South Alabama Sports

        By JIMMY WIGFIELD The most anticipated game in the Baker-Mary G. Montgomery rivalry is already one for the history books before a football has left the ground but both coaches tried to put a bridle on the hyperbole and looked at what could be ahead after an overflow crowd departs and peace descends on Grider Stadium in Semmes late Friday night. The 7 p.m. game that will likely decide the 7A Region 1 champion and provide…

By ARTHUR L. MACK Irv Mulligan rushed for 115 yards on 23 carries while Jason Brown was 14-of-26 passing for 202 yards and three touchdowns as Jackson State beat Alabama A&M 45-30 in the Gulf Coast Challenge Saturday night at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Dylan Watson kicked a 40-yard field goal, Jacobian Morgan had two touchdown runs of 4 yards and 1 yard, Ahmad Miller had a 38-yard TD run, Seven McGee had two scoring receptions and Fabian McCray a TD catch…

LEROY — The sign adjacent to U.S. Highway 43 has remained unchanged for years, much like the success of Leroy’s football team. “The churches of Leroy welcome you,” it says. Then there is the church of the Bears, which cuts across all denominational lines, as well as the line of scrimmage, and is most unwelcoming and unequal on the scoreboard. On Friday night, that scoreboard again tilted severely to the left when Leroy defeated heretofore undefeated St. Luke’s 42-10. That’s…

  By JIMMY WIGFIELD LEROY — All the players involved in winning Leroy’s six state championships are enshrined for eternity on six plaques squeezed onto the Wall of Champions at the front gate of Farish Field at Palmer Stadium. Unfortunately for St. Luke’s, several of those players jumped off their bronze-emblazened spaces on the 2022 plaque Friday night and let it be known it’s possible a bigger wall may need to be built. Three big plays by some familiar names…

  Ponder this question: When was the last time the Baker versus Mary G. Montgomery football game meant anything other than some territorial pride? The answer is never. But when it comes to the Hornets and Vikings, people are learning to never say never. It’s possible — probable, even — that Baker and MGM will both be undefeated and ranked in the state’s top 10 when they play on Oct. 13 in Semmes. The winner will likely win the region…

By JIMMY WIGFIELD Leroy coach Jason Massey is accustomed to giving orders but he knows how to take them, too. On Labor Day weekend, he received official orders to deploy with his Alabama National Guard unit for an unspecified time beginning in October, which means he’ll miss the rest of the season with the defending Class 1A state champions. “You never know when it will happen,” said Massey, a non-commissioned officer who will turn 50 on Oct. 1. “There are…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD MOBILE — Acting Monroe County coach Labary Jones had seen enough film of No. 2-ranked Mobile Christian to have a robust idea of what the Tigers were getting into Friday night. Being on the field in a 57-8 loss was an even more numbing experience. “We knew coming in they had a great football team,” Jones said. “You could see it on film. Then we get here and they’re even better. That’s a small college…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD SEMMES — Zero is becoming Mary G. Montgomery’s favorite number and if the Vikings keep doing what they’re doing, the opposition will have zero chance. MGM still has no turnovers and no losses this season after quarterback Jared Hollins was nearly perfect, the Vikings’ defense was nearly flawless and, halfway through the regular season, No. 4-ranked MGM remained unstained with a 42-7 rout of Alma Bryant Thursday night at Grider Stadium. Hollins was 11-of-13 passing…

    By JIMMY WIGFIELD SEMMES — The days leading up to Mary G. Montgomery’s game against Alma Bryant were full of potential craters for the No. 4-ranked Vikings to step in, not that they needed any more injuries. It was homecoming. It was a short week. The Hurricanes had been stubborn, if not successful, in losing two of their first three games. “We didn’t want to get caught up in homecoming and people talking about us being 4-0,” MGM…

By JIMMY WIGFIELD SEMMES — The days leading up to Mary G. Montgomery’s game against Alma Bryant were far from serene for the Vikings. It was homecoming. It was a short week. The Hurricanes had been stubborn, if not successful. And worst of all for MGM, starting running back Troy Flowers tore his ACL and was lost for the season. But quarterback Jared Hollins was nearly perfect, the Vikings’ defense was nearly perfect and, halfway through the regular season, No.…