No. 6 Cullman at No. 1 Hartselle

Series: Cullman leads 40-38-3 (according to Hartselle’s page on ahsfhs.org)

Last meeting: Hartselle won 20-13 in 2011

Cullman Week: Hartselle has played Cullman more times than any other team. The first meeting on record dates back 96 years ago. Head coach Bob Godsey is 6-3 in his time at Hartselle, including three meetings in the last two seasons.

Tough stretch continues: Hartselle is in the midst of the toughest four-game stretches in Class 5A football. They defeated a 1-2 Athens team that is better than its record indicates, No. 6 Cullman tonight, rival Decatur next week and No. 2 Muscle Shoals in two weeks. In fact, three of the top six ranked teams in Class 5A are in Region 8.

Arab at Brewer

Series: Arab leads 20-10

Last meeting: Arab won 48-6 in 2011

Patriot keep it close for a half: Avoiding a big halftime deficit has been one of Brewer’s big problems this year. However, Brewer hung around against Etowah longer than it has against any of the three opponents the Patriots have played this year. Getting off to a good start again is a key for Brewer keeping this game close again.

Defense struggles: Brewer’s opponents are averaging 49 points per game while Brewer is only scoring 16.3. Last year, Brewer averaged allowing 48.8 points per game while only scoring 11 points.

Wilson at Priceville

Series: Wilson leads 2-0

Last meeting: Wilson won 21-7

Hanging with top 10 team: Priceville kept it close with Brooks for a while, but the Lions eventually pulled away. This will be a key game for the Bulldogs to win if they want to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Danville at Winston County

Series: Winston County leads 8-6

Last meeting: Winston County won 24-6

Hawks comeback: Danville scored 13 unanswered in the fourth quarter to defeat Winfield for the first time in school history. Can the Hawks pull off that same magic again? If so, the Hawks could pick up a key region win and could give Danville a chance to make the playoffs.

Hawks scoring more in region this year: Danville is scoring more than two times what it did in region play last year. They are averaging 18.5 points in their two games this year while they could only muster 8 points per region game last year. The Hawks are also doing better on defense, allowing 19.5 points per game compared to 39.6 last year.

Falkville vs. Meek (homecoming)

Series: Falkville leads 17-5

Last meeting: Meek won 13-6 in 1993

Blue Devils turn it around: Falkville is off to its best start since 1992, when the Blue Devils finished 9-2 and made the playoffs. A key to that success has been Falkville’s offensive explosion. The Blue Devils have already scored 137 points, which is already more than what Falkville scored in eight of the last 12 seasons. And that’s only through three games.

Receiving votes: Falkville received a vote in the ASWA football poll for the first time this season. The last time the Blue Devils were ranked was 1992, when they finished the regular season ranked No. 7.