Auburn fans can see school's future in Alabama Super 6 Finals

Auburn University fans should be happy as a lark that the 2010 AHSAA Super 6 state football championships are on their fair campus this week. For starters, it has been a good luck charm of sorts for the team that hosts.

Last year, the University of Alabama hosted the 2009 Super 6 state championships at Bryant-Denny Stadium for the first time in AHSAA history and the Crimson Tide went 14-0 on the way to the BCS National Championship. This year, the games will be played at Jordan-Hare Stadium and host Auburn is 12-0. The Tigers play South Carolina in the SEC Championship game on Saturday and are currently ranked No. 1 in the BCS rankings.

All kidding aside, the prep championship games, six in a two-day span Thursday and Friday, have reached a new pinnacle with the move to Bryant-Denny last year and Jordan-Hare this year. This week's games will be bringing many youngsters to AU's fabled stadium for the first time in their lives.

And if that isn't enough to make you want to scream "War Eagle," good weather promises to have AU's real eagle make a flying swoop of the stadium in each of the six state championship games. It's a safe bet the eagle wants to get a real bird's eye view of five prep recruits who will be playing in the games that have already selected Gene Chizik's Tigers as their college of choice.



Thursday's tripleheader starts at 11 a.m. with unbeaten Leeds (14-0) and Hamilton (14-0) playing in the Class 3A finals. The 1A championship follows at 3 p.m. with Sweet Water (11-3) going for its ninth state title overall against R.A. Hubbard (Courtland) (13-1). The nightcap features Spanish Fort (13-1), in just its fifth year as a high school, playing Briarwood Christian (Birmingham) (13-1) at 7 p.m.

Friday's schedule also kicks off at 11 a.m., with the Class 4A championship game. Thomasville (14-0) puts its unbeaten streak on the line against Deshler (Tuscumbia) (12-2). The 3 p.m. game features Class 2A defending champion Reeltown (Notasulga) and Leroy (14-1). Hoover (14-0), riding a 21-game winning streak, faces Daphne (14-0) in 6A finals.

Click here to view MaxPreps' Alabama football playoff brackets.

AUBURN'S FIVE RECRUITS
Auburn's coaching staff took on Nick Saban's coaching staff in the recruitment of in-state recruits last summer and won its share of the talent. No current Bama commitments are scheduled to play in the Super 6 this week.
Auburn's quintet have played key roles in their teams' successes this season:
  
* Jaylon Denson, Hoover: The top-ranked Bucs have been the team of the decade in Alabama with six state titles and nine trips to the Class 6A state championship game since 2000, counting Friday night's contest with second-ranked Daphne. Both teams come in at 14-0. Coach Josh Niblett's Hoover squad rolls in with a 21-game  winning streak, 60 offensive touchdowns and 5,265 total yards in 14 games.

Oh yes. Niblett (109-35) also has Denson. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound receiver who chose Auburn over a host of SEC schools, has drawn comparisons to another former Hoover pass catcher, Chad Jackson. Jackson, who played on two Hoover state championship teams, went on to start at Florida and play in the NFL.

Denson has 63 catches this season for 1,059 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's been senior quarterback Ryan Carter's main target. Carter is 179 of 278 passing this season for 2,444 yards and 22 touchdowns with only five interceptions. Running back Justin McArthur has also benefited from Denson's pass-catching exploits and Denson's big blocks when lining up at tight end. McArthur has rushed for 1,435 yards on 233 carries and also has 16 receptions for another 216 yards and a team-high 28 touchdowns.



That trio poses some real match-up problems for Daphne's Trojans.

Daphne's best defense could be its strong running game. Tyrell Holloway has rushed for 1,254 yards and 13 touchdowns on 159 carries, T.J. Yeldon has 1,063 yards and 17 scores on 142 attempts and Israel Lamprakes has added 539 yards and six scores on 61 carries from his wide-receiver position. He also has 31 catches for 576 yards and four scores and Yeldon, 29 catches for 464 yards and five touchdowns.

* Reese Dismukes, Spanish Fort: The 6-foot-4, 295-pound offensive center has anchored a strong offensive line at Spanish Fort that has helped the Toros win 24 games in the last two seasons. Head coach Bryant Vincent says Dismukes is like a coach on the field with his game savvy and ability to provide talent, strength and leadership up front. He's also helped senior Ameriol Finley, a 6-1, 185-pound transfer from Beauregard High School who sat out last season. Finley has rushed for 1,400 yards and 24 touchdowns on 163 carries in 10 games and has completed 50 of 89 passes for 692 yards, nine touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Spanish Fort (12-2) will need to be clicking on all cylinders to beat Briarwood Christian, the school that sent Cam Newton's understudy Barrett Trotter to Auburn after reaching the 2008 Class 5A finals in 2008. Coach Fred Yancey, who will be the head coach of Alabama's All-Stars in the Alabama-Mississippi Classic Dec. 11 at Mobile's Ladd-Peebles Stadium, has proven to be one of the state's top coaches – especially in championship games. Briarwood is 2-1 in Super 6 appearances.

