Area Sports

  SARALAND — Perhaps we should have known Ryan Williams wasn’t going to be an ordinary person all the way back when he was in kindergarten in Saraland. His grandmother, Catherine Williams, pulled out a memory that could have foretold how he ended up on a stage at Saraland High School surrounded by his family…

By JIMMY WIGFIELD When Mobile Christian defensive coordinator Charles Lawson was introduced to the team as the Leopards’ new head football coach Tuesday afternoon, the assembled players leaped to their feet and applauded. “It was the kind of reaction you’d hope to have,” Mobile Christian head of school Clint Mitchell said. Lawson, 44, succeeds Ronnie…

      MONTGOMERY — He wore jersey No. 1 and was not shy in his belief that he was the best player whenever he stepped on the field. He wasn’t alone in that assertion. But does the fact that Saraland’s Ryan Williams is the only player in state history to win Mr. Football twice…

  By JIMMY WIGFIELD When Mobile Christian defensive coordinator Charles Lawson was introduced to the team as the Leopards’ new head football coach Tuesday afternoon, the assembled players leaped to their feet and applauded. “It was the kind of reaction you’d hope to have,” Mobile Christian head of school Clint Mitchell said. Lawson, 44, succeeds…

  SARALAND — The life-defining decision of where to play college football and his future beyond was hanging over Ryan Williams like three defensive backs tearing at his jersey on a post pattern. But Williams shook all that off and made the big play — as he always does — when he recommitted to Alabama…

  SARALAND — The life-defining decision of where to play college football and his future beyond that is hanging over Ryan Williams like three defensive backs tearing at his jersey on a post pattern. Expect Williams to shake them off and make the big play, as he always does, although not without some gut-churning moments.…

  By ARTHUR L. MACK CALVERT — The man many believe was the best pound-for-pound boxer of all time sat ringside at a gym on the MOWA Choctaw Reservation Saturday night looking for young fighters who might one day follow in his gloves. The Olympic silver medalist was on hand at the MOWA Choctaw Reservation…

    By ARTHUR L. MACK MOBILE — Baker head football coach Steve Normand said Friday he is retiring to teach and coach in Mississippi. Normand was 29-24 in five full seasons as the Hornets’ coach with four playoff appearances. The only other coach in Baker history to have a winning record over a five-year…

By ARTHUR L. MACK MOBILE — Newly named University of South Alabama football coach Major Applewhite said Friday he wants to create a raucous atmosphere at home games as part of taking the Jaguars to an even higher level. “I’m truly humbled for this opportunity,” Applewhite said at his introductory press conference at Hancock-Whitney Stadium.…

    “He had as much energy and fire as the day I walked in there three years ago. He held himself to a standard he expected of himself. But like it was with me, there comes a time when you want to experience life while you can. The one thing you can’t get back…