It’s been another banner year in area high school football action throughout the WEIS coverage area. Five of our seven teams have qualified for the postseason, with four of them playing at home in the first round.

But will a little home cooking be enough to lift our teams on to next week’s second round?

Here’s ‘What In The World Is Shannon Fagan Thinking?’ for Friday night’s first round of the state playoffs.

J.B. Pennington (4-6) at Piedmont (9-1)

The Tigers are 0-9 lifetime against Piedmont, including a 51-0 whipping last season. I look for Cole Austin, Jaxson Howard and company to easily roll on to the second round.

The pick: Piedmont.

Lamar County (7-3) at Collinsville (8-2)

Both of these teams come in to this first-ever meeting pretty strong.

Collinsville has won four of its last five, with the lone loss an 8-point decision at Fyffe. Lamar County comes in winners in five of its last six contests. The Bulldogs’ lone loss during that stretch was to Gordo.

This is where home field advantage comes in. It also helps to have a quarterback like Mason McAteer and all the veteran weapons he has.

The pick: Collinsville.

Cedar Bluff (5-5) at Hubbertville (9-1)

Cole Murphy has done a tremendous job with the Tigers in his first season, particularly the past two weeks. They’ve faced two must-win situations to keep their season alive and they’ve come through quite impressively.

However, Hubbertville has been impressive all season. The Lions’ lone loss came against Tuscaloosa Academy back on Aug. 28. Since then, they’ve won eight in a row, and had a bye last week to heal up and prepare.

The Tigers also have a 2 ½ hour road trip in front of them.

Look for Cedar Bluff to put up a fight, but I like the Lions in this one.

The pick: Hubbertville.

South Lamar (5-4) at Spring Garden (5-5)

The past two weeks the Panthers have struggled to get much of a rhythm. They’ve been outscored 82-15 in losses to Woodville and Ranburne.

I’ve heard through the grapevine the Stallions are a lot like Ranburne was last week. In that game, the Bulldogs bullied Spring Garden by the final of 35-7.

South Lamar is a pretty good team on the road. The Stallions are 3-1 away from home, with that lone loss at Sulligent in a 3-point decision back on Sept. 4.

I don’t get the feeling this is a favorable matchup for the Panthers.

The pick: South Lamar.

Shades Valley (5-5) at Cherokee County (7-3)

The Warriors have been a bit banged up the past few weeks, but they’ve still managed to win convincingly, including last week’s 42-14 victory over Fairview to clinch this week’s home playoff game. They’ve had several players step up to the challenge and provide head coach Bayley Blanchard with depth in the process.

Cherokee County faces a familiar opponent in the Mounties. It will be the third straight year the two teams have battled. The Warriors have won the previous two, including last year’s 28-13 decision.

I like the Warriors to make it three in a row and advance to the second round in tomorrow night’s Foothills Tractor Mahindra Game of the Week.

The pick: Cherokee County.