•Challenge of Champions game set to be televised on UTV-44 and will be counted in the official team records

SPANISH FORT—Spanish Fort will take on Stanhope Elmore (4-6) Saturday night in Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl at 7:30 p.m. The Challenge of Champions game is going to be televised locally on Raycom UTV-44.

The Toros are listed at No. 3 in the state overall by 2014 Maxpreps.com preseason rankings behind Class 7A Hoover (15-0) and Auburn (13-2). Class 6A Stanhope Elmore is not ranked.

SFHS (15-0 last year in Class 5A) is riding a 24-0 win streak heading into its Class 6A debut in the Challenge along with back-to-back Class 5A state championships on their resume. The Toros’ head coach Mark Freeman said the experience should be a good way to get his returning starters and younger players pumped up for the new Class 6A Region 2 run to follow.

“It’s a high profile stage and I believe that will help motivate us to work that much harder,” he said. “The older guys are more used to it. Big stadium and lots of fan noise. But it will be a good way to jump back into the season with an exciting atmosphere. And it’s on TV. I’m happy for that because it means a lot of grandparents can stay home and enjoy it. At least I hope they enjoy what we do. Because we’re not taking anybody for granted. But we believe that if we prepare well and do what we are capable of to the best of our ability, we can play with just about anybody.” 

Freeman has solid experience back this year with junior quarterback Tyler Johnston who is a true duel (pass and run) threat. He was named the AHSAA Super Six Class 5A state MVP in 2013. It was his first full season as a starter. Senior running back Trey Shabel rushed for nearly 1,000 yards in the former Class 5A Region 1 of 2013—often referred to as the SEC of Alabama high school football. Johnston also has experienced receivers Kristian Cotton, Kevin Marion and LaDarrell Pettway back.

On defense, sophomore linebacker Thomas Johnston and fellow defenders Javon Brown, Stephan Holcombe, Tre Threat and John Daniel Campbell are among a mix of returners and first-year starters who hope to keep opposing offenses off the field.

The MaxPreps 2014 Alabama preseason football Fab 5 is rounded out by Muscle Shoals (13-2) and Clay-Chalkville (10-2).

By classification rank, The Alabama Sports Writers Association puts Hoover at the top of 7A with Bob Jones No. 2 and McGill-Toolen Catholic third. Foley is seventh and Fairhope is ninth. SFHS is atop 6A, St. Paul’s (10-3) is on top of Class 5A, Class 4A is led by Leeds (12-3) with UMS-Wright (11-3) No. 2. The ASWA puts Madison Academy at No. 1 in Class 3A with local 3A Bayside Academy out of the top 10 but receiving two first-place votes.

On the football fans menu Friday in Baldwin County teams kickoff the season with a big neighboring rivalry theme. Baldwin County High is hosting Escambia County and Robertsdale is hosting Fairhope.

Bayside Academy’s Admirals are off this week but will open their season next Friday when they visit 5A Faith Academy in West Mobile on Aug. 29. Three Baldwin teams kicked off with Thursday openers. Foley took down Gulf Shores 34-6 and Daphne played Davidson (of Mobile) to a tough 14-14 tie. That game was considered a 'preseason' game, so no tiebreaker was effective after regulation game time.