Prep success dominates the year's Top 10 area sports stories

The past year provided no shortage of sports stories worth recalling.

From the unexpected struggles of the Gulf Coast women’s basketball team early in the year to Chipley’s remarkable run to the Class 1A state championship game in football earlier this month, the past year has marked a number of triumphs and heartaches among area individuals, teams and events.

After much thought and deliberation, News Herald executive sports editor Pat McCann and writers Jason Shoot and Brad Milner selected the Top 10 area sports stories of 2011, presented below:

1. Rural classification created

Schools in the Panhandle long had argued that contending for state championships in football and basketball was nearly impossible with private schools in metropolitan areas enjoying considerable advantages over their smaller, rural counterparts.

The organization that oversees high school sports in Florida, the FHSAA, listened to those complaints and finally did something about it last year. The FHSAA designated Class 1A a rural classification that opened a door for many rural programs in the Panhandle to have a more level playing field on which to compete for a state title. And in a number of sports.

In all, seven area teams advanced to the Class 1A regional semifinals in football this year, an increase from two in 2010. Sneads also advanced to the state semifinal in volleyball before falling to Baker.

Before the change, private schools had won five consecutive Class 1A state championships. Jefferson County became the first public school to win a Class 1A state title since Port St. Joe in 2005 with a 47-13 victory over Chipley on Dec. 9.

2. Williams collects honors

Arnold senior Eddie Williams made a name for himself when prior to his junior season  he became the first high school football player to verbally commit to Nick Saban’s 2012 recruiting class at the University of Alabama. Seemingly everyone has taken notice since.

Williams has been selected to play in the Under Armour All-American Game slated for Jan. 5 in Tampa. He was tabbed the No. 23 recruit in the country by Rivals.com. ESPN.com named Williams the No. 1 prospect at safety nationally.

Williams rushed for 630 yards and passed for 438 for Arnold’s offense this fall. He added 30 tackles and four interceptions in limited action on defense. The numbers that really tell the story, however, are 6-foot-3 (height) and 205 (weight). Williams conceivably could play safety, linebacker or wide receiver at the college level.

Williams can’t officially become a member of the Crimson Tide until National Signing Day in February, but his decision to commit early has yielded favorable results. Many other high-profile recruits have followed Williams’ lead, and Alabama’s class generally is considered among the best in the country.

3. Chipley runner-up at state

Chipley fell one victory shy of collecting a Class 1A state championship in football, but the Tigers shouldn’t let that spoil a season that will be remembered for generations in Washington County. The Tigers, who lost to Jefferson County 47-13 in the state title game in Orlando, overcame a number of obstacles to reach the championship finals.

Those challenges weren’t limited to the football field, either.

After finishing second behind Holmes County in District 3-1A, Chipley went on the road to defeat District 4-1A champion Blountstown by one point, 34-33, in the Region 2-1A semifinals. Chipley then avenged an earlier loss to Holmes County with a convincing 27-6 win that propelled the Tigers into the state semifinals.

Faced with a third consecutive road game in the playoffs, Chipley traveled to Bratt to face Northview with a berth in the championship game at stake. The Tigers’ bus caught fire during the trip, however, forcing the team to scramble off the bus. No one was hurt, but the bus burned to the ground and forced the team to wait for another bus to take it to Bratt. The Tigers finally arrived at the stadium 20 minutes before the scheduled kickoff. Following a slow start and a resultant 14-0 deficit, Chipley rebounded to post a 25-21 win.

4. Bay endures turmoil

It hasn’t been the steadiest year for Bay Principal Billy May, at least in terms of his high school’s athletics department.

Within the span of a few weeks last spring, May prompted turnover and had to find new head coaches for his football and baseball teams, as well as a new athletic director after long-time AD Glenn Manley resigned.

May quickly settled on Daniel Davidson to take over for Freddie York as the head coach of the baseball team, but the search for a new football coach wasn’t as simple. May thought he had found a new football coach after offering the position to Dale Brewer, who agreed to take over the Tornadoes. But Brewer reneged on his commitment on June 29 and left the team rudderless. May finally found a coach when Jimmy Longerbeam was hired in early July.

May filled Manley’s vacancy when he hired Mike Cullison as Bay’s new athletic director in August. Citing time away from his family, however, Cullison resigned from that post on Nov. 4 after less than four months on the job. Longerbeam since has taken over those administrative duties on an interim basis, although May has said he intends to find a long-term solution for the school’s athletic director.

5. Gulf Coast tumbles

Roonie Scovel’s induction into the NJCAA Basketball Hall of Fame in July certainly was a highlight following a season that ended with disappointment. Scovel’s women’s basketball team at Gulf Coast struggled through a season and saw its 13-year reign atop the Panhandle Conference ended by Pensacola.

Early season defections and injuries represented only part of the travails that plagued the Lady Commodores last season. Scovel and long-time assistant Grover Hicks both pointed to an inability to reach their players and help them achieve their potential during a season that ended 15-11 overall, 4-8 in the conference.

