdowns while also running for 629 and 14 scores. Travis Echols (25 for 482 and two scores) and Rontavis Dinkins (21-408, 5) were Moore’s favorite targets. The defense surrendered only 120 yards per game, Moore, Quindravius Richardson and Demetrius Young had three picks, and Jerome Greer had three sacks. Last week: No. 4. This week: vs. Holy Spirit (5-5)

5. Dadeville 24 — (9-1), beat Horseshoe Bend, 48-19, on Thursday. Kyle Caldwell and Clint Westbrook turned in their usual performances, with Caldwell passing for 229 yards and two scores and Westbrook running for 92 and four scores. Deshawn Redden had 240 all-purpose yards, and Kieran Sturdivant returned an interception for a touchdown. Last week: No. 5. This week: vs. West Blocton (7-3)

6. Tallassee 19 — (8-2), beat Holtville, 41-13, on Thursday. Mike Smith rushed for 230 yards and three scores as the Tigers finished up their region championship season with a resounding victory. Trey Cochran-Gill, Desiev Martin and Davis Knapp also scored rushing touchdowns for Tallassee. Last week: No. 6. This week: vs. Gulf Shores (8-2)

7. Ballard Christian 17 — (10-1), beat North Georgia Christian, 62-16, on Friday. The Eagles won their first-ever playoff game in a blowout last week and now come up on an eagerly awaited rematch with the only team that beat them this season — Covenant Christian — in the ICSGA semifinals. Jacob Hall rushed for 101 yards and two scores as well as totaling 194 yards and another touchdown in the return game. T.J. Turkington added 20 tackles and two sacks on defense. Last week: No. 8. This week: vs. Covenant Christian (Ga.) (8-1)

8. Beauregard 9 — (7-3), lost to Handley, 48-7, on Friday. Charles Floyd scored on a 22-yard touchdown run in the second quarter for the Hornets’ only points of the game as the undefeated Tigers avenged a loss from last season. Last week: No. 7. This week: at LeFlore (7-3)

9. Valley 8 — (7-3), beat Smiths Station, 22-16, on Friday. Enrique Florence’s 8-yard run with 1:24 left in the game gave the Rams a win and helped reverse a little bit of those bad feelings engendered during a two-game slide at the end of the region season. Valley rushed for 170 yards — Richard Hopkins led the way with 75 yards and a score on 14 carries — and Florence also added 12 tackles to pace the defense. Last week: No. 9. This week: at Vigor (7-3)

10. Opelika 5 — (6-3), idle last week. With Dothan and Enterprise winning — and a couple other pieces falling in place — the Bulldogs had to sit back and watch as they were tiebroken out of the playoffs for the first time in 12 years. Corey Grant led the Bulldogs in rushing this year, with 812 yards and 11 touchdowns, and Terrance Spinks was their top receiver with 18 catches for 307 yards and two scores. Blake Smith had three interceptions on defense, and Jacolby Hardnett tallied three sacks. Last week: No. 9. This week: Season over

Others Receiving Votes: Springwood (7-3) 2