By: Tim Lambert
State volleyball and cross-country competitions marked the end of those seasons and most schools are making the transition to winter sports. Football is still going, though, at East Limestone; the Indians will play their second game of the playoffs this Friday at Mortimer Jordan.
Ardmore football went 1-2 to finish out their regular season, losing close ones to Guntersville and Madison County before their final win at West Limestone. The boys’ cross-country team finished eighth in Class 4A-7A at the ABS Invitational while the Lady Tigers came in sixth.
Athens Bible School’s volleyball team won their own annual Pink Out tournament, defeating Elkmont and Lauderdale County. The Lady Trojans swept through the area tournament with victories over St. Bernard and R.A. Hubbard. They knocked off Oakwood Academy, Appalachian, Meek, and Lindsay Lane in the regional tournament to move on to the state tournament where they beat Brantley and Faith Christian before coming up short in the finals against Pleasant Home. The boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams placed third and fourth in Class 1A-3A at their own invitational; the junior high girls won their race. At the James Clemens Last Chance Invitational, the boys were third in Class 1A-3A, the girls posted a second place, and the JV boys finished sixth. The Lady Trojans ran to seventh place in 1A-2A at the state meet.
Athens High School lost to Muscle Shoals (35-7) on the football field before wrapping up the regular season on a high note, beating Lee and Austin. The Golden Eagles were eliminated from post-season play at Homewood. Athens volleyball topped Austin, Ardmore, and St. John Paul II in regular season action. The Lady Golden Eagles beat Columbia in the area tournament, but finished as runner-up after a loss to Muscle Shoals. The team was eliminated by Albertville in the regionals. The boys’ and girls’ cross-country teams were fifth and sixth at the James Clemens Invitational. At the state meet, the Athens boys were sixth in Class 6A.
Clements’ football team was 1-2 in their last two regular season games: 18-21 at Colbert Heights, 30-7 versus Lexington and 6-41 against Hatton. The Colts were eliminated by Piedmont (41-0) in their first playoff game in nine seasons. The girl’s cross-country team notched a third place at the Scottsboro Last Chance Invitational.
East Limestone closed out their regular season with victories against Brewer, Guntersville, and Tanner. The Indians were the only local team to make it past the first round of playoff games with a 53-33 defeat of Boaz to put them in the second round at Mortimer Jordan. Volleyball scored regular season wins over Madison Academy, West Limestone, and Lindsay Lane. The Lady Indians won their area tournament, defeating Ardmore and Madison Academy. They beat West Point and Southside Gadsden in the regional tournament before the road ended in the state tournament against Saint James.
Elkmont’s boys’ cross-country team finished seventh in Class 4A-7A at the ABS Invitational; the girls were eighth. Football losses to Rogers, Brooks, and Falkville marked the end of their regular season.
James Clemens marked their best-ever region football record (7-0), winning 49-7 over Sparkman and 36-23 at Austin. A 20-17 loss at Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa came in their regular season-ender, followed by a 43-41 heartbreaker to Hewitt-Trussville in the first round of the playoffs. The boys’ cross-country team came in fourth in 4A-7A at their own Last Chance Invitational, the girls were third and the JV boys placed second.
Lindsay Lane finished up their volleyball regular season with victories over Oakwood Academy, Ardmore, Priceville, Lee, and West Limestone. The Lady Lions were area tournament champs after beating Woodville and Oakwood Academy. At the regional tournament, wins came against R.A. Hubbard, Spring Garden, and Faith Christian. The state tournament also saw the team defeat Isabella before falling to Pleasant Home in the semi-finals. The girls’ cross-country team posted a seventh place in Class 1A-3A at the ABS Invitational. The JV boys were fourth at the James Clemens Invitational.
Tanner ended their football season with three losses to Red Bay, Sheffield and East Limestone.
On the volleyball court, West Limestone defeated Falkville and Rogers in the regular season before moving on to the area tournament, where they were runner-up after a win over Elkmont and a loss to Brooks. At the James Clemens Last Chance Cross-Country Invitational, the boys placed ninth in 4A-7A. Wildcats football finished out their season with losses to Brooks, Deshler, and Ardmore.
By: Tim Lambert
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