BY D. MARK MITCHELL
OPELIKA — The Opelika football team started fall practice Monday, preparing for the 2024 season. Head coach Bryan Moore has a new schedule for the next two seasons.
OHS plays five road games and five home games. Here is a summary of the opponents on the schedule.
- Aug. 23 vs Benjamin Russell (6A) Charles Bailey Sports Plex in Alex City: Head coach Smitty Grider (overall 18-6, Region 9-3, playoffs 2-2) BRHS leads the series between OHS with 37 wins, 34 loses and 3 ties. Since 1982, the Dogs have won 27 games while losing 8 games. The two teams have not played since 2019.
• Aug. 30 vs Calloway @ Bulldog Stadium: The Cavaliers (Class 2A in Georgia) finished 9-3 overall, 6-0 in region and 2-1 in playoffs. This is the only team on the schedule from outside the state, making this a tough opponent to compare with teams in Alabama. - Sept. 6 vs Auburn @ Duck Samford Stadium: Future Hall of Famer, Keith Etheredge is entering his fourth season as Auburn High’s head football coach. Etheredge is 31-8 overall, 18-4 in Region, 6-3 in the 7A playoffs, playing for the state title in 2022 and is a perfect 3-0 against rival Opelika.
(*History lesson – no Opelika head football coach has beaten Auburn in their first season. Hopefully Moore can stop the streak in 2024.) - Sept. 13 vs JAG High School out of Montgomery, formerly Jeff Davis. The two teams have 14 wins apiece after 28 games. Jeff Davis’s last win over OHS was in 2004.
- Sept. 20 vs Smiths Station (Homecoming) at Bulldog Stadium: The Panthers are led by coach Bryant Garrison in his second season. Opelika has dominated the series with 23 wins and only 2 losses.
*Sept. 27 at Pike Road; This will be the first meeting between 6A Pike Road and 7A OHS. Granger Shook enters his first season at PHS, and hired former OHS offensive coordinator Jonathan Chandler. - Oct. 4 vs Dothan at Rip Hewes Stadium: The Dogs are 0-2 against the new Dothan High School under coach Jeb Kennedey. This is a very important game for the Bulldogs in order to make the playoffs.
- Oct. 11 vs Enterprise at Bulldog Stadium: Wildcat head coach Ben Blackmon brings his team to Bulldog Stadium with a 2-game winning streak over OHS. The Dogs lead the series 15-8 but have struggled lately. This is another key region game to win if OHS plans to make the playoffs.
- Oct. 18 vs Central at Bulldog Stadium: The Red Devils have won nine out of the past 10, Region championship and has won eight out of the last 10 games between Opelika.
- Oct. 25 vs Carver at Crampton Bowl in Montgomery: Lanier High consolidated with Carver over the summer to make one school, Carver Montgomery High School. The Wolverines hired Bobby Carr to lead the football program after winning nine state titles in the AISA. Carr hired two former head coaches on his staff and have several transfers that will help the football team.
Opelika has week 11 off, to prepare for the playoffs if they finish in the top four in the Region.
The schedule has seven regional games and three non-regional games against Calloway 2A in Georgia and two 5A schools: BRHS and Pike Road.
Fans can purchase tickets to all Opelika athletic events by going online to gofan.co. For home games, get tickets by stopping by Bubba’s Medicine Shop or Victory Design starting Fridays at noon.
D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia, host of “On the Mark” Fox Sports the Game 910-1319, co-chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, chairman of the Super 7 and Dixie Boys Baseball state director.
