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November 2021
The Sports Ledger
Football Season Comes To Close For Many Teams By Brandon K. Pierce Publisher The 2021 football
season has officially come to a close for many northeast Alabama programs. Seven high schools from DeKalb County made it to the opening round of the state playoffs and for six of these program's the it was the final game of the year. Geraldine fell to Ohatchee 34-13 in the first round of the 2021 AHSAA State Playoffs. The Bulldogs, under the direction of first year head coach Michael Davis, finished the 2021 season with a 7-4 overall record. Plainview traveled to Saks in the opening round of the playoffs and could not bring home a victory. The Bears fell to Saks 46-43. During the 2021 season, Plainview set a record for the most points scored by both teams with 94 points in the program's 54-40 victory over Jackson County rival Pisgah earlier this year. The Bears finished the year with 437 total offensive points and a 7-4 overall record. Sylvania battled with Piedmont early in the opening round of the Class 3A State Playoffs, but the Rams could not hang on. The visiting Bulldogs pulled out a 40-20 victory to advance to the second round against Lauderdale County. Sylvania, under the direction of first year head coach Tyler Vann, finished the season with an 8-3 overall record. The Ider Hornets buzzed into Aliceville hoping for a playoff win under first year head coach Chad Grant. However, that was not the case as Aliceville defeated Ider 46-6. The Hornets finished the season with a 7-4 record. Valley Head and Ragland met in the first game of the 2021 season, and the opening round of the Class 1A playoffs set up a rematch. The Tigers lost the first game and the program was hoping to rebound with a playoff victory. However that was not the case, as Ragland defeated Valley Head 28-20. The Tigers, under the direction of head coach Charles Hammon, finished the season at 5-6. The Fort Payne Wildcats had a great year and the program made national headlines in the final game of the regular season after kicker and Auburn commit Alex McPherson made a record setting 61 yard field goal. However, Fort Payne's season came to an end with a 35-12 loss to Briarwood Christian in the opening round of the playoffs. The Wildcats finished the season with a 6-5 overall record.
Fyffe is the only DeKalb County team to advance to the second round of the AHSAA State Playoffs. The Red Devils were set to travel to J.B. Pennington on November 12. Red Devils Advance Photo by Brandon K. Pierce | The Sports Ledger
Photo by Brandon K. Pierce | The Sports Ledger
Guntersville Wins Rivalry Game Albertville Senior Tristan Golden (#15) attempts to tackle Guntersville running back Logan Pate (#10) during the neighboring school's annual Marshall County gridiron match-up. The visiting Wildcats roared to a 49-28 victory over the Aggies in both programs regular season finale. Cross Country Champs CLASS 7A GIRLS: Auburn High School won the AHSAA Class 7A Girls State Cross Country Title with 68 points. Vestavia Hills followed with 80 points and defending state champion Hewitt-Trussville had 95 points. Auburn Senior Crawford West clocked 17:06.33, the second-fastest time in AHSAA girls’ cross-country history, to win the individual title. Junior Ava McIntosh of Huntsville was second at 18:32.24, followed by sophomore teammate Sarah Cobb, who crossed the finish line at 18:35.73. Baker’s Lindsey Baker was fourth (18:52.29), and Auburn’s tandem of sophomore Rylee Plexico and eighth grader Olivia Tole finished fifth and sixth with times of 19:52.95 and 18:57.48, respectively. CLASS 7A BOYS: Huntsville won their fourth straight Class 7A boys state cross country title posting 54 points in the 2021 state championships. St. Paul’s Episcopal was second with 82 points and Hoover took third with 99. Senior Will Pinson led the Panthers’ winning effort with a time of 15:13.61 to claim the 7A boys’ individual title. Mac Conwell of St. Paul’s, a junior, was second at 15:22.25 and Saints teammate Stone Smith, also a junior, was third at 15:44.37. Hewitt-Trussville senior Mitchell Phillips was fourth crossing the finish line with a 15:45.71 time. CLASS 6A GIRLS: Mountain Brook captured its first girls state championship since 2015 and its 24th overall, with a score of 26. The 24 girls’ state cross country titles set a new AHSAA state record, breaking a tie between Mountain Brook and Scottsboro. The Wildcats finished third with 13 points and defending state 6A champion Homewood was runner-up with 104. Mountain Brook junior Reagan Riley crossed the finish line at 17:39.62 to claim the individual Class 6A girls’ title. She finished 18th in 2020 with a 20:16.64 time. Teammate Clark Stewart, also a junior, took second place clocking 18:13.50. Northridge junior Mary Mac Collins, the 2020 runner-up, was third at 18:29.64. Other top 10 finishers for the winning Lady Spartans were senior Hunter Anderson (18:34.78) in sixth place; and sophomores Mary Katherine Malone (18:52.40) and Lucy Benton (18:54.67) crossing eighth and ninth, respectively. CLASS 6A BOYS: Scottsboro won the program's sixth boys’ state cross country championship in a row and set a state-record with 16 overall championship title. The Wildcats scored 47 points in the 2021 Class 