Curry led Cherokee County to a perfect 15-0 season and the Class 4A state title with a 31-27 victory over Jackson in 2009.
Fred Yancey, Briarwood Christian’s long-time football coach, will lead the Alabama all-stars at Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Yancey has compiled a 211-77-1 career record for the Lions with state championships won in Class 5A in 2003 and in Class 3A in 1999 and 1998. Briarwood finished 8-4 last season, falling to Carver-Montgomery in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs.
The coaching selections were made by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association in conjunction with the Alabama High School Athletic Association.
Alabama holds a 16-7 edge in the series after winning the 2009 game 21-13.
Also named as assistants to the Alabama all-star coaching staff are Alvin Briggs of Florence, Chris Fancher of Gardendale, Tom Causey of Demopolis, David Lowery of Brantley and Al Pogue of Carver-Montgomery.
Geoff Walters of Briarwood Christian will serve as the scout coach.
The players for the 37-member squad that will face Mississippi’s best seniors will be selected next fall.
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Speaking of football, Greenville and Opelika high schools will kick off the 2010 Champions Challenge Football Classic at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl in August.
The Tigers and Bulldogs, coached by former Lee-Montgomery brother standouts Ben and Brian Blackmon, respectively, will play at 7 p.m. Friday night, Aug. 20. A doubleheader will follow Saturday, Aug. 21, with Trinity of Montgomery meeting 2009 Class 4A runner-up Jackson at 5 p.m., and Spain Park taking on Auburn in the final contest at 7:30 p.m.
The fifth annual Champions Challenge is a preseason tripleheader sponsored by the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association and the Alabama High School Athletic Association. The games will not count on the teams’ records. The regular season will begin the next week, Aug. 26-28.
Greenville posted an 11-1 record last season in Ben Blackmon’s second year as head coach – including a perfect 10-0 regular season. Brian Blackmon’s Opelika squad finished 6-3 and was tied for third in the region but lost a playoff berth to Dothan and Enterprise under the tiebreaker system.
Trinity, coached by Randy Ragsdale, also had a perfect regular season in Class 3A, going 9-0. The Wildcats went three rounds in the playoffs before falling to Luverne in the quarterfinals to finish 11-1. Jackson, coached by Jeff Kelly, reached the Class 4A state finals before falling to Cherokee County to finish up at 13-2.
Spain Park (10-3), coached by David Shores, reached the Class 6A quarterfinals last season. Auburn, coached by Tim Carter, posted its second straight 10-0 regular season and finished 13-1 with a narrow 13-9 loss to Prattville in the Class 6A playoff semifinals.
Hoover, Prattville and T.R. Miller posted wins in the 2009 Champions Challenge, the first tripleheader in the Classic’s history.
Hoover, which beat Prattville in the Class 6A state finals 15 weeks later, downed Oxford 32-27. Prattville beat Carver-Montgomery 37-0 and T.R. Miller defeated Leeds 27-7.
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The Class 2A, Area 12 basketball coaches have selected their All-Area teams.
Leading the boys’ squad is Sand Rock junior guard Brannon Burt, who was selected as the team’s MVP. Burt averaged 16 points, 3.7 assists and 2.9 rebounds in leading the Wildcats (28-4) to their second straight Class 2A state tournament appearance.
Also selected from Sand Rock were Justin Kyser, Riley Norris and Drew Norris.
Geraldine is represented by Matthew Cole, Jake Richey and Tyler Malone. Westbrook Christian is represented by Jake King, Chase Saunders and Stephon Daniels.
Michael Mashburn and Coty Holloway were selected from West End.
Three Sand Rock players were selected for the All-Area 12 girls team. The three Lady Wildcats selected were Gena Farmer, Paige Ashley and Carrie Robertson.
Geraldine had the most selections on the team, led by MVP Kristen White. Caitlyn Roe, Alanna Smith and Raney Body also represent Geraldine.
Deja Woods, Mary Katherine Catanzaro and Stephanie Barnard were selected from Westbrook Christian. Torie Steele and Dixie Smith represent West End.
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Seven high school senior basketball standouts who were named MVPs in the AHSAA Final 48 State Basketball Tournament headline the Alabama All-Star squads selected to face Mississippi in the 20th annual Alabama-Mississippi Classic March 19. The games will be held at the Pelham Civic Complex.
The girls game will tip off at 5 p.m., and the boys game will follow at 7 p.m.
Alabama holds a 10-9 edge in the boys series. The Alabama girls hold an 11-8 edge, including three wins in a row entering this year’s contest.
Among the Alabama boys selected was Class 1A MVP Damien Carr from Edward Bell, Class 3A state tournament MVP Neiko Hunter of Greene County, Class 4A MVP Ralph Floyd of Ramsay, and Class 5A MVP Josh Langford of Lee-Huntsville.
Also named to the boys squad is University of Virginia early signee K.T. Harrell of Brewbaker Tech of Montgomery.
Rounding out the Alabama boys roster is R.C. Hatch’s Brandon Battle, Greene County’s QuaShawn Carpenter, Pinson Valley’s Coty Clarke, Anniston’s Quintarius Hutchinson, Sparkman’s Kendal Jennings, Russellville’s Terence Smith, and Muscle Shoals’ Ralston Turner.
Coaches for the Alabama squad are Ramsay’s Kelly Cheatham and Greene County’s Rodney Wesley.
Cheatham’s Rams went 24-8 and beat Brewbaker Tech in the finals to claim the Class 4A championship last weekend in Birmingham. Wesley led Greene County’s Tigers to a 23-7 record and the Class 3A state championship with a win over Madison Academy in the finals.
Coaching the Alabama girls team will be Reggie Ware of Midfield and Herbert Blackmon of J.F. Shields. Ware’s Lady Patriots (18-13) won the Class 4A title for the fourth consecutive year. Blackmon’s Lady Panthers won the Class 1A crown while finishing the season at 29-0 as the AHSAA’s only undefeated team in 2009-10.
Three girls named to the Alabama all-star squad earned MVP awards at the Final 48 tournament – guards KaTia May of Sumter County (3A), Jazmine Saxton of Fairfield (5A) and Meghan Dunn of Hoover (6A). They trio also led their respective teams to state championships.
Also named to the squad was Courtney Strain of Woodland, an Auburn signee who finished her prep career with 5,283 points as the AHSAA’s all-time scoring leader.
Rounding out the girls roster is Brooks’ Miranda Liles, LeFlore’s Shanece McKinney, Bob Jones’ Mekena Randle, Russellville’s Erin Reynolds, Ramsay’s Destiny Samuels, Bessemer City’s Tiffany Stephens, Hoover’s Tyrese Tanner and Midfield’s Brittany Young.
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In last week’s edition of The Herald, there was an accidental omission from the Gaylesville youth basketball teams, which competed in the Chattooga County, Ga., recreational league.
In the 11-12 year old girls league, Heather Hamilton, Hannah Inman, Breanna Boman, Desirea Smith, Alexis Moore, Angie Calvert, Savannah Bryson and Jennifer Hanner competed for Gaylesville.
The Gaylesville teams competed from January through mid-February against teams from Menlo, Lyerly, Summerville and Trion.
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