No. 1: Morgan Academy Girls win AISA State track championship, Ellwood wins Class 1A

Champions were crowned and history was made in the second and final day of the 2012 Alabama Independent School Association state championship track meet at Memorial Stadium.

The Morgan Academy Lady Senators were crowned the girls overall state champion, as they scored 122 points as a team to defeat Lee-Scott Academy, which had 99 points.

Rob Robinson, head track and field coach of Morgan Academy, said the Lady Senators are a great group, and it took a team effort to take their first track and field state championship since 2001.

“They’re just a very good track team and it was a team effort,” Robinson said. “Everybody contributed in their own way. Lots of people had some great individual performances, but everybody else had to contribute, too, in order to score that many points in the track meet.”

The day was also a historic one for another local school, as the Ellwood Christian Academy Eagles claimed top honors for Class 1A in only the first year of their track and field program.

The Ellwood girls won Class 1A outright, while the boys tied with Jackson Academy.

 

No. 2: Lady Hornets win national championship

The Concordia College Lady Hornets traveled about 800 miles to beat a familiar foe and claim the national crown.

The Concordia College Lady Hornets defeated the Selma University Lady Bulldogs 65-44 to claim the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Women’s Basketball National Championship Saturday, March 10 in Uniontown, Pa.

Lady Hornets’ first year head basketball coach Kimberly Anderson said faith in God and her players helped lead Concordia to victory.

“It was the grace of God. It was like I already knew that we were going to win,” Anderson said. “There was no doubt in my mind that we were going there on a mission.”

 

No. 3: Selma hosts AHSAA track and field championships

Cars filling the parking lot and thousands in attendance at Memorial Stadium marked the return of the Alabama High School Athletic Association state track and field championships to Selma after a more than 20-year absence.

Day one — a day of preliminary events and some finals — of the AHSAA Class 1A, 2A and 3A state track and field championships took place at Shug Jordan Track and Field at Memorial Stadium.

Elton Reece, Selma Parks and Recreation director, said day one attracted a big crowd that included 150 schools and 1,700 athletes.

“We probably sold close to 2,000 tickets, and you put 1,700 athletes, 500 coaches with that, it’s about 5,000 people here today,” Reece said. “The governor even flew over in his helicopter to look at it on his way to Demopolis. It was a big crowd and it’s good for the city.”

 

No. 4: Ellwood joins AHSAA

Ellwood Christian Academy opted for a change of scenery and made a move it believes will have a positive impact, not only on its student body, but also the community.

With the release of the Alabama High School Athletic Association reclassifications for the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 athletic years, it was revealed that Ellwood Christian will officially become a member of AHSAA Class 1A Region 3, leaving behind the Alabama Independent School Association after a two-year stint.

Gary Crum, board chairman at Ellwood Christian Academy, said the decision has been long in the making and will benefit the school and the community.

“The main thing behind our wanting to affiliate with the Alabama High School Athletic Association is to give our students more exposure to various sports and build greater camaraderie in the community by having the opportunity to play in competition with area schools,” Crum said.

 

No. 5: Ellwood football makes first-ever playoff appearance

The Ellwood Christian Academy Eagles repeatedly made school history throughout the regular season, and now they’ll look to make more when they enter their first-ever playoff game.

The Ellwood Christian Academy Eagles locked up their region’s No. 4 playoff seed, as they defeated the Akron Rams 36-7.

“It shows you where our program has come from. It shows the great and positive direction that it’s headed in,” said Ellwood head football coach Mike Stokes.

 

No. 6: Morgan volleyball finishes as AISA State runner-up

After a comeback effort in the semifinal that put them in the title game, the Morgan Academy Lady Senators couldn’t get it going, as they lost 3-0 (17-25, 14-25, 24-26) to the Macon East Lady Knights in the AISA Class 2A Finals.

Jennifer Moore, head volleyball coach of Morgan Academy, said her team has no reason to hang their heads down.

“We beat Macon East once this season, but the ball just didn’t fall our way today,” Moore said, “but one game can’t determine the outcome of our season and what we take away from here.”

And after a run that saw them enter Faulkner University’s Tine W. Davis Gymnasium as a No. 1 seed, Moore said it’s been amazing watching this Lady Senators’ group grow during a magnificent season.

“These girls have everything to be proud of. They had a season record of 41-7, they played very well throughout the season and I think they ended ranked No. 3 in the state in the last poll, and now they can say they finished up the season No. 2,” Moore said.

 

No. 7: Keith Bears’ football rises in rankings, starts 8-0

The Keith High School Bears football team started the 2012 football season 8-0 under coach Harry Crum.

The Bears rose as high as No. 8 in the Alabama Sports Writers Class 1A state rankings.

 

No. 8: Southside, Dallas County hire new football coaches

During the Dallas County School Board’s meeting, the new leader of the Southside High School Panthers was officially named.

Daniel Flowers was officially tabbed as the new head football coach of Southside High School, taking over after coach Bertrum Crum served only one season.

Flowers will also fill a physical education instructor position at Southside.

Flowers said football is in his blood.

“Football is my heart,” Flowers said. “My father played football, my grandfather, my brothers played football, so we’re a pretty big football family.”

Dallas County High School named offensive coordinator Chris Littleton as its new head football coach after coach Willie Moore decided to leave the position and focus more on coaching boys basketball.

No. 9: Dallas Co., Black Belt well represented in state rankings

With the release of the first Alabama Sports Writers Association basketball rankings of the season, a number of Dallas County and Black Belt schools found themselves placed among the best in the state.

The Keith High School boys and girls, Southside boys and Dallas County boys basketball teams were all ranked in the first ASWA basketball rankings of the 2012-2013 season.

The Keith boys were ranked No. 4 in Class 1A, while the Keith girls were ranked No. 7 in Class 1A, the Southside boys were ranked No. 5 in Class 3A, and the Dallas County boys were ranked No. 6 in Class 4A.

Other Black Belt schools also had a presence in the first rankings of the season, as the Sumter-Central boys were ranked No. 2 in Class 5A, the Wilcox-Central boys were ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, the R.C. Hatch boys were ranked No. 1 in Class 2A, the Francis Marion boys were ranked No. 7 in Class 2A, and the R.C. Hatch girls were ranked No. 7 in Class 2A.

“It’s good to see it happening because of the simple fact that it kind of lets us know that basketball is kind of back here in the Black Belt,” said Southside boys basketball coach Cedric Brown.

 

No. 10: Dallas County’s Lee named to All-State team

With his dominating rebounding, shot blocking, and slam dunks that fire up crowds, 6’8, 200 pound Dallas County sophomore William Lee’s motivation is a will to win for his teammates and his love for the momentum and tempo of the game.

Lee’s job as the man in the middle for the Hornets helped lead them to the Central Regional Tournament in Montgomery, as well as made him 2nd Team All-State for the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 4A team.