Football playoffs second round preview: Red Bay hosts Southeastern while Russellville travels to Briarwood
Red Bay (9-2) vs. Southeastern (9-2)
Date: Friday, November 14, 2025
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Fred Bostick Jr. Stadium
Last time out: Red Bay dominated Sand Rock 53-14 to win its first playoff game since 2020.
Series history: The Tigers are 0-1 against Southeastern. Red Bay was eliminated in the first round of the 2024 playoffs after being shutout by the Mustangs 47-0.
What to expect: Revenge game for the Tigers? Southeastern blew out Red Bay when they met in the playoffs last season, but this is not the same Tiger team and RBHS will face the Mustangs in the friendly confines of Fred Bostick Jr. Stadium this time around.
Still, it’s needless to say that Southeastern will be one of the toughest teams Red Bay has faced this campaign. While the Tigers average 38.8 points per game to the Mustangs’ 25.3, the visitors in this one have played a tougher schedule than the hosts. Southeastern’s opponents’ record is 58-59 compared to 39-56 for Red Bay, and one of the Mustangs’ two losses is to Class 2A No. 2 Coosa Christian.
This one has the makings of a great second round game, but there’s no doubt the Tigers will have to be on their A-game—with key players like Jaxon Vinson, Jeremiah Thorne, and Davien Colburn, among others, playing well—if they are to advance to the quarterfinals for the sixth time in school history.
Next round: The winner of Red Bay–Southeastern will play the winner of the Pisgah and Vincent game in the third round.
Russellville (7-4) at Briarwood (6-5)
Date: Friday, November 14, 2025
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Lions Pride Stadium (Birmingham, Ala.)
Last time out: The Golden Tigers defeated No. 10 Boaz in a 29-28 overtime thriller.
Series history: Russellville is 0-3 against Briarwood, all three meetings coming in the postseason. The first meeting between the Golden Tigers and Lions was in the 2003 Class 5A state championship game; Briarwood won that game 31-7. The last two meetings have come in the second round of the playoffs: BCS eliminated RHS in 2016, winning 33-13, and beat the Golden Tigers 34-14 in 2007.
What to expect: The good news for RHS is that while Russellville hasn’t had much luck against Briarwood historically, this is certainly not same caliber Briarwood team that the Golden Tigers have seen when they met previously. In fact, this Lions team has as many losses this campaign as the other previous Briarwood teams that beat Russellville had combined when the two teams faced off in the postseason.
On paper, Russellville looks to be the favorite with a better record (though that can be misleading because three of BCS’ five losses are to Class 6A Homewood and McAdory and 7A Oak Mountain), better scoring offense, better scoring defense, and better opponent record. But games aren’t played on paper, as we all know, and sometimes, as many sports fans know, one team can tend to have another’s number. One thing is certain going into this contest though: the Golden Tigers cannot have another poor start on offense like they in the first half against Boaz and rely on their defense to keep them in this game on the road. At this point in the season, you don’t tempt fate twice. Russellville will need to get off to a good start this week to finally tame the Lions and advance to the quarterfinals.
Next round: The winner of Russellville–Briarwood will face the winner of the Priceville–Moody contest in the quarterfinals on November 21.