All three remaining WEIS coverage area high school football teams had a relatively easy time of things in last week’s opening round of the state playoffs.

Collectively, they won by an average of 28.7 points.

It’s the type of performance one would expect from a top 5 team. Spring Garden, Piedmont and Cherokee County – a combined 32-1 this season – are all ranked in the top 3 of their respective classes in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association poll.

But I expect things will be a bit more challenging for the trio this week.

Two of this week’s second round playoff contests are rematches from last postseason. The other is a first-ever meeting.

The opponents – Berry of Fayette, Lauderdale County and Central of Florence – have a combined record of 27-6. Surprisingly, none of them are ranked in their respective classes in the final ASWA poll of the season. Of those three, Berry was the only one to receive a nomination.

But ask our coaches and they’ll tell you this week’s opponents shouldn’t be taken lightly. They’re quite dangerous.

Will our area teams continue their march toward their ultimate destination of Birmingham, or will upsets derail their dreams? Read on to see ‘What In The World Is Shannon Fagan Thinking’ for this week.

Lauderdale County (8-3) at Piedmont (11-0)

Don’t let Lauderdale County’s three losses fool you. Those setbacks came at Class 4A Central of Florence (36-34 back on Aug. 30), and in back-to-back weeks at home to fourth-ranked Mars Hill (31-14 on Sept. 20) and Class 4A Brooks (31-6 on Sept. 26).

All three of those teams are still in the playoffs.

Lauderdale County also won a thriller of a battle at the Field of Champions in last year’s second round.

In that game, Trevor Pike caught a pass at the front corner of the end zone for what would’ve been a game- winning touchdown, but a game official signaled the catch was out of bounds, and the Bulldogs’ suffered a heartbreaking 35-30 loss.

Cole Wilson had perhaps his best game of last season in that contest. He completed 17 of 26 passes for 324 yards and four touchdowns, including three to Ishmael Bethel.

Jackson Lovelace completed 9 of 10 passes for 194 yards and two touchdowns for the Tigers. Micah Christensen, Braxton Rose, Payton Richardson and Lovelace combined to give Lauderdale County 239 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Richardson had a 5-yard scoring run to make it 35-30 with 42 seconds remaining.

I expect this game to be just as close as last year’s, but this time I think the Bulldogs get the job done in the end.

The pick: Piedmont.

Central of Florence (9-2) at Cherokee County (10-1)

Like I mentioned with Lauderdale County, don’t be deceived by Central of Florence’s two losses. Both were on the road in tough environments (21-14 at Deshler on Oct. 4 and 52-26 at West Morgan on Oct. 18).

Tomorrow night’s game with Cherokee County is a rematch from last year’s first round, won by the Warriors 56-28. In that game, Jacob Cornejo ran for 300 yards on 19 carries and scored five touchdowns.

But the Warrior defense did have trouble defending the Wildcats’ misdirection offense in the first half. Central punched the Warriors in the mouth on their opening possession, but a fumble recovered by Jace Turner killed a substantial drive.

Turner came up big on defense again later on with his second turnover of the game when he intercepted Central quarterback Jackson Brewer.

Turnovers could play a big role again in this week’s game.

Miscues aside, Brewer completed 5 of 10 pass attempts for 92 yards and a touchdown for the Wildcats. Hunter Palmer had 158 yards on 25 carries with three scores. He also caught a pair of passes for 56 yards. Donevin Farris finished with 69 yards on 16 carries.

Brewer, Palmer and Farris all return from last season.

Following last week’s win over Westminster Christian, one of the last things Cherokee County coach Jacob Kelley said to me was this: “They (Central) had a lot of rushing yards against us last year. I know that’s going to get our defensive guys fired up and ready.”

I’ll take Coach Kelley at his word.

The pick: Cherokee County.

Berry of Fayette (10-1) at Spring Garden (11-0)

As I teased earlier, this is the first-ever meeting between the two schools.

Berry is coming off a 54-38 victory over Addison in the first round. The Wildcats’ lone loss this season came at home against Region 5 champion Lynn on Oct. 4, a 28-26 decision.

Berry is also 5-0 on the road this season. Two weeks ago at Victory Christian, the Wildcats set a school record for most points in a game in a 78-47 win.

See what I mean when I say the Panthers will have their hands full in this week’s Foothills Tractor Game of the Week?

This game has all the makings of great battle, one that I feel Spring Garden can grind out.

The pick: Spring Garden.