A group of 11-and-12-year-old baseball players from various parts of Newberry County became instant legends for a summer.
The Mid-Carolina Dixie Youth Ozone team captured its community's imagination and a state championship in July.
The Little Rebels had to defeat a previously unbeaten team from Sumter twice in a matter of hours, and did so with relative ease to win the state title in Seneca after a long week of games.
When the team arrived back from Seneca, a large group of supporters, including other Mid-Carolina Dixie Youth baseball team members, celebrated with it at a gas station just inside the county line.
The boys were honored in their towns, churchs and proudly wore their South Carolina state champion hats and shirts throughout the community.
Mid-Carolina fared well in Alabama, and nearly made it to the weekend of competition, but came home as heroes in the county.
2. M-C baseball stuns Emerald, plays for state championship
The Mid-Carolina High School baseball team had no chance to beat Emerald in the finals of the 2-A Upper State tournament.
The Rebels had already thrown their best pitcher a couple of days before, and would have to beat a Viking team that had dominated them three times in the season, including once in the Upper State tournament.
And they had to beat the Region III champs twice in one night, and somehow get past University of South Carolina signee Brandon Miller and his 90-plus mile an hour gas and exploding curveball.
The Rebels outlasted Miller's 19-strikeout gem and won a 12-inning game one classic 1-0.
They celebrated an unbelievable Upper State championship with a 3-0 victory in game two.
Mid-Carolina pitchers Cody Page, Shane Graham and Krishawn Holley combined for 19 scoreless innings on the night.
There was no storybook ending however for the Rebels as they were swept in two games by Bishop England in the state championship series.
3. WHS football wins region, captures town
There was very little business done in Whitmire on Friday nights this football season. The smallest public high school that plays football captured its entire town with one of the best seasons in recent history.
The Wolverines finished the regular season 9-1 and won their first region championship in a generation this season.
Most of their core players rarely left the field and had a special group of seniors led by one of the best quarterbacks in the state at any level, Michael Ruff. Ruff was named to the North-South All-Star game and was the region Player of the Year. He, along with Jeremy Lyles were All-State performers this season.
Whitmire was the top-seed in the Upper State 1-A Division II playoffs, but had its dream season end with a second round loss to Ridge Spring-Monetta.
Despite the loss, this was a season that will not soon be forgotten around Whitmire.
4. A football revolution for Mid-Carolina
The Mid-Carolina High School football team had quite possibly the best 5-6 season in the history of modern football.
That's a bold statement, but after where that program came from, it's easy to understand the sentiment.
The Rebels' coaching staff, led by third year coach Louie Alexander, preached in the preseason that this was a new Mid-Carolina.
Early in the season, nothing seemed different as the team started 1-4, but everything changed in the region opener.
The Rebels defeated Ninety Six 27-21 to snap a 40-game losing streak in region play, but that was just the beginning.
Mid-Carolina finished second in the region with a 4-1 record.
The Rebels capped off their regular season with an emotional 7-0 victory at Newberry to capture the Hedgepath Trophy, and earn a first-round playoff game.
Mid-Carolina was eliminated from the playoffs in the first round, but returns much of the core of that culture-changing team.
5. Newberry hoops make Upper State finals
It was a special 2006-07 season for the Newberry High School boys' basketball team.
The Bulldogs, didn't just win Region III-2A, they dominated.
Only two of their games had final margins in single digits en route to a region championship.
Newberry, behind a handful of tremendous seniors, rolled past Gilbert, Broome and C.A. Johnson in the first three rounds of the playoffs.
The Bulldogs' dream season came to an end in the Upper State finals against Southside, but it couldn't damper a year that was one of the best in school history.
6. Championship year for Newberry Academy
Newberry Academy can honestly say it was the class of SCISA 1-A during the 2006-07 school year.
The Eagles boasted state championships in boys' soccer and golf and had tremendously successful seasons for both boys' and girls' basketball.
Newberry Academy had several more trophies to add to its already packed case and more team pictures to hang in its gym.
7. ‘Dogs turn it around
The Newberry High School football team had the look of a squad that was destined for a losing season after dropping its first two games of the year.
The ‘Dogs turned their season around in a huge way with a come from behind victory against Fairfield Central in week three and finished the regular season 6-4.
Newberry rebounded from losses at the end of the year to eventual region champion Batesburg-Leesville and Mid-Carolina to knock off Gilbert in the opening round of the state playoffs.
This was not the ‘Dogs most talented or experienced team, but veteran coach Sam Baird and his staff did an outstanding job maximizing his team's potential.
Next year could be a big year for the perennial power.
8. Wolverine girls' tennis swings for states
The Whitmire girls' tennis team finished the season ranked second in 1-A after just a couple of seasons in existence.
The Wolverines advanced all the way to the 1-A Upper State finals before losing to region-rival and eventual state champion Christ Church.
Whitmire was one of the best public school tennis programs in the state this year.
9. Newberry's Maybin runs for state crown
Newberry's Delkira Maybin capped off a busy year with a state title in the 200-meter dash.
The junior speedster ran a time of 25.71 and was second in the 100-meters with a time of 12.62.
Maybin is a four-star standout for Newberry, and is the leadoff hitter and centerfielder on the Bulldogs' softball team.
10. Meeting Virginia
This time two years ago, Virginia Summer's family didn't know if their young daughter would live or die.
Today, she's fully recovered and has developed into a dedicated athlete and student. Virginia, and eighth-grader earned high marks in the 2-A state swim meet as a member of the Newberry High School swim team.
She is ranked in the top-20 in her age group at the state level.
The Christmas Parade marked the day two years ago the Summers learned of the now 13-year-old's near fatal Arteriovenous malformation, or AVM-a condition that affects the connections between her veins and arteries.
After about a month of uncertainty, surgeries and recovery, Virginia returned to Newberry from the Medical University of South Carolina a heroic survivor. She continues to push the boundaries to success in both her daily practices with the YMCA Eels and in her school work as a top student at Newberry Middle School.
Post a Comment
