Carver vs Pike Road for the region as Week 9 of the Alabama High School Football season begins

The Alabama High School football season is entering Week 9, which means the playoffs are officially two weeks away and River Region programs are looking to punch their ticket into the postseason.

Here are three trending Montgomery-area takeaways from Week 8.

Trending Class 5A team fall

Elmore County and Holtville both sit at 6-2 after suffering Week 8 losses, which affected their chances at winning the region.

Holtville was downed by Demopolis 32-2 and Elmore County fell to Valley in a nail-biting 41-40 defeat.

After great starts to the season, both programs will matchup against each other Week 9 for an edge in playoff seeding. Elmore County is undefeated this season on the road.

Another Catholic massacre

Montgomery Catholic is entering Week 9 with six straight shutout victories (seven shutouts total). They dominated Dale County 63-0 in Week 8 behind a four touchdown Caleb McCreary performance.

The Knights have outscored opponents 408-18 this season. That statistic will be tested Week 9 as they host Andalusia, who sits atop of the region.

Two undefeated teams will put it on the line to see who’s the best. Knowing the region layout, this will only be the first of a few matchups as they’ll meet again in the playoffs.

Carver and Pike Road for the region

Both Carver and Pike Road picked up key Week 8 victories, setting up a region championship matchup between the two rivals.

Carver won the final Westside Classic over Sidney Lanier and Pike Road beat Stanhope Elmore, putting both programs at 6-2 on the year.

Carver won last year’s matchup against Pike Road 22-19, so this year’s game is expected to be a great one as both squads are filled with talent.

Jerry Humphrey III is a sports writer for the Montgomery Advertiser who covers area high school sports, Auburn recruiting and Alabama State athletics. Follow him on Twitter @jerryhump3.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Montgomery-area takeaways Week 8 of the Alabama High School Football