Sports

2024 AHSAA Regional Volleyball Tournament

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HOOVER — Four volleyball teams from Marion County advanced to the regional tournament at the Finley Center on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and Oct. 24.
1A
After winning their area tournament, the Lady Red Raiders fought hard in the first round of regionals.
Marion County played the Faith Christian Lions on Oct. 24, and the match was close. In the end, Faith Christian won the tie-breaker set to win 3-2.
The Brilliant Lady Tigers were shut out by the Spring Garden Panthers 3-0.
The Panthers would go on to win the regional tournament.
3A

Hackleburg advances to second round of playoffs

Panther Blaise Vickery crosses the goal line for a touchdown while vertical. Kross Weeks (#4) gives the touchdown signal in the background.

HACKLEBURG — It was a windy night in Hackleburg Friday, Nov. 8, but the Pickens County Tornadoes were sent home with a 41-6 loss in the first round of playoffs.
The game began with Hackleburg winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half. Kicking off to Pickens County, Panther Aiden Pimentel recovered the ball and set Hackleburg in good position at the Tornado 36 yard-line. Shortly, it was first and goal with Jaquan Reeder on the first touchdown. A good PAT had the score at 7-0, Hackleburg.

Pirates cruise into second round of playoffs with 44-14 win over Indians

Winfield’s Keylan Hughes dodges a Colbert County defender.

WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates cruised into the second round of the AHSAA Class 3A State Playoffs with a 44-14 victory over the Colbert County Indians on Friday, Nov. 8, in Winfield.
Winfield scored on four out of six possessions in the first half and added two more touchdowns on their three possessions in the second half, effectively sealing the win against the Indians and advancing in the playoffs.
Keylan Hughes led the Pirates’ rushing attack, scoring 3 touchdowns and 105 yards on 22 carries, scoring on runs of 7, 3 and 4 yards.

Aggies’ season ends with 70-13 loss

Hamilton’s Brady Cantrell makes his next move while his teammate blocks for him.

FLORENCE — The Hamilton Aggies’ season came to an end after the first round of the state playoffs on Friday night, Nov. 8, with a 70-13 loss to the Central Florence Wildcats.
The Wildcats scored four unanswered touchdowns in the first quarter to take a 28-0 lead, followed by another touchdown with about 10 minutes remaining in the second quarter.
But Hamilton’s Spencer Tyra took the kickoff and returned it 95-yards for the Aggies’ first touchdown of the night. With the extra point, they were trailing 35-7.

Bears end season with 30-6 win over Wildcats

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BEAR CREEK — The Phillips Bears went out on a high note this season with a 30-6 win over the visiting Tharptown Wildcats on Friday night, Nov. 1.
The Bears end their season with an overall record of 3-7, with a record of 2-5 in 1A Region 7, a slight step up from last season’s record of 2-7.
The Bears saw regular season wins against the Shoals Christian Flame (29-14), the Waterloo Cougars (14-6) and of course their victory over the Tharptown Wildcats last Friday.

Tigers’ season ends with loss to Wolves

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FAYETTEVILLE — The Brilliant Tigers lost their final regular season game to the Fayetteville Wolves 30-18 on Friday night, Nov. 1.
The loss leaves the Tigers with an overall record of 3-7, and 1A Region 5 record of 1-6.
The loss to Fayetteville marked the end of the Tigers’ 2024 season, as the Tigers did not advance to the playoffs.

Hubbertville upsets Hackleburg’s winning streak in last season game

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HUBBERTVILLE — After winning nine games in a row, the Hackleburg Panthers lost the last regular season game against the Hubbertville Lions 28-22 Friday, Nov. 1.
The Lions won the toss and elected to receive the ball on opening kickoff. Hackleburg’s defense kept things tight and forced a punt before the Lions could get in Hackleburg’s territory, but the Lions returned the favor by forcing Hackleburg to punt.

Raiders put down Bulldogs 48-35

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VERNON — The Marion County Raiders beat the Lamar County High School Bulldogs on the road 48-35 on Friday night, Nov. 1.
The Raiders scored one touchdown in the first quarter and were matched by the Bulldogs for a 7-7 tie.
The Raiders responded with a 59-yard rushing touchdown from Samuel Taylor. Tye Madison crossed the goal line afterward for 2 more points, putting the Raiders ahead 15-7 with about five minutes to go in the first quarter.

Aggies headed to playoffs with 28-6 win over Wildcats

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BIRMINGHAM — The Hamilton Aggies ended their regular season on Friday night, Nov. 1, with a 28-6 victory over the Tarrant Wildcats.
The Aggies were the first to score with a 60-yard pass from Mason Holloway to Coley Gilstrap for a touchdown with about eight minutes remaining in the first quarter.
The PAT missed, but the Aggies were leading 6-0.
In the second quarter, Eli Harris scored a touchdown on a 25-yard rush, but missed the PAT again. Regardless, they were leading 12-0 with about four minutes left in the half.

Hackleburg’s Sawyer Johnson (#10) keeps an eye out for defensive players while Jaquan Reeder (#5) rushes for a score.

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Hackleburg 9-0 after Cherokee shut out
HACKLEBURG — The Hackleburg Panthers are now 9-0, 7-0 after their last region game Friday, Oct. 25, when they shut out the visiting Cherokee Indians 57-0. Hackleburg, as of last week, was ranked number three in the state in 1A by the Alabama Sports Writers Association.
Friday’s game began with Cherokee winning the toss and choosing to receive. Immediately on first down, Garrett Pennington on defense sacked Cherokee’s quarterback, the first of several, setting Cherokee back 20 yards from second.

Winfield’s Garrett Beasley carries the ball.

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Pirates close regular season with 42-12 win over Vinemont
VINEMONT — The Winfield Pirates finished the regular season with a convincing 42-12 victory on the road against the Vinemont Eagles on Friday, Oct. 25.
Winfield scored on every possession of the first half to build up a 28-0 lead at halftime and added two more scores in the second half to secure the win.
The win improved the Pirates to 9-1 on the season and a perfect 7-0 in Class 3A, Region 5 play.
Winfield held Vinemont to only 5 yards on first down during their first possession and forced a punt.

Hamilton’s Blake Vaughn goes for the tackle as Hayden Ables assists.

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Hamilton Aggies defeat Fayette Tigers 41-26
HAMILTON — The Hamilton Aggies won their home game 41-26 on Friday night, Oct. 25, against the Fayette Tigers.
The Aggies were the first to score on a touchdown and 2 extra points with 9:32 left in the first quarter to take an 8-0 lead.
They followed that up with a touchdown pass from Mason Holloway to Spencer Tyra, without extra points this time, to raise their lead to 14-0.
The Aggies attempted an onside kick, but the Tigers recovered and got to work.

 

Marion County loses to Pickens County 22-16

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REFORM — The Marion County Red Raiders lost to the Pickens County Tornadoes 22-16 on Friday night, Oct. 25.
The Tornadoes were the first to score and were leading 8-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Raiders responded with a touchdown with about eight minutes left in the second quarter, but failed the 2-point conversion attempt. At halftime, the Raiders were trailing 8-6.
In the third quarter, the Raiders kicked a field goal with about nine minutes to go to take a slim 9-8 lead.

Tigers, Bears both lose games

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BRILLIANT — The Brilliant Tigers lost last Friday night’s home game to the Berry Wildcats 51-8.
The Tigers were able to score a touchdown with a  two-point conversion, but couldn’t keep up with the Wildcats in the end.
The loss leaves the Tigers with a 4-6 overall record for the season, with a 1-6 region record as the regular season winds down. The Tigers faced a tough game since Berry only suffered one loss this season with a record of 8-1.

Panthers reject Flame 48-10 Friday

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FLORENCE — The Hackleburg Panthers soundly defeated the Shoals Christian Flame 48-10 on Friday, Oct. 18.
Davin Dulaney scored on a two-yard run, and the PAT put the Panthers ahead 7-0.
Later in the first quarter, Cameron Ingram scored on a 57-yard pass from Blaise Vickery, and another PAT from JonHasten Stidham put the Panthers ahead 14-0.
Dulaney scored again in the first quarter on a 46-yard run. The extra point kick was good once more to put the Panthers ahead 21-0.

Phillips takes out regional foe Waterloo 14-6

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BEAR CREEK — Phillips Bears fans had a thriller of a homecoming, not knowing if their team was going to be able to pull it out until the final minutes of the game, when Brandon Ricketts found the end zone to give the Bears a 14-6 victory over regional foe Waterloo.
After a defensive struggle for most of the first half, the Cougars struck paydirt, with Preston Morris doing the honors.  The two-point try was no good, and Waterloo was ahead 6-0 going into the locker rooms.

Panthers pounce and trounce Bobcats for big homecoming win


Panther Blaise Vickery tangles up in the Phil Campbell defense. Also shown is Jacob Wiginton (#62) and Jaquan Reeder (#5).
HACKLEBURG — A change of date did not mean a change of pace for the Hackleburg Panthers. At their homecoming game on Thursday, Sept. 26, they showed they were the bigger cats when they won a non-region match up over the Phil Campbell Bobcats 42-12.

Hackleburg shuts out Waterloo for region win


Ross Hudson slides by a Waterloo player.
HACKLEBURG — As the remnants of Hurricane Francine passed above on Friday evening, Sept. 13, the Hackleburg Panthers were able to stay dry as they shut out the visiting Waterloo Cougars for a 40-0 region win. The Panthers kept the ball in the air during most of the game for the win, which currently makes them 3-0, 2-0.