Click the link for COVID-19 updates from the Alabama Activities Association....

Plenty of children in Birmingham depend on school meals for vital nutrition. With all the COVID-19 school closures, there are options available for those in need. Find out what you need to know right here. Birmingham City Schools Birmingham City Schools (BCS) is partnering with other local school districts to provide students with free meals while during the closure. Children 18 and under can access free lunches at several locations, regardless of school zone. Multiple locations across several districts will be open during lunch hours. Find locations, hours and dates here. Expanded meals will be available March 19-April 3. The meals will include sandwiches, fruit, milk and non-perishable items and will be offered at all Birmingham City Schools except Carver High School. An extended meal service plan will be provided as needed following Friday, April 3. Tarrant City Schools Tarrant City Schools will provide free meals for children 18 years and younger. Drive-thru only, lunch and breakfast provided, child must be present in vehicle to receive a meal. Locations and hours: losures Watching Birmingham come together has been keeping our spirits high all week. Photo via Birmingham City Schools on Facebook Plenty of children in Birmingham depend on school meals for vital nutrition. With all the COVID-19 school closures, there are options available for those in need. Find out what you need to know right here. School Initiatives Birmingham City Schools Birmingham City Schools (BCS) is partnering with other local school districts to provide students with free meals while during the closure. Children 18 and under can access free lunches at several locations, regardless of school zone. Multiple locations across several districts will be open during lunch hours. Find locations, hours and dates here. Expanded meals will be available March 19-April 3. The meals will include sandwiches, fruit, milk and non-perishable items and will be offered at all Birmingham City Schools except Carver High School. An extended meal service plan will be provided as needed following Friday, April 3. Tarrant City Schools Tarrant City Schools will provide free meals for children 18 years and younger. Drive-thru only, lunch and breakfast provided, child must be present in vehicle to receive a meal. Locations and hours: Tarrant Intermediate School | 11AM-12:30PM Springdale Baptist Church | 11:15AM-12PM Lily Baptist Church | 11:15AM-12PM Good News Assembly of God in Robinwood | 11:15AM-12PM Get info and updates here. losures Watching Birmingham come together has been keeping our spirits high all week. Photo via Birmingham City Schools on Facebook Plenty of children in Birmingham depend on school meals for vital nutrition. With all the COVID-19 school closures, there are options available for those in need. Find out what you need to know right here. School Initiatives Birmingham City Schools Birmingham City Schools (BCS) is partnering with other local school districts to provide students with free meals while during the closure. Children 18 and under can access free lunches at several locations, regardless of school zone. Multiple locations across several districts will be open during lunch hours. Find locations, hours and dates here. Expanded meals will be available March 19-April 3. The meals will include sandwiches, fruit, milk and non-perishable items and will be offered at all Birmingham City Schools except Carver High School. An extended meal service plan will be provided as needed following Friday, April 3. Tarrant City Schools Tarrant City Schools will provide free meals for children 18 years and younger. Drive-thru only, lunch and breakfast provided, child must be present in vehicle to receive a meal. Locations and hours: Tarrant Intermediate School | 11AM-12:30PM Springdale Baptist Church | 11:15AM-12PM Lily Baptist Church | 11:15AM-12PM Good News Assembly of God in Robinwood | 11:15AM-12PM Get info and updates here. How You Can Help Facebook Groups There are several Facebook groups that local citizens have started for people who want to volunteer. Join a group and keep an eye out for ways to plug in if interested: Meals on Wheels for Anyone Birmingham Conorovirus Food Drive Where kids can get free meals in Birmingham during school closures Watching Birmingham come together has been keeping our spirits high all week. Photo via Birmingham City Schools on Facebook Plenty of children in Birmingham depend on school meals for vital nutrition. With all the COVID-19 school closures, there are options available for those in need. Find out what you need to know right here. School Initiatives Birmingham City Schools Birmingham City Schools (BCS) is partnering with other local school districts to provide students with free meals while during the closure. Children 18 and under can access free lunches at several