Wildcats regained their claws in ‘07

Published 9:41 am Wednesday, January 2, 2008

By Charles Prince

The North Jefferson News



The past 12 months has been an action-packed one in the parks, field and gyms of our six area North Jefferson county. Teams in several different sports produced memorable seasons, but the top story came out of the city of Fultondale.

Here’s the list of The North Jefferson News Top 10 sports stories of the year, from 10 down to one.



10] Lady Torches three-peat

The Tabernacle Lady Torches proved once again they were the most talented volleyball team in the Alabama Christian Education Association as they won their third straight state title.

Tabernacle dropped only one match all season as they continue a volleyball dynasty that’s produced eight state championships.

Tabernacle senior Meghan Hallice won her second straight state tourney MVP.

9] North Jefferson’s talent pool remains strong

The high school athletes in North Jefferson proved to be some of the best in the state, as 11 local players were named to All-State teams by the Alabama Sports Writers Association and 27 athletes signed scholarships during the 2007 calender year, to continue their careers at the next level.



8] Emily Lawson caps her career in the record book

Gardendale senior volleyball player Emily Lawson ended her high school career with the second highest ace total in state history (442) and her career assists (2,649) rank as the ninth highest total of all time.

Lawson earned the MVP award at the Jefferson County tournament during her senior season and recently signed a scholarship to play at Wallace State-Hanceville beginning next fall.



7] Gardendale wins again with a new cast

The Gardendale Rocket basketball team won their straight Oneonta Boy’s Christmas tournament last Saturday with an different lineup than the teams that won the first two crowns. The three-year winning streak includes 12 consecutive wins in the annual 16-team tournament.



6] Mortimer Jordan and Gardendale wag great battle in the state softball playoffs

The Mortimer Jordan Lady Blue Devils and the Gardendale Lady Rockets were ranked in the Top 5 of the state 5A high school softball polls all season long.

The two heavyweights meet in the second round of the sub-state playoffs in Morris.

The proved to be a memorable three-game series that had more drama than most fans could have expected.

The first batter in the series, Gardendale’s Beth Erwin singled to left field, but two throwing errors allowed her to circle the bases and score. The tension the players felt could be seen on their faces. The tension built for three games that stretched over nearly six hours of a hot muggy May afternoon and evening.

Finally, Mortimer Jordan freshman first baseman Morgan Estell’s RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh inning of the third game ended a wild day that all fans in attendance won’t soon forget.



5] Bearden three-peats as heavyweight state champion

Gardendale senior wrestler Chad Bearden lost an early season match, due in part to missing practice time with a broken foot he suffered during football season.

Bearden, who had stated his preseason goal was to go unbeaten, rebounded from the loss and rolled to the state tournament last February as the favorite for a third straight state title.

Bearden reached the semi-finals, but it looked like his dream of a third title would end in the semi-finals when Erwin’s Justin Thomas got Bearden on his back, only second away from a pin.

Somehow, Bearden kept his shoulders off the mat and regained his feet. Later, he would pin Thomas and reach the final.

In the championship match, he collected his third pin of the tournament and proved he was still the best Class 5A heavyweight in the state.



4] Young superstars emerge on the softball diamond

Two of the best young softball players in the state burst onto the scene in the North Jefferson area in 2007.

Mortimer Jordan freshman Morgan Estell and Fultondale seventh grader Cadi “Boo” Oliver both made headlines with their play last spring.

Estell was batting over .600 halfway through the season and was challenging the state record for single season batting average. She tailed off just slightly to finish at .542 with 90 base hits. Estell had 67 runs scored and 50 RBIs. She collected 16 doubles and homered seven times.

At Fultondale, Oliver was a terror with the bat in her hand or on the mound.

She finished with a .475 batting average as the Lady Wildcats lead off hitter. She finished with 45 hits and 47 runs scored in 30 games, collected 11 doubles and three triples.

On the mound, she went 9-5 with 103 strikeouts in 99 innings of work.

With their big seasons at the plate, both Estell and Oliver are on pace to break the state’s all-time total base hits in a career record.

Estell has three more seasons and Oliver five more years to terrorize opposing pitchers.



3] Tabernacle wins first football title

Tabernacle Christian School has won many state titles in several sports dating back to the 1980s. However, one sport in which the Torches had never won a state title, football, would finally see a state championship trophy come the Torches way in 2007.

Tabernacle, which had reached the Christian Football Association state semi-finals in 2006, entered the season as the favorites for the 8-man title.

The Torches didn’t disappoint as they averaged over 50 points per game and crushed Tuscaloosa, 58-12 in the CFA state title game.



2] North Jefferson dominates on the mat at the state championships

Not just one, but two local high schools won the runner-up team trophy at the AHSAA state wrestling championships last February.

Fultondale took second place in the 1A-4A meet, while Gardendale took the 5A second place trophy.

The Wildcats and the Rockets each had two individual state champions, as Fultondale’s Alec Williams and Chris Whitney won titles at 145 and 171 pounds, respectively. For Gardendale, Tripp Otis took the 189-pound title and Chad Bearden won the heavyweight title.

Hayden’s Josh McCoy took the 135-pound, 5A title.

All tolled, wrestlers from Fultondale, Gardendale, Hayden and Mortimer Jordan took home 16 medals from the state meet.



1] The Wildcats regain their claws

During the school’s football history, the Fultondale Wildcats have reached the state playoffs on several occasions. Before the 2007 season, the last time they had won their way into the postseason was in 2002.

This past fall, they shocked many observers by winning seven games and reaching the 2A playoffs.

Coming off a 3-7 record in 2006, most people didn’t expect much out of the Wildcat’s football program in 2007, but Fultondale opened the year in startling fashion as they destroyed Shades Mountain Christian, 70-6.

The game was actually cut short due to a lighting storm with 6:48 left in the fourth quarter.

For a club that has scored 98 total points in the 2006 campaign. Their quick start out of the gate in 2007 was a shock to most everyone.

The following week, they put up 51 points in their region opener.

Fultondale head coach Keith Register thought his young club (the Wildcat’s 2007 featured only nine seniors on their 34-player roster), would be improved on offense, but even he was surprised by how good the 2007 Wildcat’s offense became. He told me he never expected 121 points scored in two games.

Fultondale went onto average over 30 points per game as they won seven games and took third place in their region to secure a playoff berth.

The lost at home to J.B. Pennington, 22-21 in the ninth week of the season and missed out on a chance for a region title and a home playoff game.

The Wildcats lead by seven with 54 seconds left, when a break down on special teams allowed a 95-yard kickoff return. Pennington followed with a 2-point conversion and took the region crown.

Therefore, a team that had won only four games from 2004 to 2006, missed out on a region championship by only 54 seconds.

Fullback Jonathan Craig led the North Jefferson area with more than 1,200 yards rushing. The Wildcats as a team gained more than 3,000 yards on the ground out of their Wing-T attack.

On defense, end Christian McCollouogh led the area with 10 1/2 quarterback sacks, while teammate Cortez Edison had 10 more.

Craig was named The North Jefferson News Offensive Player of the Year and center/defensive tackle J.D. Hood was named Lineman of the Year. Register was named Coach of the Year, after leading a four-game turnaround.

Register thinks his club can be even better in 2008 than they were in 2007, but until then, Fultondale fans will look back on the year 2007 as the season their Wildcats regained their claws on the football field and restored the school’s playoff tradition.