The First Season of AHSAA Private School Play - Part 3

This is Part 3 of an examination of the AHSAA new private school classifications that will operate separately from public schools when the 2026 playoffs roll around. Now let’s look at Class AA, the private schools with the highest enrollment figures for the 2026-27 classification period.

Here are a few facts about this classification. The AHSAA decided to take the 16 schools with the highest enrollment figures that play football to create this “AA” class. There are many schools from the past that can tell you that you do not want to fall at the bottom of the list, that is, being the smallest school or near the smallest school in any classification. When the AHSAA was under the 6-classification system, those schools that were at the bottom of 6A or even 5A traditionally had difficulty competing. Schools at the top of the list had over twice as many students which certainly made a difference in football.

The AHSAA later moved to 7 classes, and the large discrepancy from the top to the bottom in the bigger classes was the primary reason for the move. Teams at the bottom of 6A and 7A still had difficulty competing, but at least they were some different teams.

The difference of the top school (McGill-Toolen @ 483) to the bottom schools (Glenwood School @ 191 and Houston Academy @ 195) in this class makes McGill over two and a half times larger than these two teams. The enrollment itself is a problem. Most schools have some good skill players, but quality linemen are at a premium. The bigger schools will have enough linemen that can play just offense or defense, but the smaller ones will more than likely play on both sides, creating a depth problem that will show up in the second half if not sooner. Injuries often pile up as the season progresses, creating more depth issues.

If we examine what classes these teams played in 2025, it gives even a better picture. Of the 16 schools in Class AA, two teams played 6A football in 2025 (McGill @ 6-5, and St. Paul’s @ 6-4), and five played 5A football (Briarwood @ 7-6, Faith Academy @ 1-8, John Carroll @ 3-7, UMS Wright @ 6-5, and Montgomery Catholic @ 8-5).

St. John Paul @ 4-6, St. Michael’s @ 13-1, Randolph School @ 5-6, Westminister Christian @ 4-6, American Christian @ 7-5 and Madison Academy @ 9-3 are the six teams that played in 4A last season. Only Houston Academy @ 6-5 and Glenwood @ 10-3 played 3A football last fall.

44% of this classification played 5A or 6A football in 2025.

Can 3A teams compete with 6A teams in AHSAA football? There is a big difference in a team that has 80 players and one that has 40 or less.

Private School Class AA is divided into two 8 team regions. Region 1 looks the be very challenging, as McGill will compete for one of the four playoff spots with Montgomery Catholic, UMS-Wright, St. Michael and St. Pauls. Region 2 is the north Alabama region consisting of traditionally strong Briarwood Christian and Madison Academy. The race for the other playoff spots looks to be very tight.

Can 2025 3A Lee Scott Academy handle the travel north and compete with the bigger schools for a playoff opportunity this fall? What about former 3A Houston Academy and Glenwood as they travel to the Mobile area?

The private school Class AA will qualify the top four teams from each region for the playoffs. They will have Round 1 off, and then play the quarterfinals and semi finals in playoff weeks 2 and 3. The finals will be played in Mobile on Wednesday, December 2^nd, at 7:00 PM, giving the teams a week and a half off before the championships.

Part 4 – Other issues