locations, regardless of school zone. Multiple locations across several districts will be open during lunch hours. Find locations, hours and dates here. Expanded meals will be available March 19-April 3. The meals will include sandwiches, fruit, milk and non-perishable items and will be offered at all Birmingham City Schools except Carver High School. An extended meal service plan will be provided as needed following Friday, April 3. Tarrant City Schools Tarrant City Schools will provide free meals for children 18 years and younger. Drive-thru only, lunch and breakfast provided, child must be present in vehicle to receive a meal. Locations and hours: Tarrant Intermediate School | 11AM-12:30PM Springdale Baptist Church | 11:15AM-12PM Lily Baptist Church | 11:15AM-12PM Good News Assembly of God in Robinwood | 11:15AM-12PM Get info and updates here. How You Can Help Facebook Groups There are several Facebook groups that local citizens have started for people who want to volunteer. Join a group and keep an eye out for ways to plug in if interested: Meals on Wheels for Anyone Birmingham Conorovirus Food Drive Other Ways to Help Bham Now has compiled a list for those who need to get help or want to give help during COVID-19. Birmingham’s spirit is as strong and generous as ever, and we’ll be updating this list with resources as they come up. Give blood with the American Red Cross in Birmingham Give or volunteer with United Way of Central Alabama (Meals on Wheels especially needs volunteers, as does the 2-1-1 call center) Donate to the Birmingham Strong Fund to help small businesses Support LOCAL businesses losures Watching Birmingham come together has been keeping our spirits high all week. Photo via Birmingham City Schools on Facebook Plenty of children in Birmingham depend on school meals for vital nutrition. With all the COVID-19 school closures, there are options available for those in need. Find out what you need to know right here. School Initiatives Birmingham City Schools Birmingham City Schools (BCS) is partnering with other local school districts to provide students with free meals while during the closure. Children 18 and under can access free lunches at several locations, regardless of school zone. Multiple locations across several districts will be open during lunch hours. Find locations, hours and dates here. Expanded meals will be available March 19-April 3. The meals will include sandwiches, fruit, milk and non-perishable items and will be offered at all Birmingham City Schools except Carver High School. An extended meal service plan will be provided as needed following Friday, April 3. Tarrant City Schools Tarrant City Schools will provide free meals for children 18 years and younger. Drive-thru only, lunch and breakfast provided, child must be present in vehicle to receive a meal. Locations and hours: Tarrant Intermediate School | 11AM-12:30PM Springdale Baptist Church | 11:15AM-12PM Lily Baptist Church | 11:15AM-12PM Good News Assembly of God in Robinwood | 11:15AM-12PM Get info and updates here. How You Can Help Facebook Groups There are several Facebook groups that local citizens have started for people who want to volunteer. Join a group and keep an eye out for ways to plug in if interested: Meals on Wheels for Anyone Birmingham Conorovirus Food Drive Other Ways to Help Bham Now has compiled a list for those who need to get help or want to give help during COVID-19. Birmingham’s spirit is as strong and generous as ever, and we’ll be updating this list with resources as they come up. Give blood with the American Red Cross in Birmingham Give or volunteer with United Way of Central Alabama (Meals on Wheels especially needs volunteers, as does the 2-1-1 call center) Donate to the Birmingham Strong Fund to help small businesses Support LOCAL businesses Local Restaurants Stepping Up There are a TON of local businesses in Birmingham that have stepped up to meet needs in all kinds of ways. Many restaurants are offering free meals for kiddos while schools are closed—the following is not a comprehensive list, but includes many of the businesses offering specials. Homewood Bagel Company is offering free cereal breakfasts or PB&J lunches. Meme’s Coffee and Deli in Bessemer offering free meals for children. Shiki Homewood is offering a free fried chicken tempura meal with rice or broccoli for kids. Vintage Comfort Food Truck will provide free lunch to children in need. Pizzeria GM invites kids to eat for free during lunch hours Monday-Friday. Over Easy is offering free kid’s breakfast or lunch Monday-Friday. Charleys in Brookwood Mall will be offering free kids meal to any child. Bham Now knows small businesses need support during this time. If you or someone you know owns a Birmingham business, take five minutes to fill out our form on your special offerings—including curbside pickup, delivery, online classes and more. Be featured for free on Bham Now!...

