Sports

Photo: Etowah’s Omareon Finch (19) blocks Gordo’s Benn Capps as NyNy Davis gains yardage during the Blue Devils’ 21-14 loss in the Class 4A state football semifinals on Nov. 27 in Attalla. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Etowah’s hopes of playing for a state football championship for the first time since 1999 ended last Friday

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 9 Recap After a three-week absence due to COVID-19, Auburn returned to the field and cruised past Tennessee, 30-17, last Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Tigers and Volunteers were tied 10-10 at halftime but Auburn took a 20-10 lead late in the third quarter on a 100-yard interception return

By Marty Dixon/Staff Correspondent I’ve been on the water several times over the past week. They were short trips, but any fishing trip is good fishing trip. I managed to make a few more fishing bu-ddies. I caught several fish on Thursday around rip rap while throwing a medium crankbait. I decided to run up

Photo West End football coach Kyle Davis speaks with Thad Pearce (4) and Rock Sainsbury (6) during a game this past season. (Courtesy of Bethany Smith Photography) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Kyle Davis era is apparently over in Walnut Grove and Altoona. On November 20, The West End High School head football coach issued a

Photo: Etowah High’s Trent Davis runs for one of his four touchdowns during the Blue Devils’ 49-14 victory over Northside in the Class 4A quarterfinals last Friday (Nov. 20) in Attalla. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor For the first time in 21 years, an Etowah High football team will play during the Thanksgiving break. Senior

By Cole Frederick/Staff Correspondent SEC rankings 1. Alabama (6-0) 2. Florida (5-1) 3. Texas A&M (5-1) 4. Georgia (4-2) 5. Auburn (4-2) 6. Arkansas (3-4) 7. Missouri (2-3) 8. Kentucky (3-4) 9. Tennessee (2-4) 10. Ole Miss (3-4) 11. LSU (2-3) 12. South Carolina (2-5) 13. Mississippi State (2-4) 14. Vanderbilt (0-6) Week 9 Previews

By Marty Dixon/Staff Correspondent It has been mostly uneventful this past week since last time. I will not complain, since it was a nice change of pace to my usual angling misfortunes. I did manage to get in some fishing in the despite the cooling temperatures. I got out early in the morning on Thursday,

Photo: Katie Giles enters the final turn of the AHSAA Class 3A state cross country meet last Saturday (Nov. 14) in Oakville. Giles won the state championship by a 35 second margin over the runner-up. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Katie Giles set two specific goals for the AHSAA state cross country meet last Saturday (Nov.

Messenger fille photo by Chris McCarthy By Jacob Cole/Florence Times-Daily Etowah earned its third state quarterfinal appearance in the past four years with a 42-24 victory over Haleyville in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs last Friday (Nov.13) at Haleyville. The Blue Devils host Northside of Northport on Nov. 20. Etowah (8-3) held

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy By Michael Hebert/Florence Times-Daily Westbrook Christian saw its season end in Florence last Friday (Nov. 13) with a 56-21 loss to Mars Hill Bible in the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs. Top-ranked Mars Hill will play at Aliceville in the quarterfinal round on Nov. 20. The

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Four Southeastern Conference games scheduled for this Saturday (Nov. 14) have been canceled due to COVID-19, as several college campuses have seen an uptick in positive cases. Auburn vs. Mississippi State, Alabama vs. LSU, Texas A&M vs. Tennessee and Georgia vs. Missouri were all postponed, and the league is scrambling to

By Marty Dixon/Staff Correspondent I did not get very much time on the river over the past week. We took a short two-day trip to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to watch our friend’s son play football for the University of North Alabama. UNA hung in there but eventually lost. Their son Andre Little, who was an all-state

Photo: Westbrook Christian’s Caiden Wyatt (3) gains yardage during the Warriors’ 42-0 victory over Section in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs on Nov. 6 in Rainbow City. (Courtesy of Gary Wells) Westbrook Christian 42, Section 0 Westbrook Christian head football coach Drew Noles earned his 150th career win in dominating fashion

Messenger staff photo by Chris McCarthy By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Local runners turned in standout performances at sectional cross country meets on Thursday, Nov. 5, including two individual titles, two runner-up showings and a team championship. The top four teams and the top six individuals from each section qualified for the state meet on Nov. 14

By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Southside High girls and boys cross country teams finished runnerup at the Class 6A Section 5 at St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman. The top four teams from each section qualified for the state meet on Nov. 14 at Oakville. The Lady Panthers’ average time of 22:21.80 was 14 seconds faster than

