Sports

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
MARION COUNTY - The second week of county-wide basketball has come to an end with some teams entering tournaments and even starting their season.
The Winfield Pirates took part in the Phil Campbell Thanksgiving Tournament this past week. Winfield won their first game against Rogers 60-56, but fell to Shoals Christian in the semi-finals 53-46, sending them into one final game in the loser’s bracket. They won their final game against Addison 61-49, ending the tournament on a high with a hard fought win.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
REFORM — The Marion County Red Raiders’ season came to an end in the third round of the state playoffs with a 40-14 loss to the Pickens County Tornadoes on Friday night, Nov. 18.
The Raiders received the opening kickoff and made a good return, but a pass on first down was intercepted. The Tornadoes started to pick up yards, and with 8:32 left in the first quarter, a Pickens County receiver caught a contested pass to score. The kick was low but good, and the Tornadoes led 7-0.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
OAKVILLE INDIAN MOUNDS  —  Hamilton, Marion County and Winfield schools each traveled to Oakville on Saturday, Nov. 5, to run through the rain and mud in the 2022 state cross country meet.
Hamilton’s boys placed second with 106 points as the top public school finisher, behind Providence Christian School in first place with 48 points.
Freshman Joshua Webb finished in tenth place in the 4A boys’ meet with a time of 17:06. Sophomore Maya Jones placed 16th in the girls’ meet with a time of 21:02.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
Gadsden — The Hackleburg Panthers’ season came to an end on Friday night as they suffered a first round playoff loss to Coosa Christian in Gadsden.
Early in the first quarter, Coosa Christian established a lead with a five-yard touchdown run.
They were able to score again with just two minutes left in the first with a 16 yard run and a successful two point conversion.
Coosa Christian did not let up in the second quarter of the game, scoring three touchdowns through two 4 yard runs and one 16 yard run into the end zone.

By P.J. Gossett
General Manager
RAGLAND — The Marion County Red Raiders succeeded in stopping the Ragland Purple Devils from continuing on to the playoffs Friday, Nov. 4. Marion County played a strong game, ending it with a score of 59-22 and is the only one from the county going to the second round of playoffs. They will take on Valley Head this Friday in Guin.

By Derek Trimm
Winfield Correspondent
WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates’ season came to an end in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs when the Geraldine Bulldogs came into Estes Hudson Stadium and defeated the Pirates 24-8 on Friday, Nov. 4. The Pirates finished the 2022 season with a 9-2 record.
Geraldine built a 24-0 lead in the fourth quarter and Winfield was not able to put points on the board. Winfield was inside the red zone twice but failed to come up with a score.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
VALLEY HEAD — The Phillips Bears suffered a season ending loss against the Valley Head Tigers away from home on Friday night, ending their season after just one round of playoff football.
Valley Head opened the scoring with two touchdowns in the first quarter, leaving Phillips with a mountain to climb early on in the game.
Valley Head scored 28 more points in the second quarter, but Phillips was able to respond with a touchdown of their own before the half.

By P.J. Gossett
General Manager
HACKLEBURG — The Hackleburg Panthers have secured a spot in the Class 1A Region 8 playoffs with their 50-8 win over Cherokee Thursday, Oct. 27. The team will travel Friday, Nov. 2, to take on Coosa Christian in Gadsden.
The first quarter of the game was filled with penalty flags, but Hackleburg was able to come away with 30 points at its end.

