Area Sports

      By JIMMY WIGFIELD SEMMES — Mary G. Montgomery’s offense, which was still under construction last week, had its formal ribbon cutting on Friday night and quarterback Shondell Harris wielded the scissors. A week after losing to Pace, Fla., when they couldn’t score from inside the 10-yard line in overtime, Harris and the…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD When Ronnie Cottrell left Mobile Christian after winning the 2023 state championship, he said he wanted a new challenge. He’s found one as the new head coach of the startup program at Lighthouse Christian College in Gulf Breeze, Fla., which will begin play this season as an independent with hopes…

      SARALAND — It was an awkward way to start the showdown for Saraland quarterback K.J. Lacey, who after the first play looked every bit like he needed some more aspirin and maybe even a cot. Even worse, if he had a relapse of his 101-degree fever and he or anyone else had…

By JIMMY WIGFIELD SARALAND — Everybody in a record crowd of 7,000 fans crammed into Spartan Stadium and the other 21 players on the field found out in the most breathtaking fashion Friday night the truth above all other truths about K.J. Lacey, who plays high school football at its highest peak. When there’s a…

      SARALAND — With two of America’s best quarterbacks and two of Alabama’s most combustible offenses on the field, it would seem the rebuilt defenses of Saraland and Jackson might have a better chance Friday night if they stand out on nearby I-65 and try to trip up tractor trailers. The Spartans’ defense…

    Not long ago, people laughed at the prospect of Semmes becoming a city. Isn’t that the languid place far out in the fringe of Mobile County where they grow flowers and rarely win a football game? Well, the giggling has been squelched. Not long thereafter, people rolled their eyes over talk of forming…

  By ARTHUR L. MACK Ryan Williams Sr., the father of former Saraland football star Ryan Williams, has joined the Vigor football staff as defensive backs coach. Williams, a standout defensive back himself, played at B.C. Rain, signed with Auburn, transferred to Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi for a season, then signed with Louisiana Tech…

    By ARTHUR L. MACK Native Mobilian Casey Converse, a member of the 1976 U.S Olympic team and a successful college coach, died on Aug. 8 after a long battle with cancer. Converse, 66, attended UMS-Wright and moved to California after his junior year to further his swimming career. He made the 1976 U.S.…

    Football coaches have come and gone through Fruitdale with the regularity of log trucks rumbling up and down U.S. 45, although more quietly. In fact, when people other than relatives haphazardly stop in the tiny Washington County settlement — population 228 — it is usually for something at the ubiquitous Dollar General, or…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD MONTGOMERY — Growing concern about transfers in high school sports, especially football, might be an overreaction, a high-ranking Alabama High School Athletic Association official said Wednesday. “The perception is not reality,” said Kim Vickers, the AHSAA’s associate executive director and eligibility coordinator. “The perception is that schools are recruiting players…