The Callaway football team walks onto the field for a game this season. The Cavaliers went 10-2 and won a playoff game for the first time in school history.
For a week, the Troup County 9-10 Dixie Youth Baseball all-star team haddone itself proud.
A tournament that began with 12 teams was down to two – Troup County and Mississippi.
It was a winner-take-all showdown, and unfortunately for the home team, that final day belonged to Mississippi, which won the Dixie Youth Baseball World Series championship.
It wasn’t the ending Troup County was hoping for, but what a week it was for the players and coaches on that team.
It was also a special week for the Troup County 11-12 all-star team, which won a pair of games and made an impressive showing.
The 9-10 and 11-12 World Series tournaments were held at the same time at the Harris Complex, with dozens of games played over the course of a week.
The week-long youth-baseball bonanza was one of many sports highlights in Troup County in 2008.
State championships were won, local athletes excelled on the professional and collegiate level, and there were numerous other exceptional performances by local teams and individuals.
In August, it was all about the young ballplayers.
Troup County had berths in each tournament because it was the host community, but the two local teams proved they belong.
The 9-10 team, putting on an impressive display of fundamental baseball, won its first four games before dropping its final two.
“They did everything we could ask of them,” said Jay Anderson, the team’s head coach. “I know the boys will remember it, and hopefully they’ll appreciate it and realize they did something special.”
The 11-12 team made its presence known as well, enjoying a pair of victories against some elite competition.
“A lot of people didn’t expect us to make it this far,” Troup head coach Robert Foster said. “We’re all very proud of those guys.”
Another Troup County team, a 13-year-old all-star team, won a state tournament to advance to the Dixie World Series in South Carolina.
The young ballplayers of Troup County had quite a summer indeed.
As it always the case in Troup County, the local prep sports scene was filled with success.
On the wrestling mat, Troup’s Rashad Moss won a much-anticipated and hard-earned state championship.
After finishing second as a junior, Moss took the next step his senior season and beat Harris County’s Ryza Willis 8-4 in the 152-pound title match.
Moss was nearly matched by his teammate, heavyweight Corey Grissom, who finished second.
Callaway’s Rett Jones had a runnerup finish as well, while LaGrange’s Stefan Smith was third to cap a remarkable 49-1 season.
LaGrange High got an individual state championship from sophomore phenom Caitlin Watts, who won her first state title.
“It was amazing,” Watts said. “I wanted to it by at least my senior year, but to get it my sophomore year is big.”
Heading into her junior season, Watts has two region titles to go with her state championship.
Callaway’s Kyle Mimbs was second in the Class AA state meet.
“I wasn’t expecting to finish runner up, it just happened” Mimbs said. “I was in the moment, I guess.”
On the private-school level, the LaGrange Academy sister combo of Molly Child and Abby Child won a doubles state title, while Ankita Kanwar won a singles state championship.
None of Troup County’s teams won state championships in 2008, but plenty of them came close.
LaGrange High’s football team continued its extraordinary run of excellence this decade by making it to the Class AAA semifinals.
The Grangers went 8-2 in the regular season before winning three playoff games, including a quarterfinal victory over previously unbeaten Dunwoody.
“They always think they’re going to win. And I do, too,” said LaGrange head coach Steve Pardue, whose teams won state titles in 2001, 2003 and 2004. “We always feel like we have a chance, no matter who shows up.”
Callaway’s football team didn’t make it as far as LaGrange, but it was a historic season nonetheless, with the Cavaliers winning 10 games and making it to the second round of the playoffs.
It was the first playoff win in school history.
“I’m proud for these kids,” Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins said after his team came through with a late goal-line stand to beat Greater Atlanta Christian in the first round of the playoffs. “They have worked so hard for this, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
On the baseball diamond, it was the Troup Tigers making a run at a title.
Behind the power hitting of Luke Bailey and the clutch pitching of Daniel Watts, the Tigers made it to the state quarterfinals before falling to eventual state runner up Stephens County.
Bailey, by the way, enjoyed quite a year.
Not only did he help his team have an outstanding season, but he played in an Aflac all-star game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles that featured some of the nation’s top players.
Bailey – who owns the school record for home runs in a season – is being projected as a first-round draft pick.
Callaway’s baseball team only won one series at state, but what a series it was.
In Game 3 of a first-round series against Rockmart, freshman Rodney Laye’s base hit with two outs in the bottom of the seventh lifted his team to a 5-4 victory and a spot in the second round.
“It’s the best feeling,” Laye said. “You dream about that every night.”
Some other team highlights in 2008 included both LaGrange High’s tennis teams making it to the state semifinals, with the Lady Grangers playing for a state title.
On the soccer field, LaGrange High’s boys’ team dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker in the state semifinals, and LaGrange’s softball team made it to the final eight in Columbus.
Callaway’s boys’ basketball team didn’t win a game at state, but it won a regular-season region title, and the Cavs clinched that with a 100-point performance in a win.
At LaGrange Academy, the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams each made it to the state semifinals, as did the Academy softball team.
The softball and girls’ basketball teams were each trying to win third straight state titles, but it didn’t quite happen.
At LaGrange College, the success wasn’t limited to the football team’s amazing turnaround story.
For the second straight year, LaGrange College’s softball team won a conference title and advanced to the NCAA Division III national tournament.
The college’s golf team also returned to the national tournament for the second straight year.
There were plenty of memorable performances by former prep stars in Troup County on the college or pro level.
Korey Noles, who played at LaGrange High, was simply perfect.
During his senior season at Columbus State, Noles went 13-0 with a 1.37 earned run average, and he finished his collegiate career with 18 straight wins.
Noles was later drafted by the Phillies, and he enjoyed a fine rookie season in pro ball.
Noles, in the Tom Glavine mold, gets it done with pin-point control.
“I just try to command, work ahead, just do the basics,” Noles said.
A teammate of Noles’ as LaGrange High, Matt Olson, etched himself a place in Georgia baseball history with a tournament for the ages.
In the NCAA regional round, Olson had 18 hits in 26 at-bats with 10 runs, six RBIs and a home run to help Georgia make it to the super regional.
Olson was a driving force behind Georgia’s run to the NCAA title game, where it lost to Fresno State.
On the professional ranks, former Granger and University of Kentucky great Wesley Woodyard had a terrific rookie season for the Denver Broncos as a linebacker, while ex-Granger Walt Harris completed his 13th NFL season as a defensive back for the 49ers.
Champions Tour veteran Allen Doyle didn’t win in 2008, but he came close at a season-opening tournament in Hawaii with a second-place finish.
Mike Cameron, the former Granger, had another solid season in helping the Milwaukee Brewers advance to the playoffs for the first time in more than 20 years.
One of the highlights of Cameron’s season was a five-hit performance on Aug. 25.
On West Point Lake, the lake level was high, and the fish were jumping. In the most lucrative tournament of the year, Darrell Adams and Tim Vanegemond won the $35,000 top prize at the Georgia State Championship hosted by Highland Marina Resort.
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