Southside-Selma defeated Dadeville by 17 points during the high school football playoffs in Alabama on Thursday night. However, the final score was not indicative of reality.
The victors used a disrespectful trick play to score an easy touchdown late in the fourth quarter even though the game was already over.
There was no prior beef between these two high school football programs. It stems entirely from unnecessary late-game disrespect during the postseason.
Southside-Selma beat Dadeville in the Alabama high school football playoffs.
To be completely honest, I am not entirely sure as to why the state of Alabama has not updated its qualification process for the postseason. These two teams are completely mismatched on paper.
Southside High School, located in Selma, Alabama, enrolls approximately 300 students in grades 9-12. Dadeville High School, located in Dadeville, Alabama, enrolls approximately 530 students. They both compete on the Class 3A level of high school football competition but they are on different trajectories.
The Panthers finished the regular season at 10-0 by a combined score of 596-90. The Tigers finished the regular season with only three wins but they hung close against quality opponents!
That trend mostly continued on Thursday.
Southside held the lower seed to just 15 points. Dadeville held the higher seed to 25 points. Kind of.
The Panthers regained possession with less than one minute remaining in the fourth quarter. All they had to do was hand the ball off or take a knee to run out the clock. The game was over. The Tigers let up on defense.
Instead of ending the game with victory formation, Southside threw a play-action touchdown. Some eyewitnesses also claim they faked the kneel down.
No respect, no handshake.
As you could imagine, Dadeville was not happy with the disrespect. It did not try to defend the kneel down because the score was already out of hand. There was no need to pile on.
Thus, when the game ended, both teams were instructed to return to their respective sidelines.
They did not show their respect for their opponents because clearly there was none. The handshake line was canceled.
Wow. Dadeville (3-7) refused to shake hands with Southside-Selma and HC Charles Moody. @cjmoody88
— Larry Rudolph (@ScoutFball) November 7, 2025
Southside advances to the 2nd round with 32-15 win. pic.twitter.com/z94yxYe8vH
A local reporter who was at the game claimed Dadeville refused to shake hands with Southside-Selma. Tigers defensive back Corde Jefferson says that is “cap.” There is more to the story and it starts with the fake knee.