Year in Review

For anyone who keeps tabs on sports at any level, but particularly at the high school stage, it’s very easy to transition from one season to the next without batting an eye.

Football, volleyball and cross-country season in the fall quickly transitions to basketball, indoor track and wrestling in the winter, and before you can blink, spring sports roar into action. 

With everything that goes on throughout the school year, there’s often not time for reflection. Well, take a moment to do that now. The high school athletic teams at Homewood High School put together a year filled with lasting memories and noteworthy performances. 

Last fall, the football team was unable to extend its streak of nine-win seasons, but the Patriots still found their way into the postseason. No one gave them a chance in their first round matchup against Minor, a team that had scored at least 42 points in every regular season game. 

The football team produced one of its gutsiest performances of the year, as the Patriots capitalized on every opportunity and held the Minor attack in check. The Patriots held a nine-point lead until Minor finally broke through with a big fourth quarter to win.

Homewood’s volleyball team beckons flashbacks of Venice Sanders pounding opponents into submission from any position on the court. The Patriots advanced to regionals by winning the Class 6A, Area 10 tournament in a five-set thriller against Ramsay. 

The girls cross-country team dominated en route to its first state championship, with the boys following suit with their fifth consecutive title.

Moving forward to the winter, the girls basketball team completed its redemption tour with another state title. After winning it all in 2015, the Lady Patriots got back to the title game in 2016, but fell short. They got back this time around and made sure to win it all. 

Ajah Wayne came back from a knee injury to win Class 6A player of the year, and was joined on the all-state team by Hannah Barber. Shelby Hardy and Tori Webb were the other two team captains, and Hardy was the only one of them to graduate, leaving a team with a chance to do more damage next year.

The boys basketball team was unable to defend its state championship from 2016, but Luke Touliatos capped off a strong career in his senior season.

And, oh yeah, the girls indoor track and field team notched a state title.

In the spring, the baseball team advanced to the round of 16 for the fifth consecutive year thanks to the heroics of Hunter Keim and Michael McClung. Keim struck out the final two guys of the first-round playoff series against Oxford to seal victory, after McClung’s two-run homer earlier in the game gave Homewood the lead.

The boys golf team nearly repeated as state champions, but was outdueled by Muscle Shoals in the second day of the state tournament. Both soccer teams advanced to the postseason, with the boys getting all the way to the quarterfinals before falling to Pelham on penalty kicks.

The girls tennis team won its section tournament to advance to the state tournament, where the No. 1 doubles pair of Maggie White and Dina Zaher took home the title. The softball team, under first-year coach and former player Tiffany Statum, ran through area play in the regular season and the area tournament without