Sports

Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 6-0 274 2. McGill-Toolen 6-0 221 3. Central-Phenix City 6-1 194 4. Hoover 5-1 175 5. Mountain Brook 6-0 141 6. Theodore 6-0 122 7. Sparkman 6-0 87 8. Prattville 5-1 49 9. Vestavia Hills 5-1 41 10. Austin 5-1 33 Others receiving votes: Lee-Montgomery (6-1) 24, James

Messenger file photo by Alex Chaney Several local football players were recognized in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Prep Spotlight for the week of Oct. 4. In Hokes Bluff’s 35-14 win over Ashville, senior quarterback Ashton Gulledge (pictured above) finished with 315 total yards. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 195 yards and

Photo: The Southside High volleyball teams gathers for a photo after winning the Etowah County Schools Tournament last Saturday (Oct. 5) in Southside. Pictured, front row from left: Ziniah Hardy, Macey Herren, Bliss Brown, Samantha Hathcock, Hannah Rogers. Back row, from left: head coach Courtney Brothers, Makayla Moore, Maggie Bell, Macie Williams, Keelan Vice, Sydney

Photo: The Ashville High girls and boys cross country teams finished first and second, respectively, in the Class 1A-4A division at the Lake Guntersville Invitational 5K last Saturday (Oct. 5). Pictured, kneeling, from left: Meghan McCarthy, Emma Drinkard, Grace Staples, Taylor Knight, Emma Thompson, Kathleen McCarthy, Callie Stewart. Standing, from left: coach Michele Rogers, Walker

Messenger file photo by Chris McCarthy A pair of Southside High runners finished in the top 10 and a Westbrook Christian runner made the top 25 last Saturday (Oct. 5) at the Jesse Owens Classic 5K at Indian Mounds Park in Oakville. Ryan Maudsley (pictured above) came in second out of 530 runners in the

Photo: Southside High’s Darryamce Wofford (left) is pursued by Douglas’ Alex Smalley during the Panthers’ 42-7 homecoming victory last Friday (Oct. 4). (Blake Habyan) By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Southside jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 42-7 homecoming victory over Class 5A, Region 6 rival Douglas last

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Austin Elder (55) and Darrian Meads (left) converge on Ashville quarterback Dylan Harris during the Eagles’ 35-14 Class 4A Region 6 victory on Oct. 4 at Ashville. (Alex Chaney) Hokes Bluff amassed 535 total yards, including 340 on the ground, on the way to a 35-14 victory over Class 4A Region 6

Photo: Westbrook Christian’s Karmichael Cattling looks for running room during the Warriors’ 33-13 loss to Ranburne on Oct. 4 in Rainbow City. (Colin Edwards) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor After racing out to a 4-0 start this year, Westbrook Christian has hit a mid-season speed bump. A week after suffering a 35-point loss to Class 2A, Region

By Taylor Beck/Sand Mountain Reporter Head coach Gene Hill and the Sardis Lions gave Class 5A, No. 10 Alexandria all it could handle last Friday (Oct. 4), but fell short of pulling what would have been a historic upset. It took two overtime periods for the visiting Valley Cubs to escape its Class 5A, Region

Photo: Gadsden City’s C.J. Miller runs into a pair of James Clemens defenders during the Titans’ 62-7 loss in high school football on Thursday, Oct. 3, in Madison. (Bob Gathany/Preps@AL.com) By Daniel Boyette/al.com Chase Starling scored three rushing touchdowns in a 62-7 rout of visiting Gadsden City last Thursday (Oct. 3) in Madison. Starling finished

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 5 Review Less than seven minutes into Auburn’s matchup with Mississippi State last Saturday, the Tigers led 21-0. The Bulldogs never came within 15 points for the remainder of the game. Auburn led 42-9 at the half before taking the foot off the gas and winning 56-23. It was

Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 5-0 286 2. McGill-Toolen 5-0 229 3. Central-Phenix City 5-1 203 4. Hoover 4-1 181 5. Mountain Brook 5-0 136 6. Theodore 5-0 116 7. Lee-Montgomery 6-0 113 8. Austin 5-0 78 9. Sparkman 5-0 41 10. Hewitt-Trussville 4-2 18 Others receiving votes: Vestavia Hills (4-1) 10, James

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Darrian Meads scores one of his four rushing touchdowns during the Eagles’ 35-6 victory over Glencoe in high school football last Saturday (Sept. 28) at GHS. (Alex Chaney)  A pair of area football players were recognized in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Prep Spotlight for the week of Sept. 27. Hokes

Photo: The Ashville High School girls cross country team gathers for a photo after winning the Scottsboro Invitational 5K in the Class 1A-4A division last Saturday (Sept. 28). Pictured, from left: Callie Stewart, Kathleen McCarthy, Emma Drinkard, Meghan McCarthy, Taylor Knight, Grace Staples, Molly Northam. (Courtesy of Becky Staples) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor Several area high

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Trent Dooley (15) attempts to bring down Glencoe’s Justin Dove during the Eagles’ 35-6 victory in high school football last Saturday (Sept. 28) at GHS. (Alex Chaney) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor A 16-hour delay and near triple digit temperatures could not prevent Hokes Bluff from winning its fourth straight game against its ancient

