Patriots, Cavs wrap up regular season in October

The Homewood and John Carroll high school football teams will take their open dates at the season’s midway point and wrap up the regular season in October.

After the first five games of the season, the Patriots and Cavaliers were off Sept. 24, taking a breather to get ready for the home stretch. Both teams play four straight region games — John Carroll in Class 5A, Region 5, and Homewood in 6A, Region 5 — before a non-region game to wrap up the regular season.

John Carroll actually plays at Parker on Thursday, Sept. 30, to start that final stretch. Homewood hosts Huffman the following night Oct. 1. Parker knocked off John Carroll last fall 41-20 and has won six straight against the Cavs. Homewood gutted out a 15-8 victory over Huffman last fall in their first meeting.

Homewood heads to Shades Valley on Oct. 8. Shades Valley dealt Homewood a 34-17 loss last fall and began a three-game slide for the Patriots to wrap up region action. The loss snapped Homewood’s four-game winning streak over Shades Valley, which has a new head coach this year in Rueben Nelson.

That same night, John Carroll plays Nelson’s former team, Ramsay, which dealt the Cavs a significant loss last year. After the Cavs beat Ramsay in the first four meetings of the two schools (1967, 1975, 2012 and 2013), Ramsay has posted convincing victories each of the last five seasons.

Homewood takes the field the following Thursday against Mountain Brook, a team that shut the Patriots out 28-0 last fall. The rivalry between the schools dates back to 1972 but has been off and on for the past 20 years. Mountain Brook has won the last three meetings and holds a 19-15 edge in the series.

On Oct. 15, John Carroll plays its final home game of the year against Pleasant Grove. The Spartans also handed the Cavs a big loss last year. Pleasant Grove has beaten the Cavs each of the last three seasons, and John Carroll has managed just seven total points in those games.

Homewood finishes region play at Briarwood on Oct. 22. Briarwood snapped Homewood’s four-game winning streak in the series last fall with a 28-6 win. The two teams have met in the semifinals of the state playoffs twice over the years, and Homewood holds a 10-5 edge in the series.

The Cavs wrap up region play at Wenonah on Oct. 22 as well. The Cavs earned a 21-7 victory over the Dragons last fall.

Homewood concludes the regular season at home against Pelham in the renewal of a longstanding rivalry. The Patriots hold a 15-6 lead in a series that dates back to 1984. Homewood has won seven straight over the Panthers and won 20-18 on J.C. Daniel’s game-winning field goal last year.

The regular wraps up for the Cavs as well Oct. 29 as they travel to St. Clair County. John Carroll beat the Saints 34-7 last fall to cap off a 5-5 regular season. John Carroll has a 6-5 advantage in the 11 meetings between the programs.