Two 1-0 teams meet Friday night in Gulf Shores after combining for 88 points in their season openers.
By Southbound Sports | August 25, 2026
GULF SHORES, Ala. — One team ran wild in its season opener. The other attacked through the air.
On Friday night, those two styles collide on the Alabama Gulf Coast.
St. Paul’s Episcopal travels to Gulf Shores Friday, Aug. 28, for a 7 p.m. kickoff in the Southbound Sports Game of the Week, with both teams looking to turn impressive Week 0 performances into 1-0 starts, respectively. The matchup is a non-region contest before both programs begin region play the following week.
Gulf Shores opened 2026 with a 30-21 victory over Parklane Academy, producing 466 yards of offense behind a breakout performance from quarterback Major Hudspeth. St. Paul’s was even more explosive, scoring 44 points in the first half of a 58-28 victory over Alma Bryant.
And if last season is any indication, Friday could be another close one.
Familiar Opponents Meet Again
St. Paul’s has historically controlled the series, holding a 10-2 all-time advantage over Gulf Shores. But last year’s meeting showed how little may separate these teams now.
Gulf Shores traveled to Mobile and led 17-14 at halftime before St. Paul’s ultimately escaped with a 27-23 victory. The Dolphins had an opportunity to win late, but the Saints held on for the four-point decision.
This time, Gulf Shores gets the Saints at home.
The matchup also looks different following the AHSAA’s latest classification changes. Gulf Shores is now in Class 5A, Region 1, while St. Paul’s competes in the new Private Class AA, Region 1.
Neither team’s region record is at stake Friday.
Momentum certainly is.
Gulf Shores Finds Its Passing Game
Gulf Shores head coach Mark Hudspeth entered the season with a quarterback decision to make between veteran Jud Harris and underclassman Major Hudspeth. One game into the season, the younger Hudspeth has certainly made his case.
Against Parklane, Major Hudspeth completed 21 of 26 passes for 313 yards and a touchdown, while also adding a rushing score. Gulf Shores finished the night with 466 total yards.
His favorite target was one of the Dolphins’ established playmakers.
Carter Davis caught eight passes for 154 yards and a touchdown, accounting for nearly half of Gulf Shores’ passing yardage. Davis entered 2026 already regarded as one of the state’s notable receiving threats.
The Dolphins also showed they don’t have to live exclusively through the air.
Running back Janoy Ferguson rushed 20 times for 96 yards and a touchdown, giving Gulf Shores enough balance to make simply dropping additional defenders into coverage a difficult proposition.
For the St. Paul’s defense, that’s the first major question Friday:
Can the Saints prevent Hudspeth and Davis from producing explosive plays without opening opportunities for the Gulf Shores running game?
St. Paul’s Ground Game Makes a Statement
While Gulf Shores threw for more than 300 yards in its opener, St. Paul’s did its damage primarily on the ground.
The Saints rushed for 345 yards against Alma Bryant, and sophomore running back Ty Sellers was at the center of it.
Sellers needed only 15 carries to rush for 183 yards and three touchdowns — an average of 12.2 yards per attempt.
He isn’t the only problem Gulf Shores has to solve.
Quarterback Hayden Fincher completed 11 of 22 passes for 138 yards and three touchdowns against Bryant. Senior Carson Stephens led the Saints with 46 receiving yards and a touchdown, while St. Paul’s showed enough ability through the air to punish a defense that becomes too aggressive against the run.
That balance isn’t unexpected.
St. Paul’s returned 10 offensive starters entering 2026, with head coach Ham Barnett pointing during the offseason to Fincher’s experience, Sellers at running back, an experienced offensive line and a young but developing receiving corps as reasons for optimism.
Week 0 offered the first evidence.
58 points.
Now comes a road test against a 1-0 Gulf Shores team.
Players to Watch
For Gulf Shores, it starts with Major Hudspeth. After a 313-yard passing performance in his first game of 2026, Friday offers an opportunity to show that Week 0 was only the beginning.
Carter Davis may be the Dolphins’ biggest big-play threat. His 154 receiving yards against Parklane will make him one of St. Paul’s primary defensive concerns.
And Janoy Ferguson gives Gulf Shores the ability to stay balanced if the Saints sell out to slow the passing game.
For St. Paul’s, all eyes start with Ty Sellers after his 183-yard, three-touchdown opener.
But Hayden Fincher could ultimately be just as important. If Gulf Shores commits additional defenders to slowing Sellers, the junior quarterback will have opportunities to make the Dolphins pay through the air.
Sophomore receiver Parker Davis is another name worth watching. He’s part of a young St. Paul’s receiving group surrounding an experienced quarterback and offensive line.
The Matchup: Strength Against Strength
The numbers from Week 0 make the central storyline difficult to miss.
Gulf Shores: 313 passing yards.
St. Paul’s: 345 rushing yards.
Friday may come down to which defense can take away what its opponent does best without creating an even bigger problem somewhere else.
Gulf Shores can’t allow Sellers to consistently reach the second level. If he approaches the 12.2 yards per carry he averaged against Bryant, the Saints can control the game and keep the Dolphins’ offense on the sideline.
St. Paul’s, meanwhile, can’t allow Hudspeth and Davis to repeatedly connect downfield. Gulf Shores has already demonstrated that it can move the football quickly through the air.
Turnovers could loom large as well. Hudspeth’s opener was productive, but his 313-yard performance also included two interceptions. Against a St. Paul’s team that scored 58 in Week 0, giving away possessions could prove costly.
An Important Test Before Region Play
Friday is technically a non-region game.
It doesn’t feel insignificant.
Gulf Shores has one of the area’s toughest region schedules waiting. The Dolphins travel to Saraland on Sept. 4 before eventually facing Blount, Baldwin County, Spanish Fort and Theodore in Class 5A, Region 1.
St. Paul’s immediately turns its attention to McGill-Toolen on Sept. 4, beginning a Private AA region schedule that later includes St. Michael, UMS-Wright and Montgomery Catholic.
Friday represents one final opportunity for both programs to learn about themselves before those games begin to count toward the postseason race.
For Gulf Shores, it’s also an opportunity to do something the Dolphins haven’t done often in this series: beat St. Paul’s.
For the Saints, it’s a chance to show that the 58-point opening performance travels.
Southbound Game of the Week
Last year’s matchup was decided by four.
Both teams enter this year’s meeting undefeated.
Gulf Shores brings a quarterback coming off a 300-yard night and a receiver who topped 150.
St. Paul’s counters with a running back who averaged more than 12 yards per carry and an offense that just put 58 points on the scoreboard.
Something has to give Friday night.
St. Paul’s Episcopal (1-0) at Gulf Shores (1-0)
Friday, August 28 | 7 p.m.
Gulf Shores, Alabama
Southbound Sports will be there for complete Game of the Week coverage, with postgame coverage and more at GoSouthbound.com.