MA ready for oil check on road

HUNTSVILLE – Play ’em one at a time, don’t look beyond this week. Cliche, yes. True, yes.

But there’s always one on the horizon that is hard to ignore, and Madison Academy has arrived at that juncture in 2026.

“Briarwood, Birmingham. None of our kids have been there,’’ Mustangs head coach Bob Godsey said after his team breezed past Westminster 52-0. “It’s the kind of game you look forward to.”

To be fair, the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s decision to split public and private schools in its purview has and will continue to have reverberations beyond this season. Legal issues aside, that decision along with another regarding the Private School Double-A division hasn’t altered the competitive balance of the schools involved.

To wit: Madison Academy played a rugged opening with games against Mars Hill and West Morgan and split 1-1. Since then, the Mustangs have easily disposed of St. John Paul II and Westminster by a combined

Meanwhile, Briarwood, a 5A power before reconstruction, has outscored its region play opponents Westminster and Lee-Scott Academy 91-7. Prior to league action, the Lions defeated Moody 35-7 and Public School 5A bully Homewood 17-14.

The teams are playing for playoff seeding. All 16 teams in the newly formed Private School Double-A division are all assured postseason berths.

That, however, matters little as the Mustangs check the depth of where they’re at–full level or a quart or two low.

“It’s what you play for,” Godsey said.