OHS Teams In The Post Season
Opelika varsity girls and boys basketball teams and the wrestling team start the post season.
Wrestling
The 6A Sectional wrestling tournament will start today and end tomorrow, Saturday, in Prattville. The top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the State wrestling tournament in Huntsville from Feb. 13 through 16.
The following wrestlers from Opelika will compete in the sectional meet:106 pounds: Victor Nelms; 113 pounds: Tyler Carter; 120 pounds: Ivan Ramos; 126 pounds: Marquise Banks; 132 pounds: Laccaris Patrick; 138 pounds: Ethan Knight; 152 pounds: Jamal Vaughns; 160 pounds: Eric Preston; 170 pounds; Mark Preston and 285 pounds, Octavious Byrd
Auburn, Smiths Station, Central, Stanhope Elmore, Carver, Lee, Jeff Davis, Sidney Lanier, Prattville and Wetumpka high schools will all participate in the sectional meet.
Section one has more schools than any other section in 6A.
Girls’ Basketball
The Opelika Lady Bulldogs are hosting the Area tournament. Opelika played Smiths Station in the first round last night. At press time the game was not complete; however, Opelika was leading in the second half.
The winners of last night’s two games will play for the Area title Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Sports Arena on the OHS campus.
If you plan on going to the game, you may have to park at Southern Union and walk across the street due to construction and the annual “Southern Showcase,” the large on-campus event sponsored by the Opelika High Show Choir team.
Boys’ Basketball
The Opelika boys’ basketball team will play Smiths Station tonight at 5 p.m. in Phenix City in the first round of the Area tournament.
The winner will play the winner of the Auburn-Central game, which follows our game tonight, on Monday night at 6 p.m.
If Opelika wins the Smiths Station game, they will play in the State 6A basketball tournament. To remind you, the tournament winner plays at home while the second place team goes on the road.
Both Opelika teams have an excellent chance of winning and advancing deep in the state playoffs.
Middle School Basketball
The OMS seventh graders fell to Russell County Tuesday night by the score of 47-37. Jaichias Holmes and Jordan Heard led the Bulldogs with 11 points apiece. Holmes had nine points and Kamari Martin pulled down 12 rebounds in a loss to Central of Phenix City. The seventh graders’ record falls to 2-5.
John David Worth scored 19 and Jaleel Heard added 13 in a big win for the eighth graders over Russell County, 58-27. Weldrin Ford pulled down nine rebounds. Jaleel Heard had 11 points in a 38-20 loss to Central of PC and Caleb Florence grabbed seven rebounds. The OMS eighth grade season’s record is now 11-6.
Spring Sports
Spring sports are all practicing and getting ready to start playing soon. Most of these sports start before the end of February. We will have all of the spring sports schedules in the paper within the next two weeks.
Opelika Dixie Youth
The Opelika Dixie Youth Baseball Association is taking registration online at www.opelikadixieyouth.com. If you have a child between the ages of 6-12, you can sign them up to play. Every child will be placed on a team.
The Opelika Dixie boys will begin registering in March. If you are 13 or 14 years you can sign up to play at the Sportsplex at that time. Watch this space for the exact dates.
You can keep up with Opelika athletics on a daily basis. You can listen to “On The Mark” on WTLM 1520 AM weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and online at www.kickerfm.com/sports. Jeff Sasser and I host the show that features interviews with players and coaches from Opelika as well as other schools in our area.
You can also visit the official Opelika Schools website www.thedawgnetwork.com for up-to-date information.