South Alabama Sports

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD Ronny Massey was an outstanding coach who prepared his players well but even he couldn’t teach his daughter the two-minute drill. “I told that girl to hurry up and come on,” his wife, Helen “Ace” Massey, recalled her husband saying. That girl, Katie, was born the day of Citronelle’s home game against Grand Bay on Oct. 8, 1982, and the delivery took longer than the coach would have wanted. “It was our first season in…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD Ronny Massey was so competitive, even on his honeymoon, that it literally colored his approach to football and especially his rivals. “On our honeymoon, we played air hockey and I beat him,” said his wife, Helen “Ace” Massey. “He got so mad. Then I let him win because I thought if I didn’t, we’d never get to sleep that night.” The desire to be victorious gave him tunnel vision and didn’t make him many friends…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD You won’t find it in Ronny Massey’s official won-loss record but the Citronelle coach considered a fight involving his players at a Mobile bowling alley a victory for his team if not its decorum. Just before the 1996 season opened, Massey decided to change his practice schedule and took his team to Mobile to enjoy some all-night bowling at the Florida Lanes, which is now closed. Some of the players didn’t know bowling etiquette and…

  By JIMMY WIGFIELD Ronny Massey’s inspiration to stay ahead of the opposition knew no boundaries of time or location. That included a courtroom. During Massey’s years at Citronelle, there was an altercation on the sideline during a football game instigated by someone who wasn’t on the coaching staff. The Mobile County School System filed charges and Massey and assistant coach Rotch Dungan attended the hearing. Dungan intently listened to the accused getting a legal dressing down; Massey was more…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD When Ronny Massey walked on at Alabama, he had no notion he would be part of making history with one of the nation’s most historic programs. After leading Chatom High School to back-to-back 9-0 seasons in 1968 and 1969, he walked on with the Crimson Tide and was often mistaken for star running back Johnny Musso insomuch as they resembled each other in the face; however, Massey was the Chatom Phantom, not the Italian Stallion.…

        Ronny Massey spawned a thriving coaching tree, including a longtime pupil who rode to work with Massey as a kid and wants to bring Citronelle gridiron glory     By JIMMY WIGFIELD The late Ronny Massey wasn’t the founding father of Citronelle High School football, nor that of Saraland, Leroy, Grissom or Thomasville, nor even of Tulane or Troy universities, but he was surely the uncle — and not the crazy one who let you smoke…

  By ARTHUR L. MACK Four-star offensive lineman Micah DeBose transferred from Vigor to Theodore because he wants to graduate early, his mother said on Thursday. DeBose (6-5, 315), who is rated the nation’s No. 9 interior offensive lineman in On3’s latest composite, committed to Alabama last weekend and had given no indication he was going to leave the Wolves, who return 17 starters and will be among the favorites to win the Class 5A state title. However, DeBose’s mother…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD Kentonio Kelly Jr., the state’s leading tackler last year and the Class 3A Lineman of the Year, has withdrawn from Mobile Christian, according to Leopards coach Charles Lawson. Lawson said he was stunned when Kelly informed him about his decision on Tuesday. “I’m still kind of in shock,” Lawson said. “It came out of left field. We had just had a great day. We had a 7-on-7 at UMS the day before. I told them…

    By EDUARDO MAGANA Jackson four-star quarterback Landon Duckworth announced Wednesday he has decommitted from South Carolina. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound junior, ranked as the No. 13 quarterback nationally in the 2026 class according to the On3 composite, said he wants to explore all his options after committing to the Gamecocks nearly a year ago.  “I want to enjoy the recruiting process, visit other schools and take my time to make the best decision for my future,” Duckworth said. Aggies…

    By ARTHUR L. MACK Vigor four-star offensive tackle Micah DeBose committed to the University of Alabama during a recruiting trip on Saturday. DeBose (6-5, 315) chose the Crimson Tide over LSU, Ohio State and Florida. DeBose originally committed to Georgia in January 2023 before decommitting in December. DeBose made the commitment during his official visit to UA, during which freshman wide receiver and former Saraland star Ryan Williams streamed the decision on his Instagram account. Tide coach Kalen…