Week 1 of the Alabama high school football season has wrapped up in the Gadsden area.
There’s plenty to talk about after a hectic week 1 that saw three Etowah County teams fall to 0-2 on the young season. Is it too early to panic or with region play starting this week, is a wait and see approach better. Elsewhere county standouts are finding mid-season form already, making for some exciting football.
Here’s what the Gadsden Times saw and is taking away from Week 1.
Is it too early to panic for three Etowah County teams?
Coosa Christian, Gadsden City and Southside have started the season 0-2, but it’s probably too early for any of the three Etowah County programs to panic during the 2025 Alabama high school football. Coosa Christian has looked strong in losses to bigger programs, almost pulling the upset in Week 1 over Pell City. Starting with region play this week will be a welcomed sight for the Conquerors.
Gadsden City and Southside have played tough large-school programs but have struggled in each of their losses. Southside’s Week 1 to Hokes Bluff could be cause for concern, as the Eagles created holes with a line that is gaining experience each week. There’s still more than enough time for either program to turn it around, starting with region play this week.
Etowah County playmakers finding their rhythm
It is hard to pick the top performer for Week 1 in Etowah County, with Kylen Johnson’s three touchdown and two interception night against Pell City. Hokes Bluff quarterback Bryce Whitaker had four rushing touchdowns with West End’s Jaxon Hamby scoring five and Westbrook Christian’s Brody Blevins accounting for three. That doesn’t even include playmakers at Sardis led by Grant Coe and Lamont Richardson who combined for two scores or Levi Martin who ran for two touchdowns and had 18 tackles.
There are plenty of potential playmakers each week in the area, and the Etowah County bunch appear to already be in mid-season form.
Deja Vu in Gadsden-area
Cherokee County and Etowah have repeated starts to the season last year, and are hoping that it can lead to the same result, or better than, last year. Cherokee County bounced back from a second straight loss to Piedmont with a thrashing of Arab while Hokes Bluff ran all over Southside for a tone-setting win in the area.
Sand Mountain teams bounce back
Week 0 was not kind to some teams up on Sand Mountain, with West End, Sardis and Fyffe taking big losses to open the season. They all responded in big ways. Matt Harris got his second win at his alma mater and appears to have the Patriots tredning back in the right direction. Sardis relied on its big three players to ride its way to a home-opener win.
Fyffe remind Pisgah who is in charge with a thrashing 60-28. It was a complete reversal of the 35-6 loss to Maplesville that saw the Red Devils seem out of wack.
Early Week 2 thoughts: Early playoff implications
Keeping on Sand Mountain and Fyffe, they host Collinsville in the Gadsden-area game that has the most playoff implications in the first week of full region play. Boaz welcomes Scottsboro in a rematch of the game that decided Class 5A, Region 8 last year. Even though its just Week 2, there’s some games that really matter for the playoffs already.
Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports, Jax State athletics, the outdoors in Alabama and more for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MD********@*****tt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Gadsden-area high school football Week 1 takeaways and lessons
