Sports

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Alabama Week 6 Review For the first time in nearly three decades, Alabama beat Vanderbilt in Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville. Granted, the Commodores are winless in the SEC this season, but it was still a solid performance for the Crimson Tide. However, UA followed up that win with a disappointing performance

By Chris McCarthy/Publisher/Editor Braydon Hill is moving from one successful football program to another. The Hokes Bluff High senior recently signed with Jacksonville State as a preferred walk-on. “It’s something I’ve worked for since I was sophomore when I realized it was something I wanted to do,” he said. “To finally achieve that goal is

Photo: Etowah High’s Taylor Berry (left) drives past Springville’s Max Harrison during the Blue Devils’ 58-57 victory in the Class 5A subregional playoffs last Tuesday (Feb. 12) in Attalla. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Editor/Publisher Etowah learned first-hand last Tuesday (Feb. 12) why Springville won 24 games this season. The Blue Devils fended off a

Photo: Southside High’s Alexis Thompson (right) attempts a jump shot as Springville’s Abbie Talton defends during Lady Panthers’ 50-34 victory in the Class 5A subregional playoffs in girls basketball last Monday (Feb. 11) at SHS. (Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Southside High girls basketball program officially entered uncharted territory on Monday, Feb. 11. Sparked

Anna Grace Goodwin’s buzzer-beating three-point basket gave Glencoe a 56-55 victory over Locust Fork in the Class 3A subregional playoffs in girls basketball on Monday, Feb. 11, at Locust Fork. With the Lady Yellow Jackets trailing by two points and with under four second left, Anna Beth Giles dribbled the ball to halfcourt under heavy

A pair of local high school wrestlers finished in first place at the North Super Sectional Tournament last Saturday (Feb. 9) at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Competing in the 126-pound weight class, Gadsden City junior Samuel Jaggears posted a 2-1 decision over Sparkman’s Cordell Ellison. Jaggears improved to 40-1 on the season. In the Class 1A-5A 120-pound

The Etowah High boys basketball team defeated Alexandria, 73-69, in the Class 5A, Area 12 Tournament championship on Feb. 7 in Attalla. Taylor Berry (pictured above) paced the Blue Devils with 23 points, followed by Trent Davis with 21 and DeRicky Wright with 13. Etowah (16-9) hosts Springville on Tuesday (Feb. 12) in the subregional

Glencoe came up short against Susan Moore, 59-51, the Class 3A, Area 12 championship on Feb. 8 at Susan Moore. Ashley Morgan (pictured above) scored 23 points for the Lady Yellow Jackets, while Cami Zahorscak added eight and Lauren Cole seven. Glencoe (19-9) travels to Locust Fork tonight (Feb. 11) in the subregional playoffs. Sardis

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 5 Review After a poor start to the conference season, the Tigers took advantage of a three-game home stretch to get back above .500. Auburn defeated Missouri, Ala-bama and Florida – all by double digits – and looked closer to last year’s team that won the SEC championship. The

Photo: Southside High’s Kaylee Brown (12 shoots over Etowah’s Shy’ere Gibbs during the Lady Panthers’ 46-31 victory in the Class 5A, Area 12 championship game on Wednesday (Feb. 6). (Gary Wells)  By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Southside built an early first quarter lead and never looked back as the Lady Panthers sprinted past Etowah, 46-31, to

Photo: Westbrook Christian senior Jackson Luttrell signed a football scholarship with Jacksonville State University on Wednesday, Feb. 6. Pictured, sitting, from left: Jackson’s mom Tonya, Jackson, Jackson’s dad Phil. Stan-ding, from left: Westbrook athletic director Matt Kennedy, former Westbrook head football Brian Mintz, Jackson’s sister Morgan. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Jackson Luttrell will stay local

Photo: Etowah High seniors Emil Smith (right) and Trey Cole signed football scholarship on Wednesday (Feb. 6). (Mike Goodson/Messenger) By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent A pair of Etowah High seniors will showcase their gridiron skills at the next level. Emil Smith and Trey Cole both signed football scholarship on Wednesday (Feb. 6) in Attalla. Smith, who

Photo: Southside High’s Chris Lengyel (2) attempts a jump shot as Alexandria’s Landan Williams (left) defends during the Panthers’ 52-47 loss in the Class 5A, Area Tournament semifinals last Tuesday (Feb. 5) in Attalla. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Southside High’s potent perimeter game faded down the stretch last Tuesday (Feb. 5) in the Class

Released February 3 GIRLS Class 7A 1. Hoover 2. McGill-Toolen 3. Sparkman 4. Austin 5. Davidson 6. Spain Park 7. Grissom 8. Auburn 9. Hewitt-Trussville 10. Foley Class 6A 1. Hazel Green 2. Blount 3. Eufaula 4. Hartselle 5. Huffman 6. McAdory 7. Carver-Birmingham 8. Cullman 9. Opelika 10. Muscle Shoals Class 5A 1. Ramsay

One local high school athlete medaled and three others posted top 10 finishes at the AHSAA state indoor track & field meet last weekend at the Birmingham Crossplex. Gadsden City’s Jakari Embry (pictured above) was the area’s lone medalist, as the Titan junior took home the third-place bronze in the Class 7A boys 60-meter hurdles

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Alabama Week 4 Review Alabama earned yet an-other impressive home win in knocking off Mississippi State, 83-79, at Coleman Coliseum. Donta Hall scored 19 points for the Crimson Tide, while John Petty and Riley Norris chipped in 13 and 11 points, respectively. UA improved to 13-7 overall and 4-3 in league

By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Garry Shirley has returned to the Land of the Conquerors. The 1981 Etowah High School graduate was recently named head baseball coach at Coosa Christian, where he was from 2005 until 2012. Shirley replaces Joey Millican, who resigned this past summer due to personal reasons. During Shirley’s initial eight seasons at Coosa,

GIRLS Class 7A 1. Hoover 2. McGill-Toolen 3. Sparkman 4. Austin 5. Spain Park 6. Davidson 7. Grissom 8. Auburn 9. Foley 10. Hewitt-Trussville Class 6A 1. Hazel Green 2. Eufaula 3. Blount 4. Hartselle 5. Huffman 6. McAdory 7. Carver-Birmingham 8. Cullman 9. Opelika 10. Muscle Shoals Class 5A 1. Ramsay 2. Charles Henderson

Photo: Southside High girls bowling team members Ashlee Hull, Jennifer Clontz, Rose Losco and Cheyanne Bohannon (pictured, from left) celebrate during the AHSAA state championship match on Jan. 25 at Oak Mountain Lanes in Pelham. (Dennis Victory/al.com) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Southside High girls bowling team found itself in unfamiliar territory on Jan. 25 in

Photo courtesy of Daniel Boyette/al.com By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Attalla City Board of Education certainly didn’t drag its heels in hiring a new football coach and athletic director at Etowah High. On the same day that the board accepted Drew Noles’ retirement, it hired John Holladay as the school’s 27th head coach. Noles, who last

Auburn Week 3 Review Auburn dropped under .500 in conference play after back-to-back narrow losses to Kentucky and South Ca-rolina. The Wildcats handed Auburn its first loss at home this season as they knocked off the Tigers, 82-80. Guards Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro each scored 20 points for Kentucky and were able to sustain

The Southside High girls defeated Hartselle, 1,299 to 1,147, to win a third straight North Regional Bowling Tournament championship on Jan. 18 in Vestavia Hills. The two-time defending state champion Lady Panthers advanced to this week’s state tournament in Pelham. Coming out of pool play as the second seed, Southside opened single elimination play with

By Joshua Price/Special to the Messenger West End High School has a rich history of athletics. From football to basketball to baseball to track and field to volleyball, the Patriots have found much success over the past 53 years, including a number of county, area and state championships. Before West End formed in 1966, two

GIRLS Class 7A 1. Hoover 2. McGill-Toolen 3. Sparkman 4. Austin 5. Spain Park 6. Davidson 7. Grissom 8. Auburn 9. Hewitt-Trussville 10. Foley Class 6A 1. Hazel Green 2. Eufaula 3. Hartselle 4. McAdory 5. Blount 6. Huffman 7. Cullman 8. Opelika 9. Dothan 10. Carver-Birmingham Class 5A 1. Ramsay 2. Charles Henderson 3.

By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Bart Sessions era at Gadsden City High School is over after 21 months and six victories. GCHS Principal Kevin Young confirmed that he relived Sessions of his duties as head football coach effective immediately. Young added that Sessions (pictured above) will continue to teach physical education at GCHS. Young said that

Southside defeated Hartselle, 1,299 to 1,147, to win a third straight North Regional Bowling Tournament championship on Jan. 18 in Vestavia Hills. The two-time defending state champion Lady Panthers advanced to this week’s state tournament in Pelham. Coming out of pool play as the second seed, Southside opened single elimination play with a 1,244 –

By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Drew Noles (pictured above) won’t have very far to travel to the next phase of his coaching career. To be exact, his new school’s campus is located a mere 5.3 miles from his former one. One day after retiring as head football coach at Etowah High School on Jan. 17, Noles accepted

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Hayden Lipscomb (32) goes up for a basket as Southside’s Colton Morrison (20) and Jordan Grantland (3) defend during the Eagles’ 72-49 win in the Etowah County Schools Tournament championship on Jan. 18 in Sardis City. (Alex Chaney) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Hokes Bluff’s interior and exterior work proved too much for Southside

Photo: Glencoe High’s Abby Vice (left) drives to the basket as Southside’s Savannah Nunn defends during the Lady Yellow Jackets’ 42-39 victory in the championship game of the Etowah County Schools Tournament on Jan. 19 in Sardis City. (Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The last time Glencoe High won the Etowah County Girls Basketball Tournament,

GIRLS Class 7A 1. Hoover 2. McGill-Toolen 3. Sparkman 4. Austin 5. Spain Park 6. Davidson 7. Grissom 8. Auburn 9. Hewitt-Trussville 10. Foley Class 6A 1. Hazel Green 2. Eufaula 3. Hartselle 4. Blount 5. Opelika 6. Huffman 7. McAdory 8. Cullman 9. Park Crossing 10. Dothan Class 5A 1. Ramsay (19-6) 2. Charles