All of Baldwin County’s high school football teams step out of region play tonight, and some of them play interesting games that could be previews of future playoff matchups.

In what could be the highest scoring of tonight’s games, 5A No. 7 St. Paul’s (4-0) visits the 6A Fairhope Pirates (3-1) at Fairhope Municipal Stadium at 7 p.m. Both the Saints and Pirates are averaging more than 40 points per game and St. Paul’s beat Fairhope 42-40 in a thriller last year in Mobile.

In other Baldwin football action, 6A No. 1 Daphne plays at Theodore, Spanish Fort welcomes Baldwin County, Bayside Academy travels to Mobile Christian, Foley hosts Alma Bryant, Gulf Shores visits Saraland and Robertsdale travels to Baker.

St. Paul’s at Fairhope: The showdown between the St. Paul’s Saints and Fairhope Pirates tonight could be the highest scoring game of the season. Both teams come into the game averaging more than 40 points per game, and both have explosive playmakers on offense. Fairhope is led by senior quarterback Chase Domino, who has a host of weapons at his disposal at running back and wide receiver. St. Paul’s has arguably the state’s best junior running back Jordan Huff. Defensively, the Saints have given up less than 8 points per game so far, while Fairhope gave up 21 and 35 in its first two games. The Pirates have pitched back-to-back shutouts against Satsuma and Baldwin County. Look for the Pirate defense to make a stand when it needs to. Prediction: Fairhope 31, St. Paul’s 28.

Daphne at Theodore: The Daphne Trojans, riding a 19-game win streak, visit the Theodore Bobcats tonight. The Trojans (4-0) have the state’s best running back in T.J. Yeldon, who has rushed for nearly 800 yards and 11 touchdowns in four games. Yeldon is scary for opposing teams, but the Trojans also have weapons available at every skill position and one of the state’s best defenses that should be able ot stop a one dimensional Theodore offense. Prediction: Daphne 35, Theodore 14.

Baldwin County at Spanish Fort: The winless Baldwin County Tigers (0-4) are much improved after last year’s 0-10 season, but it hasn’t translated to a win for new head coach Bobby Moore yet. Spanish Fort (2-2) is tough to beat at home, and the Toros get nine players back from suspension tonight. The Tigers will hang tough early, but Spanish Fort is too tough and talented to lose at home. Prediction: Spanish Fort 31, BCHS 17.

Alma Bryant at Foley: Foley (2-2) has struggled to stop two talented running backs in back-to-back weeks, giving up more than 500 total yards to Daphne’s T.J. Yeldon and McGill-Toolen’s Trey Roberts in two losses. Alma Bryant doesn’t have a back of that caliber, and the Hurricanes’ defense is suspect, giving up nearly 30 points per game. Foley gets back in the win column tonight. Prediction: Foley 27, Alma Bryant 13.

Robertsdale at Baker: The Robertsdale Bears (1-3) got their first win, while the Baker Hornets lost for the first time last week. Quarterback Hunter Vaughn and wide receiver Alphonso Stewart were strong for RHS last week and need to play well again tonight against a Baker (3-1) team that is solid on defense. Prediction: Baker 21, Robertsdale 20.

Gulf Shores at Saraland: The Gulf Shores Dolphins (1-3) have given up 105 points in three straight losses. Lucky for them, the Saraland Spartans (2-2) have given up more than 40 points per game so far. Gulf Shores topped the Spartans 47-13 last season and should get a similar result tonight. Prediction: Gulf Shores 31, Saraland 21.

Bayside Academy at Mobile Christian: Class 3A No. 6 Bayside Academy (4-0) visits Mobile Christian (2-2) tonight and should be able to come home with a win. The Admirals average more than 40 points per game, while the Leopards gave up 54 last week and 34 in the opener. Bayside should be careful not to look ahead to next week’s top-10 battle with region rival Washington County. Prediction: Bayside Academy 35, Mobile Christian 27.

Eric Mann is the Senior Sports Director for Gulf Coast Newspapers. Reach him at emann@gulfcoastnewspapers.com