Paul Pickett well remembers LaGrange High's last semifinal game played at Callaway Stadium.

The year was 1991, and the Grangers brought a 13-0 record into their semifinal game against McEachern.

The Grangers, who were coming off an emotional 6-0 victory over Valdosta the week before, got a winning touchdown run from quarterback Rodney Hudson en route to a 21-14 victory over McEachern.

A week later, LaGrange beat Colquitt County 17-16 to claim the Class AAAA state title.

Pickett, a coach at LaGrange High who was a junior on the 1991 team, said it was a raucous atmosphere at the stadium that night.

"It wasn't quite like that Valdosta game, but it was close," Pickett said. "The visitor section was already full when we got there. We’d already played them earlier in the year, so they were really excited to be playing us again. We’d walk up to the field, and their students were taunting us, that kind of thing. It was just a great atmosphere.”

Pickett – who went on to enjoy a standout career as a linebacker at the University of Alabama after leaving LaGrange High – will be on the sidelines as a coach when LaGrange hosts Flowery Branch on Friday in the Class AAA semifinals.

The Grangers' previous four semifinal games all took place in the Georgia Dome. This year, only the state-championship games will be played in the Georgia Dome.

Pickett coached at Fairhope (Ala.) and Callaway High before joining the LaGrange staff in 2003, and he was a part of state-championship teams in 2003 and 2004.

Pickett coaches the defensive backs.

While Pickett has mostly been focused on his coaching duties, he has also kept a close eye on his old school.

Alabama brings a perfect record into Saturday's SEC championship game against Florida.

If Alabama wins, it will play in the BCS title game.

Alabama's football program had been faltering in recent years, and Pickett is happy to see things going well under head coach Nick Saban, who is in his second year.

"The thing we’re happiest with is, they’re playing hard and doing it the right way," said Pickett, whose final season at Alabama was in 1997 when he made the SEC's All-Academic team and was a team captain. "Earlier, they didn't have any discipline, and they didn't play hard all the time. They're just acting right and playing hard and representing the university well. That's all I've ever wanted, and I think that's all my former teammates have wanted, and that’s what they’re doing.”

Pickett isn't the only coach that'll be pulling hard for the Crimson Tide on Saturday.

Claude Giddens, the former Callaway head coach who coaches tight ends at LaGrange, is a die-hard Bama fan.

He and Pickett went to last week's game against Auburn, and they watched Alabama end a six-game losing streak in the series.

"That was fun. It was a great atmosphere," Pickett said.