Sports

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 10 Review Auburn did not play a home game in the month of October, so the Tigers expected to return home to play in front of a raucous crowd last week at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Instead, the crowd was anything but, and AU snuck away with a 20-14 win over

Released Nov. 6 Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. McGill-Toolen 10-0 261 2. Central-Phenix City 9-1 220 3. Thompson 8-1; 176 4. James Clemens 8-2 151 5. Hoover 8-2 150 6. Prattville 8-2 100 7. Mountain Brook 8-2 96 8. Vestavia Hills 7-3 53 9. Theodore 8-2 48 10. Auburn 7-3 33 Others receiving votes:

Photo: The Gadsden State volleyball team gathers around the tournament bracket after winning the NJCAA Gulf Atlantic District championship last Sunday (Nov. 3) in Boaz. Pictured, kneeling, on left: Shelby Bates. Kneeling on right: Joanie Lang. Middle row, from left: Madelyn Massey, Jaylyn Freeman, Grace Nolen, Brooke Murphy, Gracie West, Leighanna Tralongo. Back row, from

Photo courtesy of Toni Bishop By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Southside High boys and boys cross country teams finished in first place at the Class 5A, Section 2 Meet at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park on Nov. 1. The Panthers had four runners finish in the top 15, led by Ryan Maudsley first-place time of 17:00.05. Mason Williamson

Photo by Chris McCarthy By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Ashville High girls cross country team had three runners place in the top 10 and four more in the top 25 on the way to a first-place finish at the Class 4A Section 3 Meet on Nov. 1 at Fairview. It was the second straight section championship

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The Glencoe High girls cross country team finished third at the Class 3A, Section 2 Meet at Auburn on Nov. 1 The Lady Yellow Jackets qualified for the AHSAA state meet this Saturday, Nov. 9, at Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center in Danville. Katie Giles

Submitted photo By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Helped by four top 10 showings, the Westbrook Christian boys cross country team won the Class 1A/2A, Section 4 Meet on Nov. 1 at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park. The Warriors qualified for the AHSAA state meet this Saturday, Nov. 9, at Oakville Indian Mounds Education Center in Danville. “I was very

Messenger file photo by Colin Edwards Will Noles finished with 216 offensive yards and rushed for four touchdowns as Westbrook Christian ended the regular season with a 38-18 victory over Sand Rock last Friday (Nov. 1). Noles rushed for 101 yards and four touchdowns on nine carries and was 8 for 13 in passing for

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy Courtesy of al.com Ashville has suffered through 14 straight losing seasons and Vincent hasn’t had a winning season since 2013, but both coaches found reasons to be optimistic about the future of their teams after Ashville earned 41-14 victory last Friday (Nov. 1) at Vincent. Class 4A Ashville (2-8)

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Ashton Gulledge (2) attempts a pass during the Eagles’ 35-12 win over Sardis on Nov. 1. (Alex Chaney) By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Hokes Bluff relied on a pair of four-year starters for a 35-12 win over Sardis on senior night at Mike Robertson Stadium in Hokes Bluff on Friday (Nov. 1). Running

Photo: West End’s Isaiah Roberson (25) runs for a first down as Glencoe’s Hunter Hanners (4) pursues during the 49-0 shutout win over Glencoe on Nov. 1. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor West End wore out the scoreboard in Walnut Grove last Friday (Nov. 1), as the Patriots finished off the 2019 season with

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Alabama Week 9 Review The absence of quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was not noticeable in Alabama’s 48-7 rout over Arkansas. It was clear the game would be a blowout very early in the first quarter. The Crimson Tide built a 17-0 lead after one quarter and led 41-0 at halftime. Mac Jones threw for

Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. McGill-Toolen 9-0 255 2. Central-Phenix City 9-1 218 3. Hoover 8-1 189 4. Thompson 8-1 148 5. Theodore 8-1 147 6. James Clemens 7-2 124 7. Prattville 7-2 69 8. Mountain Brook 7-2 56 9. Vestavia Hills 6-3 35 10. Auburn 6-3 25 Others receiving votes: Fairhope (6-3) 17,

Photo by Chris McCarthy The Ashville High girls and boys cross country teams both finished runner-up at the St. Clair County Meet on Oct. 23 at Odenville. Both teams had four runners place in the top 10. The Lady Bulldogs were paced by Taylor Knight’s second place showing of 21:31.8, followed by Meghan McCarthy in

Messenger file photo by Sherry Abercrombie Three local football players were recognized in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Prep Spotlight for the week of Oct. 25. West End junior quarterback Eli Pearce (pictured above) finished with 394 total yards and four touchdowns in the Patriots’ 38-21 victory over Woodland. The junior quarterback completed 13-of-28

Photo: Gadsden City’s Jakari Embry (11) runs for a first down as Grissom’s Caleb Peake (10) pursues during the Titans’ 17-14 victory last Friday (Oct. 25) at GCHS. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Gadsden City’s first win of the 2019 football season came with a couple of anxious moments last Friday (Oct. 25) at a soggy

