The Evergreen Courant's Sports Flashback for March 21, 2022

30 YEARS AGO
MARCH 19, 1992

The Hillcrest High School Jaguars are on a record-setting pace with an early 5-2 record and three consecutive wins. The Jags will play in Excel today and try to avenge an earlier loss against Andalusia Friday in Evergreen.

The Sparta Warriors return eight starters from last year’s 12-8 record club. Coach Mike Bledsoe is hoping more consistent play will better the school’s 1-3 early season record.

Members of the county championship Lyeffion Junior High School girls basketball team were Kanesche Nevlous, Jeanette Northern, Lachell Dailey, Keynetta Knight, Shantelle Hunter, Nicole Mitchell, Coach John Jenkins, Azure Salter (bookkeeper), Shakira Darden and Tiesha Mobley.

Members of the Lyeffion Junior High School basketball team are Coach John Jenkins, Donald Ray Mixon, Robert Quinn, Timothy Thompson, Adrian Joyner, Anthony Taylor, Venson Lett, Selanmin Gross and Coach James Riley.

Players from Lyeffion Junior High School who were named to the All-County Tournament Team were Adrian Joyner, Christy Maxwell, Keynetta Knight, Tiesha Mobley, Shantelle Hunter and Kanesche Nevlous.

51 YEARS AGO
MARCH 18, 1971

Pro football star Tom Neville of Montgomery will be the featured speaker for the youth day services tomorrow which will climax the Spring Revival now in progress at Evergreen Baptist Church. Neville is an offensive tackle for the Boston Patriots. He graduated from Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery and played his college ball at Mississippi State where he graduated in 1965. He earned All Southeastern Conference honors in 1963 and 1964 and was an All-American in 1964. Tom is an active member of the Normandale Baptist Church in Montgomery and is active in youth work in his and other churches.

Turkey season open Saturday: In the wee hours of March 20, many households will be disturbed with the hurried preparation of avid turkey hunters as Alabama’s spring turkey season begins.
The gobble of the wild turkey will excite hunters in all or parts of 51 counties in Alabama during the spring season which extends from March 20 to April 26.
With the exception of the northern one-fourth of the state, Henry County, Dale County, east of U.S. Highway 231 and Baldwin County south of U.S. Highway 98, the gobbler will be fair game.
Alabama’s law permits the taking of five gobblers (no hens) during the combined fall 1970 and spring 1971 seasons.

The big ones were biting in Florida last weekend. Jerry Brundage brought home these two each of which weighed 14 pounds.

72 YEARS AGO
MARCH 16, 1950

Thirty-four grid hopefuls were running through their paces in spring football drills at Evergreen High this week in spite of daily rains that kept the field soggy. The first week of practice ended yesterday (Wednesday) and Coach Wendell Hart and John Lockwood report that the squad has good spirit with all the boys trying hard to learn fundamentals.
Coach Lockwood has 21 candidates for the seven line positions. Heading this group are four starters from last year, Capt. Jeff Moorer, 178, Max Pope, 186, Shelton Craig, 183, and Douglas Potts, 186. Pope and Craig have been moved to guard from tackle with Potts taking over one of the tackle posts. Capt. Moorer is at center. Ranking candidate for the other tackle post is Jack Robinson, a 200 pounder who played a starting tackle for Repton last year.
Lettermen Franklin Williamson heads the field of end candidates. Cleve Robinson is the only other candidate for end with any experience and he isn’t a letterman. Others battling for a terminal spot are Clinton Cobb, Autrey Palmore and Joe Stowers.
Back of Robinson and Potts at the tackles are Sam Cope, 198, and Allen Edson, 165, of last year’s squad but neither are lettermen and Wayne Douglas up from the junior team.
Craig and Pope have plenty of competition at the guard posts with Cecil Culbreth, 165, Paul Hanks, 150, and George Salter, 140, non-lettermen, from last year’s team heading the list. Others in the running are Wayne Brown, Lavon Shaver and Frank Sellers.
Capt. Jeff Moorer seems to have the inside track at center, but Clayton Cobb and Sammy Robison are battling. Both Cobb and Robison had some experience last year, but failed to letter.
Coach Wendell Hart has 13 backfield candidates headed by Ed Hooks, 170-pound starting fullback last year, and Billy Mudge Lee, 158-pound quarterback-left halfback starter on the 1948 club.
Scrapping Hooks for the fullback duties are Billy Watson, Ben Logan, Ward Alexander and Pace Bozeman. Bozeman didn’t letter but was with the squad last year. Alexander is up from the junior team. Watson and Logan are making their first try.
Lee is running at both quarterback and left half. Gillis (Red) Morgan, starting quarterback last year, is expected to practice the end of this week after missing opening practices because of a sprained ankle. Gwyn Daniels, who lettered at quarter last year, and Billy Lewis up from the juniors are other signal calling candidates.
Two-time letterman Bobby (Pistol Pete) Wells joins Lee as the top left half candidate. Shirley Frazier, a regular on the juniors last year, is the only other player trying for this post.
Lettermen Donahue Edson is the top man at right half. John Henry (Gone With The Wind) Brantley, a sensation with the juniors last year, and William Stewart, are the other candidates.

76 YEARS AGO
MARCH 21, 1946

C.C.T.S. Places Man On All-State Team: In the state high school tournament, held at the State Teachers College, Montgomery, Ala. March 15-16, the Conecuh County Training School team held the state champions of State Teachers College High School to the closest score of the tournament, 38-32.
CCTS, receiving the toughest break of the tournament by drawing the mighty State Teachers College High School team, held the 1,900 students and fans in suspense as they led at the end of the first quarter, 8-6, and trailed at the half by a narrow score of 21-19. In the closing minutes of the game, the reserve strength of the boys from the college high school team enabled them to slip in front of the final whistle by three baskets.
The tournament coaches selected Calvin Johnson, Conecuh County Training School’s center, on the all-state team. The boys who have put CCTS in the limelight in basketball throughout the state of Alabama are Calvin Johnson, George Armstrong, Clausell Laster, Milton Mixon, Benjamin Lindsey, Ray McDuffie, Oscar McWilliams, James A. Stallworth and Earnest Abrams.
All state team: L. Hall, F, State Teachers College High School; H. McCants, F, Gadsden High School; C. Johnson, C, Conecuh County; C. Jones, G, State Teachers College High School; A. Robinson, G, Tuskegee Institute High School.

86 YEARS AGO
MARCH 19, 1936

Southwest Alabama Agricultural School Basketeers Win County Tournament: The SAAS basketball teams, both girls and boys, won the county high school basketball championships at the SAAS gym Saturday night, defeating the Lyeffion boys and girls teams in the finals of the county tournament, which was held Friday and Saturday.
Grady Tanner, Lyeffion forward, was the high scorer in the boys division, with 22 points while Verdelle Robinson, Evergreen forward, with 30 points, was the high point girl.
Results of the tourney games follow:
Friday afternoon games: Lyeffion boys, 22; Castleberry boys, 7; Lyeffion girls, 27; Annex girls, 11; Saturday morning: SAAS girls, 41; Castleberry girls, 11; SAAS boys v. Repton boys, forfeited, 1 to 0, to SAAS; Saturday afternoon: Lyeffion boys, 10; Annex boys, 9; SAAS boys, 24; Brooklyn boys, 3; Saturday night (finals): SAAS boys, 25; Lyeffion boys, 18; SAAS girls, 32; Lyeffion girls, 19.