BY D. MARK MITCHELL
OPINION —
OPELIKA SPRING FOOTBALL
Opelika high football coach Bryan Moore officially kicked off spring practice last week, his first as OHS head coach. Moore appeared on my radio show, “On the Mark,” earlier in the week to discuss the spring practice.
The Dogs have huge numbers. More than 130 players are participating in spring practice with another eight student athletes coming from Track and Field this week. Moore said his team has six to eight players being recruited by colleges and he said he hopes the number will rise as the program continues to grow. The defense is ahead of the offense which is normal; coaches often put the best players on defense because “execution on offense is slow because executing offense is difficult.” Moore also said he puts better players on defense because it is important to stop teams from moving up and down the field.
Bryan added four staff members: JD Atkins as the offensive coach and assistant head coach; Tyler Dawkins as co-defensive coordinator; Mike Murray is back coaching in the secondary and Marshall Meyers (a volunteer assistant) will coach the kickers.
Kade McGee was hired as the Opelika City School (OCS) as the system-wide strength and conditioning coach.
OHS has held two practices and will have seven more practice days, including an inter-squad scrimmage on May 7, prior to a May 16 scrimmage game against Clay-Chalkville. The Junior Varsity will play for two quarters followed by two quarters of varsity play.
You can attend the game at Bulldog Stadium or listen to the broadcast on WKKE 97.7 Kicker FM. Van Riggs and crew will be on the air at 5:30 p.m. with kickoff at p.m. You can also listen online at www.kickerfm.com or download the free app iHeartRadio app on your smart phone.
AREA BASEBALL SHOWDOWNS
Valley hosted Mobile Christian in the semifinal round of the AHSAA 5A State baseball championship at Crestview Field in Fairfax. The two teams played a doubleheader Wednesday and the “if” game scheduled for Thursday.
Lee-Scott and Glenwood played in the AISA 3A State Championship series Wednesday at Patterson Field. The two teams were scheduled to play a doubleheader Wednesday with the “If” game scheduled for Thursday at 11 a.m.
Central hosted Auburn Wednesday in the semifinal round of the Class 7A baseball playoffs. The Tigers won 2 out 3 games against the Red Devils three weeks ago, punching their ticket to the playoffs as the second seed out of this area. AHS head coach Matt Cimo announced he will retire and the end of the season after 32 years as baseball coach.
TRACK & FIELD
The AHSAA state track meet was held in Gulf Shores over the weekend. Hoover dominated the meet, winning both the girls and boys division. Opelika took several athletes to the state meet. The following is an individual breakdown of each student from OHS:
GIRLS:
100 METERS
2.31 Tierra Agee 14th
200 METER DASH
25.39 Tierra Agee 10th
400 METER DASH
59.17 SB Makiah Paschal 9th
59.86 Ava Thomas 12th
800 METER RUN
2:25.47 Caroline Couey 19th
1600 METER RUN
5:15.87 Caroline Couey 9th
3200 METER RUN
11:24.46 Caroline Couey 6th
100 METER HURDLES
15.58 Makiah Paschal 4th
300 METER HURDLES
46.97 Makiah Paschal 6th
HIGH JUMP
4-10 Kyndall Brundidge 12th
4-10 Calieya Dowdell 17th
LONG JUMP
18-5 Tierra Agee 1st
16-2.75 Kyndall Brundidge 13th
TRIPLE JUMP
38-1 Kyndall Brundidge 2nd
36-9.75 Memshallyah Weaver 4th
34-7 Kimora Rowell 12th
JAVELIN
108-5 Khalia Williams 11th
93-11 Tyra Pitts 20th
BOYS
400 METER DASH
49.81 Michael Swanson
50.60 Tyrese Pitts 16th
51.44 Sam Washburn 22nd
800 METER RUN
2:05.90 Brantley Turnham 23rd
1600 METER RUN
4:32.23 Brantley Turnham
3200 METER RUN
9:59.66 Brantley Turnham 14th
110 METER HURDLES
16.62 Richard Howard 15th
18.73 Aedan McCullough 20th
4X400 METER RELAY
3:23.64 Relay Team 6th
4X800 METER RELAY
8:32.14 Relay Team 13th
HIGH JUMP
6-2 Davian Jones 10th
6-0 Jaxson Freeman 15th
LONG JUMP
22-9.25 Davian Jones 4th
19-6.75 Jordan Tolbert 22nd
TRIPLE JUMP
47-1 Davian Jones 2nd
43-6.5 Jordan Tolbert 8th
POLE VAULT
12-0 Brannon Massey 13th
SHOT PUT
44-8.5 Ericson (Moni) Thomas 17th
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D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia, host of “On the Mark” Fox Sports the Game 910-1319, co-chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, chairman of the Super 7 and Dixie Boys Baseball state director.