Sports

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Alabama Week 7 Review Alabama scored double digits in every quarter, and the Crimson Tide cruised to a 47-28 road win over Texas A&M. The UA offense was yet again unstoppable, and the Tide was able to get the ground game going to supplement Tua Tagovailoa’s passing attack. Najee Harris rushed

Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 7-0 262 2. McGill-Toolen 7-0 212 3. Central-Phenix City 7-1 187 4. Hoover 6-1 167 5. Mountain Brook 7-0 137 6. Sparkman 7-0 114 7. Prattville 6-1 78 8. Theodore 6-1 62 9. Austin 6-1 59 10. James Clemens 5-2 16 Others receiving votes: Vestavia Hills (5-2) 12,

Messenger file photo by Colin Edwards Several local football players were recognized in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Prep Spotlight for the week of Oct. 11. Westbrook Christian had a trio of 100-yard rushers in the Warriors’ 42-0 win over Gaston. Karmichael Cattling (pictured above) gained 126 yards on 16 carries, John Reese Bellew

Photo courtesy of Becky Staples The Ashville High girls finished second and the Ashville boys placed third at the Creekbank Invitational 5K last Saturday (Oct. 12) at Choccolocco Park in Oxford. The Lady Bulldogs posted a runner-up average time of 23:00, with Taylor Knight (pictured above) taking fourth place with a time of 20:56.23. Gadsden

Messenger file photo by C his McCarthy The Southside High girls and boys’ cross country teams placed second and third, respectively, at the Pleasant Valley Twilight 5K on Oct. 10. With an average time of 23:31.05, the Lady Panthers finished only eight seconds behind event winner Pleasant Valley. Camryn Davis (pictured above) posted the Southside’s

Photo: Westbrook Christian’s cade Phillips (12) catches the ball between a pair of Gaston defenders during the Warriors’ 42-0 victory last Friday (Oct. 11). (Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Westbrook Christian bolstered its postseason hopes with a 42-0 shutout over Etowah County neighbor and Class 2A, Region 6 rival Gaston last Friday (Oct. 11) at

By Taylor Beck/Sand Mountain Reporter With potential state playoff positions hanging in the balance, the Sardis Lions hung on late to defeat its Class 5A, Region 6 rival Pirates at L.F. Corley Jr. Stadium in Boaz, 31-28. With the victory, the Lions improve to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in region play and clinched a playoff

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Southside struggled to contain Class 5A, No. 9 Alexandria’s potent rushing attack, and the Panthers left Lou Scales Stadium with a 41-20 defeat last Friday (Oct. 11). The Panthers’ promising opening drive ended with a 47-yard missed field goal, and the Valley Cubs (6-0, 4-0) were on the board just two

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Jaylen Robinson catches a pass over Cleburne County’s Samuel Groce during the Eagles’ 43-0 victory last Friday (Oct. 11) in Heflin. (Alex Chaney) Darrian Meads rushed for over 200 yards and Ashton Gulledge scored three touchdown passes in Hokes Bluff’s 43-0 Class 4A, Region 6 victory over Cleburne County last Friday (Oct.

Courtesy of Cherokee County Herald Senior running back Kendrick Fife ran for 220 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in leading Cherokee County to a 47-22 victory over visiting Ashville in Class 4A, Region 6 football action last Friday (Oct. 11) in Centre. But it was the Warrior defense that put Cherokee County (4-3,

Etowah defeated Douglas, 35-0, in Class 5A Region 6 action last Friday (Oct. 11) at DHS. For the No. 10 Blue Devils (7-1, 4-0), Brady Troup (pictured above) threw two touchdown passes and Davis ran for another two scores. Etowah hosts Alexandria this Friday (Oct. 18) to determine the region title. Coosa Christian earned its

Courtesy of Florence Times-Daily Florence battled the second-half rain and churned out a tough 24-10 win over Gadsden City (0-7, 0-5) thanks to its defense and some late-game heroics from senior Dee Beckwith, who finished with 12 carries for 114 rushing yards and two touchdowns and was 2 for 3 through the air with 41

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 6 Review Auburn submitted its worst offensive performance of the season in a 24-13 loss at Florida last Saturday, Oct. 5, in Gainesville. Quarterback Bo Nix completed only 11 of his 27 passes for 145 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions, while the Tigers only recorded 124 yards rushing.