6A State Championship race. The Wildcats, coached by Luke Robinson, won four 5A titles from 2016-19 and the 6A title last year. Mountain Brook finished second in the 2021 race with 79 points. Chelsea was third with 114 and Cullman had 136. Miles Brush, a Chelsea senior, won the 6A race with a winning time of 15:23.96. Junior Evan Hill of Scottsboro was second clocking 15:32.43, and Pell City senior Jack Lowe was third at 15:41.21. CLASS 5AGIRLS: Lawrence County High School posted 31 points to dominate the Class 5A girls’ field en route to the state title. UMS-Wright was second with 96 points and St. John Paul II Catholic was third with 115. The Lady Red Devils placed four runners in the top 10 finishers including junior Savannah Williams, who captured the individual girls’ 5A state meeting title with a winning time of 18:56.04. Teammate and eighth grader Katie Mae Coan was second at 19:06.34. Katie Dumas, another eighth grader, crossed seventh for Lawrence County at 19:50.89, and junior teammate Taylor Williams was eighth with a 19:54.11 time. Montgomery Catholic’s Catherine Aaron was third in the 5A competition with a 19:06.34 time, and Addison Tiemann was fourth clocking 19:30.61. CLASS 5A BOYS: The race for the boys’ Class 5A individual championship lived up to its promise as senior and 2019 state champion Joseph Perry of UMS-Wright nipped defending 5A state champion Woodrow Dean of Tallassee by just 33/100ths of a second in a thrilling photo finish. Perry clocked 15:20.51 and Dean crossed the finish line at 15:20.84. UMS-Wright sophomore Charles Perry, the younger brother of Joseph, was third with a 15:56.21 time. Faith Academy senior Justin Walker was fourth at 16:23.72. St. John Paul II Catholic totaled 54 points to win the Class 5A boys’ team title. UMS-Wright was second with 71, followed by Lawrence County with 106 and Ardmore with 139. CLASS 4A GIRLS: Bayside Academy freshman Annie Midyett won the Class 4A girls’ individual championship clocking 18:59.35 to edge freshman Maddyn Coan of White Plains in a photo finish. Coan crossed at 18:59.89. Indian Springs junior Elise Picard was third at 19:25.38, and White Plains senior Anna Strickland was fourth at 19:36.92. The strong showing by the Lady Admirals gave Bayside the team championship. Bayside totaled 51 points and runner-up White Plains had 85. Westminster Christian took third place with 97 points. CLASS 4A BOYS: Junior Joe Stevens of Ashville won the Class 4A individual state championship with time of 16:23.88. Bayside Academy junior Ty Postle was second with a 16:29.10 time, followed by Priceville junior Adam Taylor (16:31.77) and Westminster Christian senior Seth Peebles (16:34.91) finishing third and fourth, respectively. Bayside Academy won the team championship with 73 points. American Christian was second with 82 and Ashville had 92 to take third place. CLASS 3A GIRLS: Freshman Millicent Talmadge led Providence Christian to the Class 3A girls’ cross country state title with a 19:08.09 time to claim the 3A individual title. Providence, located in Dothan, totaled 39 points with runner-up and Dothan rival Houston Academy taking runner-up with 60 points. Whitesburg Christian finished third with 93 and Altamont was fourth at 110. Lauderdale County sophomore Addison Embry finished second in the individual final tally with a 19:20.71 time. Providence sophomore Madelyn Patterson (19:32.46) was third. CLASS 3A BOYS: Providence Christian’s boys made it a clean sweep in Class 3A winning the state title with 50 points. Pleasant Valley was second with 95 and Trinity Presbyterian was third with 84. The Eagles’ girls also won the state championship. Senior Conner Patterson led Providence Christian’s effort with a 16:04.48 time to capture the boys’ individual championship for the second year in a row. He improved his time by 24 seconds over last year’s winning time. Pleasant Valley’ junior Cayden Nelson was second running 16:21.76. Altamont freshman Harris Strang (16:22.41) and Elkmont junior Alex Kuntz (16:40.13) were third and fourth, respectively. CLASS 1A/2A GIRLS: Cold Springs won the Class 1A/2A girls’ state cross country championship with three runners crossing the finish line 1-2-3. Reagan Parris, the 2020 runner-up, won the individual state title with a 19:51.85 time. She beat her 2020 state meet time by 1:04. Teammates Macie Huffstutler (10:54.91) and Paizley Whitlow (20:04.51) took second and third place, respectively. The Eagles totaled 49 points. Bayshore Christian was second with 86 points. Hatton was third with 102 points and University Charter School was fourth with 129 points. Hatton’s Neiden Lopez was the fourth individually at 20:24.81. CLASS 1A/2A BOYS: Ethan Edgeworth captured the Class 1A/2A state individual cross country title for the second straight year in dominating fashion. His 15:53.67 winning time was more than a minute faster than his closest competitor, runner-up Xander McLaughlin of Orange Beach. McLaughlin crossed the finish line at 16:58.25. Hatton sophomore Carson Masterson (16:59.84) was third, followed by freshman Caden Phillipi of Bayshore Christian (17:02.27) and Cold Springs sophomore Jayden Allred (17:09.13). Bayshore, located in Fairhope, captured the 1A/2A team championship with 61 points. Cold Springs was second with 86 and Hatton took third with 106.
