South Alabama Sports

By JIMMY WIGFIELD Washington County High School coach Johnny Carpenter, who had directed a revival of the Bulldogs’ football program, resigned suddenly on Tuesday with the Bulldogs three days away from a showdown with Clarke County and heading toward the playoffs. WCHS principal Dirk Dykstra confirmed Carpenter’s resignation to the Call News. “He came in today and resigned,” Dykstra said. “I was actually in the bookkeeper’s office with my assistant principal talking about some deposits. He came in and something…

      Maybe Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer should grab his leg, fall down and fake an injury, as one of his players did in an unconscionable fashion Saturday in the loss to Tennessee. That is because some of the more insufferable Crimson Tide fans believe that DeBoer is faking being a coach. That’s lunacy, of course, but it’s an easy condemnation coming from those in the fan base who would misspell an X and an O, even if given…

            By JIMMY WIGFIELD MOBILE — Shondell Harris heard that he isn’t a quarterback, heard it until he boiled over and wondered what he had to do to prove it. That chance came Friday night, when he led No. 4-ranked Mary G. Montgomery to a 34-31 overtime victory over No. 10 Baker after the Vikings had trailed 14-0 in the first quarter, even 28-14 in the fourth quarter, and had generally spent most of the…

By ARTHUR L. MACK MOBILE — Two big first-quarter plays by Gerritt Holcombe and Carlos Benjamin were the difference as No. 4 Vigor held off No. 8 Williamson 19-2 in a battle of Class 5A unbeatens at Ladd-Peebles Stadium Friday night. Holcombe scored on a 65-yard flea flicker pass from Dylan Jackson while Benjamin scored on an 84-yard run and Demetris Johnson added an 8-yard touchdown run to assure the Wolves of the 5A Region 1 title and keep them…

        By JIMMY WIGFIELD MOBILE — Shondell Harris heard that he isn’t a quarterback. Perhaps that should be amended to say he isn’t only a quarterback. Baker, which had the best defense in Class 7A against the score, did everything it could to rip the living heart out of Mary G. Montgomery Friday night but discovered that there is no dull side to the perfectly balanced blade that is Shondell (The Show) Harris, who relentlessly bled the…

  By JOHN VELLA MOBILE — Eli Owens scored three touchdowns and James Reid passed for another as Citronelle defeated LeFlore 27-18 Thursday night at Rattlers Stadium to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2019. Owens scored on an 87-yard kickoff return and on runs of 32 yards and 1 yard for the Wildcats (7-2, 4-2 5A Region 1). Reid passed for 91 yards, including a 19-yard touchdown to Kemarkys Howard in the third quarter. Keyshawn Williams…

      TUSCALOOSA — The imposing structure at 920 Paul W. Bryant Drive nearly got used as a huge nausea receptacle for 100,000 fans on Saturday as Alabama tottered on the brink of back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and South Carolina and continued to plummet from the euphoria of a 30-7 lead over Georgia, which seems like two decades ago, not two weeks ago. Somewhere in Athens, Kirby Smart must be hunkered down with his own bucket and the dry…

      TUSCALOOSA — The imposing structure at 920 Paul W. Bryant Drive nearly got used as a huge nausea receptacle for 100,000 fans on Saturday as Alabama tottered on the brink of back-to-back losses to Vanderbilt and South Carolina and continued to plummet from the euphoria of a 30-7 lead over Georgia, which seems like two decades ago, not two weeks ago. Somewhere in Athens, Kirby Smart must be hunkered down with his own bucket and the dry…

    By ARTHUR L. MACK CITRONELLE — Easton Helton’s 35-yard field goal with 1:43 left gave Citronelle an emotional 22-21 win over B.C. Rain Friday night. The Wildcats (6-2, 3-2 5A Region 1) played without quarterback Daylon Edmunds, who was suspended from the team and from school after being involved in a scuffle involving his father and the parent of another Citronelle player last week. Citronelle coach Jason Rowell declined to comment on Edmunds’ status going forward, saying his…

      By JIMMY WIGFIELD MOBILE — The return of K.J. Lacey and two massive fourth-quarter stops by Saraland’s defense helped the No. 1-ranked Spartans avoid getting dragged into the cemetery by the team that refused to die Friday night. Lacey — playing in his first game since a knee sprain against Spanish Fort a month ago — completed 16 of 29 passes for 335 yards and two touchdowns and Saraland turned aside a serious challenge from previously unbeaten…