HUNTSVILLE – Bob Jones High School continued its Esports domination Monday winning its 10^th consecutive state championship in the Rocket League competition since the computer-sports state championships were introduced in the AHSAA in 2019. The Championships were held at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.
   The AHSAA has hosted championships in E-sports in the fall and spring semesters each year since 2019 – except for the spring of 2020 when the Covid epidemic canceled all AHSAA . The Rocket League game has been a staple of the competition from the very beginning. The Patriots of Coach Aubree White have won 10 of the 11 Rocket League titles overall. Grissom won  the first title in the spring of 2019.
     Bob Jones also beat newcomer St. Paul’s Episcopal in the Madden Football finals 2-0 in the best 2-of-3 series. With that victory, White’s team has won five Madden state titles as well – and 15 state championships overall – an AHSAA Esports record.
    By contrast, Hoover High School, Eufaula High School and Hazel Green High School each posted their first Esports state championships Monday in the other competition.
    Bob Jones’ team of Jonah Brooks, Max Dunkerley, and Luke Scherer defeated Calera High School’s team 4-1, 4-0, 3-1, and 3-2 for a 4-0 victory in the best-of-7 series. The Eagles’ team was comprised of Brayden Myers, Christian Ritchey, and Blake Williamson. Calera was coached by Colin Miller and Gentry Slay.
    The Patriots won the Madden football title with the Patriots’ Corey Robinson selecting the Buffalo Bills and St. Paul’s Noah Abrams choosing the Philadelphia Eagles. Robinson’s team swept the best 2-of-3 series winning 42-7 in game one and kicking a late  field goal to win game two and state championship 20-17. St. Paul’s coach was Kelli Etheredge.
    In the other state finals:
     SUPER SMASH BROTHERS: Hoover High School’s team of Chase Gaston, Rehan Jiwani, and Parker Sims beat Davidson High School’s team consisting of Hayden Epler, Logan Lee, and Isaiah McNulty, 3-2 in the best-of-5 series. The Bucs, coached by Candace Brown, won the first set 2-1 and second set 2-0. The Warriors, coached Aimee Tucker, battled back to tie the match winning sets three and four, 2-1 and 2-0. Hoover battled back in the fifth set to win 2-1 to take the title.
MARIO CART: Auburn High School defeated the Alabama School of Cyber Technology winning 2 circuits to 1. The format included six races per circuit with the winning needing two of three circuits to win.
     The Tigers’ team, comprised of Nathaniel Martin, Race Harden, Ethan Campbell, and Sean McDonough and coached by Jacque Middleton, won circuit 1 with a 127-107 total, and the third circuit, 120-114. ASCTE won the second circuit 125-109. Coach Matt Bohon’s team consisted of Preston Pritchard, Nicholas Sifuentes, Sophie Thompson, and Jacob Shumer. Scores were based on individual player finishes.
NBA K2 BASKETBALL: Eufaula’s Jonquavis Rumph chose the Los Angeles Lakers,  and Wenonah’s Keshaun Purdie selected the Boston Celtics for all three games.  Eufaula, coached by Andrea Tew, won its first Esports state championship dropping game one 49-44, winning game two 43-39 and winning game  three, 20-15. Technical difficulties forced game three to be re-started three times.
     On the first interruption, Eufaula was up by seven points, and on the second try, Wenonah, coached by Jerry Davenport, was leading by seven. It was then decided for the players to play a half to decide the title and Eufaula emerged with the win.
SPLATOON: Hazel Green High School, coached by William Bailey, won the Splatoon title 3-0 over Davidson High School for the school’s first AHSAA Esports championship. The Trojans’ squad included Audrey Benson, Isebella Summers, Cayden Ned, and Kaeson Fudge.
    The Warriors, coached by Aimee Tucker, included Ethan Oliver, Talani Malone Colbert, Olivia Stewart, and Airey Johnson. The Esports championships are held twice each school year with the 2025 Spring Championships set for next year.
    The complete year-by-year Esports state meet results since 2019 are listed below.
 

