Homewood’s defensive game plan focused on stopping the James Clemens running attach.
Mission accomplished.
In the history of exploration, the most daring expeditions, like the ones toward continents that may or may not have actually existed, or the ones out of the earth’s atmosphere, have started with a big idea, a philosophy or a pursuit of truth. The Mercury change to Sagittarius invites starry eyed ambitions, and let the adventuring begin!
ARIES (March 21-April 19). A fuzzy wish suddenly comes into focus. Explore this more before you start telling people about it because as you return to the thought through this season, it will become increasingly, beautifully yours.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20). There’s no need to fight natural emotions like worry or fear. When they come knocking, you invite them to show you what they offer, which may be as minor as suggested action or a safety measure. There’s no emotion you can’t handle.
GEMINI (May 21-June 21). When things aren’t happening fast or glamorous enough for you, don’t worry. You have many tricks up your sleeve. For instance, you can always approach an ordinary task with the kind of passion that makes it extraordinary.
CANCER (June 22-July 22). The obstacle in your way may look immovable, but it’s an illusion. Everything changes when you make a move to call someone’s bluff, or roll away the boulder. You can never tell how easy the move is until you get in there and try it.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). You think of yourself as emotionally independent, but today you’ll realize just how much influence another person’s actions and moods can have on you. When you’re selective about who you let in, life gets better fast.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Don’t let hurried people rush your natural pace. You’re crafting something beautiful, and slow and smooth might just be the fastest way to get it done right. Great things take time. Get the details right.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). It’s wonderful to be adored, but it’s the love you give that most expands your heart. In a sea of transactional and circumstantial relationships, you’re grateful to have unconditional love in your life, whether given, received or both.
SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). You don’t have to hear someone say what they want to know what it is. You’ll feel the weight of the unspoken as if it were tangible. Your charm will work wonders in drawing out what they’re too shy to say.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). You decide things for your own reasons and none will sway you with theirs. Logic, emotion and other tactics won’t work. You’re impressed by action. It’s effort that makes the difference, not persuasion.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). You’re an excellent researcher and will be better off with a pro-active stance to learning. Your mind is open, but only a crack. Because there is too much information to take in, you need your information to prove its worth up front.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). No one expects you to be an expert from the start. Show up with the enthusiasm, which is so characteristic of you, and everything begins from there. You will spot the person with the most potential and nurture what you see.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). You don’t have to be officially in charge to lead. Regardless of your position in the group, you have influence to use at will and can lead from wherever you are, often subtly and for the good of all.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAY (Nov. 2). The good times will roll, and there’s no need to stop it! Everyone knows you’re willing to work, but it’s not all sweat and sacrifices that get you the gold. When you’re enjoying yourself, you’re winning. More highlights: Breaks and deals help you enjoy what you’ve earned. You’ll find a treasure, experience outrageous and touching gifts, and being chosen by your favorite. Libra and Gemini adore you. Your lucky numbers are: 11, 3, 2, 17 and 8.
CELEBRITY PROFILES: K.D. Lang exemplifies the soul-driven nature of Scorpio artists who give the highest priority to the emotional and transcendent power of music over any passing industry trends. With her sun, Mars and Neptune in Scorpio, and a Leo moon fueling her dynamic stage presence, Lang’s career continues to flourish with accolades including a recent induction into the Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame.
Holiday Mathis’ debut novel, “How To Fail Epically in Hollywood,” is out now! This fast-paced romp about achieving Hollywood stardom is available as a paperback and e-book. Visit creatorspublishing.com for more information. Write Holiday Mathis at HolidayMathis.com.
Read MoreWith 1:01 left, Jake Jones scored on a 28-yard run and ran for two points as Scottsboro pulled out a gritty 22-21 win over Class 3A No. 2-ranked Mars Hill.
The win gave Scottsboro its 10th region championship in school history as the Wildcats finished atop 5A, Region 8, winning a three-team tiebreaker with Boaz and Guntersville.
Read MoreShamar Toodle threw two touchdown passes and ran for a TD to lead the Cottage Hill Christian Warriors (3-7) to a 21-0 victory over the St. Luke’s in a rivalry battle on the St. Luke’s campus.
“It was a great win and a good way to send the seniors out,” Cottage Hill coach Carvel Jones said. “I told this young group that next year we will be a year older and can’t say we are young.”
Read MoreClass 6A No. 3 Oxford capped a perfect regular season with a 34-10 win at 7A Florence on Friday with Mason Mims throwing for 216 yards and three touchdowns and Caleb Wynn running for 110 yards and a pair of scores.
The Yellow Jackets finished 10-0 for the third time in program history. Oxford was 10-0 in 2016 before falling in the opening round of the playoffs to Muscle Shoals. Oxford had 9-0 regular seasons before finishing 14-0 with state titles in 1988 and 1993 and was 9-0 with a second-round playoff loss in 1972. The Jackets were 9-0-1 in the 1971 regular season and finished 10-1-1 with a second-round playoff loss.