That wasn’t quite the way Scovel had envisioned her players defending the program’s 2009-10 national championship, which capped a 32-1 season.

Hicks, who had hired Scovel as a high school coach at Laurel Hill in 1990 and later followed her to Gulf Coast to serve as her assistant, retired at season’s end after helping the Lady Commodores win three national championships.

6. Mosley swimmers excel

Mosley’s boys swim team entered the Class 2A state swimming and diving championships with lofty expectations. The Dolphins met or surpassed just about all of them.

Mosley collected 178 team points and placed second behind state champion Gainesville, which won with 219 points. The Dolphins finished second by a comfortable margin, 20 points ahead of third-place Barron Collier.

The Dolphins’ 200-yard medley relay team of Michael Duderstadt, Evan Escobar, Joshua Bryant and Caleb Champagne placed first with a time of 1 minutes, 38.33 seconds, finishing just ahead of relay teams from Martin County and Paxon.

Mosley closed within four points of Gainesville at 87-83 with five events remaining, but Gainesville finished 1-2 in the 100 backstroke to clinch its state title. Strong performances by Duderstadt and Chet Seaman in the 100 breaststroke, however, assured the Dolphins that they would place second in the final team standings.

Victoria Hove placed fourth in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke for the Mosley girls, the top individual finishes of any Bay County swimmer.

7. Allen piles up yards

You can count on 10 fingers the number of county football players through the years who have compiled more than 2,000 rushing yards in consecutive years.

It’s just that each of those fingers belong on the hands of the only player ever to do so, Arnold senior Andre Allen.

Allen wrapped up his 2011 football season with 2,012 rushing yards on 206 carries, an average of 9.8 yards per attempt. He also accumulated 25 touchdowns, and he caught nine passes for 118 yards to help Arnold finish the season 5-5. In 2010, Allen rushed for 2,150 yards and 26 touchdowns as a junior.

Allen scorched West Florida for 327 rushing yards on Oct. 27 as he scored four touchdowns in the second half of that game to put the Marlins in control. He verbally committed to Ole Miss, but the Rebels since have changed head coaches and Allen said he officially reneged on his pledge to the team. According to Rivals.com, Allen is visiting Troy University in Alabama on Jan. 13 and also is considering Minnesota.

8. Records fall at Ironman

Professional triathletes around the world congregate annually in Panama City Beach to compete at Ironman Florida, a venue that frequently boasts some of the fastest finishes of any full-length Ironman event held around the country.

That status was reinforced this year when Switzerland native Ronnie Schildknecht torched the Ironman Florida course with a time of 7 hours, 59 minutes, 42 seconds, marking the first time in Ironman history that a triathlete had completed a North American course in less than eight hours.

Schildknecht’s exemplary performance — runner-up Maxim Kriat finished 11 minutes behind him — was all that overshadowed female pro Jessica Jacobs, who successfully defended her Ironman Florida championship from a year before with a record time of her own. Jacobs, who lives in Wisconsin, completed the course in 8:55:10, the fastest time ever recorded by a female at Ironman Florida.

9. No regrets for Whitson

Chipley’s Karsten Whitson raised more than a few eyebrows around the country as an 18-year-old when he was drafted ninth by the San Diego Padres in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft and politely declined the team’s $2.1 million offer to begin his pro career.

Whitson instead followed through on his commitment to play baseball at the University of Florida. He finished his freshman season last spring 8-1 as a starter with a 2.40 ERA. A 6-4 right-hander, Whitson overpowered opposing batters and led the Gators with 92 strikeouts in 97-plus innings.

Despite his status as a true freshman on a deep, talented pitching staff, Whitson earned the trust of his coaches and teammates as he cemented his place in the rotation during the postseason. He drew the starting assignment for the Gators in Game 2 at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., and he allowed just one earned run on four hits over 4 2/3 innings. He also earned a no-decision in a 3-1 win over Vanderbilt at the CWS, striking out five and allowing one earned run in 4 2/3 innings.

10. Marlin weighs in

Throw all the record-setting wahoo and tuna on the scale you want, but the Bay Point Invitational Billfish Tournament is all about the blue marlin. Russell Bailey, a 21-year-old fishing aboard the Pipe Dream out of Houston, gave the crowd a sight to behold this year when his blue marlin weighed in at 665 pounds.

The fish, which was worth more than $187,000 in prize money and optional payoffs, measured 120 inches and was caught late Friday night during the two-day invitational. The crew didn’t have time to race back to the scales before they were closed for the evening, so the team stored the fish in the back of the boat and was the first to reach the scales on Saturday, the event’s final day.

Several anglers went home from the event with bulging wallets and purses. Blake Roberts collected nearly $84,000 in earnings after weighing in a 42.2-pound dolphin. Sherry Polk’s 134.2-pound tuna was worth an estimated $58,000.