PREP FOOTBALL: Auburn High not looking past date with BTW

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of stories previewing tonight and Friday’s prep football matchups. Today: 3A-5A.

Auburn High is the No. 1 team in Class 6A, the region champion and has already set a first-round playoff date with Lee-Montgomery.

So what else is there to play for?

“We have the chance to go back-to-back undefeated regular seasons,” Tigers coach Tim Carter said.

Oh yeah.

“It’s quite an accomplishment,” Carter said. “So we’re not overlooking BTW. We’ve got a chance to make history.

“We’re not gonna hold anybody back, that’s for sure.”

Bad news for the Golden Eagles.

This season’s Auburn Tigers have been employing a scorched-earth policy, defeating opponents by an average of 29 points and making sure that the fourth quarter has regularly been bench time for their starters.

But it’s not just lip service when Carter says Auburn can’t afford to take a breather against BTW.

“They’re the biggest team we’ve seen this year,” Carter said. “They’re huge. They’re a streaky team, and they’ve played really good at times.”

Still, Carter said the coaching staff is taking it a little easier on the Tigers players this week, with the hopes of keeping them fresh for the playoffs and maybe getting back a couple of their starters who have been nursing injuries over the latter part of the season.

“After two very physical football games, we’ve done a little more mental work this week,” Carter said. “We’ve backed off the kids as far as physical pounding.”

Lanett at LaFayette
The past four weeks have shown Panthers coach Clifford Story one thing: this is not the same defense that gave up 34 points to Lineville in early September.

Starting with a closely contested 23-21 loss to No. 3 Clay County, the Panthers have surrendered only 11.3 points per game in three wins that solidified their fifth playoff berth in a row.

Lanett will have to be on its game again this week against the Bulldogs, who have shown an explosive passing game in spurts this season.

Besides being a rivalry game and an important test as far as how his team looks heading into the postseason, Story made no bones about how important the LaFayette game is to him personally.

Story was a quarterback for the Bulldogs and coach Ike Grant in the early 1990s, helping lead LaFayette to the semifinals in 1991, the furthest the Bulldogs have ever gotten.

And he left no gray area about how it’d feel to beat his alma mater.

“I’m excited to go home and coach against my old team,” Story said. “My dad lives about 300 yards from the stadium, and that’s the same place I lived when I was there.

“I’ve been getting calls since I first got to Lanett — ‘You just wait until October 30’ — I’ve been getting that since Day 1. I’ll probably be just as pumped up as the kids.”

dmorrison@oanow.com | 737-2568