Photo by Melanie Harvell Pirates: Tyler Shires, John Henry Robbins, Ryder Turnipseed and Rilee Reed prior to the Husky Challenge in Trussville
BY Melanie Harvell
Sports Correspondent
Photo Courtesy of Sheila's Photos
BY Harold Trull
Sports Correspondent
The Gordo Green Wave travel to Carbon Hill Friday night and had no problem with the Bulldogs as Gordo took the win 56-6. Carbon Hill never got a first down against the Green Wave Defense until 49 seconds left in the 1st half.
With Gordo being up 42-0 at the half the Green Wave starters got to get a little rest in the 2nd half as the younger guys got there chance to show what they can do for 2 quarters.
Photo by Morris Hickman
BY Thomas Wilkins
Correspondent
The Aliceville Yellow Jackets suffered a loss to the Sulligent Blue Devils, ending with a score of 28-0.
Photo by Kelly Lowery
Pirates Senior football players, preparing for the coin toss before Friday nights last home game.
BY Melanie Harvell
Sports Correspondent
Friday night Pickens Academy’s 9 Senior football players, 5 Senior cheerleaders and 2 Senior band members left it all on the field for the very last night they got to perform/compete/cheer at McGee-Hughes- Wright Field. While they still have at least one more game this is officially it as far as being their last performance at home. There’s just something about that last time you get to walk out onto that field as a Pirate...
BY GREG REAVES
Correspondent
The Pickens County High Tornadoes (4-6) hosted the Red Raiders of Marion County (4-5) in a 1A Region 5 football contest Friday October 25, 2024, at Reform. The Tornadoes won a close game 22-16.
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BY GREG REAVES
Correspondent
The Pickens County Tornadoes (3-5) defeated the South Lamar Mus- tangs (1-6) 28-12.
Behind a strong rush- ing attack the Tornadoes improved to 3-5 overall and 3-2 in region play.
The strong rushing per- formance was led by Willie Windham with 118 yards on 14 carries. Calvin Hill added an- other 112 yards on13 carries.
The Mustangs scored first in the opening quar- ter with a 32-yard touch- down run. The PAT was no good.
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BY Harold Trull
Sports Correspondent
Gordo travel to Vinemont Friday night for the first ever meeting between the two schools and came home with a 42-14 win.
The Green Wave took to the air against the Ea- gles as Jase Neel had 5 touchdown passes on the night and CJ Lark was on the receiving end of 4 of those. Vinemont had no answer for the Green Wave passing attack.
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BY Thomas Wilkins
Correspondent
The Aliceville Yellow Jackets celebrate their Homecoming Friday night with a football game against the Vincent Yellow Jackets from Shelby County, with the visiting team Vincent managing a 25-yard field goal to make it a 3-0 lead
Photo By Michele Banks
BY Melanie Harvell
Sports Correspondent
“Awesome game Pirates! Y’all outlasted 11 Saints and 4 Refs!” This was the first comment I saw about the Pirates Friday night game against Holy Spirit, Saturday morning when I woke up. I found it to be an accurate representation of the game Friday night. The boys from Pickens County traveled to Tuscaloosa determined to bring home a WIN and they did just that.
Photo by Morris Hickman
BY Thomas Wilkins
Correspondent
The Aliceville Yellow Jackets ran out the clock and won the game 15-14. This brought their record to 3-3 for the season and will play their homecoming next week against the Yellow Jackets of Vincent their record is 4-1.
BY GREG REAVES
Correspondent
The Pickens County Tornadoes (2-5) traveled to Hubbertville to take on the Lions in a 1A Region 5 football game on Friday October 4, 2024. The Tornadoes lost to the Lions 28-14.
BY Harold Trull
Sports Correspondent
Gordo and Oakman gave the fans a great game Friday night at Gordo. Back and Forth all night as the two teams traded blows for 4 quar- ters in a big Region 5 contest as the winner would take over 2nd place in the Region. The Green Wave defense had a hard time stopping the running game by the Wildcats in the 1st half as Tyler Thomas carried the ball, but the 2nd half the Green Wave defense stepped up and held the Wildcat offense to only 7 points in 2nd half.
