South Alabama Sports

By ARTHUR L. MACK Erik Speakman announced his resignation as Faith Academy’s football coach Monday after only one year on the job. Speakman, who directed the Rams to a 1-8 finish in 2024, cited family issues that required him to return to the Auburn-Opelika area. He told the Call News he hopes to find a job in that area. Speakman said he had to play a lot of freshmen and sophomores in 2024 but the experience they gained should pay…

      MONTGOMERY — There were audible gasps and moans of disbelief in the Protective Stadium press box as Jackson quarterback Landon Duckworth skillfully demonstrated his polished and formidable arm to a statewide audience for the first time during December’s historic Class 4A state championship game. Except for all the incredulous mutterings, it was not unlike a group of resident doctors watching a surgeon meticulously perform a heart transplant as easily as if he was replacing the battery in…

By JIMMY WIGFIELD MONTGOMERY — After decades of traveling hundreds of miles to play for a state football championship, teams in the southern part of Alabama will have a much shorter drive in the foreseeable future. Mobile’s Hancock-Whitney Stadium joined in a two-city rotation with Birmingham to host the Super 7 in 2026 and 2028 after the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Central Board approved the plan Wednesday. AHSAA Executive Director Heath Harmon made the recommendation after a nearly 40-minute…

      By JIMMY WIGFIELD MONTGOMERY — K.J. Lacey isn’t going to have much time to enjoy making history after being named the state’s Mr. Football on Tuesday. He is wanted back in Austin, Texas. The former Saraland four-star quarterback, who is now a freshman with the Longhorns, had to finish conditioning work in Austin Monday, so he wasn’t able to fly to Pensacola until late Monday night. Lacey and his family drove to Montgomery Tuesday morning and he…

By JIMMY WIGFIELD MONTGOMERY — Juan Johnson showed what he is capable of in his first year as a head coach, leading Baker to the best season in school history and its first playoff victory in 40 years. Unfortunately for the Hornets, he will be building his resume and another program after taking the job at James Clemens earlier this month. Johnson — who was named the Alabama Football Coaches Association Class 7A Coach of the Year Saturday in a…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD MONTGOMERY — Saraland coach Jeff Kelly, his wife Lisa, their children Caden and Lucy and his parents Tommy and Neci had to drive 160 miles for a momentous family reunion Saturday but it was well worth it. When the Kellys reached the Embassy Hotel, they were met by Helen “Ace” Massey, the widow of late Citronelle coach Ronny Massey, who was in attendance not only to congratulate Kelly for being named the Alabama Football Coaches…

      By JIMMY WIGFIELD MONTGOMERY — Larry Henderson doesn’t like talking about himself but on Saturday, the words of praise from the Alabama Football Coaches Association and the lifetime achievement award it bestowed on the former Murphy coach said it all for him. Henderson, 85, who led the Panthers to their only state championship in 1983, received a standing ovation from the packed ballroom when he was honored at the conclusion of the annual ALFCA convention at the…

  By EDUARDO MAGAÑA Jackson star Ezavier “E.J.” Crowell, who is rated the No. 1 running back in the nation in his class, announced on social media Tuesday that he will reclassify from the class of 2027 to the class of 2026. Crowell, 17, a sophomore, will leave high school a year early, as did former Saraland receiver and two-time Mr. Football Ryan Williams, who is now a star at Alabama. Crowell (5-11, 205), a four-star standout from the Depot…