Week 6 football preview: Russellville travels for showdown at No. 3 Fairview; PCHS, THS look to build momentum
Belgreen (4-1) — BYE
Last time out: Belgreen got back to winning ways with a 28-14 win over Cherokee.
Next week: Belgreen’s next game will be October 10 vs. Pickens County.
Phil Campbell (2-3, 1-2) vs. Midfield (1-4, 0-3)
Date: Friday, October 3, 2025
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Parrish Stadium
Last time out: Phil Campbell got a 26-10 Homecoming victory over rival Hackleburg.
Series history: The Bobcats are 0-1 vs. Midfield having been beaten 44-6 by the Patriots last year.
What to expect: Phil Campbell head coach Jacob Hamilton said after last week’s win over Hackleburg that the remainder of his team’s schedule is “winnable,” and I imagine Midfield is one of the teams he had in mind when he said that. The Patriots haven’t won since week one and over their last four games have been beaten by an average of 30 points. Now, that’s not to say that Midfield won’t be a tough game—they’ll be thirsty for a win. But Phil Campbell, right now, is confident, is playing well on both sides of the ball, and will have the home field advantage. If junior quarterback Hayston Scott and the offense can limit turnovers, and the defense plays as well as it has shown it can, the Bobcats have a great chance of walking away the victors and improving to .500 in the region.
Next week: PCHS will travel to region foe Carbon Hill for its final road game of the regular season.
Red Bay (4-1) vs. Tupelo Christian (3-2)
Date: Friday, October 3, 2025
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Fred Bostick Jr. Stadium
Last time out: Red Bay routed state-line rival Belmont 42-22.
Series history: This is the first meeting between these two teams.
What to expect: The Tigers are on a real roll right now, having won three straight. Beating Lexington and Winston County has put RBHS in the driver’s seat in the region race, and a huge win over rival Belmont must have the Tigers feeling very confident. Red Bay has played very well on both sides of the ball since its one loss to University Charter in week two. Senior running back Jaxon Vinson is a threat to score every time he touches the ball, and the RBHS defense has created a lot of turnovers recently. I don’t know the first thing about Tupelo Christian Prep, but if Red Bay continues its recent run of form then they’ll be a tough out.
Next week: Red Bay returns to region play and hosts Tharptown for Homecoming.
Russellville (3-2, 3-0) at Fairview (5-0, 3-0)
Date: Friday, October 3, 2025
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Dafford Smith Stadium (Fairview, Ala.)
Last time out: Russellville beat Ardmore 42-7 on September 19. The Golden Tigers were off last week.
Series history: RHS is 2-2 against Fairview. Russellville and Fairview have met every season since 2021 and have been region foes since 2022. The first meeting in 2021 saw Fairview knock RHS out of the playoffs in the second round. The Golden Tigers won the next two region, regular-season meetings in 2022 and 2023. Last year’s game was an instant classic: a three overtime affair that ended 50-49 after the Golden Tigers came up short on a two-point attempt.
What to expect: Spectators of this matchup will count themselves lucky if they get to see a game as incredibly entertaining as the one we saw between these two sides last campaign. Russellville goes into this contest, on the road against the No. 3 team in Class 5A, as an underdog, but there’s everything to play for in this one. Last season, this game ended up determining the region champion and there’s a very good chance it’ll be the same way this year. I could, I think, write a few paragraphs about this matchup, but I think there’s just a few questions whose answers will determine the outcome: Which RHS offense shows up? The offense that played against Ardmore or the offense that played against East Limestone? And can this young defense—which has played well all season—in a tough, road environment stop this Fairview offense which is averaging 45 points per game?
Next week: Russellville travels to Hatton.
Tharptown (1-4, 0-1) vs. Tanner (1-5, 0-2)
Date: Friday, October 3, 2025
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Tharptown Stadium
Last time out: Tharptown earned its first win since 2023, beating Vina 40-12 on Homecoming.
Series history: The Wildcats are 0-5 all-time against the Rattlers. Last season Tanner beat THS 39-6.
What to expect: With a taste of victory, Tharptown should go into this home contest against Tanner with some more confidence and motivation to start a new and more positive streak than the one the Wildcats were on. Expect Tharptown to keep doing what it has been doing all season: Running the football with Cody McCluskey, Austin Chaney, and the other backs.
Tharptown is still the underdog here. Just looking at one common opponent, Belgreen, Tharptown lost handedly to the Bulldogs in their third game while Tanner is the only team to have beaten BHS. But clearly things have taken a turn for the better for Tharptown since that Belgreen loss. The Wildcats have scored 66 total points over the last two games, and we’d like to see THS keep that nose for the endzone in this contest.
Next week: The Wildcats will host region opponent Decatur Heritage.
Vina (0-5, 0-3) at Hackleburg (3-2, 2-1)
Date: Friday, October 3, 2025
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Ray Family Stadium (Hackleburg, Ala.)
Last time out: Vina lost at Tharptown 40-12.
Series history: This is the longest-running series for Vina, but the Red Devils have been on the losing end of it a lot. In 72 meetings, Vina is just 9-60-3 against the Panthers. These two teams have met almost every year since 1959, but in the last 40 years Vina has just two victories. The last one was in 2001.
What to expect: Well, you read the series history; I expect the trend to continue. It appears that the Red Devils just lost too much from last year’s team and will need a year or two to reload. Despite dropping out of the top 10 this week after losing to Phil Campbell, this Hackleburg side is still a very formidable team, averaging over 31 points this season against Class 1A opponents.
Next week: Vina travels to Waterloo for another region game on October 10.