Sports

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Georgia (11-1, 7-1) over/under 11 Projected wins: at Vanderbilt, Murray State, Arkansas State, Notre Dame, at Tennessee, South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Missouri, Texas A&M, at Georgia Tech Projected losses: Auburn Kirby Smart has swiftly turned Georgia into an annual contender, with the Bulldogs being favored in every regular season game in

Photo: Glencoe Cornhole Tournament participants get ready to toss the beanbag last Saturday (Aug. 10) at E.C. Wilson Park. The event was a benefit for the Glencoe High School softball program. (Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor When Tommy Stanley took over as head coach of the Glencoe High School softball team three years ago, one

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Alabama Coach: Nick Saban; 13th season at Alabama, 232-62-1 overall 2018 record: 14-1 There’s no safer bet in college football right now than Alabama winning at least 11 games in the regular season. The Crimson Tide have won at least 11 games in every season since 2010, when they finished 10-3.

Photo: Members of the Glencoe High School varsity volleyball team gather for a photo during the FCA Etowah County Volleyball Media Day on Aug. 2 at Southside Baptist Church. Pictured, from left: Morgan Lasseter, Mandy McGinnis, Hannah Whittenberg, Madalin Gorham, GHS FCA sponsor/coach Drew Hall, Brianna Beyerle, Lexi Gray, Aubrey Gray. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris

Photo: Dr. Adam Shaw with Northeast Orthopedics Sports Clinic and Physical Therapy (pictured at far left) conducts a seminar during the annual NEO Coaches Symposium on Aug. 2 at Southside High School. (Kaitlin Fleming/Messenger) By Kaitlin Fleming/Staff Writer In a few short weeks, the local football season will be in full swing, and with that

Listed below is the Alabama Sports Writers Association preseason high school football rankings with first-place votes, last year’s record and total poll points. Class 7A 1. Central-Phenix City (26), 14-0, 312 2. Hoover, 9-4, 227 3. McGill-Toolen, 9-3, 201 4. Thompson, 11-2, 183 5. Hewitt-Trussville, 8-4, 165 6. Auburn, 10-2, 98 7. Mountain Brook, 9-3,

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Florida Coach: Dan Mullen, second season at Florida, 79-47 overall 2018 record: 10-3 There aren’t many coaches in college football better than Dan Mullen at maximizing talent and exceeding expectations. Mullen consistently overachieved at Mississippi State, and his first Florida team won 10 games when it was projected to win seven.

By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Photo: 2019 Westbrook Christian graduate P.J. Wells might see playing time as a freshman at JSU this fall. (Alex Chaney)  It’s 28 days and counting until the Jacksonville State football team begins its defense of a fifth straight Ohio Valley Conference championship. At the team’s 2019 Media Day last Tuesday (July 30)

Photo: Former Etowah High assistant football coach Jamison Wadley (pictured at center) recently was hired as head coach at Douglas. Pictured with Wadley is DHS Principal Patrick Smith (left) and at Marshall County Schools AD Alan Garner. (Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter) By Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter Jamison Wadley is a man of faith

  The Alabama Heat FC and Alabama Rush will host the Clash on the Coosa Soccer Festival this Saturday, Aug. 3 at Murphree Stadium in Gadsden. Admission is $5. The game schedule is as follows: 8:15 a.m., Ala. Rush 06 Premier vs. CFA Rome 07 Classic; 9: 45 a.m., Ala. Rush 09 Black vs. CFA

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent The weather certainly isn’t an indicator, but the college football season is rapidly approaching and representatives from all 14 SEC schools recently converged in Hoover for the 2019 SEC Media Days. After moving to Atlanta in 2018, the event returned to the Hyatt Regency Birmingham at the Wynfrey Hotel. Each team

Photo: 2019 Gadsden City High School graduate Q Dillard (center) blocks a South defender during the North/South All-Star Football Classic on July 18 in Montgomery. (submitted photo) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor 2019 Gadsden City High School graduate Javaronze “Q” Dillard finished off his prep career with a flourish last week in Montgomery. Dillard started at right

Photo: Eli Pearce (center) will be throwing instead of catching the ball for West End this football season. (Sherry Abercrombie) By Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter The West End High football team participated in four summer competitions before preseason practice starts Aug. 5. The West End linemen competed at Guntersville. The Patriots attended full team camps

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent 7. Mark Stoops, Kentucky (last season’s rank: 8). Kentucky has been patient with Mark Stoops, and that patience paid off in Stoops’ sixth season. After back-to-back 7-6 campaigns, Stoops led the 2018 Wildcats to a 10-3 record, including their first win over Florida since 1986 and upsets over Mississippi State and

