The Clanton Advertiser won at least eight awards in this year’s Alabama Press Association Better Newspaper Content.

Seventy newspapers submitted 2,477 entries in the contest, which was judged by the Nebraska Press Association.

The Advertiser competes in Category B, against other community daily newspapers.

The Advertiser won the following awards:

•First place, Best Special Section for “Kickoff 2011,” an annual magazine previewing the high school football season.

•First place, Best Sports Photo for “Opportunity blocked” by Stephen Dawkins, which captured a blocked field goal in the last seconds of the Chilton County and Demopolis football game.

•First place, Best Headline for “The grape escape” by Justin Averette, which introduced a story about the opening of Hidden Meadow Vineyard.

•Second place, Best Sports Feature Story for “Taking a shot,” which profiled Fred Wright, a Verbena basketball player who was born with an underdeveloped right hand.

•Second place, Best Feature Photo for “Free on the inside,” which focused on Chilton Baptist Association’s men’s ministry at the Chilton County Jail. The accompanying story by Scott Mims also won third place for Best Feature Story.

•Second place, Best News Photo for “Donny’s home” by Jon Goering, which portrayed injured soldier Donny Eslinger’s emotional homecoming.

•Third place, Best Sports Single Event Story for “What a way to start” by Justin Averette, which recapped Chilton Christian Academy’s win in the state’s six-man football championship game.

“We are excited and proud of the awards. It’s always nice to be recognized for your work, especially by peers in the industry,” said Managing Editor Justin Averette. “However, we continue to strive to provide compelling content, both in print and online, that our readers expect and deserve. We look for forward to that challenge and continually improving our products.”

Winners of several additional awards, including General Excellence, the top overall prize, will be announced in July at the 2012 Southeastern Press Convention in Destin, Fla.