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A look back...
01:31 AM CDT on Saturday, June 28, 2008
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
No. 1: Mon. March 10, Guyer at Wichita Falls
Throwing a no-hitter in softball isn’t as rare as in baseball, although it’s still a memorable feat. What Guyer sophomore Kylee Crosek did to the Lady Coyotes is much more memorable. Crosek led Guyer to a 14-0 win tossing a no-no and hitting for the cycle in the same game as she went 4-for-4 with a single, double, triple and home run along with a walk.
Guyer coach Keith Medford’s thoughts summed up Crosek’s accomplishment pretty easily.
“I’ve never seen a high school softball kid hit for the cycle in 16 years,” he said. “I’ve darn sure never seen a kid throw a no-hitter and hit for the cycle.”
No. 2: Sat. Dec. 8, Liberty Christian vs. Dallas Christian
After quarterback Andrew Loch sprained his knee in the first quarter, junior running back Reid Fitzgerald put the Warriors on his shoulders.
He had a career-high 39 carries for 203 yards and a score from as Liberty won the TAPPS Division II state title, 28-7, and was named the game’s MVP.
What made his day even more amazing was the fact that the diabetic was struggling to keep his blood sugar regulated due to the morning kickoff.
“I was low on energy all day,” he said. “I’m not used to early games. It was hard to keep my blood sugar up.”
No. 3: Sat. Dec. 15, Liberty Christian vs. Lubbock Coronado
In December, the Lady Warriors basketball team barged onto the DF-W hoops scene after phenomenal showings at some tradition-rich UIL-centric tournaments, including the Arlington Classic.
The OU signee, who can play every spot on the floor, was named the tournament’s MVP after dropping 41 points and grabbing 23 boards in the championship game against 5A Lubbock Coronado.
No. 4: Fri. Jan. 11, WF Rider at Denton
After a quarter of play, it didn’t seem as if Denton would be able to secure its first district win as the Broncos trailed 19-6 to the Raiders on their home floor.
Denton forward Fred Hunter, the Broncos’ leading scorer, had just two points heading into the second quarter when he took the game over and went on a scoring spree that wasn’t matched by anyone last season.
Hunter finished the night with 51 points as the Broncos picked up their first district win with a 90-81 overtime victory over Rider.
If not for the senior, Denton would not have even seen overtime, as he hit three straight free throws with three seconds left in regulation after being fouled on a three-point attempt to force the extra period.
Not surprisingly, Hunter led the Broncos in overtime too with nine points and saw one stretch in the game where he scored 18 of the team’s 22 second-quarter points to make up some of the huge first-quarter deficit.
No. 5: Thurs. May 8, Krum vs. Blooming Grove
Krum pitcher Derek Howell struck out 15 batters in an area-round playoff game against Blooming Grove. The pitcher’s performance helped Krum win 2-0 and advance to the third round of Class 2A playoffs.
Howell started the game by striking out the side in both the first and second innings. He worked an effective mix of pitches, setting up batters with his fastball, which he often located low in the strike zone, and using his off-speed pitches to put them away.
Howell struck out 10 of the first 11 batters he faced.
In the fifth inning, Howell made perhaps some of his best pitches of the game. He struck out the side in the fifth for the third time in the game as the Blooming Grove hitters struggled to time his off-speed pitches while trying to keep pace with his fastball. Howell struck out the side in all but two innings.
Howell allowed only one hit the entire game, a line drive single to left field in the fourth inning, to capture his seventh victory of the season.
The rest of the best...
(In no particular order)
Austin Axtell, Sr., Ryan football — QB broke or tied four school records in 49-41 shootout loss at 5A powerhouse Abilene
Joe Barb, Jr., Guyer track — Won the first state medals for Guyer with a silver in the 400 and anchored the mile relay to bronze
Alvin Blackmon, Sr., Lake Dallas football — Six catches, 158 yards, two scores in first half of district clinching win over Frisco
Cord Jezek, Sr., Ryan baseball — Ryan’s No. 2 pitcher struck out eight in a no-hitter against Guyer and hit his first-ever homer
Daniel McPherson, Sr., Ponder basketball — 24 points on 12-of-17 shooting to earn Class 2A state championship game MVP
GAMES OF THE YEAR
No. 1: Sat. May 3, Argyle vs. Breckenridge
After enduring a Game 1 loss in their first-ever baseball playoff series, the Eagles run-ruled Breckenridge in Game 2 to force a decisive game. It appeared fate just wasn’t on Argyle’s side as it trailed 7-3 with two outs in top of the seventh inning.
Scotty Stewart hit an RBI single to give the Eagles an 8-7 lead, and he retired the side in the bottom of the seventh to send Argyle to the Class 3A Region I area round, helping his teammates create a lifelong memory.
“I told them when I was in high school in ‘83, I was a part of a comeback like that, and the neat thing about it is I could tell them out-for-out how it happened,” coach Ricky Griffin said.
