On the Mark
By D. Mark Mitchell
The OHS Softball team played five games last week, winning two and losing three. The highlight of the week: McKay Yountz struck out 21 Reeltown High School batters in a 7-0 win for the Lady Bulldogs. Yountz pitched to three batters over the minimum 21 batters, allowing just two walks and a single.
The Lady Bulldogs lost 4-2 to Spanish Fort, 17-0 to Hewitt-Trusville and 9-1 to Dothan.
Opelika beat Marbury 4-2, behind the pitching of Yountz and three timely hits. Amiracle Walker led OHS with two hits. Memoree Lyles and Yountz added singles. Head Coach Randy Belyue was pleased with his girls’ efforts the first week.
“The girls are playing hard, listening and trying to get better,” Belyue said. “The more we play, the better we will get.”
OHS played AHS Tuesday night, but the results were not available at press time.
WRESTLING
Six OHS wrestlers earned a trip to the 5A-6A AHSAA State Wrestling Championship in Huntsville’s Vaun Braun Civic Center last weekend. Derrick Hoyett (106 lbs.) finished with a 2-2 record; freshman Brayden Wilson (120 lbs.) finished with a 1-2 record; Trace Gaither (132 lbs.) went 1-2; Keon Brazier (152 lbs.) fell short with an 0-2 record; junior Ari Brogdon (182 lbs.) did not complete his first match due to concussion protocol. First year wrestler Jack Prichard (195 lbs.) finished 1-2, one of those losses being to the eventual state champion.
BASEBALL
Opelika’s Baseball team swept two games last Saturday, beating Beauregard 7-1 and RE Lee 10-0. I was unable to obtain stats but will have details in the future. OHS head Coach Zach Blatt starts his third year as manager.
SOCCER
The OHS Varsity Girls and Boys soccer teams swept Valley and Central last week. The Girls beat Central 8-0 and Valley 10-0.
The Lady Bulldogs shut out Central in Phenix City. Amiya Brown led the scoring with four goals. Scarlet Posada added three, and Morgan Watts scored one. Assists go to Ashley Hilyer, Cindy Hernandez , Karly Phatsadavong and Eleanor Wilson. Coach Button also gave a special shoutout to Phoebe Darcey, who kept a clean sheet in goal.
In the area win over Valley, Amiya Brown and Ashley Hilyer led OHS in scoring with three goals apiece.
Erica Mathews added two goals, while Scarlet Posadas and Phoebe Darcey scored one each. Eleanor Wilson led the way with four assists. Karla Guerra, Cindy Hernandez, Fatima Santamaria and Morgan Watts each had one assist.
The Girls record now sits at 2-1. They played against Benjamin Russell on Tuesday, but results were not available at press time.
The OHS Varsity Boys beat Area foe Central 4-0 and Valley 8-0. On a brutally cold night in Phenix City, the boys brought the fire.
George Meyers started the game with a quick goal, giving Opelika the early lead. Janathan Blanco, Dexter Graham and Kason Short rounded out the scoring with one goal apiece. Assists were by Austin Roberts, Landon Faison and Graham. Miller Isaacson and Dillon Phillips shared time in the goal to record the shutout.
Next, the Dawgs travelled to Valley for an area matchup and came home with the 8-0 victory. Faison and Short led the attack with two goals apiece. George Meyers, Jonathan Blanco, Said Rujana and Harold Torres each chipped in one goal. Another impressive stat: every player who scored – Meyers, Rujana, Blanco, Faison and Short – recorded an assist. Isaacson and Phillips both contributed to the shutout in goal. The Boys are now 3-1 overall and move to 1-0 in area play.
OMS SOFTBALL
The OMS middle School Softball team opened the season last week with two games against Sanford Middle School. The Lady Bulldogs tied Sanford 4-4 and won 12-0 in game two.
In game one, Kennedy Soltau led at the plate with two hits. Cailyn Morgan and Katie Harrelson added singles. Defensively, Jade Jones struck out two batters, and Katie Harrelson struck out six.
Game two was all OMS, a 12-0 win over the Lady Hornets. OMS scored runs in every inning behind eight hits. Defensively, Harrelson and Katelyn Foley combined to pitch the shutout. Jasmine Smith, Soltau, Jancyn Thompson and Jones led the Lady Dawgs at the plate.
OMS hosts its Invitational Tournament Saturday at West Ridge Park. First pitch is set for 8:30 a.m. OMS will play its first game at 9:45 a.m.
HIGH SCHOOL COACHING NEWS
Auburn High School is in the middle of a search for a new football coach. Former AHS football coach Adam Winegarden resigned to take the Tuscaloosa County job two weeks ago. The ACS administration conducted interviews this week. Look for Auburn to name the new football coach soon, possibly before the end of this week.
The new Auburn Tigers head football coach will probably be paid $120,000 to $125,000 annually based on the salary of Winegarden.
Former OHS head football coach/athletic director and Troy University Special Teams Coordinator, Brian Blackman, has been hired at the University of Central Florida. In 2017, Blackmon left OHS to take an analyst position at Auburn University under coach Malzahn. Coach Blackman then took a job on Chip Lindsey’s staff at Troy university, where he worked as an assistant coaching tight ends for the last three years. Blackman accepted the position Saturday to be the special teams coordinator for UCF in Orlando.
Congratulations to Brian and family!
D. Mark Mitchell is the Sports Director at iHeartMedia, host of “On The Mark” on Fox Sports the Game 910-1310, Co-Chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, Chairman of the Super 7 and Dixie Boys Baseball State Director.