By Cole Frederick/Staff Correspondent Auburn Week 6 Recap Auburn did not need a controversial call or a fluke play to dispatch LSU last Saturday on The Plains. The host Tigers cruised past the defending national champions, 48-11, for Auburn’s largest margin of victory over LSU in series history. It was a 0-0 stalemate after the

By Marty Dixon/Staff Correspondent The middle and end this past week brought muddy and fast-moving water to the lake. I was unable to get out on the lake until Saturday. Not because of the current but I had other obligations. Mitch Morgan did send a text with a couple of photos of good fish he

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Earlier this week, a Rainbow City resident was recognized as the cream of the crop among the state’s senior student-athletes. Ashville High School’s Meghan McCarthy (pictured above) iss the female winner for the 2020 Alabama Wendy’s Heisman High School Scholarship. She and Briarwood Christian’s Tyler Waugh,

Released November 4 Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 10-0 252 2. Hoover 9-1 187 3. Hewitt-Trussville 8-2 157 4. Theodore 9-1 148 5. Daphne 9-1 119 6. Auburn 8-1 113 7. Fairhope 8-2 69 8. Central-Phenix City 6-4 57 9. Austin 8-2 43 10. James Clemens 8-2 42 Others receiving votes: Prattville (7-3)

Photo courtesy of Wallace State 2019 Southside High graduate and Wallace State-Hanceville sophomore Taylor Nails finished runner-up at the Alabama Community College Conference cross country championship last Saturday (Oct. 31) in Huntsville. Nails (pictured above) clocking in at 27:42.75in the 8K event, 1:06 behind teammate and first place winner Jonathan Jenkins. It was the eighth

Photo: Southside’s Broady Johnson (right) pursues Etowah’s Brevan Knight during the Panthers’ 24-17 victory in high school football on Oct. 30. (Photo courtesy of Gary Wells) Sparked by Carnel Davis’ 189 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries, Southside posted its first victory over Etowah in four years with a 24-17 win on Oct. 30

By Cole Frederick/Staff Correspondent Alabama Week 5 Recap Nick Saban hasn’t lost to Tennessee since taking over at Alabama in 2007, and this year’s matchup was another blowout win for the Crimson Tide. UA jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead and never looked back en route to a 48-17 victory. Mac Jones threw

By Marty Dixon/Staff Correspondent It’s been a couple of weeks since you last heard from me. I’ve fished when I could and watched bits and pieces of the Bassmaster Open this past week. It is a struggle in our local waters. We had 172 of the best bass fishermen around, and the three-day tournament took

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy Glencoe High sophomore Katie Gilles established a new personal record while winning her seventh 5K event of the season at the Oakville Cross Country Invitational on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Indian Mounds Park in Danville. Competing against 143 runners from all state classifications, Giles’ time of 19:13.04 broke her

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy Released October 28 Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 10-0 276 2. Hoover 9-1 191 3. Hewitt-Trussville 8-2 184 4. Theodore 8-1 160 5. Daphne 8-1 120 6. Auburn 8-1 119 7. Central-Phenix City 6-3 100 8. Austin 8-1 86 9. Fairhope 7-2 40 10. James Clemens 8-2

Photo by Chris McCarthy/Messenger The Ashville High girls took second place and the boys came in third at the St. Clair County Schools cross country meet on Oct. 21 in Odenville. All six AHS girls placed in the top 10, led by Meghan McCarthy with a third-place time of 23:21.6. Kathleen McCarthy came in fifth

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy A pair of Etowah High senior football players will participate in the 62nd AHSAA North-South All-Star football game on December 18 at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. Running back Trent Davis and receiver/defensive back NyNy Davis recently were selected to the North roster. Trent Davis, who committed

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy Etowah 33, Sweet Water 20 In a game of no record, Class 5A No. 6 Etowah defeated Class 1A, No. 4 Sweet Water, 33-20, on Oct. 23 in Attalla. Etowah was originally scheduled to host Dora in a Region 6 game, but the Bulldogs were forced to cancel due

Photo: Southside High’s Will Anglea raises his finger as he crosses the finish line to the Etowah County Schools boys cross country meet on Oct. 22 in Glencoe. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Will Anglea could not have chosen a better time to win his first varsity 5K meet. After being plagued by injuries over

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspodent Alabama Week 4 Recap A dominant second half propelled Alabama to a 41-24 victory over Georgia in a battle between a pair of top 3 teams last Saturday (Oct. 17) in Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide trailed 24-17 late in the first half before Will Reichard connected on a 52-yard field goal