Alabama Ledger www.AlabamaLedger.com SIDELINE SPORTS ROBI COKER LEAVES FPHS - Fort Payne High School Basketball Coach Robi Coker is leaving the Wildcat's program after two seasons. Coker had a 21-9 record this past year and he was 46-13 overall at FPHS. Coker has reportedly been hired as an assistant head coach for Bill Armstrong at McNeese State in Lake Charles, LA. Armstrong was a former standout basketball star at Oneonta High School and he played college basketball at UAB. McNeese State recently named Armstrong as the program's 13th head coach, stating in a press release that he is a "veteran in the coaching ranks at the Division 1 level including 17 seasons in the SEC, Armstrong spent the 2024-25 season at Baylor with head coach Scott Drew and helped lead the Bears to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament." BRYANT NO LONGER AT FYFFE - Fyffe boy's basketball coach Dustin Bryant is no longer at the helm of the Red Devils Program. He was relieved of his duties after leading the team to an 18-13 record this past season. COLLINSVILLE SOCCER - The Collinsville Soccer program has reportedly had a great spring. The Panthers boys and girls both recently won the 2025 DeKalb County soccer tournament. Both teams have also wrapped up Area Titles. This year marked the 10th consecutive season that the varsity boys have been Area Champs. KSU TO PLAY AT TENNESSEE - The Kennesaw State football program has announced it will head to the University of Tennessee to take on the Volunteers on September 19, 2026. UCONN WINS WOMEN'S TITLE - The University of Connecticut defeated South Carolina 82-59 to win the NCAA Women's Basketball National Championship. Sarah Strong led the Huskies with a double-double of 24 point and 15 rounds. Azzi Fudd also scored 24 points, while Paige Bueckers had 17 points in the championship victory. Joyce Edwards and Tessa Johnson each had ten points for South Carolina. MISSOURI FOOTBALL - The University of Missouri's 2025 football season opener against Central Arkansas, originally scheduled for Saturday, August 30, will be played Thursday, August 28 at Memorial Stadium. The first all-time meeting between the two programs will kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT with the television designation being announced at a later date. The Thursday night showdown marks the fourth consecutive year in which the Tigers have opened their season in the prime-time slot and the eighth weeknight game at home since 2015. Missouri is riding a 10-game winning streak at Faurot Field and carry a 12-game home sellout streak into the opener. Additionally, the Tigers are coming off back-to-back 10- plus win seasons, posting a 21-5 record which is tied for third best in program history over a two-year stretch. Other home games this fall for the Tigers include: Kansas (Sept. 6), Louisiana (Sept. 13), South Carolina (Sept. 20), Massachusetts (Sept. 27), Alabama (Oct. 11), Texas A&M (Nov. 8), and Mississippi State (Nov. 15). COACH OF THE YEAR - Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl and St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino were honored by The Associated Press with the Men’s College Basketball Coach of the Year Award. Their successes this season led to the first tie in the 58-year history of the AP award. Pearl and Pitino each received 20 votes in balloting from the national media panel that picks the AP Top 25 during the season. Louisville’s Pat Kelsey received eight votes and Duke’s Jon Scheyer five. Pearl joins Cliff Ellis as the only Auburn men’s basketball coaches to win coach of the year honors. SAND ROCK BASEBALL - Sand Rock's varsity baseball program has been fined and placed on probation for playing an ineligible player in violation of the AHSAA Outside Participation Rule. The violation was self-reported. As a result, Sand Rock High School’s varsity baseball program must forfeit all games won in which the ineligible student participated.
The Sports Ledger www.TheSportsLedger.com
PAGE 5B April/May 2025
Pisgah head football coach Luke Pruitt congratulates Luke Gilbert following a play in the opening round of the 2022 State Playoffs. Both individuals are making big changes in their respective careers. Coach Pruitt has accepted the head football coaching job at Boaz High School, while Gilbert recently signed a college football scholarship with Jacksonville State University. During his eight seasons at the helm of the Eagle's program, Coach Pruitt complied a 52-32 overall record and his team reached the 2023 and 2024 Class 2A State Semifinals. According to Jax State, Gilbert passed for 1,564 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for 1,444 rushing yards with 21 touchdowns. On defense, he recorded 39 tackles and six for loss. Pruitt Named Boaz Football Coach Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger Guntersville Senior A.J. Shumate Owns AHSAA Career Goals Record
Soccer Record Book online – giving the senior his rightful place as the current all-time scoring leader. Shumate, who was a participate in the 2024 AHSAA North-South All- Star Soccer Classic during last summer’s All-Star Sports Week, has posted 30 goals this season. This gives him 192 goals, with several games left this year. Guntersville’s senior forward had five goals as a sophomore, 15 as an eighth grader, 37 as a freshman, 44 as a sophomore, and 61 in 2024 as a junior. Shumate’s 61 goals last season ranked sixth all- time in the AHSAA boys’ records and are the most reported in a single season since Andalusia’s Gage Theus scored 72 in the 2021 season. The single season record (80) was set by Wetumpka’s Jason McLaughlin in 2000. Pisgah Names Coach By Brandon K. Pierce The Sports Ledger Pisgah High School has named Adam Gilbert as the Eagles next head football Coach. Gilbert most recently served as Eagles' offense coordinator and he was promoted to head coach after Luke Pruitt left Pisgah to become the coach at Boaz High School. Last year, Gilbert's offense at Pisgah reportedly averaged just under 50 points per game. Gilbert has previous head coaching experience, as he was at the helm of the North Sand Mountain football program from 2010 to 2013. He was also the head football coach at Arab from 2014-2017.
Guntersville High School senior Adam ‘A.J.’ Shumate has been going about his business in a methodical way for the Wildcats’ boys’ soccer team. A senior who has been on the varsity since seventh grade, Shumate’s scoring prowess has become more or less expected when the Wildcats take the field. In February, Shumate quietly scored the 172nd goal of his prep career to become the AHSAA’s all- time scoring leader for boys’ soccer. The previous record (171) was set by former Sylacauga Aggie forward Cole Grogan, who nailed 171 goals during his career which spanned from 2013-2017. Thanks to Judge Zachary Ross, the presiding district judge of the 27th Judicial Circuit in Marshall County, the AHSAA learned about Shumate’s
Submitted Photo
Guntersville's A.J. Shumate
accomplishments, and as a result Shumate earned the honor of being in the AHSAA Soccer Spotlight on April 10, 2025. Judge Ross, a Guntersville High School graduate who
also serves as the Wildcats’ soccer team volunteer coach, is in his 11th season as the team’s head coach. He provided Shumate’s career statistics which have been added to the AHSAA
Geraldine's Jordan Lankford (#4) slides into home plate during the Bulldogs game against Plainview in the DeKalb County Baseball Tournament on Friday, April 11, 2025. The Bears defeated Geraldine 14-3 in five innings, but fell to Fyffe 6-4 in the County Championship game. Fyffe's Blake Dobbins was named the 2025 Tournament MVP. Photo By Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
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