The HHS varsity football team has taken advantage of its winning potential to conclude the regular season with an 8-2 record and a No. 2 seed in Class 6A Region 5, clinching them a playoff spot against the Athens Golden Eagles in the first round tonight. 

Heading into the game, the Patriots are riding a huge wave of momentum. They defeated strong 7A team James Clemens 24-10 to close out the regular season and earned a 41-0 shutout victory over the Minor Tigers, the No. 3 seed in the region on Thursday, Oct. 24. 

Athens will head into Waldrop Stadium with the same 8-2 record the Patriots possess with their two losses to region rivals Muscle Shoals and Hartselle. They have won every game by an average of 28.4 points this season. 

On the offensive side, the Golden Eagles are led by senior quarterback Brogan Gross, who has 14 passing touchdowns this season and is ranked #19 in 6A Quarterbacks. The two-dimensional quarterback has good accuracy on his throws and can take off with his legs when needed. 

Athens also likes running the ball up the middle with their standout running backs Xavier Edwards and Demarcus Malone, both are big playmakers and have 1,541 all purpose yards altogether during the 2024 tenure. 3-star Auburn offensive tackle commit Spencer Dowland leads the Golden Eagles’ strong offensive line to protect their running plays.

HHS senior defensive end Will Ray on the game plan against the Athens offense.                                                                                               

“We know they will run inside a lot,” Ray said. “We need to make them adjust their offense and maybe it will throw them off some.”

On the other side of the ball, Athens maintains a solid defense, having multiple great tacklers. Those include middle linebackers Jerome Malone Jr. and Jaxon Bailey, who have a combined 99 tackles this season. This could present some challenges for the Patriots’ running game, which they have relied on for most of the season. But this doesn’t lessen confidence in the Patriots’ consistent offense. They just need to play the game with poise and confidence.

“Our game plan is to execute what we can do and make sure everyone does their job every play,” senior quarterback Will Myers said on the offensive game plan. 

 The winner of tonight’s game will face off against the winner of Pell City and Fort Payne in the second round next Friday night.