No. 2: Fri. Oct. 19, Ryan at Guyer
Guyer was one game away from sweeping its entire District 5-4A schedule in the regular season finale, but arch-rival Ryan had other plans.
The Lady Raiders stunned Guyer on its own court by taking Game 3, and the shocked Lady Wildcats dropped Game 4 as well.
The match didn’t mean anything as far as playoff positioning, but the two feuding teams battled through an intense Game 5 before Guyer squeezed out a 15-13 win in Game 5 to seal the match.
The Lady Wildcats were still able to celebrate an undefeated district season while the Lady Raiders, some in tears, celebrated their best match of the season. The two met again in the playoffs and Guyer won for the third time in 2007.
No. 3: Tues. April 1, Denton at Ryan
It wasn't the best played game of the year, but it was certainly among the most exciting.
Going into the game, Ryan needed a win to pull even with the Broncos for the lead in District 5-4A. It came down to the last at-bat.
The Raiders took a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning, but Ryan ace Curtis Petersen coughed up the lead in the top of the seventh after bailing the Raiders out of a bases loaded, no outs situation in the sixth.
Tied at three in the bottom of the seventh, Ryan loaded the bases on Denton closer Abel Baker. He balked with one out, bringing home the winning run and ending the game, 4-3. Baker, who was playing catcher the whole before going in as a pitcher in the seventh, was the unlikely goat of the game despite carrying the Broncos much of the season.
No. 4: Sat. March 1, Ponder vs. Edgewood
The only test Ponder faced in its state-title run was against Edgewood in the Class 2A Region II finals at Tarleton State.
Nathan McPherson scored a game-high 18 points to help the Lions capture a 45-42 overtime win. Edgewood trimmed away a 10-point deficit after the first quarter.
The fourth quarter featured six lead changes with a majority of the scoring coming from McPherson, who scored four in overtime to clinch the win.
No. 5: Fri. Jan. 4, Bishop Lynch at Liberty Christian
The two basketball teams came in as the top two in The Dallas Morning News Large Private Schools poll. Bishop Lynch, a TAPPS 6A power, was the top dog and TAPPS 5A Liberty was No. 2, and the game lived up to its billing.
The Lady Warriors hadn't lost a game in more than a month and had won two huge tournaments featuring state-ranked 4A and 5A UIL teams.
OU signee Whitney Hand had 35 points and 11 boards, including one stretch when she scored 19 of her team's 21 points. Liberty led for much of the game by slim margins until the 3 1/2-minute mark when a 3-pointer capped off a 10-0 Lady Friars run to give them the lead for good. The Lady Warriors hoisted up two potential game-tying 3s in the final 10 seconds, but both shots drew iron and Bishop Lynch coach Andy Zihlman won the 700th game of his career 63-60.
Liberty would not lose another game in 2008.
The rest of the best...
(In no particular order)
Denton vs. FW Western Hills, baseball — Abel Baker picked up the win as Denton won Game 1 of bi-district round in 10 innings
Guyer vs. Azle, softball — Late RBI triple by injured Layne Greenlee led Guyer to a 2-0 Game 3 win and bi-district championship
Little Elm at Lake Dallas, football — Two of the area’s top 4A teams, Falcons outscored the Lobos 14-0 in the final quarter in 28-21 win
Ryan at Abilene, football — Ryan lost 49-41 to 5A power Abilene to close out their tough nondistrict schedule with a 1-3 record
Ryan at Denton, girls soccer — Jordan McCarty’s goal with 1.5 seconds remaining lifted Ryan to a 2-1 win over rival Denton
OUR FAVORITE MOMENTS
Sherman head softball coach Mark Stout had already irked his coaching counterparts in District 5-4A, and he continued to do so heading into Sherman’s regular season finale against Ryan by printing T-shirts that said “Ryan who?”
The Lady Cats had Ryan on the run through six innings, but a four run bottom of the seventh capped by Whitney Haynes’ two-run double won it for Ryan.
Watching Stout after the game was priceless.
—Jeff Andrews
The UIL State Track and Field Meet in Austin has long been my favorite high school event to cover, and this year was no different.
The high point for me was Guyer’s 4x400 boys relay team winning bronze in Friday night’s final event. Jake Witt fell into seventh before an amazing kick put anchor Joe Barb in fourth place. Barb stretched across the finish line in third as the top four spots were separated by 33 one-hundredths of a second.
—Adam Boedeker
Covering the Ponder boys basketball team at the state championships in Austin was exciting. The crowd at the Frank Erwin Center was huge, and there was a lot of excitement in the atmosphere with Ponder's game against Jim Ned sandwiched between the 3A and 4A title games.
Although the game wasn’t close (72-51) — Ponder locked up the title by halftime — the entire experience is hard to forget.
—Brad McDonnell
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