The 2019-20 high school basketball season was a banner one for many teams in the Starnes Publishing coverage area. Spain Park’s girls won their second Class 7A state championship in three years, while Oak Mountain’s boys reached the state final four for the first time in program history. Defending boys champions Pinson Valley and Mountain Brook were unable to defend their titles, but both teams had remarkable seasons. After sharing Starnes Publishing All-South Metro Girls Player of the Year honors last year, Spain Park’s Sarah Ashlee Barker takes the award again following a spectacular senior season. The Georgia signee averaged a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds per game, leading the Lady Jags to a win over Hoover in the state title game. Mike Chase is the Girls Coach of the Year for steering the team to another state championship. On the boys side, Mountain Brook’s Colby Jones gives the Spartans the Player of the Year for the second straight season (Trendon Watford earned the award last year). The Xavier signee led the Spartans to the state final and registered 25 points and nearly eight rebounds per game on the year. Longtime Oak Mountain coach Chris Love took his Eagles squad all the way to the state semifinals and takes home Coach of the Year honors. GIRLS FIRST TEAM Guard: Sarah Ashlee Barker, Spain Park; led the Lady Jags to a second state title in three years. Guard: Reniya Kelly, Hoover; did it all for a Lady Bucs team that advanced to the state final, as she registered 13.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.6 steals per game. Guard: Amiya Payne, Hewitt-Trussville; led the Lady Huskies with 19.5 points and six rebounds per game. She has surpassed 1,400 points in her career. Forward: Aniya Hubbard, Hoover; the Lady Bucs’ leading scorer, she averaged 15.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game before getting injured in the regional final. Forward: Jordan Parker, Chelsea; named the team’s MVP for the second straight year after averaging 11.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. SECOND TEAM Guard: Emma Smith, Vestavia Hills; led the Lady Rebels with 12.8 points and six rebounds per game, as Vestavia Hills returned to the regional final for the first time in over a decade. Guard: Morgan White, Westminster-Oak Mountain; capped off an historic run with the Lady Knights, as she piled up 14.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Guard: Madison Adamson, Hoover; the Air Force signee registered 8.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Forward: Erica Jones, Hewitt-Trussville; the Mobile signee had 12 points and five rebounds per contest, playing her best ball down the stretch once fully healthy. Forward: Kassidy Schnoer, Homewood; led a resurgent Lady Patriots squad with 16 points and 8.5 rebounds per game after not playing as a junior. THIRD TEAM Guard: Abi Brown, Oak Mountain; the FIU softball signee sank 81 3-pointers to the tune of 33%, helping lead the Lady Eagles to the regional tournament. Guard: Caidyn Cannon, Homewood; the sophomore guard racked up 13 points and five boards a game. Guard: Anna Wood, Vestavia Hills; capped off her career with 8.3 points per game and a memorable regional tournament in which she helped lead a comeback win over Austin. Forward: Pressley Rains, Chelsea; a force on both ends of the court, she racked up 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while being a stout on-ball defender. Forward: Megan Gache, Westminster-Oak Mountain; piled up 8.9 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest for the Lady Knights. Player of the Year: Sarah Ashlee Barker, Spain Park Coach of the Year: Mike Chase, Spain Park HONORABLE MENTION Guard: Avery Masdon, Spain Park; Jada Knight, Hoover; Maddie Vaughn, Briarwood; Ellen Fleming, Chelsea; Sydney Schwallie, Chelsea; Caroline Mays, Briarwood; Vonquice Wilson, Clay-Chalkville; April Hooks, Hewitt-Trussville; Jordan Hunter, Hewitt-Trussville; Ann Vandevelde, Mountain Brook; Emma Stearns, Mountain Brook; Abby Gordon, Oak Mountain; Camille Chase, Spain Park; Emma Bauer, John Carroll; Alison Stubbs, Vestavia Hills; Ally Smith, Vestavia Hills; Courtney Whatley, Pinson Valley; Shameria Blocton, Pinson Valley Forward: Kate Saunders, Briarwood; D’yona Jones, Hewitt-Trussville; Ellie Dayhuff, Mountain Brook; Hannah Edwards, Oak Mountain; Summer Killin, John Carroll; Tamyia Muse, Clay-Chalkville; Virginia Welch, Westminster-Oak Mountain; Haley Russell, Spain Park BOYS FIRST TEAM Guard: Colby Jones, Mountain Brook; had a breakout year and led the Spartans within a few plays of a fourth consecutive state title. Guard: Zane Nelson, Oak Mountain; piled up 16.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for an Eagles team that went further than any in school history. Guard: Kam Woods, Pinson Valley; finished an illustrious career by averaging 37 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists. He scored 3,711 points in his career. Guard: DJ Fairley, Hoover; led the Bucs with 20.3 points per contest. Forward: Caleb Moore, Chelsea; slid into the starting lineup after Christmas and averaged 13.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks over the final 17 games. He set a school record with 51 blocks on the year. SECOND TEAM Guard: GaQuincy McKinstry, Pinson Valley; shot 50% from the field and averaged 15 points and five rebounds for the Indians. Guard: Hayden Lamey, Briarwood; fought through injuries much of the season, but still managed 16 points and four rebounds per game while shooting 43% from 3-point range. Guard: Cameron Glover, Hewitt-Trussville; led the way for the Huskies with 15.2 points per game and a 41% clip from 3-points range. Guard: Cam Crawford, Spain Park; helped lead the Jags to the regional final with his 11.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Forward: Will Shaver, Oak Mountain; the highly-touted forward averaged 8.5 points and 5.1 rebounds for a strong Eagles squad. THIRD TEAM Guard: Holt Bashinsky, Mountain Brook: the sharpshooter averaged 12.4 points per game on 46% shooting from 3-point range. Guard: Win Miller, Vestavia Hills; the freshman guard put together a strong season, averaging 12.2 points per contest. Guard: Evan Smith, Oak Mountain; the dynamic guard put forth 6.8 points and four assists. Guard: Sam Bradford, Westminster-Oak Mountain; averaged 17.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, while surpassing 1,000 points in his career. Forward: Pate Owen, Homewood; the senior led the Patriots with 13.1 points per game and shot 56% from the field. Player of the Year: Colby Jones, Mountain Brook Coach of the Year: Chris Love, Oak Mountain HONORABLE MENTION Guard: Ryan Donohoo, Briarwood; Cal Reebals, Briarwood; Andrew Messier, Chelsea; Donovan Shangase, Clay-Chalkville; Jacolby Thomas, Hewitt-Trussville; Chip Culpepper, Hoover; Marcello Nanni, Homewood; Bo Barber, Homewood; PJ Davis, Homewood; Wilder Evers, Oak Mountain; Josh Harrington, Spain Park; JR Lambert, Spain Park; Oneal Mearchant, John Carroll; Coleman Barranco, Vestavia Hills; Houston Likens, Westminster-Oak Mountain Forward: Chance Beard, Briarwood; Bryant Royster, Chelsea; Daniel Beachem, Clay-Chalkville; Carter Sobera, Mountain Brook; Noah Young, Oak Mountain; Colin Turner, Spain Park; Jaden Johnson, Clay-Chalkville ...

BASEBALL The Mountain Brook baseball team began play last week with a 2-1 win over Pell City on Tuesday. Davis White provided the only offense for the Spartans, as his two-run double in the fifth inning was the difference. Porter Phelan and Brennan Holden combined to hold Pell City to the lone run. Phelan started and went three innings, striking out six and giving up one run on four hits. Holden earned the win by going the final four innings. He surrendered four hits and struck out five batters. Over the weekend, Mountain Brook competed in the Perfect Game High School Showdown. The Spartans played their pool games at home on Thursday, dominating both contests. In a 10-0 win over Westminster Christian (Fla.), Will Baynes allowed just three hits in five shutout innings. Will Yarbro led the offense with a triple, home run and four RBIs. Alex Gauld and Ford Kelly each tallied two hits and two RBIs. In the second game, the Spartans blew past Locust Grove (Ga.) 11-1. Gauld doubled and drove in three runs to support a strong pitching performance by Edward Berry. He allowed four hits and one run while striking out eight in six innings. Mountain Brook defeated Bob Jones 4-2 in the semifinals on Friday evening. Brock Payne knocked in two runs in the contest. The Spartans won the tournament on Saturday morning by knocking off Buford (Ga.) 1-0. A first-inning run was all Phelan needed, as he slammed the door on the mound. Phelan was dominant over his seven innings of work, allowing just two hits and striking out seven. SOFTBALL The Mountain Brook softball team suffered a 20-0 loss to Class 7A, Area 6 foe Spain Park last Thursday evening. Over the weekend, the Spartans played in Spain Park’s Jag Classic. They dropped both of their pool games on Friday, a 15-0 loss to Chelsea and a 17-1 loss to Dothan. Their run in the tournament ended on Saturday morning with a 3-0 loss to Hueytown. SOCCER The Mountain Brook boys soccer team tied twice and won once over the weekend. Mountain Brook tied on Friday with Oak Mountain 1-1 to start the weekend. The Spartans bounced back with a 2-0 win over Prattville before tying in a high-scoring affair with Southside Gadsden 4-4 on Saturday. The Lady Spartans dropped an area game on Tuesday in their only game of the week. Hewitt-Trussville shut them out 3-0 to drop the Lady Spartans to 0-1 in area play so far. TENNIS The Mountain Brook boys and girls tennis teams went 1-1 on the week. The boys fell to Baylor (Tenn.) on Monday by a 7-2 final, but Mountain Brook bounced back with a 6-2 decision over Northridge on Tuesday. The girls team lost in a 5-4 match against Baylor on Monday before sweeping Northridge 8-0 on Tuesday. TRACK AND FIELD Mountain Brook’s outdoor track and field team competed in the Husky Seven Way Meet at Hewitt-Trussville High School on Thursday. Mark Waller finished in first place in the 400-meter run while coming in third place in the 300-meter hurdles event for the Spartans. Waller also posted a second-place finish in the high jump event. Hugh Stokes finished in second in the 100-meter hurdles. Grayson Scott finished in first place while Camille Gillum came in second in the girls high jump for Mountain Brook. Maxie Sansom finished in second place in the girls discus finals. ...