BY Melanie Harvell
Sports Correspondent
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BY Harold Trull
Sports Correspondent
Before the start of the game Friday night Gordo honored Jack Plowman at the 50 yard line as his parents Heath and Chrissy Plowman were the Honorary Captains. Jack passed away on September 10th at the age of 16 after his battle with cancer. May God blessed this family through the days ahead.
End of the Game Sportsmanship
BY Thomas Wilkins
Correspondent
The Yellow Jackets from Aliceville made the 53-mile journey up the road to face off against the Knights of Tuscaloosa in a football match. Excitingly, both teams have maintained perfect records this season.
Pirates battling it out against Holy Spirit
BY Melanie Harvell
Sports Correspondent
Pickens Academy traveled to Holy Spirit Thursday night to battle for their 2 nd area game.
The teams were well-matched and battled each other hard but the
Lady Pirates came
up short. Scores for the match were as follows: Set 1 Pirates 25-18, Set 2 Holy Spirit 25-19, Set 3 Holy Spirit 25-19, Set 4 Pirates 25-14, Set 4 Holy Spirit 16-14.
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BY Melanie Harvell
Sports Correspondent
Pickens Academy Lady Pirates beat Greene County Lady Wildcats Monday night. Scores were as follows: Set 1 was 25-16, Set 2 was 25-10 and Set 3 was 25-16.
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BY Harold Trull
Sports Correspondent
Gordo took their first road game Friday night and it didn't turn out as they had hoped as Winfield took down the Green Wave 28-7.
Ryder Turnipseed
BY Melanie Harvell
Sports Correspondent
Pickens Academy at- tended their first Cross Country meet, in several years, Saturday afternoon at The University of Montevallo. Cross Country re- turned to The Academy with the transition to AHSAA this year. The team is small but making great strides. Saturday afternoon, two middle school boys ran 2 miles. 4 Varsity girls and one Varsity boy ran.
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BY Thomas Wilkins
Correspondent
The Aliceville Yellow Jackets lost their 2nd game of the year to the Bears of Sipsey Valley. It was the Bears' Home- coming, and they started off quickly in the 1st Quarter. Two touch- downs in the first and 4 more in the second quarter made it Yellow Jackets 0, Bears 41 at Halftime. In the second half, the Aliceville Yel- low Jackets scored twice and an extra point, but the Bears pre- vailed 55-13. The Al- iceville Record is 1-2 for the season, but op- ponents for the Yellow
Coach Jeremy Pate and William Parker celebrate after PA’s Elite 8 win. (Photo Courtesy of Tammy Fikes)
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
Drake Lowery (22) goes up for two of his points during PA’s 49-30 win over Coosa Valley.
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
Britney Fitch heads up the floor in PA’s Elite 8 win.
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
The Gordo Lady Waves win their first game in two years with a 49-43 win over American Christian Academy on Senior Night last Thursday.
GORDO - The Gordo Lady Wave defeated American Christian Academy 49-43 on Thursday for their first win of the season on senior night.
The Gordo fans filled the stands, showing support for seniors Emily Bryant, Taylor Clegg and Kaylee Quimby and the rest of the Lady Wave.
Destiny Weston (32) is tied up by Red Bay’s Kylie Lindley (33), while Madeline Ledbetter (21) looks on.
ALICEVILLE - If you were looking for high flying offense in Aliceville Friday night between the Aliceville Lady Jackets and Red Bay Lady Tigers, you were in the wrong place. Red Bay’s defense stifled Aliceville for most of the game, but once the Lady Tigers got ahead by about 10 points, and most of the second half, they began to stall, taking over a minute on most possessions. The Lady Jackets won the first matchup 48-45 at Red Bay, but on Friday night, the shots were not falling and Aliceville suffered its first loss of the season to fall to 4-1.
Rafe Brown (15) puts up a jumper during the second half
CARROLLTON - The Pickens Academy boys defeated South Choctaw on Thursday night for the second time this season, as the Pirates jumped out early and never trailed, winning 56-47. “We’ve only played about eight or nine games and everybody else has played 15 or more, so we’re still trying to find our stride and I think we’re getting better the more we play,” Pickens Academy Coach Jeremy Pate said. “I am proud of these boys because they get after it and they hustle.
