By Rubin E. GrantFrom the moment John David Smelser took over as Vestavia Hills’ girls head basketball coach in the spring of 2019, Emma Smith was the one player he could always count on.But now in his fourth season, Smelser no longer has Smith around to turn to. She is a freshman at the University of Denver after finishing her high school career as the Rebels’ all-time … [Read more...]

By Hayden FlattMUSCLE SHOALS — Coach Chris Yeager and his Mountain Brook Spartans spent the past two seasons wondering what could have been and what they had to do to finish a state football playoff run.Last Friday, the Spartans put those thoughts to rest, going on the road and defeating Muscle Shoals 28-7 in the Class 6A semifinals to earn a spot in the Super 7 … [Read more...]

By Rubin E. GrantMountain Brook football coach Chris Yeager spent last weekend trying to learn as much as he could about the undefeated Hartselle Tigers.The Spartans (10-2) will play host to Hartselle (12-0) Friday in the Class 6A quarterfinals of the state playoffs.Even before dissecting the kind of opponent the Spartans would face, Yeager had a pretty good idea … [Read more...]

 By Solomon Crenshaw Jr.Wade Waldrop spent eight seasons as head coach at James Clemens in Madison. Often, his Jets’ flightpath through the Class 7A playoffs was blocked by a team from Region 3.Now, as the first-year coach at Hoover, he leads one of those teams and he understands the difference.“It’s a playoff game every week, and if you don’t approach it … [Read more...]

By Bill Lumpkin IIIHomewood coach Ben Berguson was looking for greatness when the Patriots took the field for their Class 6A playoff game against Pike Road last Friday at Waldrop Stadium.“I told the kids before the game a nine-win season was good, but a 10-win season was great,” Berguson said.Homewood earned its 10th victory with a 24-21 win, now the Patriots will … [Read more...]