The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for Feb. 24, 2020

World Champion turkey caller Eddie Salter.

11 YEARS AGO

FEB. 26, 2009

Sparta Academy’s varsity girls basketball team whipped ninth-ranked Cornerstone Christian School 61-34 last Thursday afternoon in Montgomery to bring home this year’s AISA Class A state championship trophy. (Members of the team included Shaina Hutcheson, Mallory Kendrick, Savannah Brown, Emily Booker, Ashton Raines, Rebekah Coleman, Jordan Smith, Madelyn Black, BreAnna Pate, Erica Palmer and Morgan Harden. Russ Brown was head coach, and Joey Rodgers was assistant coach.)

The members of this year’s AISA Class A all-tournament team included Mallory Kendrick of Sparta Academy, Erica Palmer of Sparta Academy, Morgan Harden of Sparta Academy, Tiffany Brown of Central Christian Academy, Rachel Bell of Wilcox Academy, Chelsey Dunnaway of Cornerstone Christian and Brittany Calma of Cornerstone Christian. Kendrick was also named tournament MVP.

SA girls climb to No. 2: Sparta Academy removed all doubt about their place in the AISA’s Class A last Thursday by whipping Cornerstone Christian School by 27 points in the state championship game.

The Lady Warriors also ended the season ranked No. 2 in the state in the final Alabama Sports Writers Association prep basketball poll, and they were second only to Lee-Scott Academy, which captured the Class AAA title on Saturday night.

Sparta was ranked No. 5 in the AISA in the season’s first poll.

23 YEARS AGO

FEB. 27, 1997

World Champion Turkey Caller Eddie Salter will be the featured speaker at an entertaining and informative dinner on Mon., March 3, at 6:30 p.m. at Bubba’s Barbecue. The cost is $15, which includes dinner. Tickets are available at the following locations: Vaughan Evergreen Medical Center, Home Center Plus and Brantley’s True Value Hardware. All proceeds will go to the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.

Butler County Motorsports Park will reopen for the 1997 racing season on Sat., March 1.

BCMP is South Alabama’s newest amateur stock car racing complex located six miles east of Greenville off Highway 10 on County Road 65. On the half-mile dirt oval, racers will compete in the hogg, hobby, novice, super-street, late model, pony and truck classes.

The track opened for its first season in June 1996. After breaking records last year, Track Director Jimmy Neese expects the new season to be even better.

36 YEARS AGO

FEB. 23, 1984

Warriors are No. 2 in state: Sparta Academy’s Warriors advanced to the finals of the APSA State Basketball Tournament before losing to Tuscaloosa Academy, 86-61, in the championship game Saturday night. The No. 2 finish in the state climaxed the best season ever for Sparta. Headmaster Richard Brown’s cagers finished play with a 23-6 record.

Two Warriors were named to the All-State team at the conclusion of tournament play at Huntingdon College. Russ Brown, who averaged 23 points per game for four contests in the state meet, and Al Etheridge earned the honor, according to Sparta Sports Information Director Byron Warren Jr.

Sparta defeated Thomasville Academy 72-60 in the opening round played in Evergreen to advance to Montgomery. Brown fired in 22 points to lead Sparta past Monroe Academy, 67-59. The Warriors upset West End 81-71 in the semi-finals as Brown hit 23 points. Tall and talented Tuscaloosa outscored Sparta 86-61 in spite of Brown’s dazzling 32-point performance.

(Other players on the team that season included Tim Brantley, Jason Evers, Vince Watts, Connery Salter, Chad Grace, Thad Ellis, Danny Reid, Jim Wagstaff, Britt McNeill and Mark Rigsby.)

Old Timers play at Castleberry: The Conecuh County High School Tip Off Club will sponsor an Old Timer’s Basketball Tournament March 2-3 beginning at 6:30 p.m. Admission will be $1. All graduates of CCHS and their spouses and parents are eligible to participate.

53 YEARS AGO

FEB. 23, 1967

The Conecuh County Training School Eagles captured the South Alabama AA Championship for the second consecutive year by downing Beatrice by a score of 98-89 in Atmore Sat., Feb. 18.

A keen defense in which forwards Carey Pat Bradley, Willie Perkins, Richard Nettles, Napoleon White and guards Norton Hurd, Sandy McMillion and Stanley Blair contained Beatrice’s dead-eye gunner, Longmire, to 39 points.

The combination of playmaker center Johnny Atkins and ballhawk supreme Louis Meeks poured in 50 points. To finally capture this game, Meeks alone fired away 34 points, thus ending Beatrice’s desperate attempt to stay in this ball game.

(James “Buddy” Stallworth was CCTS’s head coach.)

The top-seeded Conecuh County High School Blue Devils of Castleberry advanced into the semi-finals of the Area I basketball tournament, winning easily over Frisco City, 62-44, Tuesday night. The meet is being held in the Coliseum at Monroeville.

Coach Cliff Little’s Evergreen High Aggies will play Georgiana in the opening game of the Region I, Area 2 basketball tournament in Flomaton Wednesday night at seven o’clock.

68 YEARS AGO

FEB. 28, 1952

The Evergreen High Aggies had their best night of the season here last Thursday as they swamped Lyeffion’s Yellow Jackets 62 to 22.

Shirley Frazier and Gwyn Daniels shared the scoring honors with 19 points each. William Stewart had seven; Pace Bozeman and Wayne ‘Dog’ Douglas, six each; Gillis Morgan, four; and Sammy Robinson, one.

David Eddins got 10 points to lead Lyeffion. Booker had six; Frank Burt, four, Hilton Dees, two.

Coach Wendell Hart’s victory starved Evergreen High School cagers had a feast of victories Tuesday night in Memorial Gym defeating Greenville’s Junior, ‘B,’ and Varsity teams. The Aggie varsity wrapped up its fourth win in the last six starts by closing fast to win a 51-43 verdict from the Tigers.

Douglas rode the boards and dropped six points through the hoop in his best all-around performance of the year.

Shirley Frazier paced the Aggie scorers with 21 points. Pace Bozeman led the team on rebounds, played a good floor game and scored 12 points in one of his top performances. Gillis Morgan swished in eight points; Gwyn Daniels and Ward Alexander Jr., two each.

86 YEARS AGO

FEB. 22, 1934

Nineteen girl scouts with their leader, Mrs. C.P. Deming, enjoyed a hike Saturday morning. Several members of the troop passed the cooking test and others practiced signaling.