OPELIKA —
The Dothan Wolves ended Opelika’s football season with a 14-7 win at Rip Hewes Stadium last Friday night, eliminating OHS from making the 2022 AHSAA football playoffs. The Bulldogs started the season with four wins, then lost five of the last six games, including four region opponents. Opelika finishes the year with a 5-5 overall record, and 4-4 in class 7A region 2. The highlight of the year for the Dogs was a 17-14 overtime win over Central at Bulldog Stadium.
Friday night against Dothan, Opelika took a 7-0 lead after Caden Cooper ran for a 25-yard TD on the opening drive. Dothan running back Raymond Blackmon tied the game by scoring on a 2-yard run with nine seconds left in the first half.
Blackmon sprinted 57 yards for the winning touchdown with 2:14 left in the fourth quarter. The Wolves intercepted an Opelika pass on a Hail Mary on the final play of the game. Blackmon ended the night with 237 yards on 19 carries and scored both TD’s for the Wolves.
Opelika ended its first season in class 7A with a 4-4 Region 2 record.
OHS LADY BULLDOG FLAG FOOTBALL
The Opelika Lady Bulldog flag football team defeated Dothan (12-0) and and Russell County (24-0) last week, improving to 13-6 overall.
OHS played Booker T. Washington in the first round of the AHSAA State Playoffs last night at Duck Samford in Auburn. The results were not available at press time.
THE ROAD TO SUPER 7
The AHSAA football playoffs begin Nov. 4 for all seven classifications. Thirty-two teams make the playoffs in class 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A. Sixteen teams make the playoffs in class 7A because there are only 32 teams in class 7A.
The playoffs last five rounds for class 1A through class 6A, and four rounds for class 7A. This year’s Super 7 State Football Championship will be held in Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, Nov. 30, Dec. 1 and 2. The three-day event will feature eight championship games, including the second girls’ flag football championship game in the history of AHSAA.
The Super 7 is a joint effort between the cities of Auburn and Opelika, along with AO Tourism. This is the seventh time the AHSAA Football Championships will be playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
The AHSAA moved the Super 6 out of Legion Field after the 2008 championships. The Super 7 was played at Bryant-Denny Stadium in 2009, and Auburn held its first Super 7 in 2010.
The cities of Auburn-Opelika, Tuscaloosa and Birmingham signed a 12-contract with the AHSAA in 2021. Each site will host four Super 7 championships in 12 years and will be played at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Bryant-Denny Stadium and Jordan-Hare Stadium.
I will continue to update you on the behind-the-scenes of Super 7 in the coming weeks.
D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia, host of “On the Mark” Fox Sports the Game 910-1310, co-chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, chairman of the Super 7 and Dixie Boys Baseball state director.
