The culmination of the AHSAA 3A football season arrives Thursday at Protective Stadium in Birmingham as two powerhouse programs collide for state supremacy.

Defending champion Mars Hill (14-0) puts its impressive 19-game winning streak dating back to last season on the line against a surging Bayside Academy (13-1) squad that has reeled off 13 consecutive victories after an opening loss.

Both teams dominated their semifinal matchups, with the Panthers dismantling Piedmont 48-16 while the Admirals sailed past Southside 51-20.

This championship showdown features two programs at the peak of their powers, with Mars Hill’s championship pedigree facing Bayside’s momentum in what promises to be an explosive title game that will crown Alabama’s 3A champion for 2025.

Opening kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on Thursday, December 4 with a live TV broadcast on NFHS Network.

• WATCH: Mars Hill vs. Bayside Academy football is livestreaming on NFHS Network

How to watch Mars Hill vs. Bayside Academy football livestream

What: Defending champion Mars Hill puts 19-game streak on line against Bayside Academy in battle for 3A crown

When: Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. CT on Thursday, December 4

Where: Protective Stadium | Birmingham, Alabama

Watch live: Watch Mars Hill vs. Bayside Academy live on the NFHS Network

South Alabama scored the final seven points in a 77-75 victory over New Mexico State on Tuesday night in Katy, Texas.

The Jaguars (8-1) scored all seven of those points at the free-throw line — four from Adam Olsen, two from Chaze Harris and one from Randy Brady — in the final 2:02 of clock time. Elijah Elliott missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Aggies (6-1) suffered their first loss of the year.

Olsen scored 21 points to lead the way for South Alabama, which is off to its best 9-game start in program history. Peyton Law added 18 points and three blocks, while Harris had 17 points — going 11-for-11 from the line.

South Alabama made 32 of 39 free throws in the game, with Law and Olsen each going 6-for-7 and Brady — who had eight points and a team-best seven rebounds — going 5-for-7.

Jaylen Randall scored 21 points for New Mexico State, while Elliott had 18 — all on 3-pointers. Jamel Jones added 17 points and a game-high nine rebounds.

South Alabama stays on the road Friday, traveling to East Tennessee State for a 6 p.m. Central game that will stream live via ESPN+.

Two of Alabama’s greatest musical exports are set to perform at the 2026 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival: Rising young pop star Jessie Murph and legacy band Alabama Shakes, both from Athens.

Bonnaroo ’26 is scheduled for June 11-14 in Manchester, Tenn., about a 90-minute drive from Huntsville, Alabama. The festival’s headliners will include the deejays Skrillex and Griz, rock bands The Stokes, Turnstile and The Neighborhood, dance group Rufus Du Sol, country rapper Teddy Swims, singer/songwriters Noah Kahan and Role Model, and classic pop act Kesha.

Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. central Friday via bonnaroo.com. Prices start at $389 for four-day general admission and go up to $899 for VIP and $3,995 for “platinum.”

Four-day “Roo Insider” tickets — with perks like front-of-stage viewing, private golf cart transport, artist lounge access, air-conditioned tent accommodations plus all platinum, VIP and GA amenities — start at a princely $27,500.

Born in Huntsville and raised in Athens, Jessie Murph is known for songs like “Blue Stripes,” “Touch Me Like a Gangster” and “1965.” The 21-year-old singer mixes Lana Del Rey’s sultry charisma and cinematic sound, young Priscilla Presley’s look, and a country drawl filtered through Amy Winehouse’s rap-swagger.

Alabama Shakes were founded in Athens about five years after Murph was born. Led by dynamic 37-year-old singer Brittany Howard, the Shakes are known for 2010s rock-and-soul songs like “Hold On,” “Always Alright” and Grammy winner “Don’t Wanna Fight.”

This summer, Howard (who went solo in 2019) and Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell (who’d been part of Howard’s solo band) reconnected with Shakes guitarist Heath Fogg for a lucrative amphitheater tour.

But it’s been a “three-union,” not a true reunion. The Shakes’ original drummer Steve Johnson was left out of the tour, telling AL.com he’d been ousted from the band due to legal issues he had during the band’s hiatus. In late August, Alabama Shakes 2.0 released “Another Life,” the band’s first new song in eight years.

In addition to Murph and Alabama Shakes, notable Bonnaroo ’26 undercard acts include Rock’s Latest Great Hope, the British singer known as Yungblood. There’s also hot indie/punk groups like Geese, Wet Leg and Amy & The Sniffers and classic rockers Wolfmother, Modest Mouse and Blues Traveler.

Rap’s represented by stars like Vince Staples and Lil Jon, and electronic music by the likes of Major Lazer. Meanwhile, Tedeschi Trucks Band harkens back to Bonnaroo’s jam-band origins.

Weather truncated Bonnaroo’s 2025 edition. The festival was also canceled in 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic.

Creole slang for “the good stuff,” Bonnaroo debuted in 2002 and is held on a 700-acre farm. Attendance at the festival has ranged from around 70,000 for the 2012 debut to around 100,000 in 2012 and down to an estimated 45,000 or so in 2016. The last full Bonnaroo, held in 2024, drew around 70,000, according to the Nashville Tennessean.

Past headliners have included Beastie Boys, White Stripes, Jay-Z, Phish, Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar, Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Dave Matthews Band, Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West, The Police, Radiohead, Neil Young, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty, Stevie Wonder and Metallica.

C3 Presents is the production company for Bonnaroo. Their other festival productions have included Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Atlanta’s Shaky Knees and New Orleans’ Voodoo Music + Arts Experience.

C3 also helmed South Star, a Huntsville festival, which debuted in 2024 with acts like Gwen Stefani, Tom Morello and TLC. South Star was cut short due to weather and didn’t return to Huntsville for 2025.