By Robert Hudson

The Selma Times-Journal

While other teams are looking to finish the year on a positive note and transition from the gridiron to the hardwood, two Dallas County teams are now setting their sites on the chase for a state crown.

The Keith Bears and Morgan Academy Senators will begin their quests for a state championship in two weeks — the Bears in the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 1A state playoffs and the Senators in the Alabama Independent Schools Association Class 3A state playoffs.

The Bears still have one regular season game remaining on the road against non-region foe Marengo County before playing defending 1A state champ Sweet Water on the road in the first round of the playoffs on Nov. 4.

Keith head coach Harry Crum said his team will face a tough foe when they travel to Sweet Water.

“It’ll be Wing-T against Wing-T because we both run that offense,” Crum said. “They’re a traditional power. We want to establish a little tradition ourselves.”

Crum said the Bears will get somewhat of a head start this week against Marengo in preparation for Sweet Water’s Wing-T attack.

“If they (Marengo) are like they were last year, they ran the double wing, which is somewhat similar to the Wing-T, so preparation for them would be similar for preparing for a Wing-T team,” Crum said. “It’ll also be like looking in the mirror because we practice against ourselves everyday. I just welcome the opportunity.”

For the Senators, they’ll have an extra week to prepare for their trip to Auburn to play Lee-Scott Academy in the first round due to their final regular-season opponent, Southern Academy, forfeiting due to low numbers and injuries.

“This week, it turns out we’re going to have an off week, so we’re going to practice Monday through Thursday in full pads working on fundamentals and getting down the team stuff we need to improve on,” Morgan head coach Brian King said.

King said the key to victory in the playoffs will be controlling the football and capitalizing on the opposing team’s mistakes.

“When it comes playoff time, it really turns into a possession type atmosphere,” King said. “We’ve got to take care of the football, and winning the turnover battle is essential. If we can take advantage of any mistakes they (Lee-Scott) might make, it would be huge for us, but at the same time we can’t make any mistakes.”