The Spartans opened up the Perfect Game Showdown with dominating wins over Westminster Christian, FL (10-0) and Locust Grove, GA (11-1). In the first game vs Westminster, Mountain Brook blasted the MLB's #3 rated right hander and projected draftee, Victor Mederos, early and often. Follow the link to see what the scouts had to say about the Spartans first day. Praise was particularly high for MB's Alex Gauld and Will Yarbro. Scroll down the article to find the info on the Spartans. Check out the video of Gauld's game opening hit and Yarbro's homerun. The Spartans finished day two (Friday) with a 4-2 win over #1 ranked Bob Jones and will play Buford (GA) in the championship game on Saturday morning....

Few dry eyes remained on Bucky McMillan’s bench Saturday night at Legacy Arena. His Mountain Brook High School boys basketball players were overcome with emotion after falling to Lee-Montgomery 40-38 in the Class 7A state final. The Generals rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to secure their first state championship in school history. “It wasn’t a high-scoring game, but you just witnessed like a war out there, you know what I’m saying?” said McMillan, Mountain Brook's head coach. “You just saw, on both sides, people that would die for their brothers out there on the floor with them.” Lee-Montgomery (33-1) started the third quarter on an 8-0 run to trim Mountain Brook’s 21-12 halftime advantage down to one. But Carter Sobera, who led the Spartans with 14 points, responded by sinking two free throws and a pair of layups to keep his team ahead. The Spartans (32-3) didn’t stay there long, though, as Lee drew even at 29-29 on a Deyunkrea Lewis layup at the end of the quarter. “We usually play pretty good after halftime for some apparent reason," Lee head coach Bryant Johnson said. "I think we play with more sense of urgency...I think our energy kind of changed after halftime.” The Generals made only 2-of-14 3-pointers on Saturday, but a triple from Nicholas Barnes with 5:20 remaining gave them their first lead, 34-31. Holt Bashinsky answered on Mountain Brook’s ensuing possession with a 3 from the right wing to tie it at 34-34. It was his team’s only 3 of the night, as the Spartans shot 1-of-14 from beyond the arc. “They didn’t make a lot of 3s. They made one more than us…” McMillan said. “We could play that game 100 times, and we may make the one more 3 and win.” Mountain Brook never led again after the teams traded 3s. Lee’s Jamari Smith converted four clutch free throws in the final 4:14 to help this team reclaim and retain its edge. Mountain Brook pulled to within one twice down the stretch, 37-36 and 39-38, but couldn’t push ahead. A shot from Mountain Brook’s Colby Jones bounced off the rim just before the final buzzer. Lee’s Lewis pulled down the game-sealing rebound. Jones finished with 10 points, eight of which came in a dominant second quarter that he closed by hitting an off-balance jumper. Mountain Brook played well in the opening half, scoring 16 of its 21 points in the paint and outrebounding Lee 19-10. “I thought we played really good defense,” McMillan said. “I thought we did a good job mixing our defenses up to try to keep them a little bit off rhythm.” Lee outrebounded Mountain Brook 30-28 by game’s end, and both teams committed 13 turnovers. Duke Miles led the Generals with 12 points and was named tournament MVP. Jones and Sobera were both named to the all-state-tournament team. “I feel like our guys and I really just left it all out there,” Sobera said, “and I think that’s something we can live with.” The Spartans entered Saturday’s final hoping to win their fourth consecutive championship in the state’s highest classification and sixth in eight years. “These guys fought, and they put it on for our city, the same way Lee did,” McMillan said. “And when you get to see something like that, it’s truly special, and I’m so proud of these guys and I’m so proud to be their coach.”...