By Derek Trimm
Winfield correspondent
VERNON — The Winfield Pirates overcame struggles in the first half and scored 33 unanswered points in the second half to rout the Lamar County Bulldogs on Thursday, Oct. 27 in Vernon.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
PICKENS COUNTY — Marion County ended their regular season on a bit of a sour note with a loss to Pickens County away from home this past Thursday, Oct. 27.
Pickens County scored early in the game and didn’t let up, scoring a total of 51 points throughout the match up.
Marion County was able to respond with three touchdowns of their own in the game, but it was never enough to threaten Pickens County’s dominance offensively.
The match up ended with a scoreline of 51-21 in favor of the hosts, Pickens County.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
BRILLIANT — The Brilliant Tigers’ season came to an end after a 41-0 loss to the visiting South Lamar Stallions on Friday night, Oct. 28.
South Lamar took the lead early in the first quarter, leading 27-0 at the end of the first quarter.
The Tigers started to drive as the second quarter began, but an intercepted pass gave the Stallions another touchdown, putting them ahead 34-0 with 7:25 to go in the first half.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Hamilton ended their season on another loss this past Friday as the Fayette Tigers came to visit Sargent Stadium.
Hamilton came into the game with a 1-8 record and struggled to get things going throughout the season.
In the first quarter of the game, Fayette scored a touchdown just about six minutes in.
Two minutes into the second quarter, Fayette added to their lead with another touchdown.

By Derek Trimm
Winfield correspondent
WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates dominated the Oakman Wildcats 43-0 to clinch the number two seed in Class 3A, Region 5 on Friday, Oct. 22, and secure a home game in the first round of the state playoffs. 
The Pirates used their potent rushing attack to help roll up the yards and points. In the game, senior running back Drew Cook eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark on the season. Cook has 1,063 yards on only 97 attempts, an average of 11 yards per carry.

By P.J. Gossett
General Manager
VINA — The Hackleburg Panthers were able to keep the Vina Red Devils to a single digit score Thursday, Oct. 20, when they won 44-6.
Hackleburg kicked off to Vina, with Vina making second down before the ball was recovered by Hackleburg. On first down, Daniel Cooper took the ball into the end zone, but a flag pulled everyone back. Cooper made it a repeat and this time scored the touchdown. With a complete pass to Davin Dulaney, the two point conversion stood with the score of 8-0, Hackleburg.

By Shelly Hess
Courtesy of the Northwest Alabamian
ADDISON — The Phillips Bears’ regular season ended in disappointing fashion Friday night, Oct. 21, with a 45-12 loss to Addison.
The Bears started out great on defense, forcing a punt, but a fumble by the offense was recovered by Addison’s Bradley Willette, turning the ball back to the Dawgs and giving them great field position at the Bears’ 35 yard line.  Jed Wilkins was in for Addison on the next play, and Wilkins hit Briley Hayes for two more to make it 8-0.

By Allen Dunavant
Special to the JR

By Jeff Banks
Special to the JR
BERRY —  The Berry Wildcats jumped out to an early lead and never looked back as they helped the seniors enjoy a 33 point victory over Brilliant 49-16.

By Luke Brantley
Staff Writer

By Derek Trimm
Winfield Correspondent
FAYETTE — The Winfield Pirates won the 600th game in school history with a 25-13 come from behind win over the Fayette County Tigers on Friday, Oct. 14 in Fayette.
The win improved Winfield to 7-1 on the season and 4-1 in Class 3A, Region 5, and also clinched a playoff berth.
Winfield trailed 13-0 going into the second quarter when the Pirates rolled off 25 unanswered points and held the Tigers out of the end zone the rest of the night to secure the region win.

By Chad Fell
Courtesy of the Northwest Alabamian
BEAR CREEK — The door to the 1A Region 8 state playoffs just opened a little wider for the Phillips Bears, after their 56-26 defeat of regional foe the Waterloo Cougars Friday night, Oct. 14.
The victory puts the Bears 6-2 on the season and 5-2 on the region. The loss puts the Cougars 2-5 on the season.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
GUIN —  The Marion County Red Raiders defeated the South Lamar High School Stallions 38-13 on Friday, Oct. 14.
The Raiders scored twice in the first quarter. The first touchdown came from a successful pass to Landon Morrow with 3:18 remaining in the first quarter.

