Nearly 100 years ago, the Collinsville High School football team played their first game ever against Jacksonville State. On Friday, they will begin a year-long celebration of their 100th season with a matchup at Plainview and some high expectations.

FORT PAYNE – The Fort Payne Wildcats' varsity football team has been working throughout the offseason to try and replace two valuable offensive weapons that helped lead them to a 6A, Region 8 championship last season.

IDER – The Ider Hornets will have a new face roaming the sidelines at Wayne C. Hardiman Stadium this fall for the first time since 2003.

FORT PAYNE – The Fort Payne Wildcats boys basketball team will have a new head coach this season, but that position won’t be filled with an unfamiliar face.

Fort Payne High School had four rising seniors shine in Montgomery last week while leading their North All-Star squads in three sports at the AHSAA’s All-Star Sports Week.

Former Fort Payne Wildcat football star Desmon Turner wrapped up his junior season of college football with the Lake Erie College Storm this past fall, where he was utilized as a receiver and a kick returner.

Former Fort Payne Lady Wildcat and current Birmingham-Southern sophomore golfer Alexis Chambers wrapped up her season on a high point back in April with a pair of top-10 individual finishes in the Lady Panthers’ last two tournaments of the school year.

This year’s Alabama Sports Writers Association All-State Softball Team features seven local athletes and one coach representing three county programs.

Fort Payne High School’s JROTC varsity 3-Position Air Rifle (3-PAR) shooting team recently capped off their best season in program history by recapturing the North Alabama Rifle League (NARL) Championship.

A pair of former DeKalb County softball stars recently wrapped up their freshman seasons while helping lead the Chattanooga State Community College Lady Tigers to a 43-win season.

The 2019 All-DeKalb County Softball Team was recently released and featured 27 of the area’s top players representing seven local varsity programs.

Six DeKalb County athletes were selected to represent the North All-Star teams in four different sports in the 23rd AHSAA North-South All-Star Sports Week from July 15-19 in Montgomery.

Former 3A state champion and Plainview basketball star Jeffery Armstrong is headed to Hattiesburg to take the next step in his playing career.

HIGDON – The Plainview Bears had a tough time holding off the North Sand Mountain Bison on the road Thursday, but did find some success in their passing game while falling by a score of 34-14 in their spring jamboree game.

FORT PAYNE – The Fort Payne Wildcats gave fans and supporters their first chance to get a glimpse of their 2019 squad in action Thursday night in a spring jamboree game against the Chattooga Indians at Wildcat Stadium.

VALLEY HEAD – The 2019 DeKalb County Spring Football Jamboree came to an end Friday after a pair of 3-quarter matchups between county foes.

MONTGOMERY – The Plainview Lady Bears had their fourth consecutive trip to the Class 3A State Softball Tournament end sooner than they hoped it would Wednesday at Lagoon Park.

MONTGOMERY – The Collinsville Lady Panthers had a promising start in their second trip to the Class 2A State Tournament in three years, but narrowly came up short of leaving Lagoon Park with a trophy.

PRATTVILLE – Fort Payne juniors Harrison Davis and Dawson Garrett both qualified as individuals last week to compete in the AHSAA’s State Golf Championships Monday and Tuesday at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Capitol Hill’s Legislator course and made the most out of that opportunity.

FLORENCE – The Class 2A softball north regional tournament finally concluded Monday night after several rain delays and saw one DeKalb County team punch their ticket to the state tournament in Montgomery while two others had their seasons come to an end.

FLORENCE – The Plainview Lady Bears are headed to Montgomery for the Class 3A State Softball Tournament for a fourth consecutive year following their 3-1 run through the North Regional this past weekend in Florence.

The season for the Fort Payne Wildcat golf team came to an end on Monday in the finals of the Sub-State Tournament.  

GULF SHORES – The Fort Payne Wildcats’ track and field teams set several school records while battling for a state title at the AHSAA state championship meet this past weekend at Mickey Miller Blackwell Stadium in Gulf Shores.

Class 1A-3A’s No. 3-ranked Collinsville Panthers are Huntsville bound following their 7-0 second-round blowout of Whitesburg Christian Academy Thursday in the AHSAA state soccer playoffs.

HUNTSVILLE – Hollywood directors would struggle to create a more dramatic finish than Friday’s third-round playoff matchup between the Fort Payne Wildcats and Randolph Raiders did.

OXFORD – The Fort Payne Lady Wildcats had their season come to an end Thursday after a heartbreaking loss in extra innings to area rival Albertville.

The Plainview Lady Bears are moving on to the 3A North Regionals in Florence next week after finishing runner-up in the 3A, Area 15 Tournament behind Pisgah.

COLLINSVILLE – The Collinsville Lady Panthers are 2A, Area 13 champions after a pair of runaway wins over the Fyffe Lady Red Devils on Wednesday and Thursday at home.

On Tuesday the Fort Payne Wildcats’ golf team accomplished the first step in their quest for a state title with a second-place finish at Canebrake Country Club in Athens.  

OXFORD – The Fort Payne Lady Wildcats split their first two postseason games Tuesday in the 6A, Area 13 Tournament.

FORT PAYNE – The 6A, No. 3-ranked Fort Payne Wildcats advanced to the elite eight of the state soccer playoffs after defeating one of their top rivals for a third time this season at home on Monday.

The Collinsville Panthers’ varsity boys soccer are moving on the sweet 16 of the 1A-3A state playoffs after a dominant performance in their first-round matchup against Mars Hill at home.

Fort Payne all-state golfers Dawson Garrett and Harrison Davis proved their merit at Silver Lakes Golf Course in Glencoe Monday. 

SYLVANIA – The Sylvania Rams had their 2019 season come to an end Friday in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs after a pair of hard-fought losses to the Winfield Pirates at Sylvania City Park.

FORT PAYNE – The Fort Payne Lady Wildcats’ track and field team continued their run of dominance in sectional meets over the weekend as they won their sixth straight Class 6A Sectional and punched their ticket to Gulf Shores for the State Championship Meet.

The Fort Payne Lady Wildcats won a pair of games by mercy over DeKalb County foes on Monday and Tuesday.

The Sylvania Rams’ varsity boys capped off their best season in program history Tuesday with a fifth-place overall finish in the AHSAA’s Class 1A-3A State Tennis Championships at Lagoon Park in Montgomery.

The Sylvania Rams advanced to the sweet 16 of the AHSAA Class 3A State Baseball Tournament after completing a 2-game sweep of the Lexington Bears on the road Saturday.

The Plainview Bears spoiled the Fort Payne Wildcats’ senior night on Monday with a 4-3 win that needed an extra inning to decide a victor.

The Ider Hornets ran circles around the Richard Hardy Memorial School Hawks of South Pittsburg, Tennessee on their way to an 11-1 win Monday that ended after six innings.

The Plainview Lady Bears went on the road Wednesday and defeated Class 6A’s No. 1-ranked team, toppling the Buckhorn Lady Bucks by a final score of 6-3.

The Fort Payne Lady Wildcats bested two of their top rivals in back-to-back wins on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Collinsville Lady Panthers used two early rallies at the plate to mercy rule the Ider Lady Hornets 11-1 in six innings Tuesday on the road.

The No. 2-ranked Collinsville Panthers clinched the Class 1A-3A, Area 7 championship and the right to host a first-round playoff game after Tuesday’s 6-0 shutout victory over Whitesburg Christian Academy.

The Fort Payne Wildcats capped off their 2019 season Tuesday on a high note with a 10-4 win over the Fyffe Red Devils on the road.

The Valley Head Tigers punched their ticket to the Class 1A state playoffs with a dominant performance in a win-or-go-home situation against area rival Woodville on the road.

The Fort Payne’s track and field teams competed against several of Tennessee’s top programs Saturday at the McCallie Mid-South Track Classic.

RAINSVILLE – The Plainview Bears were crowned the 2019 DeKalb County Baseball Tournament champions Saturday after blasting past area rival Sylvania 16-1 in the tournament’s championship game.

The Fort Payne Wildcat golf team demolished the field at Hampton Cove Golf Course in Huntsville Monday by firing a 2-over par team score of 290.  

FORT PAYNE – The Fort Payne Lady Wildcats used a pair of big rallies at the plate and a dominant performance in the pitcher’s circle from Addison Eason to beat the Cherokee County Lady Warriors 8-1 Wednesday at home.