FULTONDALE —
After a first-ever trip to the AHSAA quarterfinal round of the post-season, and with an all-state quarterback/safety returning for one more year before going to the University of Alabama, much was expected of the 2012 edition of the Fultondale Wildcats.
Just how much?
We just found out Tuesday night.
The Alabama Sports Writers Association released its pre-season high school football poll, and the Wildcats are ranked second in Class 2A, just behind defending state champion Elba.
It is by far the highest that Fultondale has ever been ranked in football, and the highest that any north Jefferson team has been ranked since the turn of the century, if ever. (Old records are incomplete, so there’s no easy way to see if any local team was ever ranked No. 1.)
The Wildcats got four first-place votes, with Elba receiving 22 out of the 31 ballots. Third-place Tanner had one first-place vote, and No. 4 Sweet Water — a longtime Class 1A power moving up in class this year — got two, as did No. 6 Washington County.
The Wildcats were the only local team to get any votes in the poll. But just to our east, two nearby teams are highly regarded in Class 5A: Pinson Valley, ranked third with three first-place votes; and No. 10 Center Point.
Local Sports
Fultondale ranked second in opening 2A poll
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State softball tournament: Hayden 3, Saraland 2 (10 innings)
Brooke Meadows hit a lead-off double, then scored the winning run when Meleah Hargett bunted her way on base as Hayden defeated Saraland 3-2 in 10 innings in the quarterfinal round of the AHSAA Class 5A state softball tournament.
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State softball tournament: Hayden 12, Shelby County 0 (6 innings)
Hayden has advanced to the winner's bracket second round of the AHSAA Class 5A state softball tournament, thanks to a 12-0 beatdown of Shelby County that ended after six innings.
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State softball tournament: Corner eliminated by Oak Grove
After breezing through their regional qualifying tournament without a loss, then dispensing with a top-10 opponent in the first round of the state tournament, Corner’s softball team showed all the appearances of a juggernaut headed for a big finish to the season.
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Regional softball qualifiers: Corner, Hayden advance to state tournament
Corner took the express lane, while Hayden took the back roads with lots of twists and turns.
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Baseball playoff semifinals: Hartselle 7-10, Pinson Valley 2-0
Pinson Valley’s pitching had no answer for Hartselle’s bats.
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Boys soccer semifinals: St. Paul's Episcopal 2,Pinson Valley 1 (shootout)
Pinson Valley’s boys soccer team has seen this show before, and it wasn’t any better the second time.
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Softball regionals: Tuscaloosa in rain delay
The opening of the AHSAA North Central Regional Softball Tournament will not get started on time, thanks to rain in the Tuscaloosa area.
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Gardendale athletes sign scholarships at annual ceremony
Eleven graduating senior athletes at Gardendale High School were honored Thursday night in the school's annual scholarship signing ceremony.
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Softball: Regional tournament schedules for local teams
Here are the schedules for the first two rounds of play by local teams in Friday’s AHSAA regional softball tournaments.
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Baseball playoff quarterfinals: Pinson Valley 4, Southside-Gadsden 3
Pinson Valley pitcher Bailey Chesser didn’t sleep much Friday night, in anticipation of his call to the mound for the deciding game of the Indians’ Class 5A quarterfinal playoff series against Southside-Gadsden.
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