By P.J. Gossett
General Manager
BRILLIANT — Brilliant’s football streak continues with their eighth loss this season. On Friday, Oct. 14, the Brilliant Tigers lost against the Tuscaloosa based Holy Spirit Catholic High School 56-0.
Brilliant received the kickoff and managed to take it 65 yards, before punting. On first down, Terry Collins was able to take it in for a touchdown. Holy Spirit’s PAT was good, lighting the scoreboard 7-0, HS.

By Melica Allen
Courtesy of the Northwest Alabamian
HAMILTON — The Haleyville Lions (5-3) now have only one region loss to Dora following a commanding win Friday night against the Hamilton Aggies (1-7). The Lions won 52-12.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
MARION COUNTY —  Three Marion County teams are playing in the Super Regionals in Huntsville today after winning their areas last Wednesday, Oct. 12.
Marion County played against the Hubbertville Lions last Wednesday afternoon to begin the Class 1A Area 11 tournament in Guin. The Lady Raiders won three sets in a row 25-21, 25-6 and 25-7.
The Brilliant Tigers defeated the Lynn Bears in the second match and faced Marion County in the final match.
The Raiders won all four sets in close games, 25-21, 25-20, 25-22 and 25-14.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
FLORENCE — The Hackleburg Panthers put on a commanding show for their traveling fans this weekend against Shoals Christian in Florence Oct. 14.
The Panthers opened the scoring in the game just a few minutes in with a 19- yard touchdown reception from quarterback Blaise Vickery. He also ran in the two-point conversion.
Shoals Christian responded with a touchdown of their own, but Cooper raced toward the end zone for a 58 yard touchdown run just minutes after Shoals looked to be getting into the game.

By Derek Trimm
Winfield correspondent
WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates sailed to a 62-0 homecoming win over the Carbon Hill Bulldogs on Friday, Oct. 7, in Winfield.
The Pirates jumped out to a big lead at the half and used its stout defense to hold the Bulldogs out of the end zone for its third consecutive shutout, and also third on the season.

By P.J. Gossett
General Manager
SUMITON — The Marion County Red Raiders took to the road Friday, Oct. 7, and defeated the Sumiton Christian Eagles 38-7.

By Amy Melson
Courtesy of the Northwest Alabamian
BEAR CREEK — Tempers ran hot when the Phillips Bears hosted the Hackleburg Panthers last week. The previously 6-1 Bears played hard but could not defeat the Panthers, who added a third victory to a winning streak that represents a comeback from early season losses. In the end, the Panthers won 50-34.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Hamilton Aggies struggled to capitalize on last week’s victory with a big loss to Dora on Friday night away from home.
Hamilton, who came into the game on just a 1-5 record, was looking to improve their form in the final four games of the season.
Just a couple of minutes into the game, Dora opened the scoring and added on a second touchdown shortly after.
Following a short drive from the Aggies, Dora added to the score with another touchdown after a 16 yard run.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
BRILLIANT — The Brilliant Tigers lost 45-6 at home to the visiting Lynn Bears on Friday night, Oct. 7.
The Bears quickly gained the lead, scoring two touchdowns in the opening minutes of the game.
The Tigers tried to retaliate, but a fumble put the Bears back in control. The Bears seized the opportunity and scored again, leading 21-0 with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
HUBBERTVILLE —  The Brilliant Tigers lost to the Hubbertville Lions 42-8 on Friday, Sept. 30, but managed to break their scoreless streak.
The Lions scored 36 points in the first three quarters, before the Lions managed to score a touchdown and 2 point conversion on a 23 yard run in the fourth quarter.
The loss puts the Tigers’ record at 0-6 for the season and 0-4 in their region.
This Friday, the Tigers will play the Lynn Bears at home at 7 p.m.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
GUIN – The Marion County High School Red Raiders defeated the visiting Clements Colts on homecoming night, Friday, Sept. 30.
The Colts were the first to strike, scoring a touchdown on a long pass with 9:51 left in the first quarter. With the 2 point attempt, they were ahead 8-0.
The Raiders tried to catch up, and the Colts tried to increase their lead, but both defenses kept the score locked at 8-0 for the remainder of the quarter.

