Mortimer Jordan vs. Lawrence County

This team is climbing, and I don’t expect them to stop now.

Sophomore quarterback Kourtlan Marsh has improved throughout his first season under center and with the playoff-portion of the schedule here, he and the Blue Devils (8-2) look ready for another postseason run.

Lawrence County, the fourth seed coming out of Region 8, is first up this Thursday in Jimmie Trotter Stadium. The Red Devils (5-5) lost three of their last four games down the stretch, but ended the regular season with a 28-20 win at West Point last week.

If Mortimer Jordan’s defense (allowing 10.25 points per game over the last four weeks) plays up to its expectation, the Blue Devils should cruise through Round 1. 

With a win Mortimer Jordan would meet the winner of No. 4 Wenonah-Alexandria next week in the second round. 

Fultondale vs. Colbert County

It’s been four years since Fultondale won a playoff football game. The Wildcats blew past Lexington 20-0 in the first round of the 2013 Class 2A playoffs, but have since dropped four straight postseason opportunities.

Nevertheless, fifth-year head coach Richie Busby just posted his winningest regular season on the sideline. As a matter of fact, it was Fultondale’s first undefeated regular season in 41 years. Things are different this year: The fourth-ranked Wildcats are 10-0, they’re Region 6 champions and they’re determined to avoid what happened 12 short months ago, when fourth-seeded Weaver throttled them 37-7 in the opening round of the 2016 playoffs.

It will be Colbert County (6-4) trying to pull the 4-1 upset this time. The Indians lost two of their last three Region 8 contests (35-7 at Colbert Heights and 39-0 against Lauderdale County), limping into the postseason. That limp might get a little worse on Friday night. 

This game pairs with No. 3 Randolph County-North Sand Mountain in Round 2. 

Pinson Valley vs. Florence

Coming off the most decorated regular season in program history, third-ranked Pinson Valley sits opposite Florence in the Class 6A state playoff bracket.

The Falcons lost six games over the course of the regular season, but based on their last four outings, have the potential to pull a 4-1 upset in Willie Adams Stadium. Of the six teams Florence has lost to this year, five of them have been ranked in the Alabama Sports Writers Association poll at some point. Four of those teams are currently ranked in their respective classifications: Clay-Chalkville No. 10 in 6A, Bob Jones No. 9 in 7A, Austin No. 1 in 6A, Hewitt-Trussville No. 3 in 7A.

The Falcons played Hewitt-Trussville (10-0) close last week, ending the regular season with a 45-35 loss to one of the top teams in 7A. According to the Times Daily, freshman running back Armoni Goodwin ran for an unofficial 395 yards and four touchdowns for Florence.

A salty Pinson Valley (10-0) defense will need to keep an eye on him if it wants to extend this fairy tail season. This game pairs with Ramsay-Cullman in the second round. 

Gardendale at Muscle Shoals

This will be their fourth meeting in the last two years.

Gardendale and Muscle Shoals have grown quite familiar with one another, squaring off in the last two season openers and now, for the second consecutive year, crossing paths in the Class 6A state playoffs. The Rockets (6-4) again travel north to J.F. Moore Stadium where their 2016 season ended.

Gardendale later struggled with a physical Trojan offense this August. Quarterback Terrell McDonald and running back Carlos Davis took turns on the ground, as Muscle Shoals stacked up 465 yards rushing in a 39-28 win.

Davis ran for 301 yards of his own that night but his availability is in question this week, according to the Times Daily. He didn’t play last Thursday against Deshler, opening the door for Keevon Hankins to rush for 200 yards and a touchdown in the 27-14 win.

The Trojans (8-2) enter the postseason as the runner-up out of Region 8 behind No. 1 Austin. Gardendale finished third in Region 6 behind No. 3 Pinson Valley and No. 10 Clay-Chalkville.

The Rockets must limit Muscle Shoals on the ground if they want to live to see Round 2, where the winner of No. 2 Oxford-Hueytown waits. 

Corner at Mae Jemison-Huntsville

According to the Alabama Sports Writers Association rankings, this is the toughest playoff test any of our local teams will face in Round 1. As the fourth seed coming out of Class 5A, Region 6, Corner (5-5) is scheduled to visit No. 6 Mae Jemison-Huntsville on Friday.

The Jaguars (9-1) climbed as high as No. 5 in the 5A poll before dropping their only game of the regular season against 7A Buckhorn on Sept. 29. Since then, Mae Jemison has strung together four straight wins, three of which came against playoff teams.

Corner lost its regular season finale 16-11 against Oakman last Friday and must find more offense to have a shot at this one. Corner-Mae Jemison pairs with No. 8 Guntersville-St. Clair County in the second round. 

Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.