Top sports stories of 2010
RUssellville running back Brent Calloway and Red Bay coach Donnie Roberts top our list of top sports stories of 2010.
Every year athletes at area schools generate memories both they and the schools’ fans will cherish for a long time.
Whether it is a team reaching the playoff for the first time or a player earning a big personal achievement, these memories help shape the history of sports in Franklin County and give fans bragging rights for their favorite programs.
2010 had many such events occur and it is difficult to narrow them down to a Top 10. After careful consideration of several factors — including, but not limited to, the magnitude of the event and historical significance — The Franklin County Times has selected its Top 10 sports moments of 2010.
1. Calloway’s achievements
Russellville running back/linebacker Brent Calloway has thrilled fans with spectacular runs and bone-jarring sacks for the past three seasons.
This year the recognition of his play has been recognized not only by local and state media, but also national organizations.
During the season Calloway received an invitation to participate in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Football Classic, which pits the 40 best players in Alabama against the 40 best players in Mississippi.
A few weeks later he was invited to participate in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl, which pits the best high school seniors in the eastern half of the country against the best seniors in the western half of the country. He is only the second player from Russellville to earn the honor of playing in the game.
Following the season the Alabama Sports Writers Association placed Calloway on the All-State team, named him the Class 5A Back of the Year and selected him as a member of the Super 12 — which honors the 12 best players in the state regardless of classification.
He is in the running for the honor of Mr. Football, which will be announced in January.
Calloway has scored 81 career touchdowns, rushed for 4,894 career yards and helped the Golden Tigers reach the state championship game in 2008 and 2009.
2. Roberts’ 700th win
To say Donnie Roberts is a winning coach would be an understatement.
The coach of the Red Bay varsity girls has earned more than 700 victories during his coaching career.
He picked up No. 700 in December when the Lady Tigers defeated Phil Campbell 64-47.
Roberts picked up his first 142 wins while coaching in Mississippi. He brought his winning ways with him when he came to Red Bay.
Roberts has led the Lady Tigers to many memorable wins throughout the years. He has taken Red Bay to the state championship game five times, earning three state titles. He has also guided Red Bay to 20 Franklin County Tournament Titles.
Red Bay has gotten off to a strong start in 2010-11 and is poised to claim the regular season area title and host the area tournament.
Roberts has retired from teaching, but as of now has no plans to quit coaching. The wins will keep coming.
3. Running wild
Franklin County is becoming a hot bed of talent for cross county and track and field.
In the spring the Vina varsity girls track team finished third at the state track meet. Emily Davidson successfully defended her state title in the 3,200-meter run to help propel the Lady Devils to the lofty finish.
The Belgreen girls finished fourth at the state tournament and had two team members win individual events.
Katelin Barber won the 100-meters for the third year in a row while Brooke Davis won the shot put.
During the fall both schools performed well at the state cross country meet.
Vina finished fourth overall and was the top 1A school in the 1A-2A division. Team members include Heather Thorn, Fallyn Shotts, Morgan Humphres, Jessica Pickle, Shelly Morris, Candace Mills, Claudia Townsend and Ashley Moomaw.
Davidson, who transferred to Belgreen, finished 12th overall at the state meet.
4. All-State selections
Franklin County has been home to some great athletes throughout the years, but 2010 saw 12 players earn All-State honors from the Alabama Sports Writers Association in various sports.
Russellville’s Terence Smith and Tasha West earned Second Team honors on the Class 5A All-State Basketball Teams.
Vina’s Brent Townsend was a First Team selection for the Class 1A All-State Baseball Team. Russellville’s Nathan Vincent, Ryan Bowling and Jake Ward were Honorable Mentions on the Class 5A All-State Baseball Team.
Players from three different schools were chosen for All-State honors in football.
From Russellville running back Brent Calloway and offensive lineman Daniel Hollimon earned First Team selections in Class 5A while defensive back Darrian Graham and linebacker Robert Terrell earned Honorable Mentions.
Phil Campbell’s Dylan Rice and Red Bay’s Kevin Hastings earned Honorable Mentions on the Class 2A All-State Team. Rice was selected as a wide receiver and Hastings was selected as a punter.
5. Playoff surprises
The 2010 varsity girls basketball season ended in shocking fashion for area teams.
Belgreen, which was ranked near the top of Class 1A for most of the season, lost at home in the sub-regional round against upstart Covenant Christian.
Red Bay was attempting to get back to the state tournament, but drew Clements in the first round of the Northwest Regional Tournament. Red Bay fought hard, but Clements pulled out a 37-35 victory and went on to win the Class 2A state title.
The biggest surprise in the playoffs, though, was Russellville’s loss to Fairfield in the Northwest Regional Tournament finals.
The Lady Golden Tigers had dominated opponents all season, but a pesky Fairfield team would not allow Russellville to pull away in the second half.
Trailing by two points, Fairfield hit a 3-pointer as time expired to stun Russellville 46-45. Fairfield went on to claim the Class 5A state title.
6. Red Bay streak snapped
The trophy case at Red Bay is full of many trophies earned by the varsity girls basketball team. Of those trophies, 11 represented the Lady Tigers winning streak of Franklin County Tournament titles.
Belgreen put an end to that streak in 2010 with a 51-45 victory in the championship game.
Loren McVicker scored a game-high 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds to record her second double-double of the tournament.
7. Resurgence of Belgreen boys
The Belgreen varsity boys basketball program had seen better days heading into the 2009-10 season. The Bulldogs had not reached the sub-regional round of the state playoffs in several years and had their second new head coach in as many years.
The season was rough as Belgreen had only three wins heading into the area tournament, but then something clicked.
The Bulldogs upset top seeded Tharptown then defeated Phillips to claim the area crown.
Although Belgreen lost in the sub-regional round, the Bulldogs built on the area tournament momentum and got the 2010-11 season off to a strong start.
The Bulldogs are 12-1 overall, 6-0 in area play and are currently ranked fifth in Class 1A.
They can clinch the regular season area title and the right to host the area tournament with a win at home against Tharptown Jan. 7.
8. Vina, THS post firsts
The Vina baseball team and Tharptown softball teams reached milestones this year.
Although Vina had reached the playoffs a few times, the Red Devils had never won a playoff game until 2010. They dominated Decatur Heritage 7-0 in the first game of the opening round of the playoffs, but they were eliminated when Decatur Heritage won the next two games in the series.
Tharptown won its first area title and earned a spot in the region tournament with a 5-2 victory against Belgreen.
The Lady Wildcats lost both of their games in the double-elimination region tournament.
9. PC, Red Bay repeat
The Phil Campbell baseball team kept its streak of Franklin County Tournament titles alive with a win against Red Bay.
A day after being eliminated from playoff contention, the Bobcats knocked off their area rivals to claim their 14th consecutive county title.
The Red Bay girls softball team earned their second straight Franklin County Tournament title in impressive fashion.
The Lady Tigers went 4-0 in the tournament and outscored their opponents 57-0 to capture the championship.
10. McAlister’s rings
Former Russellville athlete Nathan McAlister came close to winning state championships in four different sports, but those titles proved elusive.
During his junior season he competed in the basketball state championship game. His senior year he competed in the football state championship game, the state tennis tournament and the state track meet.
After he left Russellville, McAlister walked on to the football program at the University of Alabama and he got his championship rings.
During his freshman season with the Crimson Tide, McAlister earned a Southeastern Conference Championship ring when Alabama beat Florida and a National Championship ring as Alabama beat Texas in college football’s biggest game.
