HATTIESBURG (MS) – Alabama’s coaching staff was pleased after the Alabama All-Star football team went through two more spirited practices Thursday. Coach Steve Smith, Piedmont’s head football coach and the all-star head coach this week, said he couldn’t me more pleased with the 40-man team.
“Their attitude has just been outstanding all week,” Smith said. “We have seen them come together as a team in a very short time.”
The 31^st Alabama-Mississippi All-Star football classic is being played at Carlisle Faulkner Field/D.D. Roberts Stadium on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi for the second time in the 30-year history of the game.  The Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game series, a partnership between the AHSAA and AHSADCA and the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC), played at Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium from 1988 to 2010. The game moved to Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl in 2011 and has been there ever since – except for the 2015 game played at Hattiesburg for the first time.
Mississippi won the 2015 game 28-21 and is 1-0 at home. Last year’s game, a 25-14 win by Alabama, was played at Cramton Bowl and improved Alabama’s record to 22-8 in the series.
Smith said defensive coordinator Paul Benefield of Fyffe and the other defensive coaches Jeremy Perkins of Austin, Brent Hubbert of Maplesville and Rueben Nelson of Ramsay have tried to keep things simple. “Defensively, we are very limited at what we can do, but these kids were chosen because of their ability and knowledge of the game. They have picked up what we’re trying to do real quickly.”
Offensively, he said offensive coordinator David Faulkner of Enterprise, Larry Strain of Handley and Rob Carter of Beauregard have done a good job of getting everyone on the same page.
“Our quarterbacks James Foster of Sidney Lanier and Jack West of Saraland have done a good job as taking a leadership role,” Smith said. “They have gotten the respect of the rest of the kids. That’s important.”
Smith, a former high school and college quarterback himself, said the receiving corps on Alabama’s side can make a quarterback look real good. These kids are all big, strong and outstanding. They made me look like a good quarterback when I was throwing to them in our seven-on-seven drill. Shedrick Jackson of Hoover is Bo Jackson’s nephew and he is 6-2, 200 pounds. He’s the smallest guy on the receivers group. Our running backs, Asa Martin of Austin, Kevosiey Smoke of Wetumpka and Carlos Davis of Muscle Shoals, are all very talented and have been running hard.”
He said Kevontae Ruggs, the Robert E. Lee strong safety, has continued to do things full speed all week.  Our defensive line and linebackers have really had a good week.” He noted that linebacker Jacquez Jones of Bob Jones has had an exceptional week along with defensive lineman Marese McBride.
    The Alabama-Mississippi Classic has always been a game that showcased some of the best players from both states with many heading to the NFL eventually. “When I coached in this game the first time it was obvious to everyone that D.J. Fluker (Foley) and Dre’ Kirkpatrick (Gadsden City) were heading to the NFL some day,” Smith said. “Right now, I would have to say that the kid who stands out like that here is our kicker Evan McPherson. This kid is the best I have ever seen.”
McPherson, a senior from Fort Payne, is rated the top kicking prospect in the nation according to most recruiting services. He booted a 60-yard field goal and kicked an 84-yard punt in the same game for the Wildcats this season.
TELEVISION: The 31^st annual Alabama-Mississippi Football All-Star Classic will be televised live over Raycom’s network of stations in Alabama and Mississippi. Kickoff is set for noon. Check www.ahsaa.com for more complete details.
RADIO: The AHSAA Radio Network will live-stream the audio over the internet and will also carry the game live over its network of radio stations across the state.

