Shelby Academy (7-1, 5-0) will play host to Central-Selma (7-1, 5-0) for the top spot in their respective region Friday night.

Shelby Academy head coach Dewayne Kervin said a win would be huge for his team.

&uot;If we win, we get to host possibly the first two rounds of the playoffs before going to Troy for the championship if we get that far,&uot; Kervin said. &uot;But Central is a tough team. They are undefeated in the region just like we are and they are going to want to be a host team in the playoffs as well. We will have to play a lot better than we did Friday night (against Demopolis) if we want to win.&uot;

SA set up the showdown with Central by way of a 29-21 win over winless Demopolis last Friday night. The Demopolis team the Raiders defeated have been close to a win in several of its games this season.

&uot;They are a great 0-8 team, that’s for sure,&uot; Kervin said.

Following a scoreless first period, Demopolis was the first to get in the scoring column when Andy Lowe scored on a 15-yard run. The PAT was good, and DA had a 7-0 lead.

Shelby Academy answered right before the half when Andrew Elm hit Wade Logan on a 22-yard scoring strike. Andrew Elm ran in the 2-point conversion to give the Raiders an 8-7 lead at the half.

Ryan Elm put the Raiders up even more in the third period when Ryan Elm scored on a 9-yard run. Andrew Elm added the 2-point conversion to give the Raiders a 16-7 lead.

Demopolis answered when Lowe found the end zone for the second time of the night from 36 yards out. The PAT cut the lead to 16-14.

Shelby Academy wasted little time answering when Ryan Elm ran the ensuing kickoff back 82 yards for the score. Andrew Elm tacked on the PAT, giving Shelby Academy a 23-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Demopolis cut into that lead when Lowe struck again, this time from 7 yards out. The PAT cut the lead to 23-21.

Shelby Academy put the game away when Andrew Elm scored on a 2-yard run. The PAT failed, leaving the final score 29-21.

&uot;We had plenty of chances to put them away, but every time we shot ourselves in the foot,&uot; Kervin said.

Logan finished the night with 3 catches for 100 yards and 1 touchdown. He also recorded 11 tackles.

Ryan Elm had 154 yards on 19 carries and one touchdown and returned one kickoff for an 82-yard touchdown.

Jason Stokes finished the night with 10 tackles.

Kervin said his sophomore fullback had a bigger impact than just his 10 tackles.

&uot;Jason did a great job blocking and opened up some holes for Andrew and Ryan (Elm).&uot;