Good morning Brewton area sports fans. I hope all is well with everyone this morning and the first part of your week has been great and the last part will be the same.

Well, tomorrow is the day we have been looking forward to since it ending with the Super 6 in Tuscaloosa last year…High school football is back.

W.S. Neal will travel to Flomaton tomorrow to start their season and T.R. Miller will travel to Atmore Friday for their season opener.

As you may have seen in today’s paper, our annual football preview section is in the paper today.

Grab a paper and see how our teams shape up this year.

Also in the guide, is my second year of “predicting” how I think the season will go for both W.S. Neal and T.R. Miller.

As I saw from a fellow sports writer across the state for his prediction column he said “here’s the part where somebody has to play Nostradamus for high school football.”

I have always loved looking at predictions of how people, sports writers and others think a particular season will turn out.

Just the other day I had a W.S. Neal player ask when this year’s picks were coming out, so it felt good to know at least one person was looking forward to seeing them.

Last year I was able to get a few right and of course a few wrong which is the fun in doing this. We all make predictions of how we think our favorite team’s season will go and that’s what this is…fun.

There was no rhyme or reason to some of the picks. Yes, I do think one team will defeat another a particular week, but the scores were just guesses.

I had fun with it and I hope you did too. Like I said, this is just how I think they will do and I emphasize think.

A team may win or lose a game I had them doing the opposite in, do better or do worse. Who knows…that’s why they play the game.

Nobody really can predict how a season will go to the tee. They may get lucky here and there, but only one person knows everything and that is our Heavenly Father Jesus Christ.

Injuries might happen, weather conditions, who knows.

I hope both of our teams have a great and safe season and until we meet again here or out in the world of sports, God bless.

Here goes nothing……….

W.S. Neal:

After struggling last season with their second straight 2-8 record under first year head coach Kevin Jordan, the Eagles remain in tough region one this season. Of the seven region opponents for the Eagles, three of them were ranked 1-2-3 in the preseason poll for class 4A.

While the schedule and region games remain almost the same, and a few key players from 2009 are gone. The 2010 team is still a very young team. Here is how I see the 2010 season shaping up for the W.S. Neal Eagles:

Aug. 26: at Flomaton— The W.S. Neal Eagles will open up the 2010 season against an in-county opponent on the road in a Thursday night game against the Flomaton Hurricanes. Last year, W.S. Neal defeated Monroe County 24-10 to get their first of only two wins last season. Flomaton is a 2A school and was very young last year like the Eagles. This should be a great in county game on a Thursday to start the season and could go either way. I look for the Eagles to come out on top and start the season with a win. W.S. Neal 24, Flomaton 13.

Sept. 3: UMS-Wright— In the first region game of the season for W.S. Neal, the Eagles head home to take on No. 1 UMS-Wright. UMS-Wright has been one of the top teams in class 4A if not the top team in recent years. UMS-Wright should get the win in this game. UMS-Wright 35, W.S. Neal 13

Sept. 10: Jackson—Week three will be the second home game for the Eagles and second against one of the top-three teams in the state. After playing No. 1 UMS-Wright last week, W.S. Neal should have another tough one with the defending state runner-up. Jackson 38, W.S. Neal 6

Sept. 17: at Escambia County—In week four, the Eagles travel to face their second county team in the Blue Devils of Atmore. This should be two spread offensive teams going at it against each other, but I think Atmore will spread the love and the points better than W.S. Neal. Atmore 27, W.S. Neal 17

Sept. 24: Hillcrest— Hillcrest comes to East Brewton for a non-region game under first year head coach Larry Boykin. Boykin spent many years at Southern Choctaw and saw some state championships. With the Eagles sitting at 1-3, look for them to get a win to improve to 2-3 at the midway point of the season. W.S. Neal 24, Hillcrest 20

Oct. 1: at Monroe County—Against Monroe County last year, the Eagles opened the season with a win to get one of their only two wins last year. Monroe County has been down in the past and I look for W.S. Neal to take down the Tigers again to even their record at 3-3. W.S. Neal 24, Monroe County 13

Oct. 8: B.C. Rain—This week is homecoming for the Eagles. Last year the Eagles traveled to Ladd-Peebles Stadium to take on the Red Raiders for their homecoming and came back with a loss. I think if the Eagles stay focused they can give Eagle fans a win on homecoming this year, but I think the Red Raiders will spoil all the fun this year. B.C. Rain 21, W.S. Neal 12

Oct. 15: Thomasville— This is the last of the three-headed monster in 1-2-3 ranked UMS, Jackson and the Tigers of Thomasville. Last season, W.S. Neal was on the road in a muddy rainstorm. Thomasville usually just reloads and this year should be the same. Thomasville 35, W.S. Neal 13

Oct. 21: at Saraland—In week nine, W.S. Neal travels to take on new school Saraland on a Thursday. This game will be played at Lipscomb Field in the Eagle’s second Thursday night regular season game and third counting the preseason game against Opp. With Saraland being a new school and never played football before, I have no clue as to what they will have. This game could go either way depending on what Saraland does in their previous eight games. Look for W.S. Neal to improve to 4-5 with a win. W.S. Neal 22, Saraland 13

Oct. 29: at T.R. Miller—The final game of the season brings the annual Battle of Murder Creek game for the Eagles against arch-rival T.R. Miller. With this game, who knows what can happen, but in the past two games after winning two straight over the Tigers, W.S. Neal has been outscored 89-0 in the last two games. Can W.S. Neal end the Tigers win streak? Can they end a two game scoreless streak? We will have to wait until week 10 because, like in the past, I am not going to pick this one.