Photo courtesy of Bentley Gray Photography By Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter Class 5A Sardis led 6A Albertville 14-13 at halftime in last Thursday’s non-region football game, but the Aggies outscored the Lions 32-6 in the second half to pull away for a 45-20 victory in Sardis City. Albertville (5-4) forced six turnovers, including two

Courtesy of Sand Mountain Reporter West End trailed 21-6 in the first half but outscored Woodland 26-0 in the second half to storm back for a 38-21 victory last Friday (Oct. 25) in Walnut Grove. It was the Class 2A, Region 6 finale for both teams. The Patriots improved to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in

Courtesy of Sand Mountain Reporter  The Crossville High football team’s best defensive effort of the season put the Lions in position to earn a Class 5A, Region 6 win, but Southside hit a late field goal to break a 3-3 tie and escape with a 6-3 decision last Thursday (Oct. 24) at Crossville Memorial Stadium.

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Darrian Meads (left) follows the blocking of Hunter Burke during the Eagles’ 35-14 loss at Jacksonville last Thursday (Oct. 24). (Alex Chaney) Hokes Bluff closed out its Class 4A, Region 6 schedule with a 35-14 loss at Jacksonville last Thursday (Oct. 24). The Eagles (6-3, 4-3) already clinched the region’s fourth playoff

Photo by Gary Wells By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Sparked by 15 top 10 finishes, the Southside boys and girls cross country teams swept the Etowah County Schools Meet on Oct. 24 in Glencoe. It was the second straight county title for both teams. The Southside boys posted an average time of 18:00.1, 1:38 ahead of second-place

By Ricky Smith/For Sand Mountain Reporter NyNy Davis and Ethan Foster combined to rush for 232 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 5 Etowah to a 35-14 win over Boaz in Class 5A, Region 6 action on Thursday, Oct. 24, at Boaz. Davis and Foster each carried the ball 11 times and scored twice.

Photo: Westbrook Christian’s Joe Tucker runs after a catch as Cleveland’s Gary Gilliland (2) pursues during the Warriors’ 7-0 loss in high school football last Thursday (Oct. 24) in Rainbow City. (Gary Wells) By Cole Frederick /Sports Correspondent It was a physical, old school knock-down-drag-out football game last Thursday (Oct. 24) night at Jack Osborn

  Several local volleyball teams competed at the recent AHSAA North Super Regional Tournament in Huntsville. Last Thursday (Oct. 24), Class 5A, Southside opened with a 25-18, 25-9, 25-16 win over Sardis, then lost to Guntersville,12- 25, 20-25, 18-25 in the quarterfinal round. Southside finished the season with a 47-14 record, while Sardis went 23-18.

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Alabama Week 8 Review Alabama earned its 13th straight win over Tennessee, but the 35-13 victory wasn’t the headline from Tusca-loosa. Tua Tagovailoa left the game with a sprained ankle in the second quarter and did not return. He will miss this Saturday’s game against Arkansas, and the Crimson Tide have

Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 8-0 262 2. McGill-Toolen 8-0 212 3. Central-Phenix City 8-1 187 4. Hoover 7-1 167 5. Theodore 7-1 130 6. James Clemens 6-2 108 7. Mountain Brook 7-1 94 8. Auburn 6-2 59 9. Sparkman 7-1 48 10. Prattville 6-2 27 Others receiving votes: Vestavia Hills (5-3) 9,

Messenger file photo by Alex Chaney From AHSAA Hokes Bluff High School senior Ashton Gulledge is best known for his quarterbacking role for the Class 4A Eagles of head coach Mike Robertson. Last week, Gulledge proved to be equally as strong at his strong safety post on defense. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound standout recorded 18 tackles

Photo: Southside High’s Maggie Bell (left) battles at the net against a pair of Alexandria players during the Lady Panthers’ match victory in the Class 5A, Area 12 championship last Monday (Oct. 21) at SHS. (Chris McCarthy/Messenger) By Chris McCarthy/Publisher/Editor Backed by a raucous student section, the Southside High volleyball team won a second straight Class 5A,

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy Southside went 3-2 at Guntersville Invitational Tournament last Saturday (Oct. 19). The Class 5A No. 6 Lady Panthers (45-13), opened with a 25-17, 25-15 win over Hayden and a 25-11, 25-12 victory over Fyffe. Southside lost to Danville, 23-25, 25-23, 12-15 before beating Donoho, 25-27, 25-23, 15-9. The Lady

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy Several area high school cross country finished in the top 10 in two 5K events last Saturday (Oct. 19). At the Wildcat Fall Classic in Anniston, Glencoe High’s Katie Giles (pictured above) finished as the girls’ event runner-up with a time of 21:36.59, just 22 seconds behind the winning