Walker Athletics

Good Hands Award

jcs — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:30:45 +0000

On January 18 Jonathan Holladay awarded the Allstate Good Hands Award to six athletes. This award is given to athletes who showed outstanding perfromances in the sports this week. This week’s winners were: Michael Bridges, Sidney Cooper, Shania Reed, Alex Villa, and Austin Stephens. Congratulations to the student athletes.

Walker Takes Down Curry

jcs — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:19:50 +0000

Walker takes down Curry

by Johnathan BentleyDaily Mountain Eagle

Curry stayed within striking distance for three quarters Friday night.
Once the fourth quarter started, Walker found its groove and ended Curry’s chances.
Walker’s offense got going over the final eight minutes, putting 24 points on the scoreboard in a 64-41 victory over the Yellow Jackets at Songer Gym.
“That was kind of the plan,” Walker coach Scotty Ware said. “We wanted to keep putting pressure on them and get to them in the fourth quarter.”
Curry cut Walker’s 14-point halftime lead in half at 38-31 late in the third quarter after an Alex Odom 3-pointer.
Walker (7-12 overall, 4-2 in 5A, Area 11) took control of the game early in the fourth, forcing turnovers and getting easy transition baskets. The Vikings were led by Dashuan Kendrick, Drekas Key and Brandon Thursby in the final period. The trio combined for 14 points in the quarter.
“We started playing the way we are supposed to,” Ware added. “We battled for every loose ball. We were diving all over the court. We got a little dirty tonight.”
Walker jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the opening quarter, but Curry cut the gap to 14-12 going into the second quarter.
The Vikings closed the first half with an 11-1 run. Thursby knocked down a 3-pointer to start the spurt with 3:41 left in the half. Ryan Dill converted a steal into a layup and added a free throw while a Shane Donaldson putback gave Walker a 30-16 halftime lead.
The Vikings led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter after a Jonathan McCants 3-pointer, but Curry got a pair of putbacks from Wesley Key and a 3-pointer by Alex Odom to cut the lead to 38-31 with 35 seconds left in the third quarter. Walker led 40-31 going into the fourth quarter.
For the Vikings, Donaldson had 11 points and 12 rebounds, Ryan Dill added 11 points and six steals, Austin Stephens had 10 points, McCants had eight and Thursby put in seven, Key and Kendrick each had six.
For Curry, Odom and Spencer Fikes each had 12 points, Key added six and both Bradley Loggins and Jacob O’Rear put in four.
Ware has been pleased with Walker’s effort in its last two home games — area wins over Hayden and Curry.
“Since this coaching staff has been together, we’ve been hard to beat at home. Over the last two years we’ve kind of lost that. It’s been tougher for us to defend our home court. We talked about taking that back. I thought we did that against Hayden and tonight. We were out there taking charges and attacking rebounds.
“We’ve got a few more home games. We’ll see if we can finish strong at home.”
Walker will hit the road for its next two games. The Vikings play a makeup game at Lawrence County on Tuesday and play at Fayette County on Friday.
Curry opens play in the Walker County Tournament at Parrish on Monday. The Yellow Jackets take on Cordova at 4:30 p.m.

VARSITY GIRLS
Walker 52, Curry 28
Walker’s Sidney Cooper and Jazmine Lake combined for 27 points as the Walker Lady Vikings earned a 52-28 home win over Curry Friday night.
The game was close through the first quarter, but Walker held Curry to just six points in the second quarter as the Lady Vikings pulled away for a 28-15 halftime lead.
Walker pushed its lead to 37-18 going into the fourth quarter.
Cooper paced the Lady Vikings with 14 points, Lake had 13, Chloe Sudberry added nine, Shania Reed had eight and Miranda Bruce put in five.
For Curry, Mary Beth Scott led the way with nine points while Taylor Black added six and both Jessica Woodley and Makenzie Hicks had five.

JV BOYS
Walker 37, Curry 27
Walker took a slim three-point lead into the final quarter, but pulled away from there, beating Curry 37-27.
The teams were tied 9-9 after the first quarter and Walker took a 17-16 lead into the half. The Vikings led 25-22 after three quarters and outscored Curry 12-5 in the final period to get the 10-point win.
For Walker, Denzell Daley and Trevon Chatman led a balanced attack with eight points each.
Curry’s Hargrove had 13 points while Santos added 11.

NINTH-GRADE BOYS
Walker 58, Curry 13
John Michael Reed had 27 points and five steals to lead the Walker ninth-grade boys team to a 58-13 win over Curry.
The Vikings (10-4) blanked Curry in the first quarter and led 16-0 going into the second quarter. Walker opened up a 34-3 halftime lead and took a 37-6 advantage into the fourth quarter.
For Walker, Isreal Johnson had nine points and seven rebounds while Chris Evans, Jarrod Ollie and Marlon Oliver each had seven points.
Walker’s ninth-grade boys host Corner on Monday with the JV girls playing at 6 p.m. and the ninth-grade boys following at 7:15 p.m.

Big Wins for Indoor Track

jcs — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:21:59 +0000

January 7, 2012 was a good day for the Walker Indoor Track Team. The team placed 9^th out of 27 teams with only 5 guys. The 4 by 800 meter relay started the Vikings off by taking 2^nd place to Mountain Brook and breaking the track record. The time put them in first place for the 5A rankings by almost 10 seconds. Austin Elliot had a good day in his events by placing 65^th out of 159 in the 60 meter dash and 18th out of 76 in the long jump, putting him in 5^th place for the 5A rankings. Andrew Harris and Hunter Hawkins did well in the 800 scoring a combined total of 11 points with Andrew winning the race and setting the new track record and Hunter placing 8^th. That puts Andrew at number one and Hunter at number four in the 5A rankings. Jeb Cowen placed 12^th and had a new personal best of 52.46 putting him at second place in the 5A. Bradford Lepik did well in the mile coming in 12^th and also had a new personal record; Bradford is also ranked well in the 5A state seeded at 4^th place. To end a great day, the 4 by 400 relay team composed of Harris, Hawkins, Cowen, and Lepik placed 2^nd to Hoover High School. This will put them in first place by over 10 seconds in 5A. Congrats to the Walker Indoor Track Team and Good Luck in your future meets.

By Andrew Harris

Key Win Over Hayden

jcs — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 03:18:29 +0000

Walker earns key area win over Hayden

by Johnathan Bentley and W. Brian Hale

view slideshow (2 images)

Walker stayed on track to host the area tournament with a home win over the Hayden Wildcats Friday night.

The Vikings opened the second quarter with a 10-3 run and never looked back, winning 53-38 at Songer Gym.

Walker (6-11 overall, 3-1 in 5A, Area 11) is now two area wins away from hosting the area tournament next month. The Vikings have a road game at Mortimer on Tuesday and host Curry on Friday to close out area play.

“We’ve got two left next week. If we win them, we host,” Walker coach Scotty Ware said.

Against Hayden (10-8), Walker led 11-8 after the first quarter. The Vikings opened up the second quarter with the hot hand.

Austin Stephens drilled a 3-pointer from the wing to open the scoring and Riley Graham followed with a long-range bomb of his own for a 17-8 lead.

After a pair of Hayden free throws, Michael Bridges hit a layup and Dre’kas Key turned a steal into an easy basket for a 21-11 lead at the 3:50 mark.

Walker held Hayden to just two baskets in the quarter and took a 27-17 lead into the half. Hayden cut the gap to nine points at 37-29 after three quarters, but was outscored 16-9 in the fourth quarter as the Vikings earned the win.

“I thought we did a good job tonight. We’ve been harping on not throwing the ball away. I thought we did that. We were patient on offense and took good shots,” Ware said.

“I talked with the team before the game. I wanted to keep them from getting down. We are still young and I wanted them to understand that we are growing and getting better. I want us to do three things every game: Play hard, play smart and have fun. We got three out of three today.”

For Walker, Brandon Thursby had 12 points on four 3-pointers, Bridges had 11 points and 10 rebounds, Key had nine points, Shane Donaldson put in six, DaShuan Kendrick and Graham each had five, Stephens had three and Ryan Dill had two.

For Hayden, Seth Aderhold had 17 points.

Walker held Brandon Echols, who had 30 points in the first meeting, to seven points.

The Vikings play at Mortimer Jordan on Tuesday.

VARSITY GIRLS

Hayden 45, Walker 26

Walker couldn’t stop Hayden’s Krista Stricklin Friday night.

Stricklin scored 21 points, including 14 in the first half, as the Lady Wildcats picked up the 45-26 area win on the road.

Walker kept things close for a quarter, trailing 11-9 going into the second period. Hayden (15-3) pulled away for a 23-14 halftime lead. The Lady Wildcats led 31-18 going into the final quarter.

Walker got a balanced scoring attack with Chloe Sudberry leading the way with six points. Both Sidney Cooper and Jasmine Lake had five points and Miranda Bruce and Raven Jones had four points each.

For Hayden, Grayson Taylor put in 11 points

JUNIOR VARSITY

Walker 60, Hayden 22

Denzell Dailey scored 20 points to lead the Walker JV team past Hayden 60-22 on Friday.

Walker took control in the first quarter, jumping out to a 13-4 lead. The Vikings (4-9) led 27-10 at the half and 45-18 after three quarters.

For the Vikings, Aaron Morris had 11 points, Treyvon Chapman had nine and Kenyatta Woods added eight.

Walker Pulls Away from Curry

jcs — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:50:12 +0000

by Johnathan Bentley DME

CURRY — Curry matched Walker shot for shot through the first half of their rivalry game Friday night.

For every run the Vikings made, Curry countered. The first half ended with Walker leading 27-26.

Then the second half started and the Vikings took control.

Walker contested every Curry shot, grabbed rebounds and finally put away the Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter, earning a 59-43 road victory.

Walker head coach Scotty Ware said the Vikings’ second-half defense was the difference in the game.

“We gave them easy shots in the first half. We left them open. In the second half we made them shoot with a hand in their face,” Ware said. “They only had two offensive rebounds in the second half. That’s something we’ve been struggling with. I’m proud of our guys. We finished possessions with boxing out and rebounding in the second half.”

Another difference in the game was the play of Brandon Thursby and Donaldson, who combined for 27 points in the win.

Thursby, who missed two games with an injured ankle, seemed back at 100 percent, scoring 16 points, including five in the fourth quarter as Walker put the game out of reach.

“He was probably at 80 percent on Tuesday. He worked hard at rebab,” Ware said. “He’s a guy that needs to look to score for us.”

Donaldson added 11 points and 12 rebounds, including nine boards in the second half. Michael Bridges added 10 points and Ryan Dill had eight points and 10 assists.

Curry led 3-0 only to have Walker responded with seven straight points in the opening quarter. The Yellow Jackets quickly battled back to take the lead at 8-7. Walker held a slim 15-14 lead after the first quarter. The game remained close through the second quarter as well with the Vikings taking a 27-26 lead into the half.

Walker (4-5 overall, 2-1 in 5A, Area 11) led 39-33 after three quarter and outscored Curry 20-10 in the fourth quarter with Thursby added five points and Que’Drekas Key scoring four points.

For Curry, Spencer Fikes had 13 points, Dylan Whitt had nine points, Alex Odom added seven and Welsey Key put in six.

The Vikings still control their destiny in area play. If Walker wins out, the Vikings would claim the regular-season area title and would host the area tournament.

Walker plays in the Hueytown Christmas Tournament next week and will take on Jackson-Olin at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

VARSITY GIRLS

Walker 38, Curry 23

Walker held Curry scoreless in the first quarter and never looked back from there, handing the Lady Yellow Jackets a 38-23 loss in their area game Friday night.

The Lady Vikings held a 7-0 lead after the first quarter and led 18-6 at the half. Curry didn’t break double digits until the fourth quarter.

Walker (6-6, 1-2) took a 24-8 lead into the fourth quarter.

Shania Reed led a balanced Walker attack with 10 points, Sidney Cooper had eight points, Jasmine Lake added seven, Madisyn Hood put in five, both Tasia Phillips and Chloe Sudberry had three points and Jessica Woodley added two.

For Curry (3-8, 0-3), Mary Beth Scott had eight points and Olivia Smith put in four.

Curry hit four 3-pointers on the night, but the rest of the Lady Yellow Jackets’ points came at the free throw line.

JV BOYS

Walker 51, Curry 30

Walker got off to a fast start, scoring 16 points in each of the first two quarters en route to a 51-30 win at Curry.

The Vikings led 16-5 after the opening quarter and took a 32-15 lead into the half. Walker led 41-23 going into the final quarter.

James Clouse led Walker with 11 points while both Kenyatta Woods and Sa’Darius Key had nine and Ja’Ray McElrath put in eight. For Curry, Gann had nine points.

NINTH-GRADE BOYS

Walker 66, Curry 6

The Vikings led through the first period 26-1 before taking a 39-1 lead into halftime. Walker continued to lead in the third period, 54-3 before reaching the 66-6 final.

Isreal Johnson led the Vikings with 15 points, while Treyvon Chatman scored 13 points. John Michael Reed, Denzell Daley and Adam Mason scored eight points each.

Walker (6-2) travels to take on the Hoover Buccaneers in the Big Orange Classic on Dec. 26.

Walker Wrestling Team Wins Pair

jcs — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:27:38 +0000

by W. Brian Hale DME

The Walker Vikings wrestling team secured victories over the Austin Black Bears 60-6 and the Center Point Eagles 42-30 before falling to the Homewood Patriots 52-12 on Tuesday night at Homewood.

Carlton Dorrough (138 lbs.) picked three wins in the tri-meet, scoring a pinfall against Homewood and two wins by forfeit. Dorrough’s effort was commended by coach Martin Blankenship, who was impressed with the first-year wrestler’s progression.

“For a young man who has only been wrestling for a month and a half to performed like he has this season and especially against Homewood is remarkable,” Blankenship said. “He is sitting at .500 officially, so for someone in their first year to have matches won under his belt by pinfall is special. It bodes well for his future.”

The Vikings (6-2) travel to Oak Grove for the Oak Grove Tournament today.

Match Results:

Dec. 13 Tri-Meet

Walker 60, Austin 6

106: Mobley, Thomas (WALKER) FORFEIT 113: Naramore, Taran (WALKER) FORFEIT 126: Cortez, Xavier (Austin) FALL Runyan, Jacob (WALKER) 3:00 132: Pulliam, Taylor (WALKER) FORFEIT 138: Dorrough, Carlton (WALKER) FORFEIT 145: Brown, Jordan (WALKER) FORFEIT 152: Lilley, Alex (WALKER) FORFEIT 182: Vila, Alex (WALKER) FORFEIT 195: Warda, Bryan (WALKER) FORFEIT 220: Kemble, Dustin (WALKER) FORFEIT 285: Rauch, Brian (WALKER) FORFEIT

Walker 42, Center Point 30

106: Mobley, Thomas (WALKER) FALL Payne, Brandon (Center Point) 5:00 113: Hood, Robert (Center Point) FALL Naramore, Taran (WALKER) 3:00 126: Runyan, Jacob (WALKER) FORFEIT 132: Mack, Markel (Center Point) MFORFEIT Pulliam, Taylor (WALKER) 138: Dorrough, Carlton (WALKER) FORFEIT 145: Ravizee, Devonta (Center Point) FALL Brown, Jordan (WALKER) 1:00 152: Benson, Jamal (Center Point) FALL Lilley, Alex (WALKER) 1:00 160: Studdard, Virgil (Center Point) FORFEIT (WALKER) 182: Vila, Alex (WALKER) FORFEIT 195: Warda, Bryan (WALKER) FORFEIT 220: Kemble, Dustin (WALKER) FORFEIT 285: Rauch, Brian (WALKER) FORFEIT

Homewood 54, Walker 12

106: Farley, Evan (Homewood) FALL Mobley, Thomas (WALKER) 1:00 113: Vickers, Aaron (Homewood) FALL Naramore, Taran (WALKER) 1:00 126: Fowler, Cade (Homewood) FALL Runyan, Jacob (WALKER) 1:30 138: Dorrough, Carlton (WALKER) FALL Sanders, Noah (Homewood) 1:00 145: Cox, David (Homewood) FALL Brown, Jordan (WALKER) 1:00 152: Gooden, Johnathan (Homewood) FALL Lilley, Alex (WALKER) 1:00 160: Glaser, Jakeb (Homewood) FORFEIT (WALKER) 182: Esparza, Carlos (Homewood) FALL Vila, Alex (WALKER) 3:00 195: Sims, Rhome (WALKER) FORFEIT 220: Martinez, Julio (Homewood) FALL Warda, Bryan (WALKER) 5:00 285: Sims, Zach (Homewood) FALL Rauch, Brian (WALKER) 1:00

Varsity Girls and 9th Boys Basketball Beat Mortimer Jordan

jcs — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:43:22 +0000

VARSITY GIRLS

Mortimer Jordan 63, Walker 47

Mortimer Jordan pulled away from Walker in the fourth quarter to knock off the Lady Vikings 63-47 on Tuesday.

The Lady Blue Devils led 44-39 after the third quarter, but outscored Walker 19-8 in the fourth.

Mortimer Jordan led 17-12 after the first quarter and opened up an 11-point lead at 33-22 at the half before the Lady Vikings cut the cap to five going into the final quarter.

For Walker, Sidney Cooper had 23 points, Jasmine Lake put in seven and Jessica Woodley added six.

Mortimer Jordan (5-1) got 25 points from Haylie McCleney, Amanda Dean added 12 and both Alysa Amberson and Megan Snow had 10 points.

9TH-GRADE BOYS

Walker 66, Mortimer Jordan 36

Walker’s ninth-grade team picked up its second straight lopsided win with a 66-36 victory over Mortimer Jordan.

The game was notched at 8-8 after the first quarter. Walker took a 21-16 lead at the half and outscored the Blue Devils 45-20 in the second half to put the game away.

For Walker, which beat Corner 46-26 on Monday, John Michael Reed had 15 points, Chris Evans added 13, Denzell Daley had 10, Isreal Johnson put in nine, Aaron Morris had seven and both Jarrod Ollie and Logan Norris added four.

By Johnathan Bentley DME
Read more: Daily Mountain Eagle – Walker comes up short against Mortimer Jordan

All State Good Hands Award

jcs — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:30:31 +0000

On Wednesday, December 14, three student athletes were given the All State Insurance Good Hands Award, by Jonathan Holladay. This award is granted to select student athletes who show outstanding performances in their sport each week. This week’s winners are Shane Donaldson for boys’ basketball, Ariel Johnsey for girls’ basketball, and Taylor Pulliam for wrestling. Congratulations on this great achievement.

Walker Wrestling Wins

jcs — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:49:14 +0000

by W. Brian Hale

Walker’s Alex Vila, top, wrestles against Corner’s Kenneth Humber during their 182-pound match at Songer Gym on Thursday. The Vikings are 2-1 on the season after beating the Yellow Jackets 34-29. Photo by: Johnathan Bentley

The Walker Vikings wrestling team picked up the second win of the season on Thursday night, defeating the Corner Yellow Jackets 39-24 at Songer Gym.

Vikings coach Martin Blankenship expressed his pride in the team’s performance and progress in the early stages of the season.

“It hasn’t been a common occurrence that we’ve started our season doing as well in dual matches like we have,” Blankenship said. “I hope we can get two or three more wins before we break for Christmas. I’m real proud of our team — many of our wrestlers have hit a stride against Corner and hopefully we can keep that momentum going and be as good in February as we are in December.”

Blankenship noted the efforts of many of his young wrestlers, particularly junior Taylor Pulliam (138 lbs.), who has obtained a 7-1 record this season and placed third in last weekend’s Lincoln Tournament and Taran Naramore (113 lbs.) — whose 12-11 decision win in Thursday’s meet drew praise from Blankenship and his teammates.

“Ever since Taylor was a freshman, I knew that he had the promise and what it took to be good at the sport,” Blankenship said. “He suffered a concussion his freshman year but still had a good year record-wise. He also had a great record last year — I think he just hit a wall in February, though now I think he is encouraged. He’s in a tough weight class — as there are many great wrestlers that wrestle 138. But his performance this season, along with the effort that Taran put in Thursday night, is the type of leadership I’ve been looking for that I think will help make our team stronger.”

Match Results:

• Walker 39, Corner 24

106: Mobley, Thomas (WALKER) FORFEIT (Corner) 113: Naramore, Taran (WALKER) DEC Kyzer, Casey (Corner) 12-11 126: Absher, Dalton (Corner) FALL Runyan, Jacob (WALKER) 2:51 132: Dorrough, Carlton (WALKER) FORFEIT (Corner) 138: Pulliam, Taylor (WALKER) FALL Ross, Austin (Corner) :56 145: Fuller, Casey (Corner) FALL Brown, Jordan (WALKER) :26 152: Teague, Jason (Corner) FALL Lilley, Alex (WALKER) 1:23 182: Vila, Alex (WALKER) FALL Humber, Kenneth (Corner) 5:06 195: Warda, Bryan (WALKER) FORFEIT (Corner) 220: Kemble, Dustin (WALKER) FORFEIT (Corner) 285: Deason, James (Corner) FALL Birdyshaw, Cru (WALKER) 1:33

Good Hands Award

jcs — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:34:25 +0000

On Wednesday, December 7, two student athletes were given the All State Insurance Good Hands Award, by Jonathan Holladay. This award is granted to select student athletes who show outstanding performances in their sport each week. This week’s winners are Ryan Dill for boy’s basketball, and Jazmine Lake for girl’s basketball. Congratulations on this great achievement.