That lyric from the great Four Seasons tune referred to a special night in December, 1963, but it applies nicely to Alabama high school football on an early September night in 2024.
McKenzie and Elba set the AHSAA state record for the most points in a game, as McKenzie prevailed, 80-78, as McKenzie proved itself as a legitmate state championship contender.
Here are our 5 Takeaways from Friday’s high school football schedule in Alabama.
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James Clemens had a tough task on Friday night. It hosted Bob Jones which had started the season red hot with an explosive offense. James Clemens, which has won 7A Region 4 four out of the last six years, had its hands full. What followed was an excellent football game with James Clemens winning, 34-31.
The Jets had a back and forth contest with the Patriots, but it all boiled down to a 44-yard field goal attempt for the Patriots to send the game to overtime. The Jets had different plans and blocked the field goal. The Jets have once again put themselves in the driver seat for another region title.
The Rebels from Reeltown started the season on statewide television on WOTM with their matchup drawing the TR Miller Tigers. Multiple turnovers and special teams lapses later the Rebels fell 28-7 in a game that made many people wonder how good Reeltown could be. Last week they showed everyone that it was just a bad night as they played #2 Trinity in 3A and won 20-3. Then this week in a region matchup they rolled Horseshoe Bend 61-0. Reeltown will have another region test next week with Ranburne coming in, who they have not played since 2019. With a win, Reeltown will put themselves firmly in the conversation for another region title.
Auburn had its first real test of the 2024 season with its arch-rival the Opelika Bulldogs. Opelika had already had a test and passed with a victory over Benjamin Russell in Week 1. One of the biggest rivalries in the state took place for the 99th time, at Auburn and the two teams battled throughout the whole night.
Anytime one team would score, the other team would respond. It truly was back-and-forth until Auburn finally got a stop and got the victory. These two have had some very close battles, but the Tigers have gotten the best of Opelika these last few years. The last time Opelika beat Auburn was in 2019 in a 21-13 victory in Opelika. Auburn now leads the all-time series 49-47-3. Opelika will likely have to wait till next year for another chance at their rival.
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Auburn holds off Opelica, wins 99th meeting between Alabama rivals
Piedmont had a rare down season last year. After a lot of injuries and a new coach in 2023, a lot of people around the state wondered if this would be the year the Bulldogs would return to their title winning ways. While there is still a long way to go before the state title game, Piedmont has shown they have returned to being a 3A powerhouse, beating Cherokee County, a 4A power in their own right, on Friday night.
Piedmont has dominated its first two region games and, with one look at its schedule, it is very likely Piedmont rolls into the postseason with a 10-0 record. The Bulldogs will be a force come playoff time this season.
McKenzie had flew under the radar for even some of the most well researched fans and media members before the season. It started the season off with two comfortable wins over of pair 3A teams, Wilcox Central,and Prattville Christian, but it was still hard to determine if McKenzie was that good, or if their competition was just lackluster.
That changed Friday night, going on the road to face the third-ranked in Class 1A, Elba, in a big region match-up. Elba had not lost on its home field against another 1A opponent since the 2022 AHSAA playoffs.
McKenzie proved all of the doubters wrong going on the road and playing in what is now the highest scoring game in AHSAA history with a 80-78 four overtime victory over Elba. McKenzie won’t be able to celebrate for long, as Georgiana will be coming into town next week, who finished second in the region last season and is highly respected in 1A squad. But McKenzie put the state on notice, as it certainly has the offense to play with anyone in the state.
The Philadelphia 76ers selected Alabama guard Labaron Philon Jr. with the 22nd overall pick of the 2026 NBA draft Tuesday night.
Philon is the first pick of the Mike Gansey era after he replaced Daryl Morey as the team’s president of basketball operations.
Who is Labaron Philon Jr.?
Philon, 20, led the Crimson Tide in scoring last season, averaging 22.0 points on nearly 40% shooting on 3-pointers. He was the focal point of one of the nation’s most potent offenses, as Alabama led the country in points per game in the 2025-26 season. The Crimson Tide (No. 16) finished the season with a 25-10 record and went 13-5 against conference opponents.
Philon, who helped lead Alabama to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament, earned Third-Team All-American and First-Team All-SEC honors in his sophomore season.
