PREP FOOTBALL: Local rivalries highlight week 1 slate

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West Point’s Noah Bryan, Fairview’s Parker Martin and Holly Pond’s Austin Marsh. (Bill Piper, Martha Needham & Katie Drummond/The Cullman Tribune)

CULLMAN, Ala. – With week zero in the books, our local squads are turning their attention to this week’s approaching matchups. Friday night’s slate is highlighted by several local rivalries including West Point v. Good Hope, Cold Springs v. Holly Pond and Vinemont v. Fairview. Meek, Cullman, Arab and Addison will all be on the road for their contests this week to take on Winston County, Jasper, Guntersville and Lynn, respectively.

West Point v. Good Hope (0-1)

The West Point Warriors hosted Priceville for a jamboree matchup last week and earned a 19-14 victory but now they’ll have to get ready for the start of the regular season when Good Hope comes to town. The Raiders were at home for their first regular season game against West Morgan last week and fell behind in the final two minutes of the game, eventually dropping the season opener to the Rebels 34-28. Good Hope made some explosive plays on the offensive side of the ball in the loss to West Morgan and put 28 points on the board, but the Raiders will have to patch some things up defensively to take down the Warriors on their home field. West Point’s ground attack led it to a win over Priceville that week so look for West Point to attack Good Hope on the ground once again in its regular season opener.

Cold Springs (0-1) v. Holly Pond (1-0)

The Holly Pond Broncos are coming off a dominant, 53-0 performance against Brindlee Mountain in their season opener and this week they’ll hit the road to take on a county foe. The Cold Springs Eagles will be looking to bounce back after suffering a 40-6 loss at Meek last week and a showdown with one of your local rivals is as good a chance as any to seize some momentum. The Broncos’ defense held Brindlee Mountain to negative total yardage last week, so they’ll be carrying some confidence into Cold Springs with them. Meek’s running game gave the Eagles problems on the road last week and after running all over the Lions in its season opener, Holly Pond will be looking to attack Cold Springs on the ground as well. When these two clash Friday night, the Broncos will be aiming for their first 2-0 start since 2018 and the Eagles will be trying to avoid their first 0-2 start since 2016.

Vinemont (0-1) v. Fairview (1-0)

After travelling to take on a county opponent last week, the Vinemont Eagles will return home Friday night to face another local rival. Fairview will make the short trip to Vinemont for a matchup with the Eagles Friday night, looking for their second win of the season after dismantling D.A.R. 48-21. Vinemont on the other hand, is coming off a 28-16 loss at Hanceville and will be aiming for a huge, bounce back win over the Aggies this week. Fairview’s offense, led by Quarterback Parker Martin, was firing on all cylinders against the Patriots in the season opener but they have a new challenge this week against the Eagles’ defense. Vinemont scored early to take the lead over Hanceville last week and had some success moving the ball on the ground but couldn’t finish enough drives in the endzone to keep pace with the Bulldogs. The Eagles will definitely need some points this week if they want to knock off the high-powered Aggies and pick up their first win of the season.

Meek (1-0) at Winston County

Last week’s season-opening game was a fun one at Meek High School. The Tigers hosted Cold Springs and hammered the Eagles 40-6 to start the season 1-0 for the first time since 2017. Meek was led by a three-headed attack in the backfield made up of Ethan Grace, Cam Deaver and Matthew Clark in the win. Now, the Tigers will see how well their running game will travel when they arrive at Winston County to take on the Yellow Jackets Friday night. This week’s game will be the first of the season for Winston County and after the Yellow Jackets handed the Tigers a 64-14 loss last season, Meek will be anxious to hit the field and try to turn the tables Friday night.

Addison (1-0) at Lynn

The Addison Bulldogs are riding high after toppling 4A Haleyville in their season opener last week but now, they’ll have to put that win behind them and refocus for a big road trip this week. Addison will head to Lynn Friday night to face a Bears team that hasn’t played yet this season. Friday’s matchup will be the season opener for Lynn, but the Bulldogs would like to leave town and head back to Addison with another win. The Bulldogs handled the Bears 50-0 last season so if they can put together another solid game plan like they did against Haleyville in week zero, Addison will be off to a 2-0 start.

Cullman (1-0) at Jasper (1-0)

After sending Grissom home with a 23-0 loss in last week’s season opener, the Cullman Bearcats will be travelling to Jasper Friday night to renew their rivalry with the Vikings. Jasper is coming off an impressive, 35-6 win over Mars Hill so the Vikings will have plenty of confidence when the Bearcats show up to play. Cullman handled Jasper 21-0 at home last season so the Vikings will be looking for a little payback as well. The ‘Cats took care of Grissom with a methodical running game and efficient passing attack last week, but it’ll take another great performance from the black & gold to leave Jasper with another win Friday night.

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