Sports

Southside High’s Andrew Dunston catches a relay throw just before a Corner baserunner arrives at third base during the Panthers’ 5-4 victory in the first round of the Class 5A state baseball playoff last Saturday (Apr. 20) at SHS. By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning with the season

Photo: Westbrook Christian’s Andrew Dutton (7) receives congratulations from his brother Samuel after the former’s hit a home run during the Warriors’ sweep of Vincent in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs last Monday (Apr. 22) in Rainbow City. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Bulldog Brothers made short work of

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Koby Addison (14) is congratulated by head coach Mike Robertson after Addison’s three-run home run during the Eagles’ sweep of Cleburne County in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs on Monday (April 22) at Hokes Bluff. (Alex Chaney) By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Class 4A No. 1 Hokes Bluff baseball’s

Photo: Etowah High’s Will Hotalen (14) slides into second base as Jasper’s Pacey Gillott looks on during the teams’ Class 5A first round baseball series this past week in Jasper. (Courtesy of Daily Mountain Eagle) By Jonathan Bentley/Daily Mountain Eagle Etowah High’s Logan Lafollette came within one strike of a no-hitter as the Blue Devils

Photo: Russellville’s William Rogers (left) collides with Sardis’ first baseman Chase Williams in the third inning of Game 1 of the teams’ Class 5A first-round playoff series on Monday, Apr. 22. (Matt McKean/Florence Times-Daily) Courtesy of Florence Tines-Daily Russellville looked ready as ever for another postseason push on Monday (Apr. 22), sweeping Sardis 5-2 and 20-3

By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor For the first time in five years, the Gadsden City High School baseball team will participate in the postseason. The Titans’ 14-13 come from behind victory over Class 7A, Area 7 rival Sparkman on Apr. 19 in Gadsden clinched second place in the area and a berth in the state playoffs. The

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 5 Review The Tigers dropped two of three games in a road series at Texas A&M in a battle of ranked teams. Auburn lost the series opener, 4-0, as ace pitcher Tanner Burns lost his first start of the season. Burns only gave up five hits and three earned

Released April 18 Baseball Class 7A 1. Bob Jones 2. Oak Mountain 3. Vestavia Hills 4. McGill-Toolen Catholic 5. Hoover 6. Hewitt-Trussville 7. Auburn 8. Prattville 9. Central-Phenix City 10. Huntsville Class 6A 1. Russell County 2. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 3. Hazel Green 4. Spanish Fort 5. Saraland 6. Faith Academy 7. Cullman 8. Hueytown 9. Oxford

Photo: Southside High head baseball coach Shane Chappell (pictured, second from left) has a word with Jacob Little (22) and Mason McGlaughn (24) during a game earlier this season.  By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent The Southside baseball team is in the process of one of the best single-season turnarounds in the state of Alabama in any

Photo: Rod Cates, who was recently hired as Coosa Christian head football coach, gathers with his family following a Coosa football game last year. Pictured, from left: daughter Caitlin, Rod Cates, son Caleb, son Cade, wife Rachael. By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor A new coach will roam the sidelines on Wills Creek Road this fall. Coosa Christian

Photo: Glencoe High’s Chloe Jones swings a pitch during the Lady Yellow Jackets’ 15-1 win over Hanceville last Tuesday (Apr. 16) at GHS. (Gary Wells)  By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent The Glencoe High softball team certainly appears ready for the upcoming AHSAA state playoffs. The Lady Yellow Jackets banged out 17 hits – including three by

Photo: The Southside boys tennis team won the Class 4A/5A, Section 6 Tournament last Monday (Arp. 15) in Boaz. Pictured, from left: head coach Zack Blume, Noah Hefner, Ben Deike, Hayden Davis, Dylan Winningham, Colton Dugger, Hudson Hopper, Micah Prickett, Jackson Opdycke, Mason Prickett, Zach Lockridge, assistant coach Beth Russell. The Southside boys tennis team

Photo: The Southside High girls and boys track and field team members gather for a photo after winning the Etowah County Schools Meet on Apr. 10 at Gadsden City High School. By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Southside girls and boys track and field teams swept the Etowah County Schools Meet on April 10 at Gadsden City

By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Etowah High boys and girls track and field teams combined for 10 first-place medals at the Gadsden City Track and Field Meet No. 3 on Apr. 11 at GCHS. NyNy Davis and Jaci Jo Mayo both won three gold medals for the Blue Devils. Davis won in the boys 100-meter and 200-meter

Photo by Chris McCarthy/Messenger Isaac Franklin (pictured above) scored four goals and Gideon Garcia added two as Class 4A/5A No. 4 Southside shut out Anniston, 9-0, in boys soccer on Monday (Apr. 15) at SHS. Also for the Panthers (12-1-1), Koen De Hullu and Michael Daughtery each had a goal and an assist, Josh Perez

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn’s historic run to the Final Four ended with the ultimate heartbreak. In the semifinals against No. 1 seed Virginia, the Tigers trailed 57-47. AU proceeded to go on a 14-0 run to take a 61-57 lead with 17 seconds remaining. Virginia guard Kyle Guy buried a 3-pointer in the corner

Released April 11 Baseball Class 7A 1. Bob Jones 2. Hoover 3. Mountain Brook 4. McGill-Toolen 5. Austin 6. Vestavia Hills 7. Oak Mountain 8. Hewitt-Trussville 9. Central-Phenix City 10. Smiths Station Class 6A 1. Russell County 2. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 3. Hazel Green 4. Hueytown 5. Spanish Fort 6. Saraland 7. Faith Academy 8. Oxford 9.