By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Several local rising high school seniors participated for the North in the North/South All-Star games earlier this week in Montgomery. Westbrook Christian’s Andrew Dutton was named North MVP in the baseball doubleheader at last Tuesday (July 16) at Riverwalk Stadium. The two teams set an all-star record for total runs scored (57)

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy Westbrook Christian rising junior Samuel Dutton (pictured above) was one of 36 players across the country selected to the USA Baseball 16U National Team Development Program on July 31 to Aug. 5 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C. Dutton served as a key pitcher of

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Clemson and Alabama have alternated the past four national championships and have been head and shoulders above the rest of college football the last four seasons. Despite losing several key pieces, both teams are expected to reach the College Football Playoffs again. Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney are perhaps the two

Photo: Rising senior Ashley Morgan of Glencoe (left) and rising junior Sydney Yancey of Southside (right) participated in summer high school basketball play dates. (Gary Wells/Messenger file photo) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Although the high school football season is visible on the horizon, several local high school basketball teams participated in summer play dates over the

Photo: Pictured is Gadsden City head football Ali Smith with (from left) daughter Kelis, wife Lamesha and son Khamari. (Not pictured: daughter Alicia) (Courtesy of GCHS) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor After 13 years and four head coaches, Gadsden City finally hired a local product to lead, guide and direct the school’s football program. Longtime GCHS assistant

Several Gadsden State student-athletes recently were named to the National Junior College Athletic Association’s 2019 Academic Awards with the qualifying grade-point average for each honor. Named to the first team with a 4.0 GPA were Alexis Rich (pictured above), Grace Nolen and Landry Bussey from women’s volleyball; Sloan Gartman and Stephen Walker from men’s tennis;

Photo: Pictured is new Sardis High School girls basketball coach Matt Lofthus with wife Jenna and son Isaac. (Courtesy of Sand Mountain Reporter) By Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter Matt Lofthus has packed plenty of coaching assignments into his nine years on the Sardis High School faculty. “I’ve coached football, girls basketball and boys basketball,

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent For years, teams from the Southeastern Conference have excelled in virtually every NCAA sport. While success in college football is typically the most recognizable because of its prominence throughout the country, the SEC has also competed for championships annually in various sports for both men and women. For 2018-19, however, the

Photo: Coosa Christian and Westbrook Christian kick off the local high school football season on Aug. 22 in Rainbow City. Pictured is action from the teams’ 2018 game in Gadsden. (Gary Wells)  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor With the local high school football season on the horizon, it’s worth taking a look at games between Etowah County

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent College World Series recap For the second time in school history and second time since 2014, Vanderbilt is the college baseball national champion. The Commodores have experienced unprecedented success under head coach Tim Corbin and now have the best program in all of college baseball. Vanderbilt defeated Mi-chigan, 8-2, in the

Photo: Jim Bogle (pictured at center) speaks to members of the 2019 Coosa Christian volleyball team following a summer workout earlier this week. Bogle also will coach the school’s boys basketball and boys and girls track and field teams. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)  By Chris McCarthyPublisher/Editor A veteran local high school educator and coach has made his

Photo: Sardis High rising senior Jacob Hopper, pictured scoring a touchdown against Hokes Bluff last season, recently committed to play football for the University of South Alabama in Mobile. (Courtesy of Sand Mountain Reporter) By Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter Sardis High School rising senior Jacob Hopper is 6-foot-6, 232 pounds, so you can’t miss

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent The first six games of the College World Series all were decided by two runs or less. On the opening day of the tournament, Florida State stunned Arkansas, 1-0, while Michigan continued its magical run with a 5-3 win over Texas Tech in Bracket 1. In the elimination bracket, the Red

Photo by Chris McCarthy/Messenger By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Saying that opposing hitters fared poorly against Westbrook Christian’s Samuel Dutton this past high school baseball season is putting it mildly. The rising junior moved with ease through most of lineups he faced, as teams batted a collective .121 average against the LSU commitment. In 63 and two-third

By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Sardis High’s first trip to Lagoon Park in six years likely would not have occurred without the services of Hailey Hill. Game after game, the junior shortstop (pictured above) tore a gaping hole in opposing teams’ pitching staffs. Her .525 batting average, 63 hits, 48 runs scored, 15 RBI and 29 stolen

Photo courtesy of rolltide.com Brock Love might be spending quite a bit of time in South Florida in the future. The 2015 Southside High graduate and University of Alabama redshirt junior recently was selected by the Miami Marlins in the 34th round (the 1,011 players taken overall) in the 2019 Major League Baseball First-Year Player