MONTGOMERY — The 31^st Alabama-Mississippi All-Star football game, which kicks off at noon Saturday at D.D. Roberts Stadium on the University of Southern Mississippi at Hattiesburg, will be televised live in both states by Raycom Media.
According to Rich Michaelson of Raycom’s Broadview Media, the game can be seen on the main channel of four of the six affiliates carrying the contest in Alabama and on three of the six stations carrying the game in Mississippi/Tennessee. It will be on the Bounce Channel of four of the other Raycom stations. The game will be on the MyNetwork D.2 channel at WTOK TV in Meridian (MS).
MOBILE: Mobile area viewers will find the game on WFNA TV 55 at the following channels: Comcast Cable (channel 235); Cox Cable (channel 1015); U-Verse (channel 1012); Mediacom – Mobile County (channel 804); Mediacom – Baldwin County (channel 817); Dish Network (channel 55); Direct TV (channel 55).
Handling the play-by-play will be Mississippi announcer Russ Robinson and Gary Harris of WVUA TV 23 in Tuscaloosa will be the color commentator. Rachel Richlinski will be the sideline reporter.
Luke Robinson and Corey LaBounty will be in the radio booth for the AHSAA Radio Network’s live broadcast Saturday as well.
ALABAMA-MISSISSIPPI ALL-STAR GAME TV/RADIO INFORMATION
TV INFO:  Raycom Media will televise the game beginning at 12 noon Saturday over its statewide network of affiliates either on the station’s main channel (available on cable or satellite) or the D.2 Bounce Channel (available on cable only or antenna TV only). In Mobile, the game will be available on WFNA TV (Bounce Channel).
Raycom will also live-stream the game with links at each affiliate and on You Tube. To find the cable channel in your area, go to www.pathtotheplayoffs.com and click on Where to Watch or go to www.ahsaa.com and click on the nearest location. Raycom affiliates and partner stations include:
ALABAMA
Birmingham    WBRC TV Fox 6                    (Main Channel)
Dothan            WDFX TV Fox 34                  (Main Channel)
Huntsville        WAFF TV NBC 48                (Main Channel)
Mobile             WFNA TV 55 D.3                  (Bounce Channel)
Montgomery   WSFA TV NBC 12                (Main channel)
GEORGIA
Columbus        WTVM TV ABC 9                 (Bounce Channel)
MISSISSIPPI
Biloxi              WLOX TV ABC/CBS 13       (Bounce Channel)
Hattiesburg     WDAM TV NBC       7          (Main Channel)
Jackson            WLBT TV NBC 3                  (Main Channel)
Meridian          WTOK TV ABC 11                (MyNetwork)
Tupelo             WTVA TV NBC 9                  (Main Channel)
TENNESSEE
Memphis         WMC TV NBC 5                    (Bounce Channel)
RADIO INFO: The Alabama Radio Network will carry the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game over its network. Luke Robinson and Corey LaBounty will handle the announcing and Michael Forehand is the producer. The broadcast can be accessed at www.ahsaa.com or at the following link: http://mixlr.com/ahsaaradio/

