Fall Door Closes, Winter Window Opens for Local Competitors

By: Tim Lambert
The fall season has all but ended for our local sports. Football, volleyball, and cross country are over and swimming is entering its last laps. But, as the saying goes, where a door closes, a window opens and such is the case with the transition from fall to winter sports. Before that door closes entirely, though, here’s a recap of what you might have missed:

Football
In their last games of the season, Ardmore fell 55-14 to Mae Jemison and 44-6 to Russellville. The Tigers wrapped up their season on a high note, stunning West Limestone 34-14. Athens started their last three regular season games with a 29-12 home victory against Hazel Green, then followed that up with a 69-28 defeat at the hands of Austin and a 23-15 loss to Huntsville. Clay-Chalkville put a stop to the Golden Eagles’ year in round one of the 6A playoffs, 28-0. Clements had two shutouts against East Lawrence (17-0) and Elkmont (7-0, in the Red Devils’ last game) before being edged by St. John Paul II in their season finale, 16-13. Elkmont was also defeated by West Morgan 46-9. James Clemens wrapped up their season with a 33-7 victory over Buckhorn and two losses to Hewitt-Trussville (44-13) and Austin (28-14). Tanner closed out their regular slate defeating Cold Springs (28-14) and falling to Falkville (20-16) and East Limestone (49-6), but sneaked into the 2A playoffs thanks to early wins against West Limestone and West End. The Rattlers went to Lanett for playoff round one and returned home with a 41-6 loss. East Limestone’s close losses to Russellville (17-13) and Brooks (21-14) denied the Indians a playoff spot. West Limestone was another 1-2 team down the stretch, with a 26-6 win over Central-Florence, a 20-14 loss at Deshler and the defeat at Ardmore. The Wildcats set a school record for consecutive playoff appearances (three), but couldn’t make it past the first round after stumbling at Fayette County, 21-12.

Volleyball
Athens Bible School, Elkmont, Ardmore, East Limestone, and James Clemens all made it through their area tournaments and advanced to super regional action. There, the Lady Trojans turned away Coosa Christian and punched their ticket to the state tournament with a win over Faith Christian. A loss to Meek put them in the third-place game where they eliminated Decatur Heritage. Tanner was shut out by Cold Springs, Elkmont was topped by Holly Pond, and Ardmore had a season-ending meeting with Mortimer Jordan. East Limestone got past Hayden before losing to Arab, and James Clemens was knocked off by Hoover. Athens Bible School made it as far as the state semi-finals, defeating Isabella in the quarterfinals and falling to eventual state champ Addison.

Cross Country
In sectional cross-country meets, the ABS girls were first in 1A-2A; the Trojans came in second. Tanner’s boys were fifth. East Limestone and Ardmore came in sixth and eighth in 5A boys with the Lady Tigers posting a sixth place. The Elkmont and Clements boys finished second and seventh at their 3A meet; the Lady Red Devils and Lady Colts were fifth and sixth respectively. West Limestone’s girls led the pack in 4A while the Wildcats placed fifth. The Athens High girls were third in 6A; the Athens boys finished fourth. In 7A, the James Clemens girls came in third while the Jets were fifth. Elkmont’s Chase Prater finished third in 3A boys at the state meet, West Limestone’s Cassidy Winter placed fourth in 4A girls; the Lady Wildcats came in fifth as a team. The James Clemens girls were tenth in 7A.

Swimming
James Clemens’ girls won the Bob Jones Invitational while the boys’ team came in second. Both teams also took first places at the Cullman Bearcat Invitational, at two of their own invitationals and at the SportsMed North Alabama Championships. Athens girls and boys placed fifth and ninth at Bob Jones, third and sixth at Cullman, and both were seventh at the second Jets Invitational.

Odds and Ends
The North Alabama Flames basketball team is trying to raise money to help with their expenses as they compete in the National Powerade Platform Circuit. The goal is to raise $10,000 by March 2018. Donations may be made by going to www.YouCaring.com/NorthAlabamaFlames.

Listen to play-by-play of Limestone County basketball this season online at www.pasnetwork.net or download the PlayAction Sports app. Android and iOS links are on the website. A schedule of games is there, too.
By: Tim Lambert
Tune in for the PlayAction Sports Update, three times each weekday on 1080 AM WKAC. Visit us online at www.pasnetwork.net!
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