Two of the top teams in Class 6A will battle it out between Saraland and Theodore at C.A. Douglas Field on Friday night. The winner will advance to play in the championship game against the Muscle Shoals or Mountain Brook winner at Jordan Hare Stadium.

Saraland (12-1) is coming off an unbelievable 57-56 overtime win against Homewood last Friday night, while Theodore had a little bit of a more straightforward game defeating St. Paul's 28-0 last week. In week #9, these two teams played, and Theodore won a 27-26 thriller against Saraland for the Spartans' only defeat.

Saraland is coming into the game on a four-game winning streak averaging a whopping 45 points per game, and has the best offense in Class 6A. Quarterback KJ Lacey is having a big season, completing 178-of-270 passes for 2,885 yards with 37 touchdowns and only four interceptions. Lacey has a big arm and looks to get the ball downfield. He stands in the pocket, wanting to complete a pass to his explosive receivers.

Santae McWilliams leads the Spartans' ground game. The sophomore running back has 1,199 yards on 204 carries and 15 touchdowns. McWilliams, a top baseball prospect in the state, has speed, power, and great vision for a running back. McWilliams can go between the tackles or has the speed for an outside run. Against Homewood, McWilliams had 124 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Kingston Bush has 130 yards on 21 carries and two touchdowns.

At the receiver position, the Spartans have big-play talent. Ryan Williams has 1,515 yards on 79 receptions (19.2 avg) and 23 touchdowns, along with 480 yards on 40 carries and 11 touchdowns. The Alabama commit has 1,995 total yards and 34 touchdowns. The super sophomore has tremendous speed and hands-on catching the football and can high point the ball with the best of them. Williams is having one of the state's best seasons of any 6A player. Carson Gill has 642 yards on 40 receptions and seven touchdowns. Brooks Womble has 293 yards on 21 receptions and five touchdowns. Jordan Dees has 191 yards on ten receptions and a touchdown. Michael Smith has been out but looks to return to the playing field Friday night. Smith has 13 receptions for 197 yards and two touchdowns.

The offensive line has been dominant and is giving Lacey and others to make big plays on offense. Kyron Wilson, Bryceson Chastang, Brandon Sexton, Ethan Green, and Tyler Crenshaw lead the way for the Spartans' offensive line play. Wilson has an offer from Alabama State. Crenshaw is a big run blocker that creates holes for Spartan running backs.

Jamison Curtis leads the Saraland defense. The junior linebacker has 97 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks on the season. Curtis has offers from Austin Peay and has a high motor that can go from sideline to sideline. Look for Curtis to pick up more offers in the next few months. 

Chris Thompson has 87 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and a sack. The junior linebacker holds an offer from Alabama State. Linebackers Camron York with 85 tackles and ten tackles for loss, and Isaih Bowie with 52 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss. 

The defensive front of Antonio Coleman, Jermaine Paramore, Jimmy Byrd, and Jacob Patterson are solid. Byrd has 63 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and holds an offer from Alabama State. Paramore has 62 tackles with 15.5 tackles for loss, and Coleman has 56 tackles and 17 tackles for loss. Coleman holds an offer from Austin Peay.

The secondary has Zay Crenshaw, who could get snaps on offense; Crenshaw has great speed and is an excellent one-on-one cover guy. Eddrick White, Delvon Gulley, Camron Laffitte, and Arterus Moffett. Laffitte leads the team with five interceptions. Crenshaw and Moffett have three interceptions. Gulley has an offer from Alabama State, Nicholls State, and Middle Tennessee.

Hunter Kirkland handles the kicking duties. He is 4-of-5 on field goals and 24-of-26 on extra points. Kirkland has 34.8 yards per punt on the season. 

Theodore (13-0) comes into the game averaging 32.7 points per game and holds four shutouts on defense this season. This is the first time that the Bobcats have won 13 games in a season. The Theodore defense has been good all season long and will need to be very good again against a high-power offense in Saraland.

Quarterback Cameron Rigby is having a good season. The junior quarterback has completed 96-of-186 passing for 1,196 yards with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Rigby does an excellent job of hitting his receivers on the run and does a great job of just moving the chains for the Bobcats' offense.

The Bobcats use running back Brayden Jenkins their primary offensive weapon. For the season, Jenkins has 1,943 yards on 276 carries with 26 touchdowns. Jenkins sat out last week's game against St. Paul's to prepare for this showdown with the Spartans. In the first game against Saraland, Jenkins had 213 yards on 38 carries and two touchdowns. Jenkins is a strong runner who can run between the tackles or around the ends. Jenkins is a very explosive runner; when he gets to the second level, he is gone. Jenkins holds an offer from Miles College. Last week, Will James rushed for 151 yards on five carries and three touchdowns in the win over St. Paul's. 

The Bobcats receiving core has Gregory Watson, Kamrean Johnson, Tavaris Sullivan, Treyvian Glover, and Cameron Williams. Sullivan has 32 receptions for 509 yards and four touchdowns. Glover plays on both sides of the ball, and he has 38 receptions for 371 yards with four touchdowns. Johnson, a Vandy commitment, has 12 receptions for 259 yards and seven touchdowns. 

The Bobcats' offensive line has been excellent. Timmes Marquez, Michael Braggs, Gyainni Smith, Cameran Rogers, and Andrew Gay are having a great season. Rogers is a big-time run blocker. Rogers can push the line with the best of them with his size and strength.

The Bobcats' defense will need to play another good game this week. Linebacker Navontay Richardson leads the way. Richardson leads the Bobcats in tackles with 103. Also, he has 14 tackles for loss and three sacks. Linebackers Landon Collier, Cameron Pruitt, Demon Jones, and Brian Ward get playing time. Pruitt has 99 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and two sacks. Pruitt holds offers from Coastal Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Arkansas Pine Bluff, FAU, UAB, and Arkansas State. Pruitt has tremendous speed, can go from sideline to sideline, and is an excellent tackler. Collier has 64 tackles, six tackles for loss, and two sacks.

The defensive linemen of Jordan Bolden, Derrick Lee, and Travis Bendolph are very talented. Bendolph has 79 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and a team-leading nine sacks. Bendolph just received an offer from Pearl River. Lee has 52 tackles, and Bolden has 42 tackles. Earlier against Baldwin County, Lee has nine tackles, two tackles for loss, along with 22 yards on five carries and a touchdown.

The secondary of Will James, Jordan Casher, Braylon Robinson, Antoine Eager, JaMarion Williams, and Glover are outstanding. Robinson has four interceptions, and James and Casher have two interceptions each. James, a Southern Mississippi commit, has 20 tackles and two tackles for loss. Eager has 52 tackles and two tackles for loss. Casher has offers from Austin Peay and Miles College.

Miguel Frias holds a 32.1 punt per average. Frias has 4-of-5 field goals along with 47-of-51 extra points. 

The question is can Theodore get another win over a team they already defeated earlier in the season. In Class 7A, Hoover and Central-Phenix City could not beat the team they won against in the regular season. Can Theodore? It is going to be tough with that potent Saraland offense.