Sports Editor

Pike County will open their charge for a Class 3A title in unfamiliar territory.

At home.

The Bulldogs spent much of this season on the road, traveling as far as Courtland, Alabama just short of the Tennessee state line, to play a football game. Coach Wayne Grant’s team finished the year with five of their last eight games on the road.

Tonight, Pike County plays host to the Springville Tigers in the opening round of the Class 3A playoffs and remarkable as it may seem there’s the slightest of possibilities that Pike County could play four straight playoff games at home, providing they can open tonight with a victory and keep on winning.

The championship games of all six AHSAA football classifications are held in Birmingham on Dec.7 and Dec. 9.

"There would have to be a lot of things that would have to happen in our bracket for us to be able to do that," said Grant. "But that would be something else, especially after spending most of the year away from Brundidge."

The Bulldogs could also face their fellow region opponents down the road, with Lanett, Dadeville and Montgomery Academy all in the playoffs and all in Pike County’s bracket.

"It’s very difficult to beat the same team twice in one season," Grant said, whose Bulldogs have beaten all three of the above mentioned teams. "But we could be faced with having to do that to advance in the playoffs."

Springville came in as the fourth seed in Class 3A Region 3, despite finishing the year with a 7-2 record. Last season the Tigers were a 12-1 football team, falling to Plainview 35-21 in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. Springville is coached by Thomas Curry and have a Blue Chip Division 1A college prospect in Avery House, a 6-foot-5, 285 pound offensive/defensive lineman.

The Tigers returned six starters on offense this year, but lost 3000 yard rusher Cory Whisenant who graduated last season. Whisenant now plays at UAB.