Read MoreQuarterback William Mitchell accounted for five touchdowns on Senior Night as Randolph tuned up for the Class 4A playoffs by pummeling region rival New Hope 48-7 at SportsMed Field in Huntsville.
The Raiders finished 7-1 in the nine-team Region 8 race and will carry a 7-3 overall record into their first-round home playoff matchup against Anniston (5-5) next week.
Read MoreHomewood’s defensive game plan focused on stopping the James Clemens running attach.
Mission accomplished.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Read MoreIt was only fitting that a stellar defensive play decided the game between Class 6A, Region 1 rivals Spanish Fort and St. Paul’s.
Spanish Fort senior safety Caleb Chesser picked off a pass and returned it 19 yards for the winning touchdown in the Toros’ 27-13 road win. The game was tied with just over six minutes to play when Chesser tracked a high pass that tipped off the fingers of receiver Tank Jones. Chesser made the interception and raced down the right sideline for the deciding score.
Read MoreSpain Park quarterback Brock Bradley threw a pair of touchdowns and ran for another as the Class 6A, No. 4-ranked Jaguars earned a 35-12 road victory over Gardendale in Friday’s regular-season finale at Driver Stadium.
Spain Park (10-0 overall, 6-0 Class 6A, Region 3) gave up a field goal on the Rockets’ opening drive, but the Jags struggled offensive in the first half before putting together a 10-play, 66-yard drive that ended a 1-yard scoring run by Bradley.
Read MoreCharlie Taaffe threw for 237 yards and two scores as Vestavia Hills downed Class 6A No. 5 Clay-Chalkville 28-14 at home on Friday night to close out the regular season at 5-5.
Taaffe added 89 yards on the ground on 11 carries, with a 2-yard touchdown run. The sophomore connected with Bruce Littleton on scoring passes from 33 and 34 yards. Littleton also scored on a 35-yard run and had 71 yards rushing in the win.
Read MoreFriday night felt like a party inside Neville Arena.
It was the first time Auburn men’s basketball played a game in its home arena since March 9 and the game gave fans plenty to cheer for. Auburn defeated Florida Atlantic 102-70 Friday night, finishing its slate of charity exhibitions 2-0.
It’s always wise to be cautious when evaluating a team based off an exhibition game, but Auburn showed promise in its first game of the season at Neville Arena. Now as the regular season begins, the Tigers shift their focus to a matchup with Vermont on Nov. 6.
Here are three takeaways from Friday’s game:
No one expects everything to look perfect in an exhibition game and that certainly wasn’t the case for either team Friday night.
For Auburn, some early sloppiness kept the game back and forth to start. Auburn had nine turnovers in the first half, leading to seven FAU points.
Many of the turnovers looked to be miscommunications or poor timing on cuts and passes. Those mistakes are somewhat expected in a preseason exhibition like this, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating for the coaching staff.
On the other end, Auburn forced its fair share of turnovers too and played a good defensive game overall. There seemed to be few small miscommunications and bad rotations on defense at the beginning of the game, but like the turnovers, didn‘t look like anything that can’t be fixed.
The defense may not be a finished product yet from a scheme and execution standpoint, but Auburn’s athletes will make it hard for any team to score on them.
Auburn’s on-ball defense was one of the highlights of the game. FAU had a hard time finding good matchups on offense, and apart from a few bad switches and miscommunications, FAU scored hardly any easy baskets.
Auburn held FAU to 40% shooting from the field and forced 19 turnovers. More importantly, Auburn scored 26 points off those turnovers, helping widen its halftime lead.
While the overall defensive structure could still use some improvement, the athleticism Auburn has to defend with gives it a high ceiling.
Through two exhibition games, both Tahaad Pettiford and Jahki Howard have shown they didn’t need much time to adjust to college basketball.
Each scored in double figures both games and against FAU, both excited the crowd as Bruce Pearl predicted.
Pettiford spent significant time at point guard, playing 16 minutes before leaving the game with what looked to be some discomfort in his right leg. While on the floor, he scored 12 points and had five assists, shooting 3-for- from the floor and 2-for-5 from 3-point range.
Coming off the bench with Pettiford, Howard scored 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Pearl has raved about his athleticism throughout the preseason and it was on full display Friday night.
His quickness affected the game both offensively and defensively. He scored in a variety of ways and was active on the perimeter with four steals.
While it’s understandable for Pearl to want to avoid rushing the freshmen into lofty roles, both made it clear in the exhibitions that they have the talent to contribute.
Mistakes and growing pains are inevitable with young players, but as Pettiford and Howard continue to get experience, it’s going to get difficult to keep them off the floor.
Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m
Read More