Sports

Photo: Southside High junior Carnel Davis won the Class 1A-5A 170-pound state championship at the AHSAA state tournament last weekend in Huntsville. (Courtesy of Sally Staub)  Panthers’ Davis wins title, Finley finishes state runner-up By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor One local high school wrestler won a state championship, another was a state runner-up and several others earned

Photo: Glencoe High School senior Anna Claire Hipps signs a softball scholarship with Pensacola (Fla.) State on Feb. 14 at the GHS library. Pictured, from left: mom Amber, Anna Claire, dad Gary, sister Ella Kate. (Courtesy of Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Without so much as a plate appearance or a play in the outfield,

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 6 Review Bruce Pearl’s team never wants it to be easy, as four of Auburn’s last five games have made their way to overtime. Auburn prevailed in every game, but it’s hard to sustain that good fortune over the course of the year. The Tigers defeated Alaba-ma, 95-91, despite

Photo: Gadsden City’s Tenise Johnson (0) splits the Oak Mountain’s defense for a basket during the Lady Titans’ 47-38 victory over Oak Mountain in the Class 7A Northeast Regional Tournament basketball semifinals on Thursday (Feb. 13) at JSU. (Courtesy of Gary Wells)  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Gadsden City weathered a late Oak Mountain rally to post

Photo: Southside High’s Ziniah Hardy drives to the basket during the Lady Panthers’ 49-37 victory over Springville in the Class 5A sub-regional basketball playoffs last Monday (Feb. 10). (Courtesy of Gary Wells)    By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent For the second consecutive season and the second time in school history, the Southside girls basketball team advanced

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Kristen Shields (20) drives to the basket during the Lady Eagles’ 40-32 victory over Talladega in the Class 4A sub regional girls basketball playoffs last Monday (Feb. 10). (Courtesy of Alex Chaney) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Kristen Shields had no intention of ending her last season of high school basketball on her home court.

Photo: Gadsden City’s Jakari Embry (pictured, center) finished fifth in the Class 7A boys 60-meter hurdles event at the AHSAA state indoor track and field meet on Feb. 7-8 at the Birmingham CrossPlex. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Although no local student-athletes took home a medal, there were several top 10 performances at the AHSAA

Photo: Westbrook Christian senior John Harvey signed a football scholarship with Birmingham Southern College on Feb. 6. Pictured, from left: dad Jeff, girlfriend Katelyn, John, sister Emily, mom Leslie. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor John Harvey will be playing college football just a few exits down I-59 South. The Westbrook Christian senior signed a scholarship

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 5 Review The Tigers enjoyed their best week of the season as they knocked off Kentucky at home and Arkansas on the road in overtime. Auburn pulled away from the Wildcats after being neck-and-neck for most of the game. Samir Doughty led the Tigers with 23 points and kept

Photo: Gadsden City High School seniors Trey Blount (pictured sitting at left) and Jakari Embry (sitting at right) signed football scholarships with Bethel (Tenn.) University last Wednesday (Feb. 5). Pictured with Blount and Embry is GCHS head football coach Ali Smith. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor A pair of Titans are headed to the Volunteer

Messenger file photo by Gary Wells By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Senior guard Colton Morrison’s half court buzzer beater propelled Southside to a 48-46 victory over Etowah County rival Etowah in the semifinals of the Class 5A, Area 12 boys basketball tournament on Tuesday (Feb. 4) at Alexandria. The Panthers (17-10) led 37-34 after three quarters,

Photo: Gadsden City’s Adrianna Jones (left) moves against Grissom’s LaQuaishay Allen during the Lady Titans’ 51-46 win in the Class 7A, Area 7 Tournament girls semifinals last Tuesday (Feb. 4) at GCHS. (Courtesy of Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Adrianna Jones provided a good example last Tuesday (Feb. 4) of why she will be playing

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Kristen Shields scores over White Plains’ Angel Bozarth during the Lady Eagles’ 47-35 victory in the Class 4A, Area 10 Tournament semifinals last Tuesday (Feb. 4) at HBHS. (Courtesy of Alex Chaney) Hokes Bluff posted a 47-35 win over White Plains in the Class 4A, Area 10 Tournament semifinals last Tuesday (Feb.

Photo: Glencoe High School senior Anna Beth Giles recently signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Birmingham Southern College. Pictured, from left: GHS girls basketball coach Jamie Barkley, sister Katie, mom Donna, Anna Beth, dad Charlton. (Courtesy of Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Anna Beth Giles’ athletic and academic prowess recently paid big

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 4 Review After back-to-back losses, Bruce Pearl’s team responded with three straight victories to get back on track. The Tigers knocked off Iowa State, 80-76, in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, and followed that win up with an 83-82 win in double overtime at Ole Miss. Led by senior Anfernee

GIRLS Class 7A 1. Hoover 2. Foley 3. Theodore 4. Spain Park 5. McGill-Toolen Catholic 6. Austin 7. Gadsden City 8. Hewitt-Trussville 9. Vestavia Hills 10. Central-Phenix City Class 6A 1. Hazel Green 2. Athens 3. Carver-Birmingham 4. Lee-Huntsville 5. Eufaula 6. McAdory 7. Opelika 8. Dothan 9. Homewood 10. Carver-Montgomery Class 5A 1. Ramsay

