By Justin Fedich | The Selma Times-Journal

Meadowview Christian hasn’t played in or hosted a playoff game since 2007. That changes Friday.

The Meadowview Christian Trojans (6-1) host the Victory Baptist-Millbrook Eagles (5-2) in the semifinals of the Christian Football Association’s 6-man football playoffs. Meadowview defeated Victory 27-26 earlier in the season, but the Trojans have much more on the line this time around.

“I just keep telling them that we’re one step away from the state championship game, something that none of y’all have been a part of before,” said Meadowview head coach Lebo Jones.

Both teams had a bye week last week to prepare for this game. Meadowview has won six straight games since dropping the first game of the season to Cullman Christian, but Jones said the Trojans haven’t been playing their best as of late.

“The last couple games we haven’t played our best football and I think with the off week we’ve had, we’ve gotten ourselves ready to play,” Jones said.

Jones said playing good defense is key to winning the game because of Victory’s strong passing attack.

“We’re going to have to stop their passing game,” Jones said. “They’ve got a great passing game and a great quarterback.”

On offense, Jones said he doesn’t want to deviate from the gameplan Meadowview had last week. But he also said it’s important to not rely on the running game as much as they had in the past.

“We’ve just got to basically stick to what we did last time,” Jones said. “It turned out well for us. But I do think we do need to try to be not quite so one-dimensional and try to pass the ball a little bit more on first down.”

While the Trojans haven’t lost a game since Aug. 21, Jones still sees areas where his team needs to improve. Jones said his team has to work on being better in the second half.

In the first meeting between Meadowview and Victory on Sept. 18, the Trojans led 21-6 at halftime but let Victory come back in the second half and make it a close game. Jones said the Trojans need to play with the same intensity for all four quarters if they are going to beat Victory twice and advance to the state championship.

Jones hopes for a large number of fans to show up and support the Trojans in their first playoff game in eight years.

“I think we’ll have a big crowd because it’s the first playoff game we’ve had at the school in a long time, and I think we’ve got a lot of folks interested in our program this year, and I’m expecting a huge crowd,” Jones said.

The winner plays the victor of the Cullman Christian-Clay County Christian game at Victory. The Trojans already know they can beat Victory. Now they just have to do it again.

“This is do or die time, so they’ll be fired up and I think they’ll play their best game Friday night,” Jones said.

 

Dallas County (5-4, 4-3) at Southside (2-7, 0-6)

The Dallas County Hornets have already clinched their first trip to the playoffs since 2004, while the Southside Panthers are going to finish last in the class 4A, region 1 standings.

Both teams are coming off losses, as the Panthers fell to W.S. Neal last week 56-42 and Dallas County was shutout by Demopolis 41-0.

For the Hornets, who beat Southside 43-30 last season, this game is key in getting them back on the right track in time to face the undefeated Greenville Tigers in the playoffs.

For Southside, who has beat Dallas County three out of the last four years, a win against the Hornets would give the Panthers a 2-1 home record to end the season.

 

Selma (4-5, 1-5) vs. Ellwood Christian (3-6, 0-4)

Neither team is competing for a playoff spot, but pride is still on the line in this area rivalry at Memorial Stadium. In the three previous meetings, Selma has won every time, outscoring Ellwood a combined 118-24.

Both teams come into this matchup on a losing streak. The Saints have dropped the past two games, falling to Northridge and Bessemer City in the past two weeks.

Ellwood began the season 3-0, but has lost its last six games. The Eagles’ last defeat against A.L. Johnson knocked them out of the class 1A, region 4 playoff race. A win against class 6A, region 4 Selma would give Ellwood its first win since Sept. 11.

 

Keith (3-6, 1-3) at Central Hayneville (1-8, 1-6)

The Keith Bears are headed to the class 1A playoffs, but first is a matchup against the class 2A, region 3 Central Hayneville Lions. Keith has won two straight games against Isabella and Loachapoka after starting the season 1-6.

Central Hayneville dropped eight straight games before securing its only win of the season last Friday at Calhoun. The Lions have been shut out four times this season and have been held under 10 points in all but one of their losses.

 

Morgan (4-5, 3-3) at Clarke Prep (6-3, 3-1)

Morgan saw its class AAA, region 2 playoff chances vanish when Fort Dale Academy won its game last week. After falling to Fort Dale two weeks ago in a crucial playoff-deciding matchup, the Senators bounced back with a 45-9 win at Hooper Academy.

The Senators end their season with their only back-to-back road trip as they take on the class AA, region 2 Clarke Prep Gators. The Gators had won six straight games before a 47-0 loss at Monroe Academy last week.

Clarke Prep defeated Morgan 14-0 in last year’s season finale, but the Senators have shown to be much improved from last year’s squad.