South Alabama Sports

      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 took this job, it was based on faith,” said Jackson coach Cody Flournoy, whose team finished 13-2. “We went to a small town, we looked…

    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 for most running backs. The Aggies’ five-star Alabama signee — fueled by the fact that it was his career finale and intent on punishing Anniston…

    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 worst loss the Wolves have ever absorbed in a state championship game — and they’ve been in eight of them now, winning four, and the…

    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 of steam behind the running of Le’Kamren Meadows and Kevin James and dashed the Wolves’ dream of winning a Blue Map with a 25-0 victory.…

      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 mind, I was like, ‘I wish I could throw some pads on and play right now,’” he said. “You could feel the reaction from the…

    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 at South Florida and it took one second for him to flip to the Tigers, declaring an affinity for a man who coached the tight…

    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 threw a renewed scholarship offer at Spencer, who eagerly took it in. “I’ve seen it with (Spartans quarterback) Jamison (Roberts) and years ago as a…

      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 program in the entire country,” Golesh said during his introductory press conference. We’re going to find wins in every single margin we can find. We’re…

    AUBURN — Although it has been the favorite in every Iron Bowl since 2007, wasn’t Alabama supposed to lose to Auburn Saturday night? Wasn’t the Crimson Tide supposed to be too soft? Have no running game? See its playoff hopes and Kalen DeBoer’s job buried under a mountain of Charmin at Toomer’s Corner? Wasn’t Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson supposed to play like Homer Simpson, panicking and turning it over, as he has against defenses with plentiful NFL Draft…

By DARRON PATTERSON MOBILE — Sammy Dunn said he learned a lot from Vigor’s first game against Williamson and he used every bit of that knowledge in a thrilling 28-21 win over the No. 1-ranked and previously unbeaten Lions before a frenzied crowd at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in the Class 5A semifinals Friday night. The next stop for No. 2 Vigor (12-2) is the 5A state title game Thursday at 7 p.m. against Moody (12-2) at Birmingham’s Protective Stadium. Williamson finished…