Hillcrest football standouts receive college football scholarships

Seven Hillcrest players sign football scholarships.

When it comes to local sports, life is good.

All four of our high school varsity teams have made the postseason and are poised to make deep runs in the playoffs. Hillcrest and Sparta’s varsity boys and girls teams all won their respective area titles, and Sparta’s teams are guaranteed a spot in the Elite Eight round of the playoffs. At press time, Hillcrest’s boys and girls had advanced to the sub-regional round of the playoffs and were one win away from appearances in the Southwest Regional Tournament in Montgomery.

All three of our local varsity coaches – Russ Brown, Tammie Patrick and Jamal Smith – have worked small miracles this season. Both of Sparta’s teams, at least on paper, have had down years, but Brown has led them to within three wins of a state title. Patrick has established herself as one of the top girls basketball coaches in this part of the state and continues to pick up area title after area title. Smith, in his first season as Hillcrest’s head coach, has also shown that he has what it takes to take the Jags to the next level.

All three of these coaches are to be commended for their coaching efforts this season. Anyone who follows local basketball closely, knows that it hasn’t been easy for them this season, but they’ve performed above and beyond the call of duty. Among the three, it would be hard to say who has turned in the top coaching job this season.

It’s also been a big week for high school football at Hillcrest. Hillcrest head football coach and athletics director Clinton Smith orchestrated a signing day event last week that saw local kids sign with colleges like Auburn, West Virginia and Kansas. This is no small feat and shows why Smith is considered one of the top high school coaches in the state.

Best of all, Smith is still a relatively young coach and has only been at Hillcrest for a short time. Imagine what he’ll be able to accomplish in the next few years as he continues to establish himself at Hillcrest. I predict that as long as Smith stays at Hillcrest, the program will gain the reputation as such storied programs as Hoover, Leroy, Sweet Water, etc.

With that said, it won’t be long before the sports calendar flips over to baseball and softball. More than a few of the kids that play baseball and softball at Hillcrest and Sparta don’t play football or basketball. To them, baseball and softball are just as important as the other major sports.

Anyone who has attended a local high school baseball and softball game in recent years knows that they don’t draw the same size crowds as football and basketball. Aside from a few die-hard fans, the baseball and softball crowds aren’t very large, despite the fact that there is no admission charged for these games. I say all that to say that if you can find the time, take the time to go watch these kids play.