Voters have Faith
- Updated: December 7, 2016
Faith Christian somewhat of a surprise among eight Calhoun County boys, girls teams in first statewide basketball poll; Cleburne County girls grab first ranking in recent memory
CALHOUN COUNTY IN POLLS
CLASS 5A
9. Alexandria (5-0)
CLASS 4A
5. Anniston (5-1)
8. White Plains (5-2)
CLASS 3A
8. Piedmont (1-0)
CLASS 1A
1. Sacred Heart (8-1)
9. Faith-Anniston (2-5)
GIRLS
CLASS 4A
8. Anniston (4-3)
CLASS 3A
9. Pleasant Valley (4-2)
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
The first statewide high school basketball poll of the season has hit the court and it comes with the usual amount of head-nodding and head-scratching.
Eight Calhoun County boys and girls teams have landed in the rankings. On the side of what was expected, two-time defending state champion Sacred Heart opens No. 1 in Class 1A boys.
And, then, on the surprise side, there’s Faith Christian. The 2-5 Lions grabbed their first ranking under second-year head coach Brad Yarbrough, coming in at No. 9 in Class 1A.
“That’s awesome,” Yarbrough said when told the news. “I’m happy for the guys. They’ve worked above and beyond for what they’ve got. Anytime you get some kind of recognition it’s something.”
It seems a curious pick, though. The Lions are one of only three teams with losing records in the entire boys poll. Only No. 8-2A Keith (2-6) has more losses. It’s not as if the poll committee didn’t have choices. Cedar Bluff (0-1) and Pleasant Home (4-3) also were nominated for consideration in the 1A poll.
Yarbrough makes no apologizes for his team’s record. The Lions’ two victories have come over Jefferson Christian and area rival JCA. The losses have come to Sacred Heart, 4A-No. 8 White Plains, 5A Sylacauga, 5A Moody and No. 6-1A Coosa Christian. They play a deeply shorthanded Sacred Heart Thursday night and 1A-No. 8 Spring Garden Monday.
“I think we definitely deserve to be in the top 10 conversation, for sure,” Yarbrough said. “From the teams we’ve played this year you can’t really judge the record early on. We’ve run through a pretty tough little gauntlet.”
In addition to Sacred Heart and White Plains, the other Calhoun County boys teams in the rankings are Piedmont (No. 8 3A), Anniston (No. 5 4A) and Alexandria (No. 9 5A). Pleasant Valley (No. 9 3A) and Anniston (No. 8 4A) are the county girls teams that are ranked.
First-year Anniston boys coach Torry Brown called his team’s ranking “surprising.” White Plains coach Chris Randall, whose team took a two-point loss against Anniston Tuesday night, also seemed surprised by his team’s ranking, but added, “I’ll take it though.”
The undefeated Cleburne County girls pulled their first ranking in recent memory when they grabbed the tenth spot in 5A.
“We are excited to be ranked this year; it’s the first time I know of for the girls in basketball,” Lady Tigers coach Todd Gable said. “We know we can’t be satisfied with that. We still have a lot of hard work and goals that have to be met to finish our season.”
ASWA BASKETBALL RANKINGS
BOYS
CLASS 7A
1. Mountain Brook (9-0)
2. Lee-Montgomery (7-0)
3. Smiths Station (8-0)
4. Hoover (8-2)
5. McGill-Toolen (8-4)
6. Spain Park (5-4)
7. Sparkman (5-3)
8. Auburn (7-2)
9. Murphy (9-3)
10. James Clemens (4-2)
Others nominated: Buckhorn (6-4), Enterprise (4-0), Fairhope (5-3), Grissom (4-4), Huffman (7-1), Oak Mountain (6-3), Tuscaloosa Co. (7-1).
CLASS 6A
1. Pelham (6-1)
2. Austin (9-0)
3. Daphne (10-0)
4. Hueytown (9-3)
5. Carver-Montgomery (2-3)
6. Spanish Fort (7-2)
7. LeFlore (9-1)
8. Sidney Lanier (5-1)
9. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (5-2)
10. Clay-Chalkville (9-1)
Others nominated: Blount (9-4), Homewood (4-2), Ramsay (5-5), Selma (5-2).
CLASS 5A
1. Jemison-Huntsville (11-2)
2. Lee-Huntsville (8-4)
3. Sumter Central (9-0)
4. Guntersville (7-2)
5. Wilcox Central (7-0)
6. Wenonah (3-3)
7. Faith-Mobile (7-3)
8. St. John Paul II (5-4)
9. Alexandria (5-0)
10. Corner (9-1)
Others nominated: Dallas Co. (3-2), Douglas (6-2), Hayden (5-2), Scottsboro (5-3), St. Paul’s (4-1).
CLASS 4A
1. Hale Co. (7-0)
2. Madison Academy (4-3)
3. Cordova (5-1)
4. West Limestone (8-0)
5. Anniston (5-1)
6. Winfield (4-2)
7. Cherokee Co. (2-0)
8. White Plains (5-2)
9. Andalusia (1-0)
10. Trinity (7-0)
Others nominated: Ashford (6-2), Escambia Co. (3-3), North Jackson (3-1).
CLASS 3A
1. Midfield (6-1)
2. Holly Pond (9-0)
3. Montevallo (6-1)
4. Geraldine (6-0)
5. American Christian (5-2)
6. Hillcrest-Evergreen (5-0)
7. East Lawrence (5-1)
8. Piedmont (1-0)
9. Prattville Christian (5-2)
10. Straughn (3-0)
Others nominated: Clarke Co. (3-2), Mobile Christian (6-4), New Hope (4-3).
