| Remember When —Former UC coach Randy Barnes elected to TSSAA Hall | | Posted: Thursday, January 10, 2013 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
Jan. 12 — Both Union City basketball teams avenged two earlier losses to county-rival Obion County Central, sweeping the Rebels in the third meeting of the season between the two schools. The Lady Tornadoes won 62-52 behind 18 points from Amy Jackson and another 17 from Valerie Caldwell in a reserve role. Felicia Hogg led OC with 12 points. In the boys’ game, Bobby Davies (22), Jerry Slayton (16) and Jimmy Mosley were all double figure scorers in UC’s 73-63 triumph. Cannon Whitby led Central with 16 markers, Jeff Riley had 12 and Kenny Barr 10.
Jan. 12 — Anthony ‘Ace’ Cannon was at his best, pouring in 44 points to lead Kenton to a 96-69 blowout of Dyer County. Cannon, who was shooting 60 percent from the field for the season while averaging 25 points-per-game, had 33 in the first half against the Choctaws. Cannon’s showing followed another standout exhibition in the girls’ game as the Maiden’s Tammy Burress lit up DC for 27 points in a 59-52 Kenton win.
20 Years Ago
Jan. 11 — Rodney Bonds put on an all-around hoop clinic — finishing with 44 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and four steals in Union City’s 95-76 victory over Covington. The Lady Tornadoes got no such performance, however, their eight-game winning streak over after a 59-37 loss to the host Charger girls. Chastity Caldwell led UC with 10 points.
Jan. 12 — Around 60 disgruntled UT Martin football players showed their displeasure with the firing of defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Larry Shanks by marching together across campus to the home of Chancellor Margaret Perry. The group later met with head coach Don McLeary for one hour, voicing their dissatisfaction with the move. Despite their discontent with the decision, the players said — almost in unison — they would report to off-season workouts and weight training.
Jan. 14 —Perennial league powerhouse Murray State spoiled the Ohio Valley Conference basketball debut of UT Martin with a 92-66 victory over the Pacers. MSU, winners of five straight OVC championships, handily beat a UTM team coach by Cal Luther, who’d won 241 games in 16 seasons as the Racers’ skipper. Dewayne Powell scored 13 points to lead the Pacers.
10 Years Ago
Jan. 15 — Jimmy Fishel was named the new head football coach at Union City High School. The 39-year-old Fishel, a star quarterback at South Fulton during his playing days, had been a member of Randy Barnes’ staff for 16 seasons as an aide where he also served as freshman coach for all but one of those campaigns. The head position in football was Fishel’s first, though he’d served as the school’s head baseball coach for nine seasons.
Jan. 15 — The fourth-ranked Obion Central girls handed No. 1 Westview its first loss of the season, a 57-51 setback at Troy. Central improved to 17-2 after getting 16 points from Jenna Roney and 15 apiece from Jill Konkol and Lynette Staggs. A pair of players who didn’t score — point guard Colby McGee and defensive specialist Bethany Palmer — also drew high words of praise for their efforts from OC head coach Spencer Hoffman.
5 Years Ago
Jan. 10 — The overused ‘Help Wanted’ sign was out again in the Obion Central football program with the resignation of head coach Jason Driggers. Driggers resigned after just one season — a winless one — to return to Jackson South Side as the defensive coordinator after coming to Troy from the Hawk program. A tough schedule, inexperienced roster and the transfer of starting quarterback Logan Parker to Dyersburg contributed to the third winless season in 47 years of football at OCCHS under Driggers’ direction.
Jan. 16 — Randy Barnes, the winningest football coach in Union City High School history, was elected to the TSSAA Hall of Fame. The honor was the latest for the longtime Tornado skipper who’d retired five years earlier with a 191-58 record. He was already a member of the UCHS Hall of Honors and the Hall of Fame at UT Martin. Barnes had winning records in all but one of his 21 seasons at the Twister help, twice leading the Purple and Gold to the Class 2A state title game.
Jan. 16 — Obion Central’s 65-57 upset of No. 1-ranked Gibson County had special significance as it marked the 1,000th win in Lady Rebel basketball history. OC had a whopping .745 winning percentage in 47 years of playing the sport with its latest triumph. Chassidy Fussell had 24 points, Aubrey Reedy 22 and Gentry Reedy 12 in third-ranked Central’s history-making triumph over the Lady Pioneers.
1 Year Ago
Jan. 15 — Rated No. 2 in Class 2A in the first Associated Press state poll of the season, Obion Central won its 40th consecutive District 13AA game with a 59-43 homecoming triumph over Gibson County. The Lady Rebels, who’d last lost a league game in 2009, got 16 points from Brandi Goodman, 14 from Macy Wright and 13 from Brooke Jennings to beat old rival GC. The Central boys made the annual homecoming ritual a total success with a 73-47 rout of the Pioneers. Shyheim Slayton led Central with 13 points, and Bryan Morris chipped in with 12. Published in The Messenger 1.10.13 | | | | |
