At this point of the season, no introduction is necessary, so let&8217;s jump right into our games for tonight shall we?

Demopolis (8-1) at Greene County (3-6)

Catfight!

Catfight!

It&8217;s the DHS Tigers up against the Greeneco Tigers.

At face value one would assume this is an automatic win for the River City Bengalis. But consider this, the &8216;Greenies&8217; missed the playoffs by one game. A 21-14 win by Oak Grove over GCHS in Week 3 was the difference between the Greene playing at least another week or lacing up the sneakers for b&8217;ball.

Continuing that line of thought they have played a rough schedule. Every game they have dropped has been to a playoff bound team &8212; Aliceville, Tuscaloosa Central, Oak Grove, Sumter County, Fayette and Jemison

In addition, Greene is playing at home, and they always dress out some very athletic guys.

Demopolis should win this game. The difference in this game could very well be the discipline on offense and running out a tough-minded group of guys that likes to play defense. Another key point in DHS&8217;s favor is special teams play. In the past these have been keys to victory for Demopolis.

Another aspect of this match up, which could very well go either way, is the mental thing.

Does Greene County think they can win?

Or are they hung up on the fact that Greene County High School, since the merger of Eutaw and Paramount in 1999, has never beaten Demopolis. The average score since they resumed play in 2002 has been 56-5 in favor of DHS. As a matter of fact, one would have to travel back to 1955 in order to find a Eutaw High School win over Demop.

On the other side from a DHS Fighting Tiger mind set, do they believe they can lose to these guys?

True enough, over the years whenever DHS crosses the bridge, whether it&8217;s to play Eutaw, Paramount or Greene County, they bring home a win, but what if they don&8217;t take this Greeneco team seriously?

It would be a sad night in Metropolis to go into the playoffs against Vigor with a loss burned into their hide.

Sweet Water (8-0) at American Christian (8-1)

In Tuscaloosa tonight you have the champion of 1A Region 4 (Sweet Water) doing battle with the champion of 2A Region 4 (American Christian).

Sweet Water has a habit of knocking off highly ranked larger schools (remember Thomasville 4A and 2A Leroy). ACA follows the same blue print for success. (Side bar note: I have checked the AHSAA weekly scores; their only loss was a forfeit loss to Montgomery Catholic in Week 1. On the field they won 18-0.)

In 2006 SWHS pounded the Patriots, for three years prior to that it was ACA doing the pounding. Three years ago, when ACA was in the 1A classification and in the same region with SWHS, this was a true battle royale. Even with the Patriots moving up to 2A the rivalry continues.

This will be a good one. It will be a major obstacle for Sweet Water to continue their winning ways.

American Christian will have to bring their &8216;A&8217; game to the stadium tonight if they are interested in putting up a &8220;W&8221;.

The bottom line is both will play well, but which one can play good enough to win?

Linden (7-1) at Coffeeville (0-9)

This one may be over before it even starts.

Linden has some injuries but they should have this one bagged.

Coffeeville last whipped the LHS Patriots in the final game of 2004 (28-16). Since that game, LHS has been all over the Panthers. The Panthers, since that win in 2004, have gone 2-27 (2005 to 9 games into 2007).

Color this one red, white and blue, as in Linden Patriot colors, as they prepare for a home playoff opener against Ariton.

Lowndes at Southern

Round 1 of the AISA playoffs and there is a mean wind blowing out of Greensboro.

Last week the Cougars gave up more points in their loss to Bessemer than they have in the other 8 games combined. In all fairness, it&8217;s no disgrace, as BA obviously has a strong squad. Some say they may join Cottage Hill and Faith Academy and be the next AISA team that jumps to the public system in the near future.

Southern defeated Lowndes last year to complete their Three-peat championship.

Tonight, they begin their &8216;Fo-inna-Row&8217; against Lowndes.

Kingwood Christian at Marengo

Where&8217;s the beef in the AISA playoffs?

Right here baby, right in LA &8212; that&8217;s Linden, Alabama thank you very much.

I would bet a dollar to a doughnut it will be the &8216;Horns&8217; moving on to Round II.

These guys play pretty good &8216;D.&8217; Rumor is they want another shot at Southern which will be only two games away, assuming they win tonight.

Notables from last week

Pancake of the week: Thomasville 63, Monroe County 0

Left the Defense on the Bus: Hueytown 67, Jackson Olin 30

Low Ball of the week: Sidney Lanier 3, Carver-Montgomery 2

If we only had a kicker: Houston County 28, Samson 27

Remember, Demopolis on the road to Greene County in Eutaw for the last regular season game of 2007. Come to the game and do some tailgating; and of course, wear blue. It would be great to have more fans in the stands than the home team.

Until next time, play hard; play for fun; play to win.

Mike Grayson is contributing columnist to the Times.