Top 9 of 2009: The biggest county sports stories

The year 2009 was a big sports year here in Randolph County.

Some of the best players and teams to play in Roanoke, Wadley, Woodland and Wedowee were in the news doing incredible things.

With the last issue of The Leader this year, we’re counting down the top nine sports stories of 2009.

1. Courtney Strain breaks career points record in the state of Alabama.

On January 27, 2009, Woodland Lady Bobcat standout junior Courtney Strain scored 30 points against the Beulah Bobcats.

Going into the game against Beulah, Strain sat at 4,146 career points, 10 points shy of breaking a record set by Starr Orr of Speake High School.

Strain stole the ball on a defensive press play and hustled down the court for a lay-up, adding her ninth and 10th points of the game, giving her the record.

By the time the game was over, Strain had scored 4,176 points in her career.

Courtney said after the game she was just glad for the weight of the record to be off her back.

“It’s exciting of course,” Strain said. “All in all, I’m just relieved it’s over so I can concentrate on winning.”

Strain went on to be named All-County MVP by The Leader and signed a scholarship to play for Auburn.

2. The Handley Tigers football team enjoys its first undefeated regular season since 1940 and a trip to the semifinal round of the playoffs

The talk before football season in this county seemed to revolve around the Handley Tigers. After all, the Tigers returned a vast group of talented seniors to a team that went to the semifinals in 2008.

Led by Darius Finley, Ladarrious Phillips, Shaquille Trammell, Taylon Hunter, Corey Smith, Justin Brown and Adrian Dillard, Handley thundered through its regular season like the juggernaut they were expected to be.

Handley outscored its opponents 409-56 in 10 regular season games, ending with a 48-7 dismantling of 5A Beauregard on October 30.

Quarterback Finley said after the Beauregard win that an undefeated season was a great way to cap off a senior season.

“It was special to us,” Finley said. “Doing it with the group of people we did it with was great. We came into this season with a lot of confidence. We knew if we did what we needed to, we could beat anybody.”

Handley went on to defeat Greensboro and Saks in the first two rounds of the playoffs before claiming revenge against UMS Wright, which had put them out in 2008. With 13 wins on the season, Handley’s only loss of the year came to state runner-up Jackson in the semifinals.

3. Wadley Lady Bulldog softball team pummels the competition in area tournament.

The Wadley Lady Bulldogs were the surprise success story of the 2009 softball season in 1A Area 7.

After walking through the regular season area schedule unscathed, the Lady Dogs marched into the area tournament with confidence at an all-time high.

Wadley dusted through Notasulga and Edward Bell twice to win the area tournament hands down. The most impressive thing about Wadley’s tournament win though, was the dominant way they did it.

The Lady Dogs outscored their opponents in three games 74-13.

Wadley head coach Chad Kendrick said he expected the team to dominate because of the swagger the team played with late in the season.

“We went in with a lot of confidence,” Kendrick said. “We’re probably the most confident I’ve ever seen here at Wadley.”

4. The Handley baseball team makes its first playoff appearance since 2000.

Handley’s timing was fitting in that the last season of the decade was the first time since the start of the decade the Tigers entered the post season.

Late in the season, it appeared all Handley needed was a pair of wins over Munford to secure that playoff berth.

They got those wins in impressive fashion, throttling Munford 15-2 in the first game and 12-2 in the second game.

Pitchers Leandro Velazquez and Chans Morrison led the Tigers on the mound in the playoff-clinching efforts.

Handley head coach Kevin Smith said the Tigers were focused going into those two contests with Munford.

“Our kids were focused and ready to play,” Smith said. “They could see the playoffs and didn’t want it to go to waste. I couldn’t ask anything more of them.”

5. Former Wadley standout Terrell Zachery entered the record books as an Auburn Tiger in the first game of the 2009 season.

After fighting through coaching turmoil in the previous two seasons as an Auburn Tiger, Terrell Zachery finally earned his stripes before the 2009 season began.

In the season opener against Louisiana Tech, Zachery showed exactly what a player from a small town in Randolph County could do.

On third down, deep in Auburn territory, quarterback Chris Todd hit Zachery wide open down the sideline. Zachery flew down the field for a 93-yard touchdown reception.

The play eclipsed the longest completion in Auburn history, an 87-yard touchdown pass from Jason Campbell to Silas Daniels in 2004 against Louisiana Tech.

6. The Wadley Bulldog baseball team goes undefeated in area play to earn a top seed in the playoffs.

Wadley closed out its area play for the season with four straight wins, giving them an undisputed area championship.

The Bulldogs dispatched Edward Bell, Notasulga twice and Loachapoka to earn a homefield advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Wadley’s key source of dominance in the 2009 season was its pitching. No time was that more evident than during that four-game stretch.

Starting pitchers Koty Tobin, Ryan Siskey and Dalton Jones struck out a combined 48 batters in that four-area-game stretch.

Head coach Scott Doss knew the Bulldogs had the firepower on the mound to beat any team in Wadley’s area.

“Our main thing is if no one scores on us, it’s hard to beat us,” Doss said.

7. Mixed Martial Arts event proves to be big draw in Roanoke.

Back on July 25, Roanoke was treated to a taste of one of the fastest growing sports in America, Mixed Martial Arts, at the Roanoke Recreation Center.

The event consisted of 14 matches in various weight divisions with three title fights headlining the action.

The event was far more successful than anyone could have predicted. Competitors from Alabama and Georgia turned out to display the raw power and competition that can only be seen in MMA fights. Fans piled in to fill the recreation center from the time the doors opened at 6:30 that night.

One of the crowd’s favorite teams was Team Kudzu, based out of Woodland. Three members of Team Kudzu competed in the event, including Jonathan Burge, Chad Milstead and Tyler Puckett. Even the event’s organizer, Tyler Murphy, is a member of Kudzu.

“We just wanted to bring something different to do here in Roanoke,” Murphy said. “I’m real glad it went the way it did. The crowd loved it and the sportsmanship between the guys was good.”

8. Former Randolph County and Alabama Crimson Tide player Zeke Knight gets a second chance on the gridiron.

Zeke Knight was a force to be reckoned with during his days as a Randolph County Tiger. Just ask anyone who watched him play in the 2003 state title game.

Knight spent four years at Alabama, including a stellar junior season in 2007 in which he recorded 67 tackles and three sacks for the Tide.

But with one year of eligibility remaining, before the 2008 season, Knight was released from the team because of a dangerous heart condition.

After visiting doctor after doctor, Knight was given a second chance to play college football before the 2009 season.

This time around it was at Stillman College, right down the road from Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Knight played in all 10 games during the 2009 season, racking up 15 solo tackles, 25 tackle assists and 3 sacks.

9. The Randolph County Lady Tigers softball team unexpectedly enters playoffs for second year in a row.

The Lady Tigers from Wedowee proved themselves for the second year by upsetting Woodland in the area tournament to earn a playoff bid.

After falling to Woodland in the first round of the tournament, Randolph County bounced back by defeating Ohatchee, 6-5, then winning a rematch against Woodland, 2-0.

Head coach Robyn Wortham was proud of the way the Lady Tigers fought through adversity to earn a spot in the postseason.

“We were the underdogs for the second year in a row,” Wortham said. “We were just pumped up and ready to play.”