Photo: Etowah shortstop Austin Young (left) tags out Southside’s Connor Johnson at second base during the Blue Devils’ 6-1 victory over Southside in high school baseball last Wednesday (Apr. 10) in Attalla. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Sparked by a standout pitching effort, solid defense and timely hitting, the Etowah High baseball team moved

By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent Gadsden City remained in the postseason picture with a 4-3 victory over Class 7A, Area 4 rival Grissom on Wed-nesday, Apr. 10, at the Gadsden Sports Complex. The Titans can make the state playoffs if they defeated Grissom last night (Apr. 11) in Huntsville and won two out of three games

Photo: Southside High School senior Kenneth Bothwell, Jr., signed a football scholarship with Fort Scott (Kans.) Community College on Apr. 3. Pictured, sitting, from left: Theresa Parker, Kenneth Bothwell, Sr., Kenneth Bothwell, Jr., Tinly Henry, Billy Parker. Standing, from left: Arkayla Bothwell, Tinnesha Parker. (Gary Wells)  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Kenneth Bothwell’s future includes a couple

Photo: Southside High School senior Anna Motely recently signed a soccer scholarship with ASA College in Miami, Fla. Pictured, from left: Anna’s mom Christy, Anna, Anna’s dad Rodney, SHS girls soccer coach Tiffany Cargill. (Gary Wells)  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Anna Motley is headed to south Florida for her college soccer career. The Southside High school

Photo by Chris McCarthy/Messenger Grasyn Carter scored three goals to lead Class 4A/5A No. 4 Southside to a 5-0 shutout over sixth-ranked Westbrook Christian last Saturday (Apr. 6) at SHS. Makayla Moore and Laney Bishop each scored a goal for the Class 4A/5A No. 4 Lady Panthers (11-2), while Alexis Thompson, Rebecca Johnson, Hallie-Kate Smith

Photo: Etowah High’s Ollie Finch (right) hands off to NyNy Davis during the boys 4×100-meter dash event at the Albertville Invitational track and field meet on Apr. 5. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger)  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Etowah High boys track and field team won six gold medals – including two by NyNy Davis – on the way

Photo: Sardis High’s Anna Beth Hallmark looks toward the plate during the Lady Lions’ 11-1 victory over Hokes Bluff in the Etowah County Schools Tournament championship game last Saturday (Apr. 6) in Sardis City. (Mike Goodson/Messenger)  By Mike Goodson/Sports Correspondent The Sardis High softball team outscored the opposition 25 to 2 on the way to

Photo: Glencoe High’s Lauren Cole follows through on a shot during the Briarmeade Invitational girls golf tournament on Apr. 4 in Glencoe. (Gary Wells) Lauren Cole shot a low-medalist score of 79 to lead the Glencoe High girls golf team to a second-place finished at the Briarmeade Invitational Tournament on Apr. 4 in Glencoe. The

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent When the NCAA Tournament regions were announced, Auburn’s path to the Final Four looked almost impossible. The Tigers had a tough opening round game against No. 12-seed New Mexico State. The Aggies entered the matchup with 30 wins and they had not lost since early January. If Auburn beat NMS, the

Baseball Class 7A 1. Bob Jones 2. Smiths Station 3. Hoover (23-8) 4. Hewitt-Trussville 5. Oak Mountain 6. Mountain Brook 7. Prattville 8. McGill-Toolen 9. Vestavia Hills 10. Austin Class 6A 1. Russell County 2. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 3. Hazel Green 4. Faith Academy 5. Spanish Fort 6. Saraland 7. Hueytown 8. Wetumpka 9. Oxford 10. Cullman

Messenger file photo by Travis Greene By Daniel Boyette/al.com When Etowah High’s DeRickey Wright was asked to play defense last season, he had no idea the doors that would open as a result. Wright, who was the Blue Devils’ quarterback two years ago as a sophomore, excelled as a two-way starter in 2018. He returned

Photo: 2017 Gadsden City High graduate and University of Missouri redshirt freshman Haley Troup (11) drives against Florida’s Corey Staples in a college basketball game earlier this year.  By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Perseverance certainly has paid off for Haley Troup over the past year. After sitting out the 2017-18 college basketball season following a transfer from

Photo: Westbrook Christian’s Greyson Robertson slides safely in third base as Etowah’s Will Noles receives the throw during the Warriors’ 4-0 win in high school baseball last Tuesday (Apr. 2) in Rainbow City. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Etowah High baseball team’s potent lineup was no match for the Brothers Dutton last Tuesday (Apr.