AHSAA Esports State Champions (2019-2024)
Fall 2024
Rocket League – Bob Jones High School
Super Smash Brothers – Hoover High School
Mario Kart – Auburn High School
NBA 2K – Eufaula High School
Spatoon – Hazel Green High School
Madden Football –Bob Jones High School

Spring 2024
Mario Kart - James Clemens High School
Splatoon 3 - McGill-Toolen Catholic High School
Super Smash Bros. - Davidson High School
Madden Football - Bob Jones High School
Rocket League - Bob Jones High School

Fall 2023
Mario Kart - James Clemens High School
Splatoon 3 - James Clemens High School
Super Smash Bros. - LAMP High School
Madden Football - Davidson High School
Rocket League - Bob Jones High School

 Spring 2023
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Davidson High School
Madden Football - Davidson High School
Rocket League - Bob Jones High School
League of Legends - LAMP High School

Fall 2022
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - LAMP High School
Madden Football - Bob Jones High School
Rocket League - Bob Jones High School
League of Legends - LAMP High School

Spring 2022
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Spain Park High School
Rocket League – Bob Jones High School
Madden Football – Bob Jones High School, Jabari Salaam
League of Legends – LAMP High School

Fall 2021
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – Thompson High School
Madden - Bob Jones High School
League of Legends – James Clemens High School
Rocket League – Bob Jones High School

Spring 2021
League of Legends – Thompson High School
Rocket League – Bob Jones High School
Smash Brothers – Thompson High School
Fall 2020
League of Legends – Thompson High School
Rocket League – Bob Jones High School

Spring 2020
No competition

Fall 2019
League of Legends – Thompson High School
Rocket League – Bob Jones High School

Spring 2019
League of Legends – Spain Park High School
Rocket League – Virgil Grissom High School

97.7 ESPN The Zone the top rated sports radio station in the rocket city has teamed up with Talent Heating and Air to help spread some holiday cheer and they invite you to join in on the fun.

Mark your calendars for Wednesday December 16th as it will be a night to relax, enjoy some good food thanks to Bubby's Diner, and test your mini-golf skills. Flow Indoor Trampoline Park will play host to the 97.7 ESPN The Zone Toy Drive presented by Talent Heating and Air, TOC Sports, and North Alabama Mortgage. 

Want to enjoy the fun? Just bring a toy or a cash donation and you can enjoy all the fun Flow Indoor Trampoline has to offer. All donations will go to Toys for Tots a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve. 

Again, circle Wednesday December 16th, from 5pm-8pm on your calendar as we want to see you and your families for some holiday fun. 

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The No. 11/11/11 Alabama Crimson Tide will face off against the Michigan Wolverines in the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, officials have announced. The contest will kick off on Tuesday, Dec. 31, at 11 a.m. CT (noon ET) and will be televised on ESPN.

It marks the second consecutive year and third time since 2019 that the Crimson Tide and Wolverines will meet in a bowl matchup. The last time the two teams squared off came in last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal at the Rose Bowl, with Michigan winning in overtime, 27-20.

About The Matchup

• The New Year’s Eve Day contest will be Crimson Tide’s second appearance in the ReliaQuest Bowl, formerly known as the Hall of Fame and Outback Bowl. UA’s last showing at the bowl came in 1997 when it defeated Michigan, 17-14.
• The Tide and Wolverines have split the six games played against each other in the all-time series, with each team winning three times
• Alabama dropped a 27-20 overtime contest to Michigan in last year’s CFP semifinal which was played at the Rose Bowl. 
• The two teams also met in the 2019 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, with the Tide coming out victorious over the Wolverines, 35-16
• Five of the six games played between the storied rivals have come in postseason bowl games, with four of those contests decided by a touchdown or less

Ticket Information

• Tickets to the Alabama-Michigan contest are available through the ReliaQuest Bowl website. 
• Current Tide Pride, faculty/staff and former letterwinner season ticketholders may request tickets through their online account
• Current Tide Pride, faculty/staff and former letterwinner season ticketholders may request tickets until 5 p.m. CT on Thursday, December 12. Tide Pride requests are not guaranteed and will be fulfilled and allocated based on Tide Totals priority points.  
• If you have any questions, please contact the Alabama Athletics TIDE PRIDE/Ticket Office at (205) 348-2262 or by email at ticketoffice@ia.ua.edu.

We are less than 2 weeks out from Rocket City Race Weekend and are in need of lots of volunteers to put this race on. We are asking the Community to come help make this a great race weekend. There are a total of 6 races happening. Saturday, December 10th we have the Rocket City 10k, Mural 5k, & Kids 1 mile. Sunday, December 11th is the Marathon (w/ Relay), Front Half 1/2 Marathon, & Back Half 1/2 Marathon.

Volunteers are needed from this Saturday, December 7th thru Sunday, December 15th.  If you have already volunteered, Thank You!  If you are running, there are still lots of pre-race day items that need to be filled. 