By P.J. Gossett
General Manager
BEAR CREEK — The Phillips Bears shut out the Vina Red Devils 46-0 during homecoming Friday, Sept. 30. It only took the first half of the game for Phillips to total 46 points on the field. The game ended at half time with a score of 46-0, after homecoming festivities.
Phillips began by kicking off to Vina, and after their punt and on Phillips’ first down, Joshua Mann roared off to the end zone for a 74 yard run. Hayden Hulsey’s PAT failed, lighting up the scoreboard 6-0, Phillips.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HACKLEBURG — The Hackleburg Panthers were able to flex their muscles in front of their homecoming crowd on Friday night, Sept. 30, with a big win against Waterloo.
The performance was fit for the occasion as the Panthers beat the visitors by a score line of 46-16.
Waterloo looked ready to spoil the party for the Panthers early on, with a touchdown reception in the beginning stages of the first quarter.

By Derek Trimm
Winfield Correspondent
TARRANT — The Winfield Pirates used a balanced attack totaling 295 yards with 148 passing and 147 rushing to defeat the Tarrant Wildcats by a score of 43-0, on Friday, Sep. 30, in Tarrant.
Winfield scored on its first three plays of the game, a 60 yard run, 37 yard pass and a 40 yard run.
The Pirates defense turned in another stellar performance with its second consecutive shutout, and only giving up 73 total yards to the Wildcats and even picked up a safety early in the game.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
JASPER — The Hamilton Aggies were finally able to end their losing streak with a big win against the Curry Yellow Jackets in Jasper Friday, Sept. 30, with a score of 40-24
Hamilton opened the scoring and scored 16 points in the first quarter of the game.
They continued their scoring form with a touchdown in the second quarter of the game but were unable to keep Curry quiet as they scored a touchdown of their own.

By Allen Dunavant
Courtesy
HUBBERTVILLE — The Lions hosted the Hackleburg Panthers on Friday, Sept. 23, in a non-region game. Greyson Key received the opening kick for Hubbertville, gaining eight yards to set up the Lions’ offense for its opening possession at its 30-yard line. Utilizing Jagger Youngblood, Taylor Hubbert and Key, Hubbertville advanced the ball across midfield, but the possession came to a halt, sending T.J. Keeton back to punt the ball away. Keeton’s punt was downed at the Panther’s seven-yard line.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
BRILLIANT — The Phillips Bears defeated the Brilliant High Tigers 53-0 on Friday night, Sept. 23.
The Tigers kicked off to start their homecoming game, and the Bears quickly gained the yards they needed to score their first touchdown on the night, scored by Phillips’ Joshua Mann.
The Tigers were able to gain some yards during their first possession, but it ended in a fourth-down punt.
The Bears returned the punt to the 50-yard line, but a series of penalties forced them back deep into their own territory.

By Dean Maddox
Editor, The Times-Record
FAYETTE — Marion County put up a gallant battle against Fayette before falling to the Tigers by the score of 59-28 Friday, Sept. 23.
The kickoff to Marion County was mishandled and recovered by the Tigers’ Logan Taylor on the Red Raiders’ three-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, Charles Grant ran for a Fayette touchdown. Quarterback Blake Johnson ran for the two-point conversion and after only 14 seconds had elapsed off of the game clock, the Tigers led 8-0.

By Derek Trimm
Winfield Correspondent
WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates and the Hamilton Aggies got together on the football field for the first time in two years, and the Pirates’ offense proved to be too much for the Aggies to handle as Winfield rolled to a 52-0 win on Thursday, Sept. 22, in Winfield.
Winfield scored early and often, rolling up 49 points and 416 total yards at the half. The Pirates’ defense shutout the Aggies for the first time since 1968, in a 21-0 win over Hamilton.

