High School Sports, Sports
By Stacy Long For the FCT
 By By Stacy Long For the FCT  
Published 6:00 am Wednesday, December 31, 2025

3 hit finalists list

Three Shoals high school football players can’t put the season to rest just yet.

They have another date on their calendar.

Muscle Shoals’ Ka’Mhariyan Johnson and Mars Hill’s Jaxon Penn and Samuel Swinney have been named finalists for the Alabama Sports Writers Associations major awards.

Johnson is up for Class 6A lineman of the year, Penn is on the list for 3A back of the year and Swinney a finalist for 3A back of the year.

The winners — plus Mr. Football and the state’s 12-player Super All-State team — will be named Jan. 20 at a luncheon banquet at the Montgomery Renaissance.

Johnson, an Alabama signee, is Muscle Shoals’ first major-award finalist in six years and just the second in over a decade, while Penn and Swinney continue a habit by the Panthers.

The last Muscle Shoals football finalist was Jackson Bratton for 6A lineman in 2019.

Also on Franklin County Times
Text message signaled return to state
High School Sports, Main, Red Bay Tigers, ...
AHSAA NW REGIONAL FINAL RED BAY 64, COLD SPRINGS 52
David Glovach For the FCT 
February 25, 2026
HANCEVILLE — It was a simple text message, one sent by a mom of a former player. It was a six-year-old picture of Red Bay huddled together outside Leg...
An emotional loss for senior Fisher
Belgreen Bulldogs, High School Sports, Main, ...
COLD SPRINGS 45, BELGREEN 42
David Glovach For the FCT 
February 25, 2026
HANCEVILLE — Their hands found their faces quickly — something, anything, to absorb the tears. It only worked so well. “It’s hard,” Makenna Fisher sai...
Court asked to halt lot sales
Franklin County, Main, News, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
February 25, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Franklin County commissioners are seeking a court order to halt future sales of lots for the Lightning Ridge subdivision. Colbert Count...
Tellish named Rural Teacher of the Year
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
February 25, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Middle school teacher Carley Andrews Tellish has been named the 2026 Spezzini Rural Teacher of the Year, an honor that recognizes one K...
Students compete in annual beef cook-off
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
February 25, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE -- The annual Franklin County Cattlemen’s beef cookoff took place recently at Triple H Barn with students from Russellville, Red Bay, Bel...
Garden club revisits Lewis and Clark expedition
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
By Susie Hovater Malone Columnist 
February 25, 2026
As the 250th celebration of the United States approaches, members of the Cultura Garden club have been revisiting American history through a series of...
Medicare Advantage must be funded
Columnists, Opinion
February 25, 2026
In a few short months, policymakers will decide the financial fate of the Medicare Advantage program and its millions of members. While the program is...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *