Sports

HAMILTON - On a cool Friday night, two teams squared up on the gridiron. Looking to sneak their way into the playoffs, the Hamilton Aggies hosted the Fayette County Tigers. A rather dry first half turned into a wet second half, but it was not enough to deter the Aggies from taking control of the game. Two rushing touchdowns were more than enough to propel Hamilton into the playoffs with a 14-2 win against the Tigers.

BRILLIANT -  The Brilliant Tigers punched their ticket to the postseason on Friday night, Oct. 23, after claiming a hardfought 21-20 victory over the Red Raiders of Marion County High School in a pivotal Class 1A, Region 6 matchup.
Marion County was the first team to find the end zone, but Brilliant used three second quarter scores to gain a comfortable 21-6 lead before heading into the halftime break.

HAYDEN - The Winfield Pirates were all set to take on the Carbon Hill Bulldogs on Friday, Oct. 23, but due to Covid-19 the Bulldogs had to forfeit the game to Winfield giving the Pirates their ninth win on the season and a perfect 7-0 in Class 3A, Region 6.

GUIN - The Marion County Red Raiders earned their second win in as many weeks on Friday, Oct. 2, as they throttled the Tigers of Meek High School in a 43-16 win on Don Jones Field at the Bill Rayburn Stadium.
Darese Smith got the scoring started for the Red Raiders in the Class 1A, Region 6 contest with a two-yard touchdown run at the 1:37 mark of the opening period. Raider quarterback Deuce Belk carried across the two-point conversion, putting the Raiders up 8-0 heading into the second frame.

BRILLIANT - The Brilliant Tigers dropped their second contest of the season on Friday night, Oct. 2, falling to the Tornadoes of Pickens County High School by a final score of 26-13.
The Tigers, who are now 4-2 on the season and 3-1 in Class 1A, Region 6 play, started the scoring for the game in the opening period when senior quarterback Kade Bryant connected with Braden Burelson for a 13-yard touchdown reception. Jacob Barnes was good on the PAT, putting the Tigers on top 7-0 with 6:23 left in the first quarter.

VINEMONT - The Winfield Pirates overcame a slow start offensively and held off a late rally from the Vinemont Eagles in the second half for a 28-18 win on Friday, Oct. 2, at Vinemont. The win improved Winfield to 6-1 on the season and 4-0 in Class 3A, Region 6, and clinched a playoff berth in the process.

HAMILTON - The tension could be felt through the crisp autumn air as the Hamilton Aggies and Haleyville Lions took the field at Joe Sargent Stadium for the 75th edition of their notable rivalry on Friday night, Oct. 2.

WINFIELD - Winfield senior Luke McKinney was added to the 61st Annual Alabama High School Athletic Association’s North-South All-Star Football Team on Thursday, April 2.
The 6’2, 275-pound defensive tackle will represent Winfield on the  North squad. The game is scheduled to be played on Thursday, July 16, 2020, at Cramton Bowl in Montgomery.

HANCEVILLE - The defending 1A state champion Phillips She Bears saw their season come to an abrupt end on Monday, Feb. 17, after suffering a 56-33 loss to the Mars Hill Lady Panthers in the championship game of the Class 1A Northwest Regional basketball tournament that was held at Wallace State Community College.
The She Bears advanced to the regional championship game after defeating the Decatur Heritage Lady Eagles 50-46 in the regional semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 13.

HANCEVILLE - Both Pirate basketball squads saw their respective seasons come to an end on Saturday, Feb. 15, after falling in the semifinal rounds of the Class 3A Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Northwest Regional basketball tournament.
Both Winfield City High School teams were defeated by basketball squads from Lauderdale County High School.
The Lady Pirates lost their matchup 47-32 while the Pirates suffered a 58-42 loss, ending their respective seasons.

MARION COUNTY - The Hamilton Lady Aggies, Marion County Lady Red Raiders and the Brilliant Tigers saw their seasons come to an end in their respective sub-regional games last week.
The Lady Aggies, who finished as  runner-up in the Class 5A, Area 14 basketball tournament, suffered a loss to Madison Academy in their sub-regional contest.
The Lady Red Raiders lost their sub-regional contest against the Decatur Heritage Christian Academy after finishing as runner-up in the Class 1A, Area 10 tournament.

GUIN - Former Marion County High School head football coach Doug Goodwin is joining Lane Kiffin’s coaching staff at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Miss.
Goodwin, who was the Red Raiders’ lead man from 1987-1992, is headed to Ole Miss to be a special teams analyst.
For the past six years, Goodwin has served on Gus Malzahn’s coaching staff at Auburn University, serving as an NFL liaison as well as handling the walk-on program and dealing with high school coaches.

GUIN - The Marion County Red Raiders lost a heartbreaker against the Lions of Hubbertville High School 34-32 on Friday, Oct. 4.
 The Red Raiders took the lead late in the second quarter, but 14 unanswered points from the Lions allowed them to regain control of the game and build a lead late in the fourth quarter.

HAMILTON - After leading for most of the game, the scoreboard changed in visiting Cordova’s favor, 14-13, at the 4:48 mark of the fourth quarter.
The game had been a defensive struggle throughout, but homestanding Hamilton still had time and all the Aggies had to do was, find their way into the end zone--86 yards away.
Senior Aggie quarterback Jathan Jackson and his teammates went to work, sealing the victory with 55 seconds remaining in the game when Jackson connected with Bryant Loving from 10 yards out for the touchdown.

WINFIELD - Winfield took an early lead, but could not hold, as Fayette County reeled off three unanswered touchdowns to defeat the Pirates 21-7 on Friday, Aug. 30, in Winfield.
The Pirates scored with 3:39 left in first quarter to take the 7-0 lead, but a steady running game and some timely passes pushed the Tigers over the top.
Winfield head coach David McKinney, disappointed with the loss and missed opportunities, spoke about them in an interview following the game.

LYNN - The Lynn Bears used a stout defensive effort to secure a season-opening 26-14 win over Phillips High School.
Lynn put up the first score of the night and wouldn't trail for the remainder of the contest. Lynn found paydirt on its second drive of the night. After fielding a punt on their own 25, the Lynn Bears went to work on a 12-play drive that was capped by an 8-yard scamper by Brandon Hill around the right side. The two-point try was no good, leaving the score at 6-0 with just over four minutes left in the opening quarter.

BRILLIANT - Brilliant lost to Lynn 50-6 in the Tigers' fall jamboree on Friday, Aug. 23.
The Tigers lost 28-6 in the first half with the two varsity teams playing and 22-0 in the second half with the junior varsity players taking the field.
"I was pleased with the efforts," Brilliant head coach Brian Gunnels said. "We kept it very vanilla on offense. I was pleased. We saw both good and bad spots."

HAMILTON - Gunner Strong, a mass prayer meeting and relay race for Gunner Pendley, is set for Saturday, Aug. 31, at Sargent Stadium.
The prayer meeting begins at 8 a.m. and the relay race follows at 8:30 a.m.
The entry fee is $10 and any donations are accepted. Everyone is invited to the prayer meeting prior to the race.
The event is on the same day as Hamilton Toy Bowl hosts a pre-season football tournament. Anyone running, praying or volunteering is not allowed to park in the new gym parking lot or on Aggie Avenue.

Having been blessed to serve as House District 17 state representative for the last nine months, I have spent much time in Montgomery ever since.
But few moments have been as rewarding as the three hours I spent there among friends earlier this month.
Sitting with my wife at a banquet at the beautiful Renaissance Hotel, I watched six from our district earn recognition for outstanding achievement. Here I was having done nothing of my own, but yet I was blessed to witness several friends have their moment in the sun.

(Sports editor’s note: This is the listing of the honors and achievements of the members of the 2019 Marion County Sports Hall of Fame class. New inductees have been listed alphabetically by last name.
Each list of awards and achievements is compiled from information submitted by the inductees. If a photo is not shown, one was not provided. MJP)

HAMILTON - The Hamilton Bassmasters invite all children ages 5-13 to join them for their 35th Annual Youth Fishing Contest on Saturday, June 8, at the Marion County Lake, located between Hamilton and Guin.
The contest will be held from 8 - 11 a.m. and there is no entry fee.
Following the event, the Bassmasters will be serving hot dogs, soft drinks and chips to all the contestants and their families.
Always a special treat are the drawings for door prizes and each contestant will receive a grab-bag filled with fishing accessories and equipment.

CULLMAN - Winfield captured the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Class 3A State Track and Field boys championship on Friday and Saturday, May 3 and 4.
The Pirates claimed the 3A title with 124.5 points after winning the Class 4A crown in 2018. The runner-up, Bayside Academy, finished with 87 points.
Winfield won the Classes 1A-3A indoor crown for 2019 to mark the third time the Pirates have won both the indoor and outdoor titles in the same year with 2015 and 2016 marking the first and second times the school accomplished the feat.

FLORENCE - Hamilton suffered a 2-0 loss to Sardis in the Class 5A North Regional at Coffee O’Neal Park in Florence on Friday, May 10.
The Lady Lions tallied a run in the first inning and added their second in the third in the 2-0 victory.
The Lady Aggies’ Hannah Hogue suffered the loss in six innings. She allowed two hits, six walks, one earned run and struck out two.
Anna Grace Frost pitched the seventh inning and allowed two walks while striking gout one.

SYLVANIA - Winfield completed a two-game sweep of Sylvania with a 9-4 victory in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s Class 3A State Baseball Playoffs second round on Friday, April 26.
The Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 3A’s second-ranked Pirates improved to 33-7 on the season to set the school record for wins, which was previously 31 victories set by the 2016 team (31-14).

FAYETTE - Winfield downed Lamar County 11-0 in the West Alabama Conference Softball Tournament finals on Saturday, April 20.
The Lady Pirates’ Alana Ballard earned the complete-game victory. She allowed two hits, one walk and struck out two.
Andrea Harbin hit a solo home run while Kady Eads had a home run, four RBIs and scored two times.
Tralee Couch added a single and scored a run. Ballard had a triple and a single, along with a RBI.

WINFIELD - Hamilton defeated rival Winfield 5-2 on Monday, April 22.
Both teams scored a run in the first inning before pitching dominated the second, third, fourth and fifth frames.
The Lady Aggies scored three times in the top of the sixth before Winfield scored a run in the bottom  of the frame.

ARLEY - Marion County captured the Class 1A, Area 12 title with a 4-3 victory over Meek on Wednesday, April 10.
The victory gave the Red Raiders the team’s fourth consecutive area title after finishing 5-1 in Area 12 action.
Marion County’s Braden Pyron earned the complete-game victory. He allowed five hits, two walks and three earned runs while striking out eight.
Pyron finished with two singles, a double and one RBI. Seth Knight collected three singles.

GUIN - Marion County defeated Lynn 12-2 in Class 1A, Area 9 action.
The Lady Raiders’ Kiki Lipsey picked up the complete-game victory. She allowed just two hits, five walks and two earned runs while striking out five.
Caitlyn Jones collected a single, a double and a home run. She drove in four runs, walked once and scored two times.
Crimson Stanger had two hits, one RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. Madison Norris walked twice, collected a RBI and scored a run.