Saraland’s dominant Antonio Coleman makes Big Cat Weekend memorable by committing to Auburn a second time
By JIMMY WIGFIELD SARALAND — Saraland four-star defensive lineman Antonio Coleman, who found Auburn coach Hugh Freeze to be as incessantly aggressive as he is, committed to the Tigers for the second time on Saturday. Coleman (6-4, 280) — a four-star prospect who is rated the No. 12 defensive lineman nationally in the…
Read MoreCottage Hill’s versatile Shadarius Toodle commits to Auburn
By ARTHUR L. MACK MOBILE — Cottage Hill Christian Academy’s do-it-all junior star Shadarius Toodle committed to Auburn on Saturday during Big Cat Weekend. Toodle (6-3, 215), a four-star linebacker, committed to the Tigers over the weekend along with Saraland defensive lineman Antonio Coleman, Gulf Shores linebacker JaMichael Garrett and Mae Jemison edge…
Read MoreKelly’s lesson: ‘I want to enjoy the journey’
____________________ “The end of the season felt like a letdown and it shouldn’t have been. It’s so hard to get there. We didn’t enjoy and appreciate the work everybody had done and I don’t want to do that anymore.” Saraland coach Jeff Kelly ____________________ SARALAND — Jeff Kelly doesn’t want anyone…
Read MoreJohn McKenzie returns to Vigor as coach
By ARTHUR L. MACK MOBILE — John McKenzie, who led the Vigor to the Class 4A state football title in 2021, will return to coach the Wolves for a second time after the Mobile County School Board approved his hiring on Wednesday. McKenzie was 19-6 in his two years at Vigor, including a…
Read MoreJackson’s Landon Duckworth outgrows the Superman cleats to become one of the nation’s top prep quarterbacks
By JIMMY WIGFIELD JACKSON — Landon Duckworth did not emerge from the shadows as a reluctant kid dragged into the sunlight, uncertain if football, with its pageantry and lore, its savagery and gore, was right for him. At the age of 6, he showed up at a Jackson park for his first…
Read MoreRonny Massey touched lives and didn’t even know it
By JIMMY WIGFIELD As Ronny Massey lay dying from cancer in the summer of 2010, those who had benefitted from his humanity and compassion came to his sickbed. That included a special-needs student who was in Massey’s algebra class and a former student who had grown into a doctor. “It was more than…
Read MoreRonny Massey couldn’t teach daughter the two-minute drill
By JIMMY WIGFIELD Ronny Massey was an outstanding coach who prepared his players well but even he couldn’t teach his daughter the two-minute drill. “I told that girl to hurry up and come on,” his wife, Helen “Ace” Massey, recalled her husband saying. That girl, Katie, was born the day of Citronelle’s home…
Read MoreForget that door and stopping for gas in the wrong town: Ronny Massey had burning desire to beat rivals
By JIMMY WIGFIELD Ronny Massey was so competitive, even on his honeymoon, that it literally colored his approach to football and especially his rivals. “On our honeymoon, we played air hockey and I beat him,” said his wife, Helen “Ace” Massey. “He got so mad. Then I let him win because I thought…
Read MoreCitronelle team’s bowling alley fight went down as a ‘W’ for Ronny Massey
By JIMMY WIGFIELD You won’t find it in Ronny Massey’s official won-loss record but the Citronelle coach considered a fight involving his players at a Mobile bowling alley a victory for his team if not its decorum. Just before the 1996 season opened, Massey decided to change his practice schedule and took his…
Read MoreRonny Massey was always thinking of ways to win
By JIMMY WIGFIELD Ronny Massey’s inspiration to stay ahead of the opposition knew no boundaries of time or location. That included a courtroom. During Massey’s years at Citronelle, there was an altercation on the sideline during a football game instigated by someone who wasn’t on the coaching staff. The Mobile County School System filed…
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