“Oh, what a night!”

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.

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.

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.

Birmingham, Alabama — When those blue lights appeared in the rearview mirror of her car about two years ago, then 20-year-old Abbie Rutledge knew she had done the wrong thing at the wrong place and time. But that all changed after she spoke to the trooper who pulled her over.

“I think it was the right person, right time, and the right words said,” Rutledge said.

She told J.T. Brown — the Alabama state trooper who pulled her over in August 2022 for speeding — that she couldn’t afford a ticket. She was broke and in a dead-end job.

“And I told her, I said, ‘Well, how about we talk about it then,’” Brown told CBS News.

Rutledge said their conversation “went on for about” 10 to 15 minutes, “just talking about different career paths.”

Their conclusion was that Rutledge would make a great nurse. So Brown let her off with just a warning. And on it he wrote, “Promise me you’ll go to scrub or nursing school, and slow down, and I won’t give you a ticket.”

However, Brown said he “never” imagined that she would take it as seriously as she did.

“As soon as he left, and as soon as I got to where I was going, I started pushing myself toward that career,” Rutledge said. “And now I’m here.”

Rutledge graduated last month from the two-year surgical technology program at Bevill State Community College in Jasper, Alabama.

She now works as a surgical technician at the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital. She says she loves her new job and gives full credit to Brown, who attended her graduation.

“I wanted him to see the impression he made on me,” Rutledge said. “Five minutes talking to anybody, even if you don’t know them, can make the largest impact of their life, ever…You never know when it could happen.”

Brown went above and beyond asking for license and registration when he provided guidance and motivation to Rutledge. By taking the advice written on that warning, Rutledge not only helped herself, but she also returned the exact same favor.

“She made my entire career worth it,” Brown said.

Boeing’s troubled Starliner returning to Earth, but without crew

Driver pulled over for speeding receives life-changing career advice

Turnover among election officials is at its highest in at least two decades

PIKE ROAD, Ala. (WSFA)— It started off with a simple picture taken while on a day trip to visit family. Five years later, one Pike Road family has quite a collection, and a memory they won’t forget.

“We were in Elmore County visiting my grandmother,” said Matthew Roberts. “We stopped by the courthouse, I’m not sure why. I got a picture of them sitting outside and I said, ‘Hey, why don’t we go to all 67 counties?’”

“He decided to take his idea and run with it,” said Jessica Roberts, Matthew’s wife. “So, we got to see the whole state.”

After the trip to Elmore County, the Roberts family started knocking out visits one county at a time.

“It’s so beautiful,” said Jessica. “We have the mountains and The Shoals in north Alabama and the beaches down south. We really have it all here.”

The kids had their favorites.

“I like Winston County because there was an Addison there,” said 7th grader Addison Roberts. “I was younger and thought that was cool.”

“I really like Marshall County,” said 5th grader Marshall Roberts.

Sure, it helps to have counties and cities they share names with, but mom says they saw all kinds of cool stuff.

“We did some of the 13 Alabama ghost places, we saw a giant oak tree in Geneva County, and we saw the unclaimed baggage in Scottsboro.,” said Jessica. “If there’s a tourist attraction in Alabama, we’ve done it and seen it.”

“I hope they learned a little more about seeing places and getting out of where your roots are and just seeing the great state of Alabama,” said Matthew.

With all 67 counties knocked out, they still needed one more picture.

“Our end goal was to meet the governor,” said Matthew.

So, we made it happen. Gov. Ivey was nice enough to spend some time with the Roberts family and check out their Alabama scrapbook.

“It was really cool we got to meet her,” said Addison.

So, five years, 67 counties, and a bonus picture with the governor is quite a journey.

“They may think their parents are dorks now,” said Jessica. “But, maybe one day they will look back when they have kids and take them to all 67 counties.”

Up next, the family says it may work on trying to visit all the state capitals.

Not reading this story on the WSFA News App? Get news alerts FASTER and FREE in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store!

Copyright 2024 WSFA. All rights reserved.