Hillcrest High Football Eyes Potential Move To AHSAA Class 7A

Editor's Note: This story has been updated from its original publication to provide additional context, along with quotes from Hillcrest Principal Jeff Hinton.

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Tuscaloosa Patch has confirmed that the Alabama High School Athletic Association is set to potentially elevate Hillcrest High School to AHSAA Class 7A as part of its re-classifications that will be announced next week.

Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts.

Those close to the situation say the change would see the Hillcrest Patriots football program move into the most competitive region in the entire state, joining: Thompson, Tuscaloosa County, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Hewitt-Trussville, Oak Mountain and Spain Park.

Schedules for the 2024 high school football season have not been set.

"First, we are like so many schools across Alabama, anxiously awaiting the upcoming reclassification of the AHSAA next Monday," Hillcrest Principal Jeff Hinton told Patch on Wednesday. "While most schools across the state fall safely within the typical ranges for each classification, we, along with those schools who are always in the top five or bottom five of each classification wait to see their fate."

Still, Hinton said it's no surprise that the enrollment of Hillcrest High has increased over the past five years and will continue to do so with the number of homes that are being built south of town.

"When those official numbers are released next week and it is determined that we will move into class 7A, then we will welcome those new opportunities and opponents," Hinton said. "Over the years, we’ve competed against many of those currently in Class 7A as non-region opponents in multiple sports. With any change, it would mean adjusting to new opponents, different (longer and more frequent) travel for region contests, and stronger competition week in and week out. Overall, Hillcrest High is looking forward to the upcoming reclassification results next week and continuing to grow as an athletic program that supports our student-athletes"

What's sure to generate the most buzz across the county, though, is that the re-classification will see the return of the longtime gridiron rivalry between Hillcrest and Tuscaloosa County High School, which has been on pause for the last two seasons. For County High, the addition of Hillcrest to the region will mean the loss of Chelsea as a region opponent.

According to the Alabama High School Football Historical Society, Hillcrest football's first season was in 1981 under head coach Larry Gray, with the Patriots starting as an AHSAA Class 2A program.

By 1986, the community and school had grown to a 5A, before making the move to 6A in 1998 during the Bart Harper Era.

Success has been in abundance under current Patriots head coach Jamie Mitchell, who just this past season became the first Hillcrest High coach to win 10 or more games in three straight seasons, in addition to posting back-to-back undefeated regular seasons for the first time in school history.

Mitchell's 12-win season in 2023 marked only the second time the Patriots have won 12 games in a season, with the only other coach to do so being current Tuscaloosa County High School head coach Adam Winegarden in 2011.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com