The Fyffe Red Devils are the only DeKalb County team to advance to the second round of the state playoffs. Fyffe defeated Walter Wellborn 34-0 in the opening round and the Red Devils were set to travel to J.B. Pennington in the second round on Nov. 12. The Crossville Lions and Collinsville Panthers both failed to reach the playoffs. Collinsville finished the year at 3-7,while Crossville struggled under first year head Coach Josh Taylor. The Lions did not win a game and the program gave up 448 points. All teams in Marshall County are done with football for the 2021 season. The Albertville Aggies, under the direction of first year head coach Chip English, finished the year with a 1-9 record and did not make the playoffs. The Aggies only win this season was a 34-27 victory over Grissom. Coach English left the Grissom program to become the Aggies head coach prior to the start of the season. Three other Marshall County schools also failed to reach the playoffs. Brindlee Mountain finished the year at 0-9, Asbury went 2-8, and DAR finished with a 3-7 record. All four Marshall County football teams that did reach the playoffs, lost in the opening round. Arab fell to Homewood 42-14 to finish the season with an 8-3 overall record. Both Douglas and Boaz finished the year with 6-5 winning records. The Eagles fell to Pleasant Grove 55-0 and the Pirates closed out the season with a 31-21 loss to Parker. Guntersville had one of the better programs in the area, as the Wildcats won the Class 5A Region 7 Championship. Guntersville finished with a 9-2 record following a 28-20 loss to Ramsey in the opening round of the state playoffs. Several other program's from surrounding counties also concluded their 2021 season.
The Pisgah Eagles season also came to an end in the opening round of the playoffs. Sulligent snapped the Eagles' seven game winning streak with a 52-38 victory. Pisgah (7-4) had closed out the regular season with seven straight victories and the Eagles won the Class 2A Region 7 Championship. North Jackson, under the direction of first year head coach Joe Hollis Jr., finished with a 5-6 overall record and a 37-7 loss to Gordo in the state playoffs. NSM also fell in the opening round of the state playoffs. The Bison (4-7) lost to Midfield 34-20. Scottsboro, under the direction of first year head Coach Cris Bell, finished the year with a 3-7 record and did not make the playoffs. The Section Lions also failed to reach the playoffs, finishing the year with a 6-4 record. Several programs in Etowah County also failed to reach the playoffs. These include Gadsden City (5-5), Sardis (1-9), West End (4- 6) Coosa Christian (4-6), Hokes Bluff (4-6), Gaston (1-9), Glencoe (1-9) and Westbrook Christian (4-6). Etowah and Southside both earned playoffs spots and both programs fell in the opening round. Etowah fell to Priceville 31-14 to finish the season at 6-5 overall. Southside, led by first year head coach Miles Holcomb, finished the year at 5-6 following a 63-0 loss to Mountain Brook. In Cherokee County, Sand Rock, Gaylesville, Cherokee County, and Cedar Bluff all competed in the opening round of the state playoffs. Sand Rock (7-4) lost to Mars Hill 48-13, Gaylesville (6-5) fell to Wadley 48-14, and Cedar Bluff (6-5) fell to Woodland 28-20. Cherokee County is one of the few northeast Alabama teams to advance in the playoffs. The Warriors defeated Straughn 34-26 in the opening round. The win sets up a week two home match up for Cherokee County against Vigor.
Cherokee County's Jackson Amos (#4) looks for running room during the Warriors game against Jacksonville during the 2021 regular season. Both Cherokee and Jacksonville advanced to the second round of the AHSAA State Playoffs. The Warriors defeated Straughn 34-26 to set up a second round home playoff game against Vigor. Jacksonville defeated Alabama Christian in the opening round. The Golden Eagles were scheduled to travel to American Christian on November 12. Cherokee County Advances Photo by Brandon K. Pierce | The Sports Ledger
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