GDW Analysis:
Local football coaches are monitoring daily weather conditions with the start of fall practice to begin in a week.
As July closes out and August arrives, the coaches will make adjustments with current weather undergoing warm temperatures and heat advisories.
The AHSAA allows teams to work out for the first three days of fall practice in shorts and helmets.
Cullman County schools will go to the classroom on August 7 & 8. All workouts will then take place when school is out each day.
Gameday Weekly is preparing for the 2025 schedule but looks back at how 2024 was in a total analysis.
In regular season play, the Top 3 teams, Fairview, Good Hope and Vinemont, combined for 25 wins & 4 losses. Winston County's top three were 26 & 4 with Winston Co 10 & 0, Lynn 9 & 1 and Meek 7 & 3.
Cold Springs and Cullman claimed 5 & 5 results in their regular schedule.
These five were playoff participants with at least one team in the postseason in 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A and 6A.
Improvement was shown by the following from 2023 to 2024.
Cold Springs from 4 & 6 to 5 & 5
Good Hope from 3 & 7 to 9 & 1
Holly Pond from 2 & 8 to 4 & 6
Vinemont from 4 & 6 to 7 & 3.
Fairview and Good Hope came into the final week of the regular season undefeated. Fairview was 8 & 0 and Good Hope 9 & 0. Both would be a champion in their respective region.
Vinemont's 7 & 3 equaled the Eagles' 2020 campaign in regular play.
For the first half of last season, Cold Springs, Fairview, Good Hope and Vinemont had a combined record of 16 & 3. FV was 4 & 0 with GH 5 & 0, VM 4 & 1 and CS 3 & 2.
Cullman would parlay 3 wins in their last 5 games of the regular season to go to the playoffs with a .500 victory percentage.
Holly Pond was 4 & 0 when the Broncos scored 40 points or better. The Broncos put 74 on the scoreboard against Hanceville in their 2nd game, 54 vs. Brindlee Mountain, 44 against Asbury and 48 to end the season vs. Cleveland.
Fairview's undefeated regular season was the first time accomplished by the Aggies under current coach George Redding.
Joining Fairview in an undefeated regular season was West Morgan and Winston County, both 10 & 0.
The Good Hope resurgence of 10 & 2 for 2024 after 3 & 7 the year before, was of good measure when the Raiders failed to win a game in 2016, then in 2018, produce 11 wins and a berth to the 4A quarterfinals.
A breakdown of each team will be presented by GDW in the upcoming weeks.
Photo of the Good Hope Raiders in pregame prior to a spring jamboree at Vinemont May 16.
GDW photo by Johnny Thornton.
