Fifth ranked Madison County hosts No. 2 Madison Academy in this week’s AHSAA TV Network Game of the Week
Madison County Hosts Madison Academy in AHSAA TV Network Game of the Week
Montgomery, AL – Madison County High School hosts Madison Academy in the Class 4A Top 10 battle at Tiger Stadium in Gurley Thursday night in the AHSAA TV Network/NFHS Network Football Game of the Week produced by WOTM TV.
In addition, WOTM TV will televise live from Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl the Opelika vs. Robert E. Lee Class 6A, Region 2 clash Saturday morning with kickoff set for 11 a.m.
The NFHS Network’s AHSAA School Broadcast Program has scheduled 238 events this week with 73 football games available via the NFHS Network platform.
This week’s Game of the Week is being produced by NFHS Network TV partner WOTM TV under the direction of executive producer Vince Earley. At least 123 games are scheduled to be played Thursday night – with many of the AHSAA’s member schools moving games from Friday to Thursday due to Hurricane Delta, which is expected to reach Alabama later this week.
The Game of the Week will be live-streamed over the NFHS Network subscriber-based program and will also be available on the network of cable stations that have joined the WOTM Network in Alabama. Tommy Wood and Rick Rhoades will be handling the commentary for the WOTM/NFHS Network production.
Madison Academy (5-0), ranked second in this week’s ASWA Class 4A state poll, rolls into Thursday’s Game of the Week at 4-0 in Class 4A, Region 7. Fifth-ranked Madison County (6-1) is also 4-0. The winner will be in the driver’s seat for the top seed from Region 7 when the playoffs commence the week of November 6.
Both teams have veteran coaches with Coach Bob Godsey leading the Mustangs and Coach Scott Sharp heading the Tigers’ program. Godsey, in his second year at Madison Academy, has compiled a 193-72 head-coaching record with stops at Brooks and Hartselle. His 2011 Hartselle team won the Class 5A state title. He is one of three active coaches in the AHSAA who could eclipse the 200-win mark this season. Steve Mask of St. Paul’s Episcopal is 193-94 heading into this week’s games and Brent Hubbert of T.R. Miller is 197-48.
Madison County’s Sharp, is in his fifth season as Madison County head coach. He guided the Tigers to their first 10-win season since 2008 and just the third in the school’s 113-year football history in 2019 and this year’s team has started fast with six wins already. Sharp served as head coach at Huntsville High School for four seasons before joining the MCHS.
“We had to replace of lot of guys from last year’s (10-3) team,” Sharp said. ”We feel real good about where we are right now as a team, however. Defensively, we had a lot coming back.
We are looking forward to playing in a game of this magnitude. We know this game will have a lot of implications on who will win the region.”
The Tigers’ offense is run by junior Ramiro Towers at quarterback. Receiver Case Watson gives Madison County a deep threat outside and is also one of the state’s top kick return specialists. He had two kickoff returns for TDs in a contest earlier this year.
Madison Academy’s Godsey is pleased with his Mustangs’ play this season as well. Senior quarterback Avery Seaton leads the charge for Madison Academy.
“We’re awfully exited to be able to be playing, especially considering the (COVID) pandemic,” Godsey said. “These two schools have built a nice rivalry. This game has all the makings of being a really good high school football game.”
Madison County and Madison Academy have met 51 times since the rivalry began in 1963. The two schools played annually from 1963-71, took a 19-year hiatus before playing again from 1990-2003. The current rivalry picked up again in 2016. The Tigers own a 29-22 edge in the series, including a 49-21 victory last season.
The Mustangs proved to be one of the state’s strongest programs in the last decade – compiling a 108-27 record from 2010-2019 with three state titles – winning Class 3A Super 7 championships in 2011 and 2012 and the Class 4A crown in 2014.
Kickoff for tonight’s game is set for 7 p.m., and can be seen over the NFHS Network and the WOTM TV Network’s cable station affiliates across the state. Three Top 10 battles are scheduled to round out the remaining regular-season games of the week featuring: Gordo at Fayette County on Oct. 15; Ramsay at Pleasant Grove on Oct. 22; and Central-Phenix City at Oxford on Oct. 29 to close out the regular season. WOTM will also feature a playoff game of the week through the playoffs and will also produce all seven state final matchups in the 2020 Super 7 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa in December for the AHSAA TV Network.
The NFHS Network link for Thursday’s Game of the Week is:
http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/ahsaa/gam44b1ccc2c0
For information concerning the AHSAA TV Network’s WOTM cable availability, visit the following link:
https://www.ahsaa.com/Portals/0/WOTM-Coverage-2019_1.jpg
A subscription allows the viewer access to any events on the NFHS Network. Monthly and yearly subscriptions are available.
For more information on how to subscribe to the NFHS Network, visit the following link:
https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/subscribe/retail
The complete AHSAA schedule of events set to be livestreamed over the NFHS Network tonight through October 10 can be found at:
https://www.ahsaa.com/Portals/0/PDF’s/NFHS/Network/Broadcast%20log%2010.5-10.11.pdf?ver=gODVac8gR_njDlGwfWptTg%3d%3d
