PAGE 8 December 2022
Heisman Trophy University of Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams won the 2022 Heisman Trophy on Saturday, December 10. He received 544 first place votes. TCU's Max Duggan finished second and Ohio State's CJ Stroud was third. Georgia's Stetson Bennett rounded out the top four.
STATE SWIMMING CHAMPS - Boaz recently won its second Class 1A-5A state swimming championship with 304 points. Gulf Shores was second with 269 points. UMS-Wright (168), LAMP of Montgomery (162) and Whitesburg Christian (157) rounded out the Top 5. The AHSAA 2022 State Swimming and Diving Championships was held at James E. Martin Aquatics Center on the Auburn University campus. Boaz is coached by Dustin Thomas. SUN BELT FOOTBALL CHAMPS - Troy University defeated Coastal Carolina 45-26 to win the 2022 Sun Belt Championship. It marked a record seventh Sun Belt Conference Title for the Trojans. ALABAMA SOCCER - Alabama soccer trio Reyna Reyes, Riley Mattingly Parker and Felicia Knox have been named to the United Soccer Coaches All-America team. Reyes and Parker earned First-Team All-America honors and Knox earned third-team honors for helping lead the Crimson Tide to a College Cup appearance in the midst of the program’s best-ever season. Alabama fell to UCLA 3-0 in the College Cup Semifinals to close out the 2022 season. SEC FOOTBALL CHAMPS - The top-ranked Georgia football team rolled to a 50-30 win over No. 14 LSU in the 2022 SEC Championship Game on Saturday, December 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. It was the Bulldogs first SEC title since 2017. Georgia’s offense produced 529 yards, while LSU (9-4) generated 549 yards of offense, including 502 through the air. Georgia has now captured 14 SEC championships and improved to 4-6 in the SEC Championship Game. ALABAMA GYMNASTICS ON TV - Nine out of Alabama gymnastics’ ten regular season meets will be broadcast or streamed on the ESPN family of networks during the 2023 season, including all five home meets. This also includes Alabama's Jan. 20 match-up with Florida on ESPNU. Alabama’s trip to Georgia on Feb. 17 will also be broadcast on the SEC Network, with the Tide’s remaining dual meets against LSU, Missouri and Boise State all slated to stream on SEC Network+ via WatchESPN.com and the ESPN app. Alabama Gymnastics season tickets are now on sale through the Alabama Ticket Office located in the lobby of Coleman Coliseum and through RollTide.com. ALABAMA GOLF ADDS THREE - Alabama men’s golf head coach Jay Seawell has announced that Luke Coyle, Jack Mitchell and Tristin Wisener have signed National Letters of Intent and will join the Crimson Tide program for the 2023-24 season. To read more about each player check out www.thesportsledger.com AUBURN GYMNASTICS - Auburn's gymnastics team will welcome another talented class to the Plains in 2024 as the program recently had three future athletes sign National Letters of Intent with the Tigers. Joining the team next year will be Bryn Bartman (Black Mountain, North Carolina), Julianne Huff (Hoover, Alabama) and Lyden Saltness (Chisago City, Minnesota). AUBURN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL - Two top prospects have signed National Letters of Intent and will join the Auburn women’s basketball program for the 2023-24 season. The Tigers will welcome Timya Thurman (C, 6-5, Linden, AL) and Savannah Scott (C, 6-4, Conway, AK) to The Plains next fall. JSU BASEBALL SIGN SIX - The Jacksonville State baseball has added six student-athletes from the high school ranks in the state of Alabama. The players include: Sam Silas (Holtville, Ala./Holtville HS), Gabriel Young (Mountain Brook, Ala./Mountain Brook HS), Drew McCormick (Oxford, Ala./Oxford HS), Colin Woodham (Millbrook, Ala./Stanhope Elmore HS), Hudson Walburn (Vestavia Hills, Ala./Vestavia Hills HS) and Evan Smallwood (Hoover, Ala./Spain Park HS). To read more about each signee visit www.thesportsledger.com. SPORTS HALL OF FAME - The 2023 Marshall County Sports Hall of Fame is set to induct ten new members at the summer banquet, which is set for June 3, 2023 at Lake Guntersville State Park. The members of the Class of 2023 include: Bill Aaron, Zeke Bentley, Johnny Pelham, Dr. Josh Wharton, A.C. "Cub Berry" Terrell, Phillip Eubanks, Patrick Harding, Lowell Edmonds, Misty Lang and Jimmy Lee Griffin. Mr. Bentley and Mr. Eubanks are both deceased. Tickets for the event are $50 and they will go on sale in January. For ticket information contact Frank Mastin at frankmastin@mastinsinc.com or Richard "Butch" Ferguson at rferguson35951@gmail.com. Sideline Sports
