OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Briarwood’s Reed and Serrano Earn Player, Coach Honors
Sports
Spain Park boys and Spartan girls earn Class 6A golf title P. 30 Mtn. Brook wins Lacrosse championship P. 30
Lee Davis
By Lee Davis
Memory Game
Journal Sports Writer
In preseason talk, when a coach describes his or her team as “young,” that means its fans can expect a lot of growing pains during the season. That wasn’t the case for Briarwood softball in 2012-13. Despite the fact that the Lady Lions roster was dominated by underclassmen, Briarwood turned in one of the finest seasons in school history, posting a 27-16 record, winning the Class 5A Area 7 title and earning a coveted berth in the state tournament at Lagoon Park in Montgomery. And while the Lady Lions’ trip to the capital city was brief, it didn’t take the glow off an incredible season. See softball team, page 31
2012-2013 Year Full Of Unforgettable Highlights
W Members of the 2012-13 All-Over the Mountain softball team include, from left, first row: Morgan Reed, Briarwood; Kay Holtzapfel, John Carroll Catholic; Mary Catherine Nichols, Hoover; Ann Thomaston, Oak Mountain; Madeline Porter, Oak Mountain. Second row: Coach Suzanne Serrano, Briarwood; Olivia Cooper, Vestavia Hills; Rebecca Hein, Vestavia Hills; Rebecca Blitz, Mountain Brook; Katlin Hamilton, Homewood; Carly Sewell, Hoover. Third row: Caroline Hardy, Vestavia Hills; Abbie Miranda, Vestavia Hills; Mary Kathryn Bonamy, Spain Park; Mary Beth Glass, Spain Park. Fourth row: Taylor Harkins, Mountain Brook; Grace Morrissette, Mountain Brook; Courtney Shea, Mountain Brook; Caroline Seitz, Oak Mountain; Madi Gipson, Spain Park; and Kalee Sparks, Hoover. Not pictured: Ashlyn Boyd, Briarwood, and Rachel Walz, Briarwood. Journal photos by Marvin Gentry
Members of the 2012-13 All-Over the Mountain baseball team include, from left, first row: Coach Doug Gann, Homewood; Tristan Widra, John Carroll Catholic; Grant Veteto, Spain Park; Ian Kirk, Hoover; Michael Powers, Hoover; Price Visintainer, Vestavia Hills; Connor Rivers, Homewood. Second row: Mason Schoettlin, Homewood; Josh Close, Spain Park; Luke Porter, Homewood; Sam Centeno, Mountain Brook; Major Haley, Hoover; Schaefer Amos, Vestavia Hills. Third row: Brian Browning, Homewood; Geoffrey Bramblett, Hoover; Douglass Hubbard, Mountain Brook; Connor Short, Hoover; and Trace Tanner, Hoover. Not pictured: Tanner Cunningham and Daniel Robert, Briarwood; Zach Poticny, John Carroll Catholic; Josh Rich, Hoover; and Heath Quinn, Oak Mountain.
Gann and Hoover Slugger Lead All-OTM Team
By Lee Davis
Journal Sports Writer
Doug Gann is no stranger to All-Over the Mountain teams. As a standout athlete at Homewood in the 1980s, Gann was a regular selectee for All-Over the Mountain teams in baseball and football. “That was a long, long time ago,” he said.
In 2012-13, Gann went back to the future. As baseball coach at his alma mater, Gann led the Patriots to a 32-9 record, the Class 5A Area 9 championship and a strong run in the state playoffs. The impressive mark apparently impressed his peers in the coaching profession. An exclusive poll of the eight Over the Mountain head coaches that compete in Classes 6A and 5A chose Gann as the 2012-13 Over the Mountain Coach of the Year.
“This all feels a little strange after all these years,” Gann said. “It’s a good feeling, but an honor like this really tells the story of what our kids accomplished this season. They are the ones that should get the credit.” The coaches also chose Michael Powers, Hoover’s hard-slugging outfielder, as the 2012-13 Over the Mountain Player of the Year. Powers hit for a .375 average with 54 runs See baseball team, page 31
e probably say it every year, but 2012-13 was truly a year for the books when it came to Over the Mountain athletics. Name the sport, and it’s easy to come up with a slew of highlights that featured drama and excitement. And programs that had flirted with championships for years finally brought some blue trophies home. In football, Hoover overcame two years of near-misses to win the state 6A championship in dominating fashion. Coach Josh Niblett earned his second crown as the Bucs’ mentor and hopefully silenced any remaining critics once and for all. Rookie coach Cris Bell brought new excitement–and a Class 6A playoff berth–to an Oak Mountain program that had struggled for years. Bell’s contagious enthusiasm means that Eagle fans could have many happy Friday nights in their future. Mountain Brook continued its run as one of Alabama’s most consistent programs, and veteran coaches such as Buddy Anderson at Vestavia Hills and Fred Yancey at Briarwood just kept on winning. And there wasn’t a more exciting passer anywhere than Spain Park’s Nick Mullens. But football didn’t have any edge on basketball when it came to big moments. Maybe the biggest story of the entire school year was Mountain Brook’s incredible run to the state 6A basketball title. Coach Bucky McMillan’s Spartans had been steady winners for years before finally snatching the blue trophy in 2013. Some old-time fans compared this year’s Mountain Brook team to the 1969 New York Mets, who came out of nowhere to win the World Series. Spartan supporters might have borrowed a well-known Mets slogan, “Ya Gotta Believe,” because in 2013, the entire city of Mountain Brook believed in its team. On the girls’ side, Hoover continued its amazing dominance as Coach Tiffany Frederick continued the Lady Bucs’ dynasty by winning the state title in her first season at the helm. And nobody could take over a game like Hoover’s Marqu’es Webb, who scored 29 points and bagged 22 See Davis, page 31