Southside (4-2, 2-0) at Albertville (3-2, 2-1)
Last week: Southside 49, St. Clair County 14; Albertville 34, Boaz 21
Last meeting: Albertville 53, Southside 23 (2011)
Series record: Albertville leads 11-9-1
By Gene Stanley/Sports Correspondent
When Southside coach Ron Daugherty looks at Class 6A Region 7 rival Albertville, he sees size and plenty of it.
“People say we’ve got a big line but we’re big in a couple of positions and closer to average in others,” Daugherty said. “They’re big all the way across and they’ve got good skill players.”
Playing in a seven-team region, Daugherty feels like having three region wins headed into the stretch is a big bonus vis a vis the playoffs.
“I’ve never been in a seven-team region before but in an eight-team one, we felt like four wins was crucial, so we feel that three wins is pretty crucial this year,” he said. “But we still try to just look at it as the next game.”
Southside is still improving, week to week – something Daugherty is proud of.
“There’s always room for improvement,” he said. “And we’re still making improvements, across the board. Our timing is getting better and some of the injured players are getting closer to 100 percent.”
The Panthers are a game behind Fort Payne and Scottsboro in the current region standings, while Albertville is right behind in third place.
Last week for Southside, Holt Keeling gained 164 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries and caught a 27-yard touchdown pass.
