OPELIKA —
The Theodore Bobcats (6-0) defeated Opelika (4-2, R 3-1) 34-24 at Bulldog Stadium last Friday night. The Bobcats generated 384 yards on offense, including 237 rushing yards from Brayden Jenkins, and 85 receiving yards from Tevarius Jackson. Opelika was led by quarterback Roman Gagliano’s 286 passing yards.
The loss hurt the record but does not play a factor when it comes to winning the region or making the playoffs. The biggest concern for head coach Eric Speakman is the status of linebackers Tae Gay and Benton Williams; both left the game with what appeared to be injuries. Like always, no update has been provided at this time.
Opelika and Auburn High will play each other for the 96th time Friday night at Duck Samford Stadium in Auburn. The Bulldogs hold a one-game lead in the series, 47-46-3, but have lost four out of the last five, including two in a row.
Auburn enters the game with a perfect 6-0 record under second-year head coach Keith Etheredge. AHS has scored 221 points and allowed 77, many of those coming late in games.
The Tigers opened the season with a 17-14 win over Hoover in the Kickoff Classic at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl, and defeated region opponents Enterprise (31-21), Dothan (42-14), Jeff Davis (31-0) and RE Lee (58-0). AHS beat Ramsey (42-21) in a non-region game last Friday night.
The winner of the Opelika/Auburn game will move one step closer to a region championship. Although OHS has one region loss, the Dogs will be region champs if they win the remaining region games.
Opelika has lost two straight games after upsetting Central in overtime. The Bulldogs always play Auburn close, and I believe we will see the same from OHS Friday night. This will be a low-scoring game that will be won in the fourth quarter.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Auburn’s Duck Samford Stadium. Tickets must be purchased online at gofan.co; please buy OPELIKA tickets if you want to sit on the visiting side. You can listen to the game on WKKR 97.7 Kicker FM, online at kickerfm.com or watch the LIVE stream on NFHSnetwork.com. Pre-game show begins at 6:30 p.m. with Van Riggs.
OHS CROSS COUNTRY
Opelika’s cross country team will run in the “Skyhawk Valley Invitational” Oct. 1 at the Valley/Shawmut Airport at the end of 12th Avenue in Valley. The meet includes college divisions (women/men) starting at 7:45 a.m., and high school teams (women and men) starting at 9:35 a.m.
The course is all flat, all grass, with a few, light gravel crossover points. It’s located around an old airfield right next to the Chattahoochee River. Large, open field makes it very spectator-friendly and easy to get around. The course is wide with few turns. Its flat, straight sections provide a good opportunity to PR.
I will post the results next week.
OHS GIRLS FLAG FOOTBALL
The Lady Bulldog flag football team (7-2) lost to rival Auburn High School (15-7), but defeated Valley (47-0) to finish the week 1-1.
Cheridi Daniels scored the touchdown against Auburn and threw a pass to KayKay Dowdell for the two-point conversion.
Opelika crushed Valley, 47-0, to secure first place in the area. Several bulldog players scored touchdowns and converted extra points, including: Daniels, Ashley Hilyer, “Z” Fanning, Jasmin McCloud, Karly Phatsadavong and Amiya Brown.
The Lady Dogs travel to Loachapoka Monday, Oct. 3 for a 5:30 p.m. start; they then go to Phenix City Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 5:30 p.m. and host Smiths Station and Dothan Thursday, Oct. 6, at Bulldog Stadium.
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.