By D. Mark Mitchell
Sports Editor
Girls Basketball
Coach Devin Booth guided her basketball team to a school-best 26 wins last season. The Lady Bulldogs finished in the Elite Eight, one win away from the final four. The 2012-13 team picked up where last year’s team stopped. The Lady Bulldogs are now 15-3 overall and 4-0 in Area play.
The girls defeated Auburn, Smiths Station, Robert E. Lee and Valley last week.
Four wins in seven days, including two Area wins and a victory over Valley, the fifth ranked team in class 5A with a record of 17-2. (Opelika gave them their second loss.)
Coach Booth plays 10-13 players per game. The team’s leaders are Camerion Williams, Tish Chapmon, Emma Garner, Destiny Savage and Jalen Snipes.
They will host Auburn tonight at the Sports Arena on the OHS campus at 6 p.m. If the Lady Bulldogs win, they should at least tie for first place in the Area.
The winner of the regular season will host the Area Tournament.
I will broadcast the game on WKKR 97.7 KICKER FM, starting at 6 p.m.
Coach Devin Booth has an outstanding 10-1 record against Auburn since taking over the program four years ago.
Boys Basketball
The OHS boys varsity team has a 11-7 overall record and a 2-2 Area record. Opelika beat Auburn, Robert E. Lee and Valley while losing to Smiths Station.
Coach John Wadsworth, in his fifth season as head coach, has had a tough job this season, considering five key basketball players also played on the football team.
As we all know our football team advanced to the championship game in Class 6A.
This was great for our entire school and city, but the basketball team suffered a little bit because of the five weeks of football playoffs. Basketball season overlaps with the football playoffs. Coach Wadsworth keeps trying to get his team on the same page and create what all coaches say is the biggest part of winning: “team chemistry”.
The team is improving. T J Pressley and Trey Purter are the leaders of the team. Kenneth Keith continues to play point guard and gets better every game.
Opelika hosts Auburn tonight at 7 pm at the Sports Arena on the OHS campus.
I will be broadcasting both boys and girls games on WKKR 97.7 KICKER FM.
Coach Wadsworth has won nine straight games over Auburn as Opelika’s head coach.
Wrestling
The OHS wrestling team has competed in three tournaments, the Hardaway Invitational, the Hoover Invitational and the Central Quad Match. The results of the tournaments are below:
Hardaway Invitational: 113 pounds Angel Farrow 2-2; 132 pounds Lacarius Patrick 4-2 (fourth place); 145 pounds Ethan Knight 3-2; 152 pounds Jamal Vaughns 3-2; 160 pounds Will Scroggins 0-2; 120 pounds Ivan Ramos; 138 pounds Zay Mitchell 2-2; 220 pounds Marquis Wright 2-3 (sixth place); 285 pounds Gregory Johnson (sixth place).
Hoover Invitation: 113 pounds Angelo Farrow 1-3; 126 pounds Marquise Banks 2-2; 132 pounds. Lacarius Patrick 2-2; 145 pounds Ethan Knight 0-3; 152 pounds Jamal Vaughns 1-3; 170 pounds Eric Jackson 1-3; 120 pounds Ivan Ramos 1-3; 138 pounds Zay Mitchell 1-3; 285 pounds Gregory Johnson 3-3; 180 pounds Mark Preston 0-3.
Central Quad Match: 106 pounds Tyler Mclain 1-2; 113 pounds Tyler Carter 2-1 with two pins; 126 pounds Marquis Banks 2-1 with two pins; 132 pounds Lacarious Patrick 3-0 with two pins; 145 pounds Ethan Knight 2-1 with one pin; 152 pounds Jamal Vaughns 2-1 with two pins; 160 pounds Eric Jackson 3-0 with one pin; 170 pounds Mark Preston 2-1 with one pin; 285 pounds Gregory Johnson 1-2; 120 pounds Ivan Ramos 2-1 with two pins and 138 pounds Zay Mitchell 2-1 with one pin.
Overall, Lacarris Patrick leads the team with a 21-4 record.
The team will travel to Grissom High School for a Duals meet on Jan. 19 and Mortimer Jordan High School on Jan. 26.
Buy A Brick Paver At Bulldog Stadium
Opelika City Schools Dr. Mark D. Neighbors announced that the system will be selling 8000 brick pavers for $100 each. The bricks will be placed in the new entrance to Bulldog Stadium. You personalize the brick. Each brick will have three lines with a maximum of 11 letters per line.
The school system is in the process of getting the order forms on the systems website along with the athletic website, www.thedawgnetwork.com
Stay tuned for additional details.
Booster News
The Opelika All-Sports Booster Club has decided to sell bricks for the 2012 team so they will be remembered as the first football team in history to play in the state championship game. There will be a special section for these bricks.
New Logo
Opelika Athletics will be using a new logo (pictured). The logo consists of the letter “O” with OPELIKA in block letters going through the middle of the “O.”
It will replace the Bulldog face as the official logo for Opelika Athletics.