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In 33 games last season for Alabama, Philon scored 725 total points, which is ranked third-most by a player in a single season in program history.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver shakes hands with Labaron Philon Jr. after he is drafted twenty-second overall by the Philadelphia 76ers during Round One of the 2026 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 23, 2026 in New York City.
Arturo Holmes / Getty Images
Philon was the 34th-ranked basketball recruit in the country entering his freshman season at Alabama, according to 247sports. The four-star guard initially committed to playing at Auburn, but decommitted. He then signed a letter of intent to play at Kansas, but didn’t play there, either. He then committed to the Crimson Tide in April 2024.
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Philon impressed as a freshman at Alabama and averaged 10.6 points in 37 games. He declared for the 2025 NBA draft but then withdrew and returned for his sophomore season, where he saw his scoring average jump more than 10 points.
Philon is a Mobile, Alabama, native and played at Baker High School in Mobile County, where he scored 2,334 points in three seasons. He was named the Class 7A Player of the Year twice.
As a junior, he averaged 35 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists and was named Alabama Mr. Basketball, which is given to the best high school boys’ basketball player in the state. Philon transferred to Link Academy, a boarding school in Missouri, for his senior year of high school.
Philon now joins a backcourt headlined by Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe heading into the 2026-27 season. Quentin Grimes could return to Philadelphia next season and add even more depth, but he’s an unrestricted free agent.
The pick the Sixers used to pick Philon was acquired in the deal that sent Jared McCain to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade deadline.
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Labaron Philon Jr. scouting report
CBS Sports had Philon ranked as the 14th-best prospect in the 2026 NBA draft.
Here are his strengths and weaknesses, according to CBS Sports:
Strengths
On-ball creator who made an extreme leap as a sophomore, ranking in the 99th percentile in isolations (was 24th percentile as a freshman) and 94th as a pick-and-roll handler (was 32nd percentile as a freshman). Combines smooth attack with sudden change of speed and direction, dexterity, and finishing craft in the lane.
Shot-maker who can make tough shots off both the catch (36% on contested catch-and-shoot 3-pointers), dribble (38% from deep), and has extreme gravity when he’s spacing the floor (46% on unguarded catch-and-shoot 3-pointers).
Shown pliability to thrive in different roles over the years and is a similarly versatile creator, because he’s a scoring threat at multiple levels and also an accurate, and somewhat creative, passer with both hands off the dribble.
Weaknesses
Inconsistent defensive approach. Showed more engagement and potential as a freshman, but couldn’t maintain that as a sophomore when taking on a bigger offensive role.
Lacks overwhelming physicality or highest level explosiveness, and didn’t add any notable muscle mass between his freshman and sophomore seasons (175 pounds at 2025 combine and 176 at 2026 combine).
Unclear how well his creation scales to the NBA level when he will have less usage and volume coupled by more physicality in opposing defenders.
Alabama football hosted a hometown kid for an official visit last weekend when it got Jeremiah Beverley on campus for an official visit.
Beverley attends Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and ESPN currently has him rated as a four-star recruit. He is considering Alabama, Cincinnati, Wake Forest and others.
The Crimson Tide offered Beverley earlier this month and got him on campus for an official visit last weekend. The Alabama target told Touchdown Alabama he used the visit to learn what the Tide has planned for him if he commits.
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“I’m truly happy that I went on that official visit,” Beverley said. “Blessed for that. All I was talking about was the next step, what I got to do? So, just knowing what they have planned for me, knowing what they have set for me.”
At 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Beverley makes plays for Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa as a defensive end. Alabama has plans to use him similarly at the next level.
“They’re going to have me at wolf mostly,” Beverley said. “I know coach (Kane) Wommack and coach (Christian) Robinson, I think they see me at other positions, but I know it is guaranteed they’re going to see me at Wolf and me working my way up on special teams, and they expect that out of me.”
Beverley is expected to announce a commitment decision on Friday.
Watch Jeremiah Beverley’s Highlights Below:
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
Alabama football is hiring Noah Fisher to be its assistant tight ends coach, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
Fisher spent two seasons as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line and tight ends at Louisville before joining the Tide’s staff. He played three years on the offensive line at South Alabama and spent one season with Tulane. The Jaguars started Fisher along its offensive line when he was a player for multiple games.
The Crimson Tide appear to want to use their tight ends in multiple ways in the future including as extra blockers along the line of scrimmage. Fisher looks as if he can assist the Tide with this mission.
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
