| Remember When? — UC is state champion again; Devils’ Pearson top player | | Posted: Thursday, March 22, 2012 7:00 pm
| Remember when takes a look back at the local stories from the files of The Messenger that took place 1, 5, 10, 20 and 30 years ago.
30 Years Ago
Mar. 24 — Union City opened its tennis season with a pair of impressive victories, the girls winning 5-0 and the boys 7-0 against Westview. Beth Young, Macy Kirkland and Poppy Hansen paced the Lady Tornadoes while Brent Burton, Bobby Davies and Kevin Schumaker led the parade for the Twister boys.
Mar. 25 — Tennessee head football coach Johnny Majors was the featured speaker of a gathering of the Obion County chapter of the UT Alumni Association. Majors spoke glowingly of his ‘blocking back,’ local resident Stockton Adkins, and traded barbs with Tennessee Athletics Board chairman Col. Tom Elam during his speech. Majors also lauded the hiring of Fred Pickard as the new head coach at UT Martin.
20 Years Ago
Mar. 23 — The Union City boys’ basketball program won its second Class 2A state championship in three years with a 57-54 victory over Alcoa before 9,000 fans at MTSU’s Murphy Center. Rodney Bonds’ 8-footer with 47 seconds left capped the third of Union City’s three straight come-from-behind triumphs. Eddie Williams and Marcus Treadwell then made free throws in the final seconds to seal the triumph. Tournament MVP and two-time Mr. Basketball winner Stanely Caldwell had 18 points and 17 rebounds in the championship game and finished the tourney with a combined 53 points and tournament-record 56 rebounds. The win was UC’s 22nd straight and ended the Tornadoes’ season with a 33-4 mark.
10 Years Ago
Mar. 22 — South Fulton’s Trey Pearson was named Class 1A’s Mr. Basketball after a stellar senior season and glorious Red Devil prep career. Bound for Ole Miss, the 6-3 multi-talented guard averaged 29.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.6 steals and five assists per-game while helping SF to four consecutive state tournament appearances, including the championship in his sophomore campaign. A three-time all-stater, Pearson finished his SF playing days as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 2,495 points and led the program to a 99-20 record during that time. Two days after being announced as the winner of the prestigious award, he was named his team’s MVP in the Tennessee-Georgia Coca-Cola Classic after scoring 30 points.
Mar. 28 — Obion County Central was reportedly set to name Mike Greer as its new head boys’ basketball coach. Greer, although formally uncommitted, was to be in the area over the weekend and did admit his interest in the program. He had previously coached on the prep level at Camden, Huntingdon and Milan and at Jackson State Community College. He was currently the head coach at Mississippi Delta Community College. Greer had been named as the coach of the year at three of his five stops.
5 Years Ago
Mar. 22 — Randi Kay Walker and Aubrey Gilliam signed scholarship papers to join teammate Lacy Eaves with the Dyersburg State softball program. Both four-year starters at Obion Central who were set to begin their senior seasons, Walker was a standout catcher and Gilliam a star pitcher for the Lady Rebels.
Mar. 27 — Molly Ledbetter and Elizabeth Snow each went 3-for-4 to lead South Fulton to a 6-1 victory over Obion Central in a matchup of local softball teams. Katie Bivens and Bethany Serratt also had two hits apiece for the Devilettes, who improved to 6-1 on the young season with the victory. Emily Pinion was the winning pitcher. Kacee Eaves had two hits in four at-bats for OC.
1 Year Ago
Mar. 23 — Obion Central’s Mackenzie Tucker and Antonio Cox of Union City were named The Messenger 2011 Prep Basketball Players of the Year. Tucker averaged 12 points and six rebounds per-game for the Lady Rebels who set a new school record for victories with 32 during the 2010-11 campaign. Cox, a three-year starter, poured in 22 ppg for the Tornadoes, who advanced to the regional semifinals.
Mar. 25 — Obion Central and South Fulton met on the soccer field for the first time ever, and the Rebels were easy winners, 10-0. Juan Mora had four goals for the Rebels, while Eric Torres added three and Tanner Noles scored two. Samuel Smith got the shutout in goal for OC.
published in The Messenger 3.22.12 | | | | |