University of Georgia's Stetson Bennett has been named the recipient of the 2022 Burlsworth Trophy, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding college player who began his career as a walk-on. In addition, Bennett was also named one of four Heisman Trophy finalists. The other two finalists were Troy senior linebacker Carlton Martial (like Bennett, a 2021 finalist) and Purdue senior quarterback Aidan O’Connell. The trophy is named in honor of Brandon Burlsworth, who walked on at Arkansas in 1994 and eventually became a three- year starter and an All- American. He was selected by Indianapolis in the 1999 NFL Draft, but was tragically killed in a car accident 11 days later. The Burlsworth Foundation was created in his memory to support the physical and spiritual needs of children, in particular those who have limited opportunities. Bennett walked on at Georgia in 2017 and drew high praise from coaches and teammates for his scout team play. He transferred to Jones College in 2018, passing for 1,840 yards and 16 touchdowns. Bennett returned to Athens in 2019, seeing reserve action in five contests. In 2020, Bennett started five games and passed for 1,179 yards and eight touchdowns. The 2021 campaign was the storybook season for Bennett and the Bulldogs. Starting 12 times, including the final 10 contests, he threw for 2,862 yards and 29 touchdowns in leading Georgia to its first national championship since 1980. Bennett was the Offensive MVP for both the College Football Playoff (CFP) Championship Game and the Semifinal Capital One Orange Bowl. Bennett led the top-ranked Bulldogs to the 2022 Southeastern Conference title and was chosen as the game’s Most Valuable Player. He went 23-of-29 for 274 yards and four touchdowns as Georgia topped LSU 50- 30. For the year, Bennett has completed 269-of-395 passes for 3,425 yards and 20 touchdowns. His 269 completions match the school single-season record set by Eric Zeier in 1993. Bennett also has rushed for seven touchdowns. In his career, Bennett has passed for 7,726 yards and 59 touchdowns. With an additional 11 rushing scores, he has accounted for 70 career touchdowns. Burlsworth Trophy Stetson Bennett
University of Alabama Forward Noah Clowney (15) connects on a 3-pointer to help the Crimson Tide power past top ranked Houston on December 10, 2022. The Tide (8-1) trailed by as many as 15 points early in the second half but outscored the Cougars (9-1) 42-21 over the final 17 minutes of play to earn the team’s third top-15 win of the season. Alabama also became the first team to defeat two different No. 1 teams before January since the 1965-66 season when Duke accomplished the feat. On November 27 the Crimson Tide captured a 103-101 quadruple-overtime win over then No. 1 ranked North Carolina. Clowney led the Tide with a double-double of 16 points and a game-high 11 boards in the win over Houston. Tide Tops Two No. 1 Teams Photo by Robert Sutton, University of Alabama
Memphis handed the No. 11 Auburn Men's Basketball program its first loss on Saturday December 10 with an 82-73 victory at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Memphis outrebounded Auburn 43-32 and outscored the Tigers 50-24 in the paint. “We were bigger and we were stronger but they were much more experienced, much quicker and more athletic,” said Auburn Head Coach Bruce Pearl. Auburn's K.D. Johnson and Wendell Green Jr. each scored 14 points in the loss. Chris Moore scored 12 points, while Johni Broome added 11 points and a team- high six rebounds. Kendric Davis led Memphis with 27 points. Auburn Suffers First Loss of Year
Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Sylvania's Landon Wilks (#8) runs the football during the 2022 state playoffs. The Rams fell to Piedmont 55-22 in the state semifinals. Sylvania finished the season with a 10-4 overall record. Sylvania Falls in Semifinals
Pisgah's Luke Gilbert runs past Fyffe's Ryder Gipson for a touchdown during the 2022 AHSAA State Semifinals. Pisgah fell to Fyffe 41-14 to finish the year with an 11-3 overall record. The semifinal loss to Fyffe, marked the second time during the season that Pisgah lost to the Red Devils. The Eagles other loss this year was to rival Sylvania. During the 2022 playoffs, the Eagles picked up wins over Hatton (40-20), Southeastern (48-28) and Aliceville (26-22). Pisgah Falls In State Semifinals Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker