CM Gridiron’s Chris McCreless will be on the sidelines at Pat Trammell Stadium Friday night as the Fort Payne Wildcats travel to Scottsboro to face northeast Alabama rival Scottsboro to kick off the 2024 season.
Scottsboro, under the leadership of first-year head coach Tyler Vann, comes into the season with high expectations following their best finish since 2019. The Wildcats posted an impressive 8-3 record in 2023, advancing to the first round of the AHSAA Class 5A playoffs. Despite falling just outside the Top 10 in the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) Class 5A preseason rankings, Scottsboro received four votes by the media, a testament to their expected success this fall.
On the opposite sideline, head coach Chris Elmore enters his seventh season at the helm of the Fort Payne program, having led the Wildcats to a 7-5 record last year. The team finished second in Class 6A region eight with a 3-2 record in region play. Fort Payne’s consistent postseason appearances are a highlight of Elmore’s tenure, advancing to the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year before bowing out to Muscle Shoals in the second round. The Wildcats narrowly missed a spot in the ASWA preseason poll but did garner eight votes, indicating they’re a team to watch.
This game marks the 90th meeting between the two Wildcat squads, a rivalry that stretches back to 1922. Fort Payne holds a historical edge with a 54-32-2 lead in the series, but Scottsboro came out on top in their last matchup, securing a thrilling 56-51 win in Fort Payne last season.
Alabama high school sports fans won’t want to miss this exciting Tennessee Valley rivalry as the Wildcats of Fort Payne take on the Wildcats of Scottsboro under the Friday night lights in Jackson County.