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy Gadsden State went 3-1 at the Showdown on the Wabash Tournament last weekend in Vincennes, Ind. The Lady Cardinals (18-7) opened the tournament on Oct. 4 with a 22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-13 win over St. Louis (Mo.) Community College, followed by a 25-15, 19-25, 25-18, 22-25, 15-7 victory over

Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 6-0 274 2. McGill-Toolen 6-0 221 3. Central-Phenix City 6-1 194 4. Hoover 5-1 175 5. Mountain Brook 6-0 141 6. Theodore 6-0 122 7. Sparkman 6-0 87 8. Prattville 5-1 49 9. Vestavia Hills 5-1 41 10. Austin 5-1 33 Others receiving votes: Lee-Montgomery (6-1) 24, James

Messenger file photo by Alex Chaney Several local football players were recognized in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Prep Spotlight for the week of Oct. 4. In Hokes Bluff’s 35-14 win over Ashville, senior quarterback Ashton Gulledge (pictured above) finished with 315 total yards. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 195 yards and

Photo: The Southside High volleyball teams gathers for a photo after winning the Etowah County Schools Tournament last Saturday (Oct. 5) in Southside. Pictured, front row from left: Ziniah Hardy, Macey Herren, Bliss Brown, Samantha Hathcock, Hannah Rogers. Back row, from left: head coach Courtney Brothers, Makayla Moore, Maggie Bell, Macie Williams, Keelan Vice, Sydney

Photo: The Ashville High girls and boys cross country teams finished first and second, respectively, in the Class 1A-4A division at the Lake Guntersville Invitational 5K last Saturday (Oct. 5). Pictured, kneeling, from left: Meghan McCarthy, Emma Drinkard, Grace Staples, Taylor Knight, Emma Thompson, Kathleen McCarthy, Callie Stewart. Standing, from left: coach Michele Rogers, Walker

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy A pair of Southside High runners finished in the top 10 and a Westbrook Christian runner made the top 25 last Saturday (Oct. 5) at the Jesse Owens Classic 5K at Indian Mounds Park in Oakville. Ryan Maudsley (pictured above) came in second out of 530 runners in the

Photo: Southside High’s Darryamce Wofford (left) is pursued by Douglas’ Alex Smalley during the Panthers’ 42-7 homecoming victory last Friday (Oct. 4). (Blake Habyan) By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Southside jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 42-7 homecoming victory over Class 5A, Region 6 rival Douglas last

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Austin Elder (55) and Darrian Meads (left) converge on Ashville quarterback Dylan Harris during the Eagles’ 35-14 Class 4A Region 6 victory on Oct. 4 at Ashville. (Alex Chaney) Hokes Bluff amassed 535 total yards, including 340 on the ground, on the way to a 35-14 victory over Class 4A Region 6

Photo: Westbrook Christian’s Karmichael Cattling looks for running room during the Warriors’ 33-13 loss to Ranburne on Oct. 4 in Rainbow City. (Colin Edwards) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor After racing out to a 4-0 start this year, Westbrook Christian has hit a mid-season speed bump. A week after suffering a 35-point loss to Class 2A, Region

By Taylor Beck/Sand Mountain Reporter Head coach Gene Hill and the Sardis Lions gave Class 5A, No. 10 Alexandria all it could handle last Friday (Oct. 4), but fell short of pulling what would have been a historic upset. It took two overtime periods for the visiting Valley Cubs to escape its Class 5A, Region

Photo: Gadsden City’s C.J. Miller runs into a pair of James Clemens defenders during the Titans’ 62-7 loss in high school football on Thursday, Oct. 3, in Madison. (Bob Gathany/Preps@AL.com) By Daniel Boyette/al.com Chase Starling scored three rushing touchdowns in a 62-7 rout of visiting Gadsden City last Thursday (Oct. 3) in Madison. Starling finished

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 5 Review Less than seven minutes into Auburn’s matchup with Mississippi State last Saturday, the Tigers led 21-0. The Bulldogs never came within 15 points for the remainder of the game. Auburn led 42-9 at the half before taking the foot off the gas and winning 56-23. It was

Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 5-0 286 2. McGill-Toolen 5-0 229 3. Central-Phenix City 5-1 203 4. Hoover 4-1 181 5. Mountain Brook 5-0 136 6. Theodore 5-0 116 7. Lee-Montgomery 6-0 113 8. Austin 5-0 78 9. Sparkman 5-0 41 10. Hewitt-Trussville 4-2 18 Others receiving votes: Vestavia Hills (4-1) 10, James

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Darrian Meads scores one of his four rushing touchdowns during the Eagles’ 35-6 victory over Glencoe in high school football last Saturday (Sept. 28) at GHS. (Alex Chaney)  A pair of area football players were recognized in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Prep Spotlight for the week of Sept. 27. Hokes

Photo: The Ashville High School girls cross country team gathers for a photo after winning the Scottsboro Invitational 5K in the Class 1A-4A division last Saturday (Sept. 28). Pictured, from left: Callie Stewart, Kathleen McCarthy, Emma Drinkard, Meghan McCarthy, Taylor Knight, Grace Staples, Molly Northam. (Courtesy of Becky Staples) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Several area high

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Trent Dooley (15) attempts to bring down Glencoe’s Justin Dove during the Eagles’ 35-6 victory in high school football last Saturday (Sept. 28) at GHS. (Alex Chaney) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor A 16-hour delay and near triple digit temperatures could not prevent Hokes Bluff from winning its fourth straight game against its ancient

Photo: Etowah High’s Brady Troup (left) hands off to Ethan Foster during the Blue Devils’ 26-20 victory over Fort Payne last Friday (Sept. 27) in Attalla. (Travis Greene) By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Class 5A No. 4 Etowah battled through weather, injuries and a late Fort Payne rally to remain unbeaten on the year with a