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Tallassee coach Mike Battles still has one non-region vacancy to fill. The Tigers will open the season at J. E. "Hot" O'Brien Stadium vs. Catholic

2018 football schedules set for local high schools

By Michael Butler

Local prep teams are looking ahead to next football season and with reclassifications and region realignments the landscape will change.

Tallassee is moving back up to Class 5A and will see some familiar foes from a few years back. Meanwhile, Reeltown and Elmore County remain status quo in Class 2A and 4A respectively.

THS head football coach Mike Battles still has one spot open for 2018, but the remaining slate is in place.

The Tigers and Panthers have played every season since 1971. Tallassee leads th series 33-22-1.

The Tigers open the campaign with Montgomery Catholic on Aug. 24. The two programs met twice in the 1950s with Tallassee winning both, 27-0 in 1956 and 25-6 in 1957. Aubrey Blackwell led the Knights to a 10-2 record last season, their best since 1989.

Tallassee has four non-region weeks on the schedule. In addtion to Catholic, Handley and Elmore County are on the slate. The rivarly game with the Panthers will be in the last regular season week prior to the playoffs.

Elmore County is in the midst of coaching search. Norman Dean stepped down after 13 years as head coach. Former Tallassee coach Jared Jones is serving as the interim and has put together the schedule for next fall.

The Panthers kick off the season on Aug. 31 at non-region opponent Marbury. Dadeville, Dallas County and Tallassee are the other non-region games.

Reeltown's Matt Johnson steps up in classification in non-region vs. Bullock County and Dadeville in the first two weeks. 2A Ranburne and 1A Maplesville are also scheduled. Maplesville has won 10 games or more the past nine years. The Red Devils have three Class 1A titles during that span.