The Lions have owned the second quarter this season, outscoring opponents 187-33 in that period alone. Quarterback Benjamin Craft has been a key offensively. The 6-2 junior has completed 171 of 295 pass attempts for 2,333 yards and 20 touchdowns this season with only six interceptions. His effort has also drawn lots of attention from college recruiters.

* Jonathan Rose, Leeds: The 6-2, 185-pound defensive back and wide receiver is the son of former Auburn defensive back Courtney Rose. He's also considered one of the nation's top safeties and should pose plenty of problems in the Class 3A finals for Hamilton and its 5-6, 150-pound sophomore quarterbacking sensation Mitch Stults. Stults has started for Coach Rodney Stidham's Aggies for two seasons – leading Hamilton to 26 wins in 27 starts including a perfect 14-0 slate this season. He has thrown for 2,085 yards and 24 touchdowns this season with six interceptions. Stults has also rushed for 480 yards and nine scores.



Rose, however, has four interceptions and 70 tackles on defense. He blocked two kicks in one playoff game.  Offensively, he has 15 receptions for 327 yards and four scores and 140 yards rushing and two scores on just five tries (29 yards per rush).

Leeds also features another Division I prospect in running back Dedrick Forsysthe. The 6-foot, 180-pound senior has rushed for 1,402 yards and 20 touchdowns for Coach Keith Etheredge on just 146 carries.

* Sammie Coates, Leroy: Coates was a key target for quarterback Clint Moseley in 2008, who became the Bears' only Mr. Football winner after leading Leroy to its third Class 2A state championship in a row. Moseley is now at Auburn battling Trotter for the back-up spot behind Cam Newton.

Coates is finally a 6-3, 175-pound senior for Coach Danny Powell (65-7). He has 56 catches this season for 1,148 yards and 14 receiving touchdowns. He has also rushed 20 times for 206 yards and eight more scores and is a threat to score on any kickoff. Junior quarterback William Gartman is also having an all-state caliber year with 2,801 yards passing on a 157 of 247 pass completion effort. He has 28 touchdowns and only five interceptions.

Defending 2A state champion Reeltown (13-1) counters with a smash-mouth football team that likes to run, run, run. Coach Jackie O'Neal (201-89) became the state's newest 200-game winner in the playoff quarterfinals.

* Chris Landrum, Sweet Water: The 6-2, 225-pound running back and linebacker broke his foot in the first game of the season and has returned to the lineup for Coach Stacy Luker just in time to play in the state finals.



Landrum, from one of the state's most famous football families, has just two tackles on the year. He also is the team's punter and returns kicks when he is healthy. He has scored three touchdowns this season. Michael Thompson filled the void in the backfield in Landrum's absence, however, with 1,224 yards rushing on the year.

The Bulldogs face an R.A. Hubbard team that can run the football well. The Chiefs (13-1) feature Eddrick Harris with 1,063 yards and 14 touchdowns on 140 carries. Ironically, Sweet Water's defense has yielded just 1,170 yards rushing and 10 touchdowns this season.

HOOVER, SWEET WATER TOPS AMONG 12 FINALISTS
The 12 teams competing Super 6 State Championships Thursday and Friday have won a combined 38 state championships. Throw in another 21 runner-up finishes and you can see that the best of the best has risen to the top for this year's football finals.

These 12 schools also have won 544 playoff games with 229 losses and one tie dating back to the AHSAA's first state playoffs in 1966 and through last week's semifinals. That's a winning percentage in playoff games of 70.3 percent.

Sweet Water and Hoover own the most state championships with eight each. The Bulldogs, who were coached for many years by AHSAA Hall of Fame legend Nolan Atkins and now by his former player Stacy Luker, won their first state crown in 1978 – after two Class 1A runner-up finishes in 1969 and 1975. Sweet Water also won state titles in 1979, 1982, 1986, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.

Hoover is going for a Super 6 record seventh state championship since 2000 Friday night against Daphne. Hoover won state big-school titles in 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 under Coach Rush Propst's direction, and won in 2009 with current coach Josh Niblett guiding the Bucs. Niblett also coached Oneonta to the Class 3A state title in 2004. Hoover won its first state title in 1977 under the direction of Coach Bob Finley as W.A. Berry High School, and tied Enterprise 10-10 in the 1982 finals – the last tie in AHSAA state championship history when the rules were changed the next year. The Bucs finished second to powerful Vigor in 1988 with future Auburn quarterbacking great Stan White at the helm.



R.A. Hubbard has won five state titles – all under their previous moniker Courtland High School. Leroy has four state titles, all since 2004, and Briarwood Christian has three – 1998, 1999 and 2003.

Hoover's 69-17-1 playoff record is tops in wins along with Hubbard (69-23-0), but Spanish Fort's 9-2 playoff record is best by percentage (.818). Sweet Water is right behind the Bucs and Chiefs at 61-22 in 31 playoff appearances.