The Pike County Bulldogs start the 2007 season where they left off in both 2005 and 2006 — at the top.

The two-time Class 3A defending state champions are ranked No. 1 in the 2007 Alabama Sports Writers Association preseason poll, which was released today.

The Bulldogs are one of seven Wiregrass teams ranked, including three at No. 3 — last year’s Class 5A state runner-up Eufaula and state semifinal teams Andalusia (Class 4A) and Houston Academy (Class 2A).

Other Wiregrass ranked teams are Geneva (No. 6, Class 3A), Wicksburg (No. 10, 2A) and Florala (No. 7, 1A).

Seven other area teams received votes to the poll, but didn’t break the top 10. They are Enterprise (6A), Abbeville (3A), Houston County, Geneva County and Cottonwood (all 2A), Ariton (1A) and Lakeside School (AISA).

Pike County, coming off a 14-1 season, received 21 first-place votes among the 26 ASWA members who voted in the preseason poll. Clay County received four and Leeds the other.

“It is a great honor for our school and program to open the season ranked No. 1,” Pike County head coach Wayne Grant said.

It is the second straight year the Bulldogs have opened at No. 1. They were No. 1 last year before losing in the second week to Geneva in triple overtime. PCHS finished the  season with 13 straight wins to take the title.

Though it lost four all-state players from last year, Grant feels Pike County still has enough talent around to be considered for No. 1.

“I feel my team deserves the opportunity to be ranked No. 1 at the start,” Grant said. “We lost a few good players, but we have a good number who played a lot of football last year. A lot of them weren’t starters, but we won a lot of games big and they got a chance to play a lot.”

The Dogs return five starters on offense and five on defense, including all-state player Darrell Reynolds. A senior, Reynolds led Pike County in rushing last year with 1,293 yards and 18 touchdowns as a running back and was a hard-hitting linebacker, recording 81 tackles.

Eufaula was picked third in 5A despite returning just six starters on defense and two on offense off last year’s 14-1 team. The Tigers were ranked behind only St. Paul’s and J.O. Johnson, but received one of the first-place votes.

Dan Klages’ team lost several key players, including versatile all-state quarterback Jerrel Jernigan, but return a handful of standouts, including defensive end Courtney Upshaw, an Alabama verbal commitment, and nose guard/fullback Xavier Crews, an honorable mention all-state player last year.

Andalusia opens near the top in 4A following a 10-4 state semifinal year.

The Bulldogs lost three-year starter Matt Mellown at quarterback and all-state running back Ladarrius McNeil plus head coach Tom Causey, who took the head coaching job at Demopolis.

However, all-state linebacker Nico Johnson (133 tackles last year) and all-state honorable mention running back Michael Berry (1,375 yards, 23 TDs) should be forces for new head coach Heath Harmon.

The Bulldogs are ranked behind only Guntersville and Thomasville, last year’s 4A championship participants.

Like Andalusia, Houston Academy lost a lot, including its head coach, but also returns a good nucleus.

The Raiders lost all-state players in running back Stanley Jones and linebacker Davis Flowers plus 11 other quality seniors.

However, quarterback Watson Downs, back to start for his third year, and honorable mention all-state linebacker Joe Tarwater are among 12 seniors returning for HA, which was 12-1 last year.

Veteran head coach Jimmy Addison takes over as head coach following Rodney Dollar, now the head coach at Tallassee.

The Raiders are behind defending state champion Leroy and Fyffe in the poll.

Geneva lost a strong senior class, but returns standout wide receiver David Simon and several other talented seniors off last year’s 11-1 team.

Wicksburg graduated only four seniors off last year’s 7-4 state playoff team and returns its dynamic duo backfield of quarterback Blake Wallace and running back Zack Love.

Florala finished just 5-6 during an injury-plagued season last year, but had a lot of players gain valuable experience because of it. The Wildcats return 10 starters on offense and nine on defense.

Defending champions topped five of the six classifications in the preseason rankings, led by Prattville (6A), Guntersville (4A), Pike County (3A), Leroy (2A) and Sweet Water (1A).

The lone class that didn’t have a defending state champ at the top was Class 5A where Athens was ranked eighth.

In the AISA Top 10, defending 3A champion Bessemer Academy starts at No. 1.
AISA schools began practice for Aug. 24 openers this week and AHSAA schools begin next Monday with season openers set for Aug. 30-31-Sept. 1.