Aliceville defenders try and stop Red Bay’s Jaylen Vinson (10) on a drive to the basket
ALICEVILLE - Aliceville was able to defeat the Red Bay Tigers 39-38 on Friday night in a thrilling finish. With the Yellow Jackets leading 38-36, Ty Williams went to the line with nine seconds left and converted one-of-two three throws to go ahead 39-36. The Tigers rebounded the second miss and headed up the floor with roughly seven seconds left. Aliceville gave Red Bay the layup and Landon Glover took what the defense gave him. The buzzer sounded as the ball went through the net.
Pickens Academy’s Elise Dean shoots a free throw during the Lady Jackets’ 36-35 loss to South Choctaw Academy.
CARROLLTON - The Lady Pirates lost a heartbreaker to South Choctaw on Thursday night, as a blocking foul was called on Kate Wilkins with less than a second left in the game. Pickens Academy had just missed two opportunities to win the game, which was tied at 35-35, but South Choctaw retrieved the rebound and headed up court before the foul was called underneath the Lady Pirates’ basket. The Lady Rebels’ Mallory Mosley was given two free throws with no time left on the clock.
Gordo’s Taylor Clegg hits a layup during the first quarter against Holt.
GORDO - The Gordo Lady wave took on Holt Thursday night, in a battle of winless teams, unless you count Aliceville's recent forfeit against Gordo as a win. It would be Holt that came out on top with their first win of the season, a 47-29 win.
The Lady Wave got on the board first on an Emily Bryant layup for a 2-0 lead. Holt would then tie the game at 2-2 on a Williams layup.
Neither team scored for almost three minutes until Williams broke a 2-2 tie with a layup with 3:39. Gordo's Taylor Clegg would answer shortly after with a steal and layup to tie the game at 4-4.
Pickens Academy alumnus Josh Wright, a four-time AISA state champion at Bessemer Academy, was recently named head coach at Tuscaloosa Academy. Wright and his wife, Caroline, live in Tuscaloosa, which made the move hard to turn down. "It was a big factor that I get to wake my daughter up, take her to school, and I get to see her when I come home," Wright said.
Pickens County’s Jacoris Barnes hits a layup in a 74-41 win over Berry
The Pickens County Tornadoes, ranked sixth in Class 1A, captured the regular season Area 9 championship on January 14, by defeating the Holy Spirit Saints 67-63.
It was Senior night at Pickens County and all varsity basketball seniors were honored between the boys and girls games.
The Seniors honored were Kelcei Phillips, Jacoris Barnes, Ladesmon Brown, K.J. Byrd, Jaylon Jones, Xavier King and Xerrance Washington.
The Pickens County Lady Tornadoes had a tough week of play, dropping to 1-9 on the season. On Saturday, January 9, the Lady Tornadoes played the Sipsey Valley Lady Bears and lost a heartbreaker 49-47 in overtime. Sipsey Valley led 9-6 after one period and then held a one-point lead at halftime, 19-18. Pickens County took the lead after three quarters, 28-25, but the Lady Bears came back in the fourth to tie the game at 45-45 at the end of regulation. The Lady Tornadoes could score only two points in overtime and Sipsey Valley came away with a 49-47 victory.
Pickens County’s Kelcei Phillips scores one of her 17 points against Hubbertville.
BY BARRY AMBROSE
Sports Correspondent
The Pickens County Lady Tornadoes dropped wo games in the first half of the week to fall to 1-5 on the season. On Monday, January 4, the Lady Tornadoes traveled to Holy Spirit and lost a close one, 50-46. Leading the way for Pickens County in a losing effort was Kelcei Stewart with 29 points.
Pickens County’s Xavier King puts up a shot against Hubbertville.
BY BARRY AMBROSE
Sports Correspondent
The #1-ranked team in Class 1A, the Pickens County Tornadoes upped their record to 5-1 (4-0 in the Area) with an easy 77-27 win over the Hubbertville Lions.
Pickens County went on a 7-0 run to start the game, and had a 17-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
To begin the second quarter, Pickens County went on a run again, this time 12-0, to open up a 29-11 lead.