So there it is. A 4-5 season for the Eagles not counting the Battle of Murder Creek game against T.R. Miller. That gives the Eagles two more wins than last year and the year before and equals their total from the two past seasons. Many of the players said they were dedicating this season to late Eagle principal Phillip Ellis. Can it be a magical season? The season could go one way or the other for the Eagles, but look for the Eagles to be heading in the right direction with their young players.

T.R. Miller:

The 2010 T.R. Miller Tiger football teams enters this season with a new region, like all teams across the state after realignment. T.R. Miller went 10-2 last season losing to Straughn in the regular season and to region opponent Luverne in a second round playoff game.

The new region for T.R. Miller shapes up to see a lot tougher opponents in Trinity, Montgomery Academy, Clarke County and others along with some longer road games. Gone are Calhoun and Central of Hayneville.

Lets see how the 2009 season could turn out for the T.R. Miller Tigers:

Aug. 27: at Escambia County—This game is always a big non-region and in county game for the two rivals of Atmore and Brewton. Last season, the Tigers picked up a 27-12 win over the Blue Devils in Brewton. This season, the Tigers travel to Atmore to welcome new Blue Devil coach Mark Heaton and from what I have been seeing, this is a new look Blue Devil team. I look for the game to be good and close early, but for the Tigers to pull it out late. The win will be No. 600 for the Tigers overall which leads the state. T.R. Miller 28, Escambia County 19

Sept. 3: at Bayside Academy— Week two sees the Tigers head into the first region game of the season. The Tigers make a return trip back to Bayside this year where they had to fight for their lives last year and win 28-24 with an interception at the goal line as time expired. I expect this year will be about the same, but not as close. T.R. Miller 42, Bayside Academy 21

Sept. 10: Excel—This will be the first home game for the Tigers of the 2010 season. Excel is coming up from 2A this season and this is the first time the two schools have ever played. I have a special connection to this game as I am from Excel and still have relatives there. I think Excel’s first game against the Tigers will be one to remember, in a bad way. T.R. Miller 35, Excel 13

Sept. 17: Montgomery Academy—These two schools have only met once before, with T.R. Miller winning a close game in Montgomery in the semifinals of the playoffs in 2002 enroute to winning their last state championship. I don’t know much about the Eagles from Montgomery, so I will keep this one close with T.R. Miller improving to 4-0. T.R. Miller 20, Montgomery Academy 14

Sept. 24: at Andalusia—In week five, T.R. Miller heads to an old rival in Andalusia for a non-region game. These two schools have not played since 2005 with Andalusia holding the upper hand in the this series 25-22 over T.R. Miller with one tie. Andalusia is on the rise after a few down years. I see this game going either way, especially with the Bulldogs playing at home, but I am still going to have to go with the Tigers in the this one to get the W, but if they are not careful, it could be their first loss. T.R. Miller 27, Andalusia 26

Oct. 1: at Clarke County— In week six, the Tigers head to another tough place to play when they encounter their second week of Bulldogs against Clarke County. Clarke County always plays the Tigers tough regardless of location, but this one could be another tough one, especially in Grove Hill. Clarke County, who has been in 4A, is back in 3A where they usually are a little tougher. Can T.R. Miller improve to 6-0? I am going to have to say yes. T.R. Miller 28, Clarke County 14.

Oct. 8: Washington County— Week seven brings T.R. Miller’s third straight week of Bulldogs. Washington County enters 2010 with a new coach. This is another team I am unfamiliar with. T.R. Miller last played Washington County in 1990 and 1991 winning 52-7 and 49-22. Look for T.R. Miller to improve to 7-0, but not quiet as many points will be put on the board by them. T.R. Miller 35, Washington County 20

Oct. 15: at Trinity— The Tigers hit the road for the final road game of the 2010 season. I look at this game like the Straughn or Luverne games from last year. Earlier this offseason, I heard a couple of Tigers say they were looking forward to playing Trinity. Trinity was ranked in the preseason poll and should have a good season. This is another coin toss. I look for Trinity to get the upper hand on the Tigers and hand them their first loss. Trinity 35, T.R. Miller 28

Oct. 22: Montgomery Catholic—Week nine brings Montgomery Catholic to Brewton for homecoming. After a close week of games last week to Trinity, I see T.R. Miller getting an easy win over Montgomery Catholic. T.R. Miller 42, Montgomery Catholic 13

Oct. 29: W.S. Neal— After two straight losses to W.S. Neal in 2006 and 2007, T.R. Miller has since defeated W.S. Neal two straight times without having a point scored on them by the Eagles. T.R. Miller won 55-0 in 2008 and 34-0 last year. This game is a big rival game for both teams in the Battle of Murder Creek. As far as a prediction, do I have to say it again? Did you really think I would predict this game? Not a chance.

I see T.R. Miller going 8-1 not counting the Battle of Murder Creek game against W.S. Neal. Depending on how the Trinity game goes the Tigers could win the region or finish as a No. 2 seed and host a first round playoff game. While 8-1 is the record predicted, the Tigers could easily win or lose some key region games and their non-region games. It could happen, but I don’t see it.