Football look ahead: Vina looks to remain undefeated

There were some big games in Franklin County last week. Belgreen beat Tharptown in the Bulldogs’ first year as a varsity football program. Phil Campbell won a four-overtime thriller to open region play. Vina beat Phillips to go 2-0.

This week, Vina hopes to continue their winning streak as they host Shoals Christian. Phil Campbell, Red Bay and Russellville all go on the road in region play. Belgreen and Tharptown have the week off.

Pay attention to the Gulf this week. A tropical depression is forecast to head north into Mississippi and Alabama, potentially bringing a lot of rain later in the week, including Friday night.

Game reviews for this week:

Vina (2-0) hosts Shoals Christian (0-3) – The Vina Red Devils are off to a good start beating Brindlee Mountain 52-44 in five overtimes and Phillips 26-8. The Red Devils have a chance to improve to 3-0 with Shoals Christian coming to town. The Flame is 0-3, losing to Belgreen, Brilliant and Addison by a combined score of 127-12.

Phil Campbell (1-1) at Oakman (1-1) – Phil Campbell must come off the high of a thrilling four overtime win against Vinemont as they get ready to face the Oakman Wildcats. The Wildcats finished third in Class 3A Region 5 last year going 7-4. Oakman’s game with Carbon Hill last week was postponed because of a game safety incident. The Wildcats are 1-1 with a win over Cordova to open the season and a loss to Hale County.

Red Bay (0-2) at Winston County (3-0) – Red Bay is off to a tough start, losing to Lamar County and University Charter by a combined score of 82-30. Last year, Winston County went 5-5 and finished fifth in Class 2A Region 5. This year’s team looks much different. The Yellow Jackets started off the year 3-0 with lopsided wins over Addison, Meek and Tanner by a combined score of 134-19.

Red Bay has won the last four meetings, the last two in the first round of the playoffs, most recently in 2020. The Yellow Jackets are 4-11 when facing the Tigers.

Russellville (2-1) at East Limestone (0-2) – Russellville rebounded from a week two loss to Mars Hill by soundly defeating Lawrence County 42-13. The Golden Tigers will go on the road this week to face the East Lawrence Eagles. The Eagles were off last week but dropped their first two games to Westminster Christian 42-20 and Hazel Green 39-0.