CLASS 2A
1. Abbeville (5-0)
2. Tanner (3-0)
3. St. Luke’s (6-1)
4. Lanett (2-0)
5. Barbour Co. (5-2)
6. Vincent (6-3)
7. Westbrook Christian (4-2)
8. Keith (2-6)
9. Samson (6-1)
10. Central-Hayneville (3-1)
Others nominated: Asbury (7-1), Chickasaw (6-1), Collinsville (6-2), Elba (1-0), Goshen (3-0).
CLASS 1A
1. Sacred Heart (8-1)
2. Skyline (9-0)
3. Georgiana (3-0)
4. South Lamar (5-0)
5. Decatur Heritage (8-0)
6. Coosa Christian (6-2)
7. R.A. Hubbard (7-1)
8. Spring Garden (1-1)
9. Faith-Anniston (2-5)
10. Ellwood (1-4)
Others nominated: Cedar Bluff (0-1), Pleasant Home (4-3).
AISA
1. Macon-East (8-0)
2. East Memorial (9-1)
3. Russell Christian (Miss.) (10-2)
4. Autauga Academy (5-1)
5. Lee-Scott (7-2)
6. Glenwood (3-0)
7. Bessemer Academy (2-1)
8. Chambers Academy (1-0)
9. Tuscaloosa Academy (5-2)
10. Pickens Academy (6-0)
Others nominated: Fort Dale Academy (3-2), Hooper (5-3), Northside Methodist (3-1), Restoration (2-4).
GIRLS
CLASS 7A
1. Sparkman (12-1)
2. McGill-Toolen (9-2)
3. Hoover (7-4)
4. Spain Park (6-3)
5. Gadsden City (9-2)
6. Hewitt-Trussville (7-7)
7. Central-PC (4-2)
8. Lee-Montgomery (4-6)
9. Thompson (4-4)
10. Auburn (7-3)
Others nominated: Huffman (4-4), Tuscaloosa County (6-2).
CLASS 6A
1. Homewood (8-0)
2. Hazel Green (11-0)
3. LeFlore (11-1)
4. Athens (10-0)
5. Clay-Chalkville (9-1)
6. Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa (6-1)
7. Sylacauga (7-1)
8. Ramsay (3-2)
9. Shades Valley (4-2)
10. Center Point (5-3)
Others nominated: Brewer (9-1), Northview (9-1), Selma (7-1), Southside-Gadsden (5-1).
CLASS 5A
1. Wenonah (7-0)
2. Faith Academy (8-0)
3. Charles Henderson (3-0)
4. Brewbaker Tech (5-2)
5. Central-Tuscaloosa (10-4)
6. Pleasant Grove (7-0)
7. Eufaula (4-1)
8. Carroll (9-0)
9. West Point (10-1)
10. Cleburne County (6-0)
Others nominated: BTW-Tuskegee (3-1), Crossville (5-2), Fairview (8-2), Lee-Huntsville (5-6), Springville (3-2).
CLASS 4A
1. Madison Academy (8-0)
2. Deshler (3-0)
3. Cherokee County (5-0)
4. Hokes Bluff (3-0)
5. St. James (7-0)
6. Madison County (6-3)
7. Greensboro (4-2)
8. Anniston (4-3)
9. Sipsey Valley (5-3)
10. Priceville (5-5)
Others nominated: BTW Magnet (3-2), Montgomery Catholic (6-0).
CLASS 3A
1. Lauderdale County (4-0)
2. Locust Fork (6-0)
3. Midfield (4-3)
4. Plainview (8-0)
5. Pisgah (5-2)
6. Montevallo (6-1)
7. Hillcrest-Evergreen (5-0)
8. Montgomery Academy (2-1)
9. Pleasant Valley (4-2)
10. Clarke County (5-2)
Others nominated: Bayside Academy (7-2), Carbon Hill (7-0), Daleville (6-3), Geneva (7-2), J.B. Pennington (7-3), Susan Moore (6-1).
CLASS 2A
1. Samson (10-0)
2. Red Bay (5-0)
3. Geneva County (10-0)
4. Cold Springs (8-0)
5. Section (7-1)
6. Tanner (3-0)
7. Abbeville (5-0)
8. Ider (4-1)
9. Collinsville (6-2)
10. Sand Rock (4-1)
Others nominated: Keith (3-5), Goshen (3-1).
CLASS 1A
1. Loachapoka (7-1)
2. J.F. Shields (5-1)
3. Decatur Heritage (4-1)
4. Linden (0-0)
5. Spring Garden (3-2)
6. Pleasant Home (5-2)
7. Skyline (8-1)
8. Vina (11-1)
9. Brantley (4-2)
10. Westminster-OM (5-1)
Others nominated: Georgiana (2-1), Isabella (5-2), Holy Spirit (4-1), Jacksonville Christian (5-1), R.A. Hubbard (4-4).
AISA
1. Glenwood (5-0)
2. Springwood (9-1)
3. Lee-Scott (8-0)
4. Lakeside (NA)
5. Pickens Academy (6-0)
6. Wilcox Academy (NA)
7. Fort Dale Academy (5-1)
8. Lowndes Academy (5-2)
9. Northside Methodist (6-2)
10. Sparta Academy (6-2)
Others nominated: Eastwood Academy (7-1), Escambia Academy (3-2), Patrician Academy (2-3), Pike Liberal Arts (3-2).
On the cover: Faith Christian coach Brad Yarbrough makes his way to the bench before the Lions’ season opener against Jefferson Christian.
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