By Derek Trimm
Staff writer
WINFIELD — After an open week the Winfield Pirates got back to playing football again, and took care of business with a 56-8 route of the Midfield Patriots in a Class 3A, Region 5 game on Friday, Sep. 16, in Winfield. The win gave the Pirates its first region win of the 2022 season.
The Pirates got off to a fast start rolling up 28 first quarter points and cruised out to a 49-0 halftime lead.
Winfield running back Drew Cook paced the Pirates scoring 4 rushing touchdowns in the first half.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
GUIN —  The Marion County High School Red Raiders beat the Berry Wildcats 54-6 on Friday night, Sept. 16.
The Raiders scored first just under a minute into the first quarter, and scored again a few minutes later with a run from Tye Madison. Dee Lipsey scored the extra two points, and the Raiders were leading 14-0.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
RED BAY — The Hackleburg Panthers lost to the Red Bay Tigers 58-24 on Friday night, Sept. 16.
The Panthers made a strong showing in the first quarter but couldn’t keep their momentum going.
Red Bay scored first with a 48-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion with 8:33 left in the first quarter.

SUMITON —  The Brilliant Tigers’ scoreless streak continues after a 49-0 on-the-road loss to Sumiton Christian on Friday night, Sept. 16.
The Eagles scored four touchdowns in the first quarter, and consistently sent the extra point kicks through the uprights to go ahead 28-0.
In the second quarter, the Eagles scored one touchdown on a 44-yard run to increase their lead to 35-0.
In the third quarter, they scored again on a 10-yard run to go ahead 42-0.

BEAR CREEK        -  Two undefeated teams once again entered the grid Friday night, Sept. 16, but the Meek Tigers’ winning streak remained hot with a 40-6 defeat of the Phillips Bears.
After a few swapped possessions and no score on the board,  A deep Tiger pass was picked off by Lathan Burton for the Bears for possession deep at the Tiger 10.  Tiger defenders kept the plays short and on 4th down, Hayden Hulsey attempted a field goal from 15 yards out, with 3:30 in the first quarter. The ball failed to part the uprights, leaving it scoreless.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
BRILLIANT —  The Hamilton Aggies had a good night spoiled after losing to the Cordova Blue Devils in their Homecoming game.
The community in Hamilton was out in full force for the big occasion, but the festivities didn’t last long after Hamilton struggled yet again defensively as they continued their winless run in the beginning of the season.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
GUIN — The Marion County High School Red Raiders defeated the Holy Spirit Catholic High School Saints 52-0 on Thursday night, Sept. 8.
The Raiders kicked off the game and quickly regained possession of the ball within their own 30-yard line. A long reception from Dee Lipsey took the Raiders all the way down to the Saints’ 18-yard line.

By P.J. Gossett
General Manager
CHEROKEE — The Cherokee Indians went bear hunting Friday night, Sept. 9, according to one of the signs on the field, but the tribe failed to overtake the Phillips Bears, ending the game 50-14 in favor of Phillips.
Phillips won the coin toss but deferred to the second half and started off with a fumble on their second first down on the night, but the Indians couldn’t find a way to Phillips’ end zone and turned the downs back over to Phillips.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
GARDENDALE — The Hamilton Aggies suffered their third consecutive loss of the season, falling away from home to Oak Grove in Gardendale on Thursday, Sept. 8.
The game was originally set to be played in Bessemer, but due to work being done to the field at Oak Grove, the game was moved to Gardendale.
The Aggies lost by a score line of 27-14 in Hamilton’s first Thursday night game of the season.

By Shelly Hess
Courtesy of the
Northwest Alabamian
ADDISON — The Hackleburg Panthers came into Addison Thursday, Sept. 8, determined to spoil the Bulldogs’ perfect record in the region, and the way things were looking in the third quarter, it looked like they were going to accomplish their goal. However, the Dawgs rallied on defense, stopped the Panthers’ successful pass plays and came out with a 26-14 win.