Area Sports
Saraland goes back to the drawing board to find the missing ingredients
BIRMINGHAM — With the exception of the last three Super 7s, Saraland usually makes good teams look bad and bad teams look forward to next year. But now it’s the Spartans who must again look ahead. Does Friday night’s 38-21 loss to Clay-Chalkville in the Class 6A state championship game make them…
Read MoreClay-Chalkville’s speed and balance too much for Saraland in 38-21 defeat
By JIMMY WIGFIELD BIRMINGHAM — Jamison Roberts kept getting off the turf and launching pocket rockets after getting knocked down. Deshawn Spencer kept catching them. But they and Saraland were still no match for the latest Clay-Chalkville quarterback to torment the Spartans. Cougars quarterback Aaron Frye stretched Saraland’s defense so thin that…
Read MoreJackson remains the king with 52-0 romp over Anniston for second straight Class 4A crown
By LOGAN GATLIN BIRMINGHAM — Game MVP E.J. Crowell ran for 304 yards on 25 carries and five touchdowns and Jackson’s defense swarmed Anniston all game long as the No. 2-ranked Aggies ripped the No. 4 Bulldogs 52-0 for their second straight Class 4A state championship Friday at Protective Stadium. “When I…
Read MoreThe monster feasts: E.J. Crowell sets records in finale and now it’s on to Alabama
BIRMINGHAM — Jackson’s E.J. Crowell finished his final high school football game in the only way imaginable: By making everyone’s tongues droop in pure amazement at what they had witnessed, leaving a trail of skid marks where defenders had once stood and, of course, with records. The imaginable for Crowell, however, is unimaginable…
Read MoreJust rain, no reign, as Vigor can’t add to championship history this time
BIRMINGHAM — As well versed as Vigor is at this state championship thing, nothing could have prepared the Wolves for the water torture they endured Thursday night in the big wash basin known as Protective Stadium. No. 3-ranked Moody was as unrelenting as the rain, beating No. 2 Vigor 25-0 to inflict the…
Read MoreMoody running game is too much for Vigor in rainy 25-0 loss
By ARTHUR L. MACK BIRMINGHAM — Coming off an emotional 28-21 win over top-ranked Williamson in the Class 5A semifinals, No. 2-ranked Vigor seemed to have momentum heading into Thursday night’s Super 7 final against No. 3 Moody. But in a steady rain at Protective Stadium, the Blue Devils got up a head…
Read MoreDeshawn Spencer’s change of heart for Auburn was helped when Alex Golesh made the right call from the airport
By JIMMY WIGFIELD When Saraland receiver Deshawn Spencer visited the Iron Bowl Saturday night, he was still committed to Duke. But as he watched the Tigers fight back from a 17-0 deficit to tie Alabama before ultimately losing 27-20, he found himself being swayed and believed he could help. “Literally, in my…
Read MoreMary Montgomery’s D.J. Broughton the first to commit to Auburn coach Alex Golesh
By JIMMY WIGFIELD It took one phone call on Monday to make Mary G. Montgomery tight end D.J. Broughton the first player to commit to newly installed Auburn coach Alex Golesh. “You ready to come with me?” Golesh asked Broughton. “You already know I am,” Broughton replied. Broughton had previously committed to Golesh…
Read MoreSaraland’s Deshawn Spencer a big catch for new Auburn coach Alex Golesh
By JIMMY WIGFIELD Deshawn Spencer is the type of receiver who gives any quarterback confidence because if the football is thrown anywhere around him, no matter the coverage, there is a 99.999999% likelihood he’ll make the catch. Just ask Saraland coach Jeff Kelly and new Auburn coach Alex Golesh, who over the weekend…
Read MoreAlex Golesh promises Auburn fans a championship program: ‘We’re in a race against ourselves to do it as fast as we can’
By JIMMY WIGFIELD AUBURN — New Auburn coach Alex Golesh promised Tigers fans on Monday a renaissance for their tattered football program and vowed to waste no time doing it. “What you’re going to get from me, from our staff and, as we get rolling, our players is the hardest-working, toughest, grittiest…
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