PREP UPDATE: Tallassee, Elmore County wrestlers win South sectionals; Evangel Christian sends boys, girls to state tourney
Tallassee’s Land Bell kept his perfect record with a win in the 150-pound bracket at the Class 1A-4A Sectional at Garrett Coliseum on Friday. (Josh Bean)
COMBINED REPORTS
Tallassee won the South Section Class 1A-4A boys wrestling championship at Garrett Coliseum on Friday.
The Tigers finished with 334 points. Oak Grove finished second with 169.5 and Bayside Academy was third with 140.
Tallassee sophomore Thomas Patterson improved to 47-2 on the season with a 17-6 major decision in the 106-pound finals Friday.
Several of the Tigers’ grapplers reached the winners’ circle including Land Bell, who won the 150-pound crown. He finished 57-0 last season. Zachary Crosthwait (59-0) won the 190-pound title.
St. James’ 175-pound champion Pruitt Conner (31-0) advanced to the AHSAA state meet next week.
Elmore County clinched the Class 5A South Super Section crown at Garrett Coliseum with 204.5 points. Beauregard was second with 134 and Shelby County was third with 124.5. Tyler Payton (25-1) won his 157-pound final with a pin at 2:50 in his match.
Prattville Christian came away with five qualifiers in Class 1A-4A. Spencer Perkins, Carter Copeland, Bryson Bowman, Jens Johnson and Orion Garrett will be making the trip to Huntsville Alabama next week.
AISA Basketball First round
For the ninth consecutive year, both the Evangel Christian Academy boys and the ECA girls advanced to the quarterfinals of the state tournament, scoring convincing wins over Chambers Academy on Friday in the first round of the Alabama Independent School Association Class AA state playoffs in the Evangel gym.
Mekhi Williams and D’John Wright gave Evangel the outside firepower it needed with seven 3-pointers to lead the boys to a 54-19 win over the Rebels. Williams led all scorers with 16 points, six assists, two rebounds and a steal and Wright scored 14 points and had one assist. Markevean Johnson had seven points, one assist, two rebounds and four steals while Jordan Duncan chipped in seven points, two assists, three rebounds and one steal.
Evangel Christian (18-5) will play Monroe Academy on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at the Multiplex at Cramton Bowl. The winner will advance to the Class AA Final Four.
The girls also registered a convincing win as Symone McNeil scored 14 points to lead the Lions to a 42-22 win over Chambers on Friday in the ECA gym.
Erica Burton added 11 points to help the Lions advance to the quarterfinals.
Evangel Christian (16-6) will play Clarke Prep School in the Class AA quarterfinals on Wednesday at noon at the Miultiplex at Cramton Bowl.
BOYS SOCCER
Montgomery Academy 4, Pike Road 2
Hayes Lachney and Jacob Stubblefield each scored a goal and assisted on another as the Eagles won a hard-fought battle over Pike Road in the Capital of Dreams High School Classic at the Emory Folmar Soccer Complex on Friday.
Reeves Hall scored the first goal with an assist from Stubblefield with 12:30 elapsed in the first half. A little over three minutes later, the Eagles struck again, this time on a Stubblefield goal assisted by Lachney.
Lachney added a first-half goal with an assist from Brody Watrous.
In the second half, Hampton Welch scored following a corner kick from Stubblefield.
Montgomery Academy (2-0) closes out play in the Capital of Dreams tournament on Saturday with a game against Helena at 10:30 a.m.
Montgomery Academy 5, St. James 0
Montgomery Academy opened the 2025 season with a 5-0 win over the Trojans in the annual Capital of Dreams High School Classic at the Emory Folmar Soccer Complex on Thursday.
Jacob Stubblefield scored a pair of goals and assisted on another to lead the Eagles to the victory, while goalkeeper Grady Ming preserved the shutout.
Ethan Yi scored the season’s first goal on a short kick with an assist from Hayes Lachney before Stubblefield made it 3-0 in the first half with a pair of free kicks.
In the second half, Lachney scored on a short kick with an assist from Stubblefield and Hampton Welch scored on a 19-foot kick with an assist from Tanner Bartgis.
GIRLS SOCCER
Helena 2, Montgomery Academy 1
Kerstin Daniels scored a second-half goal to even the score, but Helena scored late to defeat the Eagles 2-1 in the opening round of the Capital of Dreams High School Classic on Friday at the Emory Folmar Soccer Complex.
The Eagles started the game with high intensity, creating multiple goal-scoring opportunities. Despite sustained offensive pressure, the first half ended in a 0-0 stalemate, with both teams evenly matched at the break.
As the second half began, Helena capitalized on a swift counterattack, securing a 1-0 lead. In response, Montgomery Academy showed great resilience, with Ella Harding coming close to equalizing. Ten minutes later, Daniels made an impressive run before being fouled on the edge of the penalty area. Taking the resulting free kick, Daniels executed a brilliant strike into the top corner, leveling the score at 1-1.
Helena broke the tie with a goal with just three minutes remaining to hand the Eagles a season opening defeat.
Montgomery Academy (0-1) returns to action in the tournament on Saturday morning against Benjamin Russell.
BOYS TENNIS
Montgomery Academy 9, St. James 0
Montgomery Academy improved to 2-0 with a sweep of the Trojans in singles and doubles play at Lagoon Park Tennis Center on Wednesday.
John Alford defeated Danny Trock in No. 1 singles, Jackson Brown beat Michael Phan at No. 2 singles, Ford Morano defeated David Rees at No. 3 singles, Edwin Wu beat Hanan Miller at No. 4 singles, Duncan McInnes defeated Dereck Chen at No. 5 singles and Liam Baker beat Jacob Shin at No. 6 singles.
In doubles play, Alford-Brown defeated Trock-Phan at No. 1, Morano-Wu beat Rees-Miller at No. 2 and Anton Yang and Bo Johnston defeated Chen-Shin at No. 3.
The Eagles are in action this weekend in a tournament in Muscle Shoals.