Alabama Sports Writers Association
Preseason prep football rankings
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Class 6A
Rank School 2006 Tot Pts
No. 1 Prattville (21) (15-0) 296
No. 2 Hoover (4) (13-2) 234
No. 3 Daphne (1) (9-3) 194
No. 4 Vestavia Hills (11-3) 151
No. 5 McGill-Toolen (11-2) 137
No. 6 Foley (10-2) 110
No. 7 Opelika (12-2) 98
No. 8 Gadsden City (9-2) 69
No. 9 Spain Park (6-4) 65
No. 10 Tuscaloosa Co. (6-5) 39
Others receiving votes: Bob Jones (5-6) 16; Enterprise (7-4) 12; Homewood (7-6) 12; Oxford (6-5) 9; Sidney Lanier (7-5) 7; Pelham (10-3) 6; Auburn (7-5) 5; Clay-Chalkville (9-2) 5; Sparkman (10-2) 5; Mountain Brook (5-5) 3; Smiths Station (6-5) 3; Florence (6-5) 2; Thompson (8-4) 2; Minor (6-6) 1; Murphy (9-3) 1; Wetumpka (5-4) 1

Class 5A
Rank School 2006 Tot Pts
No. 1 St. Paul’s (17) (11-2) 273
No. 2 J.O. Johnson (6) (10-4) 214
No. 3 Eufaula (1) (14-1) 191
No. 4 Russellville (1) (11-2) 149
No. 5 Fort Payne (11-1) 123
No. 6 Briarwood Christian (8-3) 99
No. 7 Jess Lanier (5-6) 65
No. 8 Athens (1) (12-3) 60
No. 9 McAdory (10-2) 56
No. 10 UMS-Wright (11-3) 47
Others receiving votes: Mortimer Jordan (9-3) 20; Valley (8-3) 30; Hartselle (11-2) 29; Vigor (5-6) 29; Demopolis (8-3) 15; Etowah (8-3) 13; Fairfield (10-2) 12; Cullman (7-5) 11; Benjamin Russell (7-4) 10; Parker (6-5) 10; Pleasant Grove (9-3) 8; Greenville (10-3) 7; Albertville (4-6) 1

Class 4A
Rank School 2006 Tot Pts
No. 1 Guntersville (21) (14-1) 292
No. 2 Thomasville (2) (13-2) 226
No. 3 Andalusia (10-4) 160
No. 4 North Jackson (9-3) 109
No. 5 Brooks (1) (11-1) 100
No. 6 Alexandria (12-1) 95
No. 7 East Limestone (8-5) 83
No. 8 Central-Tuscaloosa (2) (7-4) 75
No. 9 Trinity (10-3) 67
No. 10 Deshler (6-5) 58
Others receiving votes: T.R. Miller (10-2) 56; Beauregard (7-4) 31; Tarrant (11-1) 28; Ardmore (8-3) 26; Dora (11-2) 19; Cleburne County (8-3) 16; Elmore Co. (9-4) 14; Oneonta (5-5) 13; Fayette County (10-2) 11; Cherokee County (7-4) 2; W.S. Neal (9-3) 1

Class 3A
Rank School 2006 Tot Pts
No. 1 Pike County (21) (14-1) 297
No. 2 Clay County (4) (14-1) 200
No. 3 Cordova (9-3) 151
No. 4 Colbert County (11-2) 125
No. 5 Calera (9-2) 119
No. 6 Geneva (11-1) 115
No. 7 Leeds (1) (8-5) 109
No. 8 Winfield (12-2) 81
No. 9 Clarke Co. (7-4) 59
No. 10 Montgomery Acad. (12-1) 39
Others receiving votes: Plainview (8-4) 34; Sardis (6-5) 29; Gordo (8-5) 28; Colbert Heights (9-3) 27; Susan Moore (12-2) 18; Aliceville (10-2) 14; Lincoln (5-5) 10; Vinemont (6-4) 10; Hokes Bluff (7-4) 9; Sumiton Chr. (6-5) 6; Abbeville (9-3) 1; Mobile Chr. (7-4) 1

