By Shannon Fagan, WEIS Sports Director
CENTRE – WEIS radio in Centre (100.5 FM and 990 AM) is preparing to kick off its 41st season broadcasting high school football, highlighted this year by the 10th anniversary of The Buttram, Hawkins & Hopper WEIS Prep Scoreboard Show.
Live from the “Cave of Chaos” at the WEIS studio, co-hosts Tony Hathcock and Jason Smith will once again bring listeners Friday night high school football scores from around the state, as well as interviews featuring local high school coaches and other special guests. The duo also talks a little about the weekend’s college football action.
“Everybody seems to enjoy the scoreboard show on Friday nights, not just to get scores but also for a lot of other great information throughout the season,” WEIS station manager Jerry Baker said. “It’s great programming that Tony and his partners have put forth over the years. I think the 10th anniversary of it speaks volumes about the quality of the show.”
Not only is it the 10th anniversary of the scoreboard show itself, but also the 10th consecutive year Buttram, Hawkins and Hopper law firm in Centre has been its title sponsor.
“Buttram, Hawkins and Hopper have seen fit to partner with us all these years on that. They have been the single and only exclusive sponsor of that programming on Friday nights,” Baker said. “They’ve also been on the show several times. I think that also speaks quite a bit to the quality of the programming that they continue to endorse it and help bring that to our listeners.”
Hathcock said it’s “incredibly exciting” to celebrate the 10th season of The Buttram, Hawkins & Hopper WEIS Prep Scoreboard Show.
“It is remarkable how quickly a decade can pass, especially when you are having this much fun,” Hathcock said. “We have shared some unforgettable moments and covered some tremendous football over the years. In many ways, it still feels like yesterday when Drew Hall and I first discussed the idea of starting the show.”
Hathcock has had several co-hosts through the years of hosting the scoreboard show, including Hall and Joey Weaver. He’s joined once again this season by Jason Smith, now in his third year on the headset.
“Each of them has brought his own personality and flavor to the show,” Hathcock said. “I’ve been incredibly blessed to work alongside friends who are both knowledgeable and entertaining. Their contributions have helped make every season special.”
“I used to do a show in Gadsden back many, many moons ago, but I was always a fan when Tony and WEIS started this up,” Smith said. “I would listen on my way home from high school games, and now, just to be a part of it, especially with it being the 10-year anniversary really means a lot.”
Both Hathcock and Smith said their jobs of co-hosting the show extend beyond reporting scores.
“It’s the relationships we’ve developed with callers, coaches, players, listeners and the many people who help behind the scenes,” Hathcock said. “Being able to spend Friday nights talking football with thousands of your friends is a blessing very few people can say they have been given.”
Both Hathcock and Smith have personally gotten to know several of their listeners over the years.
“Terry from Talladega is one of my favorite stories from the history of the show,” Hathcock said. “For a while, some listeners thought we had invented him as a character, but nothing could be further from the truth. Terry found us while searching for the show and everything developed naturally from there. He has become part of the show’s family and one of the regular callers our listeners look forward to hearing. Terry may be even more excited about the new season than we are.
“Reaching this milestone also makes me think about faithful callers such as Kenneth and Miss Anita, who are no longer with us. Hearing their voices come across the line became part of the Friday-night experience, and they are greatly missed. Their memory is a reminder that this show has always been about more than football. It is also about the people and relationships that have become part of its history.”
“I know when we lost Miss Anita, when we got the news she passed away, that bothered me,” Smith added. “I would talk to her more than I would some of my family. Those next few shows without her calling in, there was an emptiness there. I expected to hear from her around 9:45 every Friday night.
“Terry (from Talladega) has been great. I anticipate his calls and the camaraderie I’ve got with him. The guy has my phone number. He’ll text me randomly on a Wednesday. That’s the kind of relationships I enjoy. You build relationships with listeners, the guys at the station, the kids and their parents in the community, that’s just a big cherry on top of this football sundae we get to enjoy.”
In addition to The Buttram, Hawkins & Hopper WEIS Prep Scoreboard Show, Hathcock will also once again be broadcasting The Foothills Tractor Mahindra Games of the Week on Friday nights, along with another WEIS veteran sportscaster, Nolen Sanford.
“Nolen was our play-by-play anchor and sports broadcaster for 25 seasons,” Baker said. “His son (Layton) went off to college and was playing baseball. That took Nolen out of the broadcast booth for a few years. He wanted to spend some time with his son and rightfully so.
“No one does it better than Nolen. We’re excited to have him back and can’t wait until he gets in the booth with Tony on Thursday night.”
The duo of Hathcock and Sanford will broadcast a total of 12 regular season games, beginning with Gaston at Spring Garden on Thursday to kick off the season. Pregame begins at approximately 6:30 p.m., with kickoff at 7.
A week later on Friday, Aug. 28, Bayley Blanchard makes his coaching debut at Cherokee County High School. The Warriors will welcome his alma mater, the Piedmont Bulldogs, in the latest chapter of the Battle of Highway 9.
The WEIS crew will have their first look at Cedar Bluff under the direction of first-year head coach Cole Murphy when the Tigers take on Ragland on Friday, Sept. 4. Then on Friday, Sept. 11, two Cherokee County rivals clash when the Spring Garden Panthers welcome the Gaylesville Trojans to town.
Two more longtime rivals do battle on Sept. 18 as Sand Rock takes on Collinsville. The Wildcats are also featured a week later on Friday, Sept. 25 when they welcome Valley Head for their first meeting since 1999.
October opens with another longtime Cherokee County rivalry between Cedar Bluff and Spring Garden. That game is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 2.
Fyffe at Sand Rock (Friday, Oct. 9), Good Hope at Cherokee County (Friday, Oct. 16), and Cedar Bluff at Gaylesville (Friday, Oct. 23) will be broadcast the next three weeks of the season.
Then, WEIS listeners will have a special treat for Halloween weekend with two games featuring Sand Rock at Cedar Bluff (Thursday, Oct. 29) and Fairview at Cherokee County (Friday, Oct. 30) to close out the 2026 regular season.
“We’ve got 12 great games,” Baker said. “They pit some teams together, many of whom are local rivals. We’re going to hear a lot of great games throughout the season.”
The action doesn’t stop at the end of the regular season.
State playoff coverage begins on Friday, Nov. 6 and will continue until Thanksgiving. This year’s high school football state championship games are scheduled for Dec. 2-5 at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile.
But the action isn’t just limited to The Foothills Tractor and Equipment Mahindra Games of the Week.
WEIS radio listeners can also expect the return of The Mathis Trailers and Equipment End Zone Show on Thursday nights, featuring Roy Mitchell and WEIS Sports Director Shannon Fagan.
Mitchell and Fagan will offer listeners a look back at the previous week’s action along with a preview of upcoming games.
“I think that’s another good program people enjoy on Thursday nights to get people ready for Friday,” Baker said. “We’re thrilled to have Mathis Trailers and Equipment on again as the sponsor. They’ve been on board with us for several years now.”
Then on Saturdays, college football takes over the WEIS airwaves. Both Alabama and Auburn games will be broadcast throughout their respective seasons, giving listeners a total of 36 high school and college football games throughout the next 13 weeks.
“It’s exciting to have another great season lined up,” Baker said. “I want to say a big thank you to our listeners. We appreciate them for embracing our coverage of high school athletics over the years. Without them, the businesses wouldn’t embrace it. We continue to work hard every week to deliver a better program to them. They deserve that and we hope we can deliver all season long.”
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