HATTIESBURG (MS) – Alabama’s All-Star football team made great strides from the morning and afternoon practices, said Alabama All-Star head coach Steve Smith of Piedmont Tuesday.
“The players have had a great attitude, have not just been on time but are getting where they need to be early,” Smith said. “We struggled some with our passing game in the morning workout (at Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg) but we began to get our timing down a whole lot better in the afternoon practice. That was not unexpected, though. The quarterbacks and receivers had not worked together before and they will continue to improve as the week goes on.”
The players and coaches reported Monday with both 40-man squads comprised of current seniors conducting two workouts Tuesday. That same schedule will be in place for Wednesday as the teams prepare for Saturday’s 31^st Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game set for a noon kickoff at Carlisle Faulkner Field/D.D. Roberts Stadium on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi.
The Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Game series, a partnership between the AHSAA and AHSADCA and the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC), is making its second appearance in Mississippi after playing the first 28 games in Alabama beginning in 1988. The game was held at Mobile’s Ladd-Peebles Stadium from 1988-2010 and moved to Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl in 2011. The MAC hosted the 2015 game at Hattiesburg with Mississippi snapping a seven-game Alabama win streak with a 28-21 win. Last year’s game, a 25-14 win by Alabama, was played at Cramton Bowl and improved Alabama’s record to 22-8 in the series.
Smith said he has been impressed with all the Alabama all-stars. One player, Robert E. Lee’s 6-foot-4, 205-pound strong safety Kevontae Ruggs, caught all the coaches’ attention. “He is a big, strong kid who appears to only know one speed,” said Smith. Ruggs’ older brother Henry played in last year’s game – returning the opening kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown. The return was the longest in the Classic’s history. Henry is now a freshman at the University of Alabama.
Smith also mentioned running back Asa Martin of Austin, H-back Clay Stearns of Mountain Brook, receivers CarDamien Daniels of Homewood, Shedrick Jackson of Hoover and Nathaniel Watson of Maplesville, Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa linebacker Jacquez Jones, and Park Crossing offensive lineman Tank Jenkins.  He also had high praise for place-kicker and punter Evan McPherson of Fort Payne.
“I realized that his 60-yard field goal this past season was the longest in AHSAA history from a snap and hold,” Smith said. “But what I didn’t know was that he kicked it without a tee – right off the ground even though kicking off a tee is allowed in high school. He can really boom his kicks.”
Smith led Piedmont to two straight Class 3A football championships in 2015 and 2016 but was beaten in the semifinals this season when Region 5 rival Randolph County scored the winning touchdown with 1.6 seconds remaining to advance to the Super 7 finals at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa.
“This all-star game is good therapy for me,” he said. “I don’t know if I could have jumped back into it the following Monday after that loss. It was tough for my players and for me, but I was proud of our kids and proud of Randolph County. They represented our region well. When you coach this game long enough, you find yourself on both sides of a game like that. It has been a great learning experience for me and my players.
“What we want these kids to understand in this game is that while we want to win, we need to do all we can to be prepared and then give our very best effort. If we do that, then we will be satisfied. They are doing all we ask of them.”

That’s a wrap on the 2017 #Super7 State Championships at Bryant–Denny Stadium! Congratulations to all the teams who participated, and thanks to the fans who came to cheer them on.
Check out the 2017 highlights in this video!
7A: McGILL-TOOLEN CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL, Hoover High School – Alabama
6A: Wetumpka High, Pinson Valley High School
5A: Briarwood Christian School, St. Paul’s Episcopal School
4A: Fayette County High School, UMS-Wright Athletics
3A: Hillcrest-Evergreen, Randolph County High School
2A: Lanett, Leroy High School
1A: Sweet Water, Pickens County

MONTGOMERY – All seven AHSAA Super 7 state championship football games will be available to viewers across the state at a Raycom affiliate or over the affiliate’s Bounce Channel as well as over the internet at the NFHS Network and You Tube.
Michael White of the NFHS Network announced Wednesday that Raycom and the NFHS Network have reached an agreement to live-stream the championships on the internet over the NFHS Network subscriber-based national network. The Unified Game, a partnership of the AHSAA and Special Olympics Alabama, kicks off the week today at 3:30 p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium with Baldwin County facing Vestavia Hills. The game is being produced by the Hillcrest High School’s NFHS Network School Broadcast Program over the NFHS Network. The NFHS Network will pick up feeds from the Raycom broadcast for the seven championship games – beginning tonight with the Class 7A finals between defending champion Hoover (10-3) and McGill-Toolen Catholic (13-0). The link for the Unified game is:
http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/hillcresttuscaloosa-high-school-tuscaloosa-al/0125064dce

The link for all other championship games is:

http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/tournament/alabama-fall-championships/football-al

There is no Raycom station is located in Mobile, but viewers from that area will have several ways to view the championships. According to Raycom Producer Rich Michaelson of Broadview Media, Mobile viewers can get the Raycom broadcast over WKRG TV,  which carrying all games over its D-3 channel (My TV) –  including McGill-Toolen Catholic vs. Hoover tonight, St. Paul’s Episcopal vs. Briarwood Christian in the 5A finals on Thursday night, and UMS-Wright vs. Fayette County in the 4A finals Friday.
WKRG’s My TV channel can be found on the following Mobile area cable networks:
Comcast – Channel 177
Cox – Channel 699
Mediacom – Channel 81

Cable channels showing the Super 7 Championships can be accessed for any community in the state by going to: http://www.pathtotheplayoffs.com/ and clicking on “Where to Watch.”

