Friday's Bobcast: The road trip

By Bob Davis
Editor
Quiz time, sports fans.
What do the books-turned-movies Friday Night Lights and To Kill a Mockingbird, country music singer Tammy Wynette, a Benedictine monastery and blue singer W.C. Handy have in common?
Answer: They are all landmarks or famous people connected to the Alabama towns where area high school football teams travel Friday for the first round of the play-offs.
Friday’s Star, in a story written by Steve Ivey, goes into detail on the landmarks supporters of five local teams will see as they hit the road. Here’s a sneak preview.
Ranburne plays Addison in Winston County, the birthplace of Scout’s teacher in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Pleasant Valley has hit the trivia jackpot. The Raiders visit Red Bay, known as the stomping grounds of George Jones brand dog food, Tammy Wynette and former UA kicker Van Tiffin.
On the way to play Good Hope, Lincoln fans looking to appeal to a higher power can stop by Cullman’s Sacred Heart Monastery.
Alexandria plays Brooks in Killen, near where the father of the blues W.C. Handy was born.
And finally, in what may be the most emblematic journey for all the high schools in the playoffs, there’s Donoho’s road trip. The Falcons head to Danville to play Speake High School.
Speake’s most famous alum is actor Lucas Black who graduated in 2001. Black is known for his role in the 2004 film Friday Night Lights. In the movie, Black plays Texas high school quarterback Mike Winchell, an undersized player who by wit and determination leads his team through the state playoffs against teams with superior talent.
It’s a dream all teams share as the playoffs begin.