Photo: Etowah High’s Brady Troup (left) hands off to Ethan Foster during the Blue Devils’ 26-20 victory over Fort Payne last Friday (Sept. 27) in Attalla. (Travis Greene) By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Class 5A No. 4 Etowah battled through weather, injuries and a late Fort Payne rally to remain unbeaten on the year with a

File photo by Shannon J. Allen/Sand Mountain Reporter By Gary Hanner/St. Clair Times West End entered its game against Ragland last Friday (Sept. 27) 0-4 on the season while having given up 245 points. The Patriots, however, flexed their muscles in the first half in gaining 226 total yards and building a 34-0 lead. By

Messenger file photo by Gary Wells By Daniel Taylor/Sand Mountain Reporter It was a wet homecoming night for Geraldine, which lost to Sardis, 19-14, on Friday (Sept. 27) at GHS. The visiting Lions fell behind 7-0 early in the second quarter when Geraldine’s D.J. Graham intercepted the ball and ran it 35 yards to the

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Auburn Week 4 Review Auburn scored on a 57-yard touchdown run from Anthony Schwartz on the fifth play from scrimmage and never looked back en route to a 28-20 road win over Texas A&M last Saturday (Sept. 21). The Tigers led 14-3 at the half and built an 18-point lead at

Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 5-0 286 2. McGill-Toolen 4-0 225 3. Central-Phenix City 4-1 206 4. Hoover 4-1 181 5. Mountain Brook 5-0 145 6. Theodore 5-0 116 7. Lee-Montgomery 5-0 105 8. Austin 5-0 79 9. Sparkman 4-0 34 10. Hewitt-Trussville 3-2 14 Others receiving votes: Vestavia Hills (3-1) 12, James

Messenger file photo by Gary Wells Several area football players were recognized for the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Prep Spotlight for the week of Sept. 20. Etowah junior quarterback Brady Troup (pictured above) completed 13-of-17 passes for 346 yards and a school-record five touchdowns passes (of 43, 8, 29, 54 and 80 yards), all

Southside High swept the competition on the way to the first-place trophy at the Champion of Champions Fall Fest Tournament last Saturday (Sept. 21) at Alexandria. The Class 5A No. 10 Lady Panthers (23-8) defeated Faith Christian, 25-22, 25-9; Saks, 25-13, 25-15; and Collinsville, 25-17, 25-15 before beating Curry, 25-15, 25-22 in the championship match.

Photo: Etowah High’s Bennett Nance (73) provides blocking for Ollie Finch (6) during the Blue Devils’ a 56-32 win over Southside on Sept. 20 in Attalla. (Gary Wells) By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Class 5A, No. 4 Etowah withstood a valiant effort from county rival Southside to improve to 3-0 in Region 6 play and 5-0

Photo: Gadsden City High’s D’Javi Byers (21) fends off Bob Jones’ D.J. Johnson during the Titans’ 24-20 loss on Sept. 20 at GCHS. (Travis Greene) By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Editor The first day of the fall season did not include the Gadsden City High football team’s first victory of 2019. In Class 7A, Region 4 action on

Courtesy of Sand Mountain Reporter Sardis overwhelmed Douglas in Class 5A, Region 6 football action on Sept. 20, crushing the host Eagles by a score of 67-0. The Lions’ 67 points are the second-most in a game in school history. The record is 68 against Locust Fork in a 68-48 decision on Sept. 7, 2012.

Photo: Hokes Bluff’s Darrian Meads (6) takes a handoff from Ashton Gulledge (2) as Anniston’s Khalil Peoples looks on during the Eagles’ 21-0 loss ion high school football on Sept. 20. (Alex Chaney) Westbrook Christian had its four-game winning streak snapped with a 56-21 loss to Ohatchee on Sept. 20. KarMichael Catting rushed for a

By Cole Frederick/Sports Correspondent Alabama Week 3 Review After a slow start – at least by Alabama standards – the Crimson Tide last week turned a 14-10 lead into a 47-23 victory over South Carolina to start SEC play. The Gamecocks kept pace with the Crimson Tide offense for most of the first half, but

Photo by Travis Greene Several area football players were recognized for the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Prep Spotlight for the week of Sept. 13. In one half of action, Etowah senior Trent Davis rushed for 167 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries in the Blue Devils’ 58-13 victory over Sardis. Also in one

Class 7A Rank Record Points 1. Thompson 4-0 295 2. McGill-Toolen 3-0 238 3. Central-Phenix City 3-1 209 4. Hoover 3-1 193 5. Mountain Brook 4-0 137 6. Theodore 4-0 113 7. Lee-Montgomery 4-0 106 8. Hewitt-Trussville 3-1 88 9. Austin 4-0 61 10. Vestavia Hills 3-0 33 Others receiving votes: James Clemens (2-2) 3,

Messenger file photo by Gary Wells The Southside High boys cross country team finished first and the girls came in second at the Titan Trails Invitational 5K last Saturday (Sept. 14) at Noccalula Falls Park in Gadsden. The Panthers’ average time of 19:23.79 was almost 134 seconds better than runner-up Albertville. With an average time