Sports

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD —  The Marion County Red Raiders traveled to Winfield on Friday night, Jan. 27, and won both games.
The Lady Raiders won 61-47, and the Raiders won 69-48.
Marion County’s girls were able to take off to an early lead. They were ahead of the Lady Pirates 35-15 at half time.
Toward the end of the game, the Lady Pirates started to close the gap, but the Lady Raiders held firm until the buzzer sounded on a 61-47 victory for Marion County.

By P.J. Gossett
General manager
BRILLIANT — The Brilliant Tigers took on the Hackleburg Panthers on Tiger court Tuesday, Jan. 24. The Lady Tigers won 63-35, and the boys’ game went into overtime with Hackleburg the victor 72-67.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Both Hamilton’s boys and girls basketball teams picked up a win against visitors Curry on Friday night in the Hamilton High School gym.
The night for varsity basketball kicked off with a huge win for the Lady Aggies.
Hamilton started off a bit slow against Curry, making a few mistakes on the transition but were still able to keep ahead 15-9 after the first quarter.
Hamilton was able to start gaining a slow advantage in the second with the score reading 29-16.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
GUIN — The Marion County High School Red Raiders hosted the Brilliant Tigers on Tuesday night, Jan. 10th.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HALEYVILLE — The Hamilton Aggies varsity boys basketball team fell to rivals Haleyville on Thursday, Jan. 12, in Haleyville.
Hamilton’s boys came into the game with a 3-9 record, having only beaten a few teams in their regular season.
Hamilton’s struggles on both ends of the court continued in their game against Haleyville as the team lost 68-34.
Hamilton’s record currently stands at 3-11, following last week’s three straight losses against Cordova, Haleyville and Marion County High School.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates hosted the Gordo Green Wave on Thursday, Jan. 12.
Both Winfield varsity teams were victorious, the boys winning 60-40 and the girls winning 56-42.
The Lady Pirates took an early 10-8 lead in the first quarter but picked up the pace in the second quarter, scoring 14 more points to Gordo’s 5. Gordo came out of half time and outscored the Lady Pirates in the third quarter but slowed down enough in the final quarter that the Lady Pirates were able to maintain their lead and win the game.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates hosted teams from all around the area on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 29-30, 2022, during Winfield’s annual Christmas Classic.
Teams from Marion, Winston, Lamar, Walker and Lauderdale counties competed, and Lawrence County from Tennessee also traveled to play at the Winfield City High School gymnasium.
Brilliant’s girls were the first Marion County team to compete, taking on Lamar County on Thursday. The Lady Tigers lost 52-27.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — The Winfield Pirates are the 2022 West Alabama Conference (WAC) champions after a 65-60 victory over the Sulligent Blue Devils on Monday, Dec. 19.
The Pirates defeated the South Lamar Stallions 65-33 in the first round on Saturday, Dec. 17, and advanced to the final round on Monday.
The game was a close, back and forth battle until the very end.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Hamilton Aggies bounced back to winning ways after their win against Sulligent on Tuesday, Dec. 20, in Hamilton.
Hamilton suffered three losses in a row, one of which was to Sulligent, before their rematch against the Blue Devils.
Hamilton and Sulligent were very close in the game, but Hamilton was able to pull away in the later stages of the game with a couple of big three pointers.
Both the Aggie fans and players were pumped up towards the later stages of the game with a rare victory in this season in sight.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
TUSCUMBIA — For the first time in the regular season, it’s back to back losses for the Marion County Red Raiders at Deshler.
Marion County came into the game with a 9-2 record after their loss against Midfield on Saturday, Dec. 17.
Marion County started the game well, scoring 21 points in the first quarter of the game to Deshler’s 16.
Deshler, however, was able to pull away from the Red Raiders quite quickly in the second half, scoring 27 to Marion County’s 15.

By Shelly Hess
Courtesy of the Northwest Alabamian
BEAR CREEK — The Phillips Bears had a banner week on the court, knocking off two of their area rivals on Tuesday, Dec. 13.
The Bears welcomed Belgreen and came out with a strong 55-41 victory. It was the first time the Bears have defeated Belgreen in seven years, as well as Belgreen’s first area loss in four years.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
MARION COUNTY — The Marion County Red Raiders have continued their flying form this past week as they bumped their record up to 9-2 for the season.
After winning their game against Brilliant on Friday by an impressive scoreline of 71-13, the Red Raiders were held to a score below 70 for only the second time this season as they lost 78-62 against Midfield on Saturday.
The Red Raiders will play their next game against Deshler away from home tomorrow night.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — Winfield City High School is the host of this year’s West Alabama Conference tournament, which began Friday, Dec. 16, and concluded Monday, Dec. 19.
The Winfield Lady Pirates played against the Fayette County High School Lady Tigers in the first round of the tournament on Friday night.
The Lady Pirates and Lady Tigers fought tooth and nail throughout the entire game. The first quarter ended in a 7-7 tie, and at the end of the second quarter, the Lady Pirates led by one point 16-15.

By Luke Brantley
Staff Writer
HUBBERTVILLE —  The Marion County Red Raiders boys’ and girls’ basketball teams won the Northwest Alabama Conference (NAC) tournament last week.
Marion County traveled to Berry on Thursday night, Dec. 8 for the first round. The Lady Raiders blew Berry away 87-10. The Raiders also won by a wide margin with a score of 86-29.
The Raiders’ top scorer against Berry was Joe Aldridge with 23 points, 11 assists and two blocks. Landon Morrow scored 18 points and recorded 13 rebounds, six steals and four blocks.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Hamilton Aggies have had a season of ups and downs so far, and this past week was no different.
With a record of 1-2, Hamilton came into their game against Brooks on Monday, Nov. 28, looking to steady their season with a win.
The Aggies were successful in their battle against Brooks, winning the game 57-47.
Following their win, Hamilton faced off against Russellville at home on Friday, Dec. 2.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
LYNN — The Hackleburg Panthers lost their second matchup of the season against the Lynn Bears on Thursday, Dec. 1, in Lynn.
Hackleburg lost the game 54 to 47 in a game that now brings their season record to 0-2.
Hackleburg started the game well, scoring just one point more than Lynn in the first quarter. Lynn was able to pull away from the Panthers in the second quarter, scoring 20 points to Hackleburg’s 13.
The sides were just one point apart in the third quarter with Hackleburg scoring 10 points to Lynn’s 11.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
BEAR CREEK — The Phillips Bears defeated the Brilliant Tigers in a matchup that took place on Thursday night, Dec. 1, in Bear Creek.
The home team was good defensively, stopping Brilliant from putting a good run together.
Following their win against the Tigers, Phillips went up against Vina away from home.
As of press time, this game had not yet been played.
After their home game against Brilliant, the Bears’ record sits at 3-1, which is a good start for the season ahead.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
GUIN — Marion County beat the Winfield Pirates after taking an early lead and keeping the pressure up the whole game on Thursday, Dec. 1
The score at the end of the game read 66-52, in favor of the home team.
Winfield stayed close but couldn’t put up enough points to overtake the Raiders.
The Pirates’ J.D. Boman was the top scorer for the Pirates with 15 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
GUIN —  The Winfield Lady Pirates defeated the Marion County Lady Raiders 60-50 on Thursday, Dec. 1
The Lady Pirates’ first victory of the season brings their record to 1-4.
It was a close game through the first quarter, which ended with both teams tied 10-10. But the Lady Pirates pulled ahead in the second quarter, scoring 18 points to Marion County’s nine and going into the locker room at half time with a 28-19 lead over the Lady Raiders.

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.