Area Breaking News

    By ARTHUR L. MACK Six-time state championship coach Stacy Luker has been named the new head football coach at Cottage Hill Christian Academy, the school announced Thursday. Luker, 58, who was inducted into the AHSAA Hall of Fame in 2022, directed Clarke County High to the Class 2A state title in 2021 and…

  By WILLIE GRAY A renovated Mount Vernon boat ramp moved one step closer to becoming a reality last week when state Sen. Jack Williams (R-Wilmer) unveiled design plans. For more than a decade, outdoorsmen using the ramp have called for improvements. “This new design will ease the problems we have experienced at the Mount…

  By ARTHUR L. MACK Saraland baseball coach Brett Boutwell picked up his 400th career win with a 10-3 victory over Beauregard on March 11. “This win means a lot because it gives you time to reflect on what you’ve got,” he said. “I know the players at Saraland who helped us to get to…

  By JASON BOOTHE Former local football coach Billy Gardner pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years of supervised probation Tuesday by Washington County Circuit Judge Perry Newton for transmitting obscene material. Under the plea agreement, Gardner is also required by law to register as a sex offender. Gardner got a 10-year prison sentence…

By JIMMY WIGFIELD Saraland defensive lineman Antonio Coleman might have thought an offer from Alabama would remain elusive for a while, like a quarterback or running back who barely managed to escape his clutches. But Nick Saban was quicker than Coleman realized. Coleman thought his Junior Day visit to Alabama last weekend would be routine…

  By ARTHUR L. MACK BIRMINGHAM — For one moment, it appeared St. Luke’s would pull off an upset for the ages. The odds were against the Wildcats in Friday’s Class 2A state championship game at Legacy Arena. No. 9-ranked Aliceville had a size advantage, a rebounding advantage and a noisy and boisterous crowd behind…

  By ARTHUR L. MACK BIRMINGHAM — St. Luke’s charged back from a 12-point deficit only to see Aliceville’s Tyjarian Williams make a free throw with 3.4 seconds left to lift the No. 9 Yellow Jackets to a 44-43 win over the Wildcats Friday for the Class 2A state championship at Legacy Arena. Williams got…

  By JIMMY WIGFIELD New Theodore coach Steve Mask sought to reassure his players in their first meeting Thursday they are in capable hands as they seek to climb the last few stairs to a state football championship. With the players assembled in desks before him, Mask left no doubt as to the Bobcats’ goal…

By ARTHUR L. MACK Bobby Parrish is resigning as Cottage Hill Christian Academy’s head football coach effective at the end of the school year. “Cottage Hill has been great to me,” said Parrish, who has been an assistant or head coach for 32 seasons and coached two future NFL first-round draft picks, Jamarcus Russell and…

  Staff Report BIRMINGHAM — Freshman Caleb Holt scored 24 of his 33 points in the second half, including 9 points in the final three minutes, to rally No. 4 Buckhorn to a 65-57 win over McGill-Toolen in the Class 6A state semifinals Wednesday at Legacy Arena. The 6-5 Holt was unstoppable in the low post,…