Pickens Academy’s Britney Fitch (15) looks to pass to a teammate during PA’s 47-21 win.
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
PA’s Chandler Box (10) goes for a layup while Heritage Christian’s Ty Stoutermire defends.
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
Heritage Christian started fast and finished fast, as the Eagles cruised to a 57-34 region win Monday night.
The Eagles jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead, as Tobias Stoutermire nailed two corner threes, followed by a three by Ty Stoutermire.
Pickens Academy got on the board with a jumper by Rafe Brown, cutting the lead to 9-2. A layup by Aidan Johnson would make the score 9-4 with 2:52 left in the first quarter, as Heritage went on a scoring drought.
Libby Hankins FIeld and Gordo Greenwave Stadium
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
Pickens County’s Santonio Jones, Jr. hauls in a deep pass against the Marion County defense.
BY BARRY AMBROSE
Sports Correspondent
Pickens Academy’s Aidan Johnson runs for yardage against the Snook Christian defense.
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
Ty Williams (11) heaves a pass during Friday night’s 34-20 win over Sulligent.span>
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
Hunter Oglen (3) leaves the Northside defense in the dust on a punt return.
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
Pickens Academy defeats Banks Academy 41-40 Friday night at Briarwood Christian in Birmingham.
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
Ben Capps (17) celebrates as Izayah Edwards (4) goes into the end zone for a touchdown in Gordo’s 48-19 win over Oakman.
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Managing Editor
brian@pcherald.com
It looked as if Gordo’s season opener with Oakman may get delayed or even postponed, as a violent thunderstorm swept through the area just around an hour before kickoff.
However, when the clock struck 7 p.m., the weather was all clear and there wasn’t as much as a rain drop during the contest.
Gordo played sloppy early offensively and gave up big plays on defense, but settled in before halftime to build a 34-13 lead at intermission, in route to a 48-19 win.
1st Place - Luke Patrick & Si Crimm
Saturday, September 28, 2019 marked the second tournament of the 2019-2020 season for the Pickens Anglers’ High School Club. The event was held at Vienna Access Area on the Tenn-Tom Waterway. Recent weather patterns have been less than favorable if you are trying to get a good stand of turnip greens up for the winter, but the heat wave has kept water temperatures very favorable for fish activity. Student Anglers’ had a good day fishing and all fish weighed in for the day were alive.
Matthew Clark (3) stiff arms a Winston County defender on his way to a first quarter touchdown
BY BRIAN HAMILTON
Editor
There was no questioning who the superior swarm of Yellow Jackets were on Friday night, as Winston County traveled south into a buzz saw that was Aliceville. By the time the damage was done, Aliceville came away with a 39-0 win on homecoming.
“Honestly, I’m glad it’s over,” Aliceville coach Melvin Pete said of homecoming. “Everything that comes with homecoming can be a distraction. Everybody enjoys themselves, but we have to try and explain to our kids that we’ve got to take care of business. You have to concentrate on being the last act.”
Pickens County coach Michael Williams gives a fist pump after the Tornadoes force a tunrover on downs on the Stallions final possession
BY BARRY AMBROSE Sports Correspondent If you were in Reform on Friday night, you might have thought you were attending a heavyweight championship fight. In reality, you were attending a heavyweight bout, but it wasn't a boxing match, it was high school football at it's finest. G. S. Spruill stadium was the site of a Class 1A Top-10 matchup between the #5 South Lamar Stallions and the homestanding #9 Pickens County Tornadoes. At stake in this game was the #1 spot in Region 6, which is very important as far as the state playoff picture goes.
Jon Wesley Rye looks to elude tacklers on this way to the end zone for one of his four touchdowns on the night.
For all the trouble Pickens Academy had scoring through the first three games, the Pirates didn’t have to much trouble on Friday night.
“It was a big win for us,” Pickens Academy coach Scotty Pennington said. “It was a region win too. I talked to their coach last week and they (Meadowview) are just getting back to playing 11-man ball. They played 8-man for five years. They’re still trying to get used to it.”
Pickens Academy jumped on Meadowview Christian early on homecoming and didn’t let up until the score was 61-8.
