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Former Tennessee football coach Johnny Majors used to
say that the wind is the strongest atop the flagpole.
Huntingdon and McKenzie are going to know what that's
about first hand this week.
The Fillies, thanks to their victory over No. 1
Gleason, will likely catapult to the top of the Class A
state Associated Press rankings for the first time in
school history.
Huntingdon upset No. 1 Gleason 27-25 in an overtime
thriller that reminded me of the numerous
Gleason-Bradford or Gleason-Dresden battles I covered
years ago.
That game had hype, a teeming, passionate crowd and a
substate atmosphere. If you were a fan of basketball,
you got your money's worth at Dudley Sanders Gym.
Meanwhile, the Lady Rebels, thanks to their overtime
victory at Camden, wrapped up the top seed in the
District 11AA tournament, which will take place in a few
weeks at Lexington.
The Lady Rebels earned this distinction last year, but
suffered a hiccup in the district semifinals to
Riverside.
I've covered lots of No. 1 teams in the past. With
that top ranking comes a lot of high expectations. I
remember my first No. 1 team was Greenfield back in
1986. They were 26-0 and took over the top spot in the
final AP poll of the season. The Yellow Jackets, coached
by Don Durden, had won the Class A title two years
earlier and had been to substate a year earlier (the
Lady Jackets, coached by Durden as well, were in the
state semifinals in 1985).
Enter Memphis-Westside, featuring the late David
Harris, a 6-9 center recruited by Texas A&M. Harris also
played in the Global Basketball Association in the early
1990s (for the Huntsville Lasers). The Wildcats ended
Greenfield's run with a 13-point victory at the Hive and
went on to win the state title that season.
In 1988, a top-ranked Bradford team hosted Adamsville
(record 8-13) in substate. Adamsville upset the Lady Red
Devils and advanced to state.
In 1991, No. 1 Bradford lost to No. 2 Dresden at
Dresden in overtime, but later turned the tables on the
Lady Lions in the regional tournament at Bethel College.
Later in 1991, Dresden's football team elevated to
the state's top spot after it hammered Hollow
Rock-Bruceton Central 35-14 at Herndon Field. The Lions
went into West Carroll riding high with a 9-0 mark and
suffered a 20-0 setback.
Fast forward to 1996 and South Fulton when No. 1
Gleason at 33-0 was playing Lake County in the regional
semifinals. The Lady Bulldogs had beaten Lake Co. by 18
not three weeks earlier at Tiptonville. But Gleason was
in the fight of its life. Ashley McElhiney, then a
sophomore, was mugged at midcourt with time running out,
no foul was called and the Lady Falcons preserved the
upset victory in 1996. Kara Sanders had 31 points in
that game, but most of the rest of the Lady Bulldogs
were held in check that night.
That same year, No. 1 Livingston Academy, replete
with two Miss Basketball finalists (Sunday Watson, who
won it, and Tiffany Krantz, runner up) faced a pretty
good Westview team who was missing top player Krystal
Alexander (she suffered a knee injury in the regional
tournament).
Westview fell behind by one with five seconds to play
when Krantz buried a three. But Mona Thompson inbounded
the ball to Tasha Atkins, who streaked the length of the
floor and shot with .7 to play in the game. She was
fouled. Atkins calmly stepped to the line and hit both
free throws and the Lady Chargers won the title.
Sure, a lot of No. 1 teams move on to great things,
even championships. But I remember the words from then
Dresden football coach Scott Hewett after his team lost
to West Carroll: "Good is as good does."
"So Steele, what's your point?"
Good question. Being tops isn't a condemnation; how
teams react to it makes the difference.
It's nice to be No. 1 or the top seed, but that and
50 cents might get you a cup of coffee. Winners keep
things in perspective. No. 1 just means that the playing
field got a whole lot tougher. Now is the time to work
the hardest, especially with that big target on your
back. |