VOLUNTEER areas still needing to be filled:
December 7th & 8th
Door Hangers to let community know of new course 

Thursday, December 12th
Uhaul Driver
Loading of Truck with RCM Items
Finish Line Structure Set-up 

Friday, December 13th
Shirt Set-up 
Packet Pick-up for ALL Races
RCM Store 
Photo Booth

Saturday, December 14th
Aid Station Set-up for 10k/5k
HTC Arch Setup
Course Sentries
Aid Station Workers
Food 
Packet Pick-up for Marathon/Half
Post race drive course
Photo Booth
RCM Store

Sunday, December 15th
Aid Station Set-up
Cone/Flag/Sign Setup for Back Half
Course Sentries
Finish Line Tear Down (after race)
Finish Line Handler
Drop Bag Race Morning 
Drop Bag Pick-up after Race
Post Race Food
Bus Helpers
RCM Store Sales
Drive Course after race
Clean Up
Awards Assistant
Porta potty paper openers
Post Race unloading race items

Please help share with with family, friends, churches, and other organizations so we can make this a great race.

Please sign up here  to volunteer for the Rocket City Race Weekend
https://signup.com/go/XdcOWRd

Again, without the help of volunteers we wouldn't have a great race for locals and those that come from out of town.

FLORENCE, Ala. (December 2, 2024) – The University of North Alabama and the United Athletic Conference made a dual announcement of the 2025 football schedule Monday afternoon, as the Lions are slated to play 12 games next season.

The 2025 season begins at FBS opponent Western Kentucky on Saturday, August 30.

“We are excited to play one of the toughest schedules in FCS football,” said UNA head coach Brent Dearmon, who just completed his second season at the helm. “In order to develop into the playoff contender we want to be, we have to play the best. Five teams on the 2025 schedule made the FCS playoffs this past season.”

Times and special events will be announced at a later date.

UNA is set to play seven road games and five home games at Braly Stadium. The 2025 season will be the final go-around for UNA at Braly Stadium, which has been home to the Lions since the restart of the program in 1949. UNA will transition to Bobby Wallace Field at Bank Independent Stadium on campus in 2026.

The 2025 schedule includes five FCS playoff teams from this season, as well as a WKU team who will compete for the Conference USA Championship this Saturday. Five of those six games will be on the road.

Of those playoff teams, three of the five advanced to the next round with Tarleton State, Illinois State and Abilene Christian all winning first round games. The other two are Eastern Kentucky, who was inches away from upsetting Villanova in the first round with a foot out of bounds on the final play to fall 22-17, and SEMO, who fell 35-27 in a head-to-head with Illinois State.

Additionally, the Lions will visit six states, including Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Tennessee and Utah. Texas will get two visits from the Purple and Gold next season.

Following week one at WKU, the Lions will travel to SEMO on Sept. 6. UNA’s bye will come the following week and will lead into the home opener Sept. 20 against Division II opponent Northeastern State (OK).

UNA hits the road for two more tough matchups against FCS contenders, ending non-conference play at Illinois State on Sept. 27 and starting UAC play the following week at Abilene Christian on Oct. 4.

The Lions will host back-to-back home games on Oct. 11 and Oct. 18 against Central Arkansas and Eastern Kentucky. This comes before back-to-back road games at Austin Peay on Oct. 25 and Utah Tech on Nov. 1. This will be UNA’s first trip to Utah Tech after two visits from the Trailblazers the last two seasons.

For the first time since 2016, UNA will host West Georgia when the Wolves come to Florence on Nov. 8. The last time these two former Gulf South Conference rivals met in Florence, both were nationally ranked and the Lions won 24-23 on a missed field goal at the final horn.

UNA’s final road trip will be to Texas for a showdown with Tarleton State set for Nov. 15. The regular season finale — and perhaps UNA’s final game at Braly Stadium — will be on Nov. 22 against Southern Utah.

Tickets will be available in the coming months. For more information, call 256-765-5466 or click here.

2025 North Alabama Football Schedule

Week 1            Aug. 30            @ Western Kentucky

Week 2            Sept. 6             @ Southeast Missouri

Week 3            Sept. 13           BYE WEEK

Week 4            Sept. 20           Northeastern State

Week 5            Sept. 27           @ Illinois State

Week 6            Oct. 4              @ Abilene Christian

Week 7            Oct. 11            Central Arkansas

Week 8            Oct. 18            Eastern Kentucky

Week 9            Oct. 25            @ Austin Peay

Week 10          Nov. 1              @ Utah Tech

Week 11          Nov. 8              West Georgia

Week 12          Nov. 15            @ Tarleton State

Week 13          Nov. 22            Southern Utah

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.