Congratulations to the Eufaula Encore Athlete of the Month, Jirah Ards! Jirah is a senior and a multi-sport athlete at Eufaula High School. She is on the Volleyball, Basketball, and Track teams. Jirah is a Team Captain and maintains a 4.0 GPA. She has won the MVP in basketball. Jirah is the daughter of Nathaniel and Melinda Thomas- Ards. Keep up the good work!
Congratulations to the Foley Encore Athlete of the Month, Timmathy Johnson! Timmathy is a senior, multi-sport athlete at Foley High School. He has been a member of the varsity Football and Track teams for 4 years now and wears jersey #10.
Timmathy will graduate in the class of 2017 and plans to go to college to study architecture. He is the son of Heather Johnson-Bush.
Congratulations to the Fayette Encore Athlete of the Month, Mason Bonner! Mason is a Junior multi-sport athlete at Fayette County High School. He has been on the Varsity Tiger’s Football and Tennis teams for 3 years now and wears jersey #70. Mason has a 3.26 GPA and plans to attend the University of South Alabama for Mechanical Engineering and then the University of Alabama for Law. He is the son of Ashley Bonner.
Congratulations to the Diamondhead Encore Athlete of the Month, Davis Shannon! Davis is a sophomore, multi-sport, athlete at Hancock High School in Kiln, MS. He has played on the varsity Hawks Football and Baseball teams for 2 years now. He is currently the VP of his sophomore class and plans to study Political Science at Mississippi State University. He is the son of Jimmy and Daphne Shannon.
Congratulations to the Winfield Encore Athlete of the Month, Braden Pyron! Braden is a sophomore, multi-sport athlete at Marion County High School. He has been a member of the varsity Football, Basketball, Baseball and Track teams for 4 years now and wears jersey #2, #5, and #25. During his 4 year athletic career, Braden has wracked up quite an impressive amount of awards:
Football: 2x All State Football, 2x All-Conference, 2x All-State 2x All-County
Basketball: NW Region All Tournament, All-County, 2x All Conference, Final Four
Baseball: 3x All-County Honorary Mention
Track: All-County track, 2x All-Conference, 2x All-Sectional, 2x All-State, and a State Championship.
Braden will graduate in the class of 2019 and has a 4.0 GPA. He is the son of Blaine and Valarie Pyron.
Congratulations to the Arab Encore Athlete of the Month, Kailyn Childress! Kailyn is in 7th grade and is a multi-sport athlete at Brindlee Mountain Middle School. She is on the Cross Country, Basketball, and Track teams. Kailyn has been on the varsity teams for a year now and wears jersey #1. She has won an All State XC title and Overall 1st Place at Sectionals. Kailyn is the daughter of Steven and Traci Childress.
Congratulations to the Eufaula Encore Athlete of the Month, Dortaveon Turner! Dortaveon is a freshman athlete at Eufaula High School. He is a member of the Tigers Football team and wears jersey #72. Dortaveon has a 3.0 GPA and plans to attend the University of Alabama after graduation to major in Business. He is the son of LaToya Posey.
Congratulations to the Tuscaloosa Encore Athlete of the Month, Colin Taylor! Colin is a Junior Football player at Hillcrest High School. He has played on the Patriots football team for 3 years now and wears jersey #70. In his 3 years, he has worked up to a starting position as Offensive Guard. As a sophomore, Colin was named Most Improved Offensive Player of the Year. He is the son of Jamie and Bronwyn Taylor.
Congratulations to the Foley Encore Athlete of the Month, Anna Langston! Anna is a freshman multi-sport athlete at Foley High School. She has been a member of the Swimming and Soccer teams for a year now and will graduate in 2020. She is the daughter of Adam and Diesje Langston.
MONTGOMERY – Alabama and Mississippi all-star teams reported Monday afternoon for Saturday’s 30th annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Football Game at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl. Alabama’s squad added two players Monday with one replacement reporting Tuesday.
Kickoff is set for noon Saturday with Raycom Media televising the game live over its Raycom affiliate stations in both states as well as in Memphis and Columbus (GA). The AHSAA Radio Network will also broadcast the game live over its radio network Saturday.
Spain Park 6-foot-2, 275-pound defensive end Douglas Henze replaced LaBryan Ray of James Clemens. Henze reported Monday. Jaylond Adams of Minor, who was added last week, dropped off the team due Monday and was replaced by Opelika’s Craig Lawrence. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Florence played fullback for the Class 6A state runner-up Bulldogs but will be likely used some at tight end as well.
St. Paul’s Episcopal defensive lineman Ryan Johnson is also expected to play some tight and for the Alabama squad this week.
UMS-Wright Coach Terry Curtis is serving as the Alabama head coach. Quarterbacking the squad will Daulton Hyatt of Etowah and Bubba Thompson of McGill-Toolen Catholic with Blount’s multi-talented Kadarius Toney listed on the team as “athlete.” Toney, a Florida commit, combined for almost 4,000 total yards as the Leopards’ quarterback in 2016. Hyatt, heading to Arkansas, finished the 2016 121-of-184 passing for 2,240 yards and 25 touchdowns with only five interceptions. Thompson led McGill-Toolen (13-1) to the 7A state finals – completing 26-of-39 passes for 280 yards in the 17-7 loss to Hoover. He finished 2016 with 211-of-387 passes completed for 2,984 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Head coach for Mississippi is Todd Mangum of Wayne County.
Mississippi snapped a seven-game Alabama winning streak in the series last year with a 28-21 win at Hattiesburg (MS). Alabama holds a 21-8 edged in the series, however, dating back to 1988. The game was played in Mobile from 1988-2011 before moving to Cramton Bowl from 2011-15. The game was played at Southern Miss last year – the first time the game has been hosted in that state. Honorary captains include Kenny King for Alabama and Marcus DuPree for Mississippi.
MISSISSIPPI SUPER RECRUIT: Among the top players on the Mississippi squad is 6-foot, 215-pound Clinton quarterback Cam Akers, who did not report with the team Monday but was expected to join the squad Monday night. He led Clinton to the MHSAA Class 6A state championship last weekend – finishing the season 173-of-280 passing for 3,128 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Clinton beat Pearl 49-35 to finish the season 14-1. Also on the Mississippi squad from Clinton are running back Darius Maberry, a Southern Miss commitment, and defensive back Kam White, who has Iowa State at the top of his list.
West Point’s Everitt Cunningham, a 6-3, 240-pound defensive end, helped his team beat Laurel 29-8 to win the MHSAA Class 5A state crown.
TEAMS VISIT HYUNDAI PLANT: Both squads visited the Montgomery Hyundai automotive plant Monday night before settling in. The teams will conduct two practices Tuesday with the morning practice from 9 to 11 a.m., and the afternoon practice from 2 to 4 p.m.
Encore Rehabilitation, Inc. 