Live video-streaming of all seven championship games can also be accessed on You Tube. The links can be found at http://www.pathtotheplayoffs.com/

     MONTGOMERY – All seven AHSAA Super 7 state championship football games will be available to viewers across the state at a Raycom affiliate or over the affiliate’s Bounce Channel and over the internet on You Tube by live video-stream. There is no Raycom station is located in Mobile, but viewers from that area will have several ways to view the championships.
According to Raycom Producer Rich Michaelson of Broadview Media, WKRG TV, over its D-3 channel (My TV), is carrying all games live – including McGill-Toolen Catholic vs. Hoover in the 7A state finals Wednesday night; St. Paul’s Episcopal vs. Briarwood Christian in the 5A finals on Thursday night; and UMS-Wright vs. Fayette County in the 4A finals Friday.
WKRG’s My TV channel can be found on the following Mobile area cable networks:
Comcast – Channel 177
Cox – Channel 699
Mediacom – Channel 81

Cable channels showing the Super 7 Championships can be accessed for any community in the state by going to: http://www.pathtotheplayoffs.com/ and clicking on “Where to Watch.”

Live video-streaming of all seven championship games can be accessed at the following You Tube links:

• McGill-Toolen v. Hoover 7A
  Direct Link: https://youtu.be/_9vMLkhGHtY
• Hillcrest-Evergreen vs. Randolph Co 3A
  Direct Link: https://youtu.be/8RJGu0b_UTU
• Sweet Water vs. Pickens County 1A
  Direct Link: https://youtu.be/zFt_J6Bny0w
• Briarwood Christian vs. St. Paul’s Ep 5A
  Direct Link: https://youtu.be/vWqD_ARIe2Q
• Fayette County vs. UMS-Wright 4A
  Direct Link: https://youtu.be/rLHYuWbdRKA
• Lanett vs. Leroy 2A
  Direct Link: https://youtu.be/cscyiyPmfoY
• Wetumpka vs. Pinson Valley 6A
  Direct Link: https://youtu.be/9RSiT5QWMs0

Baldwin County vs. Vestavia Hills (Unifed Game)
Direct Link: http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/hillcresttuscaloosa-high-school-tuscaloosa-al/0125064dce

MONTGOMERY – Raycom Media is pleased to announce the TV schedule for the 2017 AHSAA Super 7 Football games to be televised live and web-streamed from Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa this week. Raycom announced today the slate of games airing December 6-8 from Bryant-Denny stadium in Tuscaloosa.  As an AHSAA TV Partner the live broadcast of the Super 7 championships game will are available on 5 Raycom affiliates in-state WAFF, WBRC, WSFA, WTVM, WDFX and WKRG Dot 3 in Mobile many on main channels in their markets. The games will be either on Raycom’s Bounce channel or main channel. Check the chart below for more details. The AHSAA/Special Olympics Alabama Unified Game, which is being produced by Brent Jones and the Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa High School’s NFHS Network School Broadcast Program,  will also be free to all viewers over the NFHS Network. Go to http://www.nfhsnetwork.com/explore/upcoming/school/79b4a0a4a9 for more information. The link for the game should be uploaded by the end of the day Tuesday.

McGill-Toolen v. Hoover 7A

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/_9vMLkhGHtY

Hillcrest-Evergreen vs. Randolph Co 3A

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/8RJGu0b_UTU

Sweet Water vs. Pickens County 1A

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/zFt_J6Bny0w

Briarwood Christian vs. St. Paul’s Ep 5A

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/vWqD_ARIe2Q

Fayette County vs. UMS-Wright 4A

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/rLHYuWbdRKA

Lanett vs. Leroy 2A

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/cscyiyPmfoY

Wetumpka vs. Pinson Valley 6A

Direct Link: https://youtu.be/9RSiT5QWMs0

Viewers can go to www.pathtotheplayoffs.com for more information and channel schedule for the games airing in your area.

Tickets can be purchased on line. For ticket information, go to: https://gofan.co/app/school/AHSAA/Super7