Coming into his senior season, Athens High's Jaylen Gilbert wasn't sure just how many carries he would get at running back. While he had played some at the position in previous years, he mostly played in the defensive backfield.

Players were nominated by their head coach. The News Courier looked at stats and level of competition to determine their selection to the first team and second team. Congratulations to everyone who made the teams.

West Limestone's River Helms wasn't able to do recruiting the normal way due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He couldn't take any campus visits or meet with coaches face-to-face.

East Limestone right-handed pitcher Rylie Grisham has always dreamed of playing softball in college. Earlier this month, she made that dream come true when she signed to accept a softball scholarship to play at Mississippi University for Women, in Columbus, Mississippi.

In a battle of two future Division I major college basketball players, Caroline Bachus and Athens came out on top over Sara Puckett and Muscle Shoals by the slimmest of margins Tuesday night.

Due to the sharp uptick in COVID-19 cases in Alabama, the Alabama High School Athletic Association is mandating a capacity limit for basketball games in the state.

Athens had big games from Isaiah Moore and Tyree Patterson as they went on the road Saturday and took a 53-48 victory over Decatur.

Athens head football coach Cody Gross has long given credit to his assistant coaches for the amount of success the team has enjoyed the past few seasons.

Lindsey Murr and Madelyn Dizon combined to lead Lindsay Lane Christian to a 52-45 victory over Elkmont in Tuesday night girls basketball action.

Coach Heather Thompson and United Athens Blue 13 volleyball team was one of the many groups that volunteered at the food drive that took place at Athens Middle School Saturday morning. The volleyball team also collected more than 10 bags of coats for the homeless throughout Limestone County.

Athens Bible's girls basketball team extended its winning streak to two games with a 44-37 win Friday over Waterloo.

AUBURN (AP) — Texas A&M looked every bit the playoff contender with a seemingly unstoppable offense and impenetrable defense — in the fourth quarter, at least.

Clements softball player Janiah Anderson signed Tuesday to accept a scholarship to play college softball at Snead State Community College. She made her decision official at signing ceremony in the school gymnasium surrounded by family and friends. Janiah will be the second member of her fami…

Elkmont had a successful night Monday against cross-county rivals West Limestone. The girls and boys teams both defeated the Wildcats, with the boys win coming in an exciting overtime contest by the score of 54-49

Raegan Clem has wanted to play softball at the University of North Alabama since she started going to their camps in eighth grade. Last Wednesday, the Ardmore catcher's wish came true as she signed to accept a scholarship to play for the Lions.

East Limestone held West Limestone to just three points in the first quarter and two points in the fourth in rolling to a 53-25 victory Friday night.

TUSCLAOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Once the Iron Bowl kicked off, Nick Saban was just another passionate, heavily invested fan who was powerless to help his team win.

Alabama coach Nick Saban has tested positive for COVID-19 just days before the Iron Bowl.

Caroline Bachus might not have been able to visit the Wake Forest campus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she felt so strongly about the school after speaking with the coaches and doing a virtual visit, she knew that's where she wanted to play college basketball.

Auburn's basketball team won't participate in postseason play this season as a self-imposed penalty stemming from a bribery scheme involving former assistant coach Chuck Person.

Alabama is now a unanimous No. 1 in The Associated Press college football poll, and Northwestern moved up to No. 11 on Sunday for its best ranking in 24 years.

AUBURN (AP) — Smoke Monday returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown and No. 23 Auburn overcame a slow start to beat Tennessee 30-17 on Saturday night.

TUSCALOOSA (AP) — Alabama didn't quite look like itself at first after an extended period on the sidelines, but it scarcely made a difference on the scoreboard.

Elkmont's girls basketball team has started the season with four consecutive victories, including a 63-29 win over East Lawrence in Thursday night action.

With their green jerseys, yellow helmets and stylized G logo, Gordo's football team dresses like the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Thursday night, the Green Wave played like them, too, dominating West Limestone to take a 48-13 win in the Class 4A playoff quarterfinals.

West Limestone football coach Shelby Davis didn't hesitate when asked if Gordo was going to be the toughest opponent the Wildcats have faced this season.

Athens and Limestone County made it through the fall sports season without any major COVID-19 issues, but athletic administrators are remaining diligent so winter sports, including basketball and wrestling, can continue without interruption.

Ardmore native Lee Hodges is on pace to becoming a full PGA Tour member in a few months. With the release of the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour schedule, he now knows what he needs to do in order to gain his card.

West Limestone's football team keeps making history in 2020. The Wildcats took advantage of turnovers and limited the big plays to defeat Good Hope 21-12 Friday night in the second round of the Class 4A playoffs.

Clements opened its season with an impressive victory Thursday night. The Colts blew out Lindsay Lane Christian 77-41 behind the play of Dylan Patrick and JT Farrar.

From the time Ardmore pitcher Cole Cheatham took his official visit to Mississippi State University, he knew that was the place where he wanted to continue his baseball career.

West Limestone football coach Shelby Davis has been waiting for his team to play up to its full potential. It finally happened in last Friday's 44-0 first-round Class 4A playoff victory over Hamilton. Now, he hopes the Wildcats can take that momentum and use it in their second-round game Fri…

No. 1 Alabama at LSU and No. 5 Texas A&M at Tennessee will not be played Saturday because of COVID-19 issues, raising the number of Southeastern Conference games postponed this week to three.

A historic season for Athens High School's football team came to a sudden and heartbreaking end as Homewood upset the Golden Eagles 34-31 in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs Friday night.

East Limestone saw its season come to a close with a 35-21 loss to Parker in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs Friday night.

In Oliver Twist Charles Dickens penned a character named The Artful Dodger, a pickpocket with a knack for evading London police.

West Limestone played well on both sides of the ball in the Wildcats' 44-0 first-round victory over the Hamilton Aggies. West had six rushing touchdowns on offense and forced three turnovers on defense as part of the victory in the Class 4A state playoffs.

The Athens football program did something this year it hadn't done since 2000 when it won the Class 6A, Region 8 championship, but Golden Eagles coach Cody Gross said the region title won't mean much if the team doesn't back it up in the playoffs.

When Shelby Davis was hired as West Limestone's football coach in 2018, he was given a charge to lead the Wildcats to competing for a region championship and a playoff run within five years.

East Limestone didn't finish the regular season the way it wanted to, but the Indians players have a chance to put that out of their minds when they begin the Class 5A playoffs Friday night against Parker.

Tanner coach Oscar Bonds spent the first two years of his tenure trying to rebuild the foundation of the Rattlers program.

Tanner got ready for the Class 2A playoffs by completing a second-half comeback and defeating Class 1A opponent Waterloo 21-20 in the regular-season finale Friday night.