Class 2A
Rank School 2006 Tot Pts
No. 1 Leroy (23) (13-2) 300
No. 2 Fyffe (1) (12-1) 185
No. 3 Houston Academy (12-1) 168
No. 4 Addison (10-2) 150
No. 5 Lineville (12-2) 136
No. 6 Lanett (2) (9-4) 133
No. 7 Tanner (10-2) 85
No. 8 American Christian (9-3) 71
No. 9 Woodland (12-3) 61
No. 10 Wicksburg (7-4) 49
Others receiving votes: Pickens Co. (7-5) 28; Randolph County (7-4) 18; Southern Choctaw (7-4) 16; Reeltown (6-5) 15; J.P. Pennington (6-5) 12; Sand Rock (6-5) 11; Houston Co. (4-6) 10; Luverne (11-2) 10; Section (11-2) 9; Geneva Co. (9-2) 4; Red Level (8-4) 4; Cottonwood (6-5) 3; West Morgan (8-4) 2; Flomaton (6-4) 1; Georgiana (5-6) 1

Class 1A
Rank School 2006 Tot Pts
No. 1 Sweet Water (23) (13-1) 301
No. 2 Brantley (1) (12-1) 186
No. 3 Talladega Co.-Central (1) (9-4) 157
No. 4 Maplesville (1) (12-1) 149
No. 5 Ragland (9-5) 117
No. 6 Hazlewood (8-4) 85
No. 7 Florala (5-6) 69
No. 8 Linden (6-3) 59
No. 9 McIntosh (6-4) 58
No. 10 Donoho (12-1) 57
Others receiving votes: R.A. Hubbard (7-5) 52; Ariton (8-4) 34; Cedar Bluff (13-2) 33; Parrish (5-6) 29; South Lamar (8-3) 27; Gaston (8-3) 25; Wadley (9-3) 9; Frisco City (2-8)* 8; J.U. Blacksher (9-2) 6; Lynn (9-3) 6; Shoals Chr. (6-5) 5; Speake (8-3) 5; Sunshine (8-4) 4; Valley Head (6-5) 1
*-Forfeited 8 wins in 2006.

AISA
Rank School 2006 Tot Pts
No. 1 Bessemer Academy (23) (13-0) 302
No. 2 Faith Academy (1) (11-2) 231
No. 3 Glenwood (2) (9-3) 205
No. 4 Southern Academy (12-1) 171
No. 5 Fort Dale Acad. (10-2) 136
No. 6 Clarke Prep (6-5) 98
No. 7 South Choctaw Academy (10-3) 82
No. 8 Macon-East (7-4) 78
No. 9 Shelby Academy (11-2) 44
No. 10 Lowndes Acad. (11-2) 39
Others receiving votes: Lakeside (7-4) 33; Wilcox Acad. (9-3) 28; Cottage Hill Chr. (7-4) 9; Autauga Acad. (10-2) 7; Edgewood Academy (6-5) 6; Kingwood Christian (8-3) 5; Patrician Academy (8-3) 5; Pickens Acad. (6-4) 2; Crenshaw Chr. (8-4) 1

ASWA state rankings committee
Ron Ingram, Birmingham News; Ross Wood, Clarke County Democrat; Michael Nascone, Atmore Advance; Rob Rice, Blount Countian; Chris McCarthy, Cherokee County Herald; Brandon Shields, Cullman Times; Justin Graves,Cullman Times; Brooke Milam, Decatur Daily; David Mundee, Dothan Eagle; Lee Peacock, Evergreen Courant; Newton Peters, Florala News; Gregg DeWalt, Florence Times Daily; Lew Gilliland, Fort Payne Times-Journal; Paul Beaudry, Freelance (Birmingham); Graham Dunn, Freelance (Montgomery); Stan Veitch, Freelance (Gadsden); Mike Easterling, Huntsville Times; Mike Herndon, Mobile Press-Register; Stacy Long, Montgomery Advertiser; Wesley Lyle, Montgomery Advertiser; Charles Prince, North Jefferson News; Tom Peavy, Opelika-Auburn News; Shannon Allen, Sand Mountain Reporter; Jason Bowen. Scottsboro Daily News; Mike Pruitt, Sports Preview; Will Heath, Talladega Daily Home; Andrew Carroll, Tuscaloosa News
Did not vote: Nick Birdsong, Anniston Star; Kim Craft, Gadsden Times; Jonathan Bentley, Jasper Daily Mountain Eagle