Opelika Boys Basketball Coach Resigns
John Wadsworth had been preparing for the 2011-12 basketball season since March, after last year’s team finished the season at the Regional playoffs in Montgomery with 20 wins.
That all changed last week.
Last Tuesday night, Wadsworth turned his letter of resignation in to OHS principal, Dr. Ferrell Seymore. The statement was short and to the point; he stated he was stepping down due to “family issues.”
Wadsworth stepped down as head basketball coach after four seasons, 75 wins, a Region Championship, Region Tournament Championship, three straight trips to the State Playoffs, a school record of 28 wins — finishing in the final eight — and missing the Final Four in 09-10 on a last second shot in double overtime, seven straight wins over rival Auburn High and never getting a technical foul during his tenure to spend time with his family.
Many fans and supporters wonder why he quit a week before the first game. Wadsworth said he thought about that and figured it would be better to go ahead and step down now instead of doing it during the middle of the season.
He did a great job of coaching and representing Opelika. His teams hustled, played hard and with class. Wadsworth stressed academics and made sure each player made good grades. Most of the time every player played in each game.
Assistant coach Brian Moore will take over as interim coach for the 2011-12 season. Brandon Johnson has been moved to assistant coach on the varsity. Coach Brian Blackmon will help coach the ninth grade team.
Athletic Director Brian Blackmon and principal Dr. Ferrell Seymore said that they will open the job up after the school year and hire a full time basketball coach to replace Wadsworth.
I want to thank John Wadsworth for the job he did running our basketball team and representing our program with class. Good luck!
New Football Region
The AHSAA issued new regions last week after meeting with the Central Board of Control.
Every two years the AHSAA checks the average daily attendance of every school in the state. The athletic association does this to keep track of which schools are growing or getting smaller so they can keep the school in the correct classification so everyone has a fairer chance.
This year the AHSAA decided to change the regions according to size.
Opelika will be in Region 3 with Auburn, Smiths Station, Central, Jeff Davis, Lanier, Robert E. Lee and Carver. This will give the Dawgs seven region games and three non-region games.
The last several years Enterprise, Northview and Dothan were in our region. They have been matched up with five schools from the Mobile area.
The Bulldogs have tried to get non-region games with Benjamin Russell and Valley. Benjamin Russell has turned Opelika down while it appears Valley could be on the OHS schedule next season. This is not official yet.
Baseball
The Opelika High baseball program will start selling Boston Butts for Christmas. The Boston Butts will be between $25-30. Coach Scott Sullivan is getting things in order and the players will have tickets to sell soon.
You can call the OHS main office for more info at (334) 745-9715.
Opelika All-Sports Booster Club
The Annual “Meet the Bulldogs” for winter sports will be on Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. at the sports arena.
The ninth grade, junior varsity and varsity basketball, wrestling and cheerleading competition teams will be introduced.
The public is invited, and the event is free.