Sports Year in review: Bob Jones and James Clemens compete

Madison Academy won their third state football championship in a row in 2014
(photo contributed)

MADISON- On the final day of 2014 we look back at the top sports stories in Madison. There were successes and disappointments. Some stories made headlines but not our top 10 list. Among them are:

James Clemens failed to beat Bob Jones in football for the third straight season despite having a full senior class for the first time. In May Sparkman hired three Bob Jones football coaches but still went 3-7. In baseball both Bob Jones and James Clemens failed to reach the post season. Reclassification put both James Clemens and Bob Jones in Class 7A Area 8 for 2014-2015 in baseball, basketball,soccer,volleyball and softball.

10. Basketball coaches Danny Petty and Luther Tiggs switched sides. Petty moved from Bob Jones girls to James Clemens boys. Tiggs left as James Clemens boys coach to become Assistant Principal at Bob Jones. Amber Deline was hired as the new girls basketball coach at James Clemens.

9. Bob Jones’ volleyball team failed to repeat as state champions falling to Mountain Brook both in the regional and state tournament. The Patriots were ranked #1 all season and were widely expected to repeat since they had 3 players selected All-State; Haley Hop, Erin Shockey and Jeneva Salter.

8. In February, sophomore Griffin Ridgeway of Bob Jones won a state title in wrestling. Bob Jones seeded six wrestlers in the tournament led by Ridgeway at 145 pounds. Ridgeway defeated defending state champion and senior Brewer Gilliland of Thompson and was voted MVP of 6A classification.

7. In December, Bob Jones swim team brought home a state title, the first of the school year. Derek Sander was strong in freestyle with wins in the 200M and 100M. Bob Jones also won the 200M medley and freestyle relays. Chris Day was strong in both. In November, he signed a swim scholarship with  of Louisville.

6. In football, Bob Jones went 8-3 in the newly created 7A and won a share of the region title with Gadsden City. Quarterback Jeremy Frye was having a sensational season but went down in the fifth game with a broken ankle. Sophomore Brady Polson took over at quarterback and led the team to key wins over Hazel Green and Buckhorn. Bob Jones lost to Tuscaloosa County in the first round of the playoffs.

Torrey Hunt had 2 kickoff returns for touchdowns (against James Clemens and Hazel Green) for Bob Jones)

5. James Clemens finished 7-4 in football, their first winning season. The Jets had area wins over Buckhorn, Sparkman, and Hazel Green. They lost to Oak Mountain in the first round of the playoffs. The Jets placed four players on the All-Tenn. Valley team: receiver Miles Whitlow, back Maceo Booker, and tackle Logan Stenberg and quarterback Heath Birchfield. Stenberg and center/long snapper Ryan Parris were All-state.

Maceo Booker (21) ran for over 1,600 yards for James Clemens

4. James Clemens won Area 16 in basketball but fell to Bob Jones in a sub-region game, 55-53. Bob Jones then upset Minor at Wallace State before falling to Bessemer City coming within one win of going to the Final 48 Championships in Birmingham. Two Bob Jones players signed scholarships: Tanner Finley with UAH and Josh Mitchell with Cleveland State. Dalton Barkley signed with the 2015 class at UAH in the early signing period in November.

3. Linebacker Reggie Ragland of Madison got his first start of his career at Alabama against West Virginia in the first game of the season. He went on to start every game at inside linebacker and was second on the team with 88 tackles, three fumble recoveries, and one interception. He is set to play in the college football playoff for #1 ranked Alabama.

2. Sparkman’s girls basketball team dominated teams in Madison and was expected to win the state title but was upset by Shades Valley 63-49 in the championship game. Kentucky signee Alexis Jennings scored 28 points but Shades Valley shot 50 free throws and Sparkman had three players foul out.

1. Madison Academy won their third straight state title in football with a 70-34 win over previously undefeated Dale County. Along the way they were featured on ESPN in a game in August from their campus stadium. Kerryon Johnson closed his career with a six touchdown performance in the championship game for which he was named MVP. Johnson surprised many experts when he committed to Auburn in April.