Photo: Gadsden State’s Kendrick Buskey (5) drives against Southern Union’s Phillip Richards during the Cardinals’ 96-76 victory in mens basketball last Monday (Jan. 24) at Beck Field House. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor With one victory in four attempts in conference play in the books, Gadsden State mens head basketball coach Deddric Traver viewed last

Photo: Gadsden State’s Deyana Dodd splits the Southern Union defense during the Lady Cardinals’ 72-61 win in womens basketball last Monday (Jan. 24) at Beck Field House. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor By the end of the third quarter in Gadsden State’s game against Southern Union last Monday (Jan. 24), it was the visitors from Wadley who

Photo: The Southside High School girls bowling team gathers for a photo after winning its fourth straight AHSAA state championship on Jan. 24. Pictured, sitting from left: Cheyanne Bohannon, Grace Ann Clontz, Courtney Boren, Ashlee Hull. Standing, from left: assistant coach David Clontz, Jessica Clontz, Rose Losco, Keilsy Hull, Jalyn Foster, Jennifer Clontz, head coach

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Alabama Week 3 Review Alabama currently is on a three-game winning streak after a pair of wins this past week, winning all three games by double digits. The Crimson Tide knocked off Vanderbilt, 77-62, on the road, and beat Missouri, 88-74. Nate Oats’ team is shooting well and is 11-7 overall

GIRLS Class 7A 1. Hoover 2. Foley 3. Spain Park 4. McGill-Toolen Catholic 5. Theodore 6. Austin 7. Gadsden City 8. Hewitt-Trussville 9. Vestavia Hills 10. Auburn Class 6A 1. Hazel Green 2. Athens 3. Carver-Birmingham 4. Lee-Huntsville 5. Opelika 6. Eufaula 7. McAdory 8. Dothan 9. Homewood 10. Carver-Montgomery  Class 5A 1. Charles Henderson

Photo: Glencoe High’s Anna Grace Goodwin passes over Gadsden City’s Jermila Underwood during the Lady Titans’ 53-43 victory in girls basketball last Tuesday (Jan. 21) at GHS. (Courtesy of Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor In a physical game between two ranked girls basketball teams, Gadsden City’s superior depth played a big role in the Class

Photo courtesy of jsugamecockssports Jacksonville State University freshman and 2019 Westbrook Christian graduate Jackson Luttrell recently was named to the 2019 Phil Steele FCS Freshman All-American Second Team. In 10 games this past season, Luttrell (pictured above) finished with 18 tackles (including six for a loss), 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble. As a senior

Photo courtesy of ovcsports.com By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Jacksonville State University assistant baseball coach and 2002 Southside High School graduate Evan Bush (pictured above) recently was honored by the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association at the organization’s annual awards banquet in Birmingham. Bush, who has been with the JSU baseball program since 2016, was named the ALABCA’s

Photo: Gadsden City’s Trey Woods (left) moves against Fyffe’s Parker Godwin during the Titans’ 85-72 loss at the MLK Classic Showcase last Monday (Jan. 20) in Rainbow City. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Gadsden City High boys basketball coach Reginald Huff did not hesitate to identity the main reason for his team’s sixth straight loss

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy Several local student-athletes turned in top 10 performances at the MLK Indoor Track & Field Classic last Monday (Jan. 20) at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The area’s lone medalist was Gadsden City’s Jeremiah Watts (pictured above), who took the third-place bronze in Class 6A-7A boys high jump (6-02.00). Also for

Photo: The Southside High girls bowling team gathers for a photo after winning the AHSAA North Regional Tournament on Jan. 17 in Vestavia Hills. The Lady Panthers will defend their state title this week in Pelham. Pictured, from left: assistant coach David Clontz, Jennifer Clontz, Rose Losco, Jessica Clontz, Grace Ann Clontz, Ashlee Hull, Keilsy

Photo: Southside High’s Colton Morrison (20) goes in for a layup during the Panthers’ 59-58 victory over Sardis the Etowah County Schools Tournament boys championship game last Friday (Jan. 17) at SHS. (Courtesy of Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Due in large part to a heads-up defensive play by Chris Lengyel, the Southside High

Photo: Glencoe High’s Anna Beth Giles (4) goes up for a layup as Southside’s Maci Williams defends during Lady Yellow Jackets’ 51-40 victory In the Etowah County Schools Tournament championship game on Jan. 17 at SHS. (Courtesy of Gary Wells) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Year in and year out, the Glencoe High girls basketball team is

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Caleb McGinnis (left) attempts a jump shot as Sardis’ Jacob Hopper defends during the Lions’ 45-32 win in the Etowah County Schools Tournament semifinals last Thursday (Jan. 16) at Southside. (Courtesy of Gary Wells) ardis rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to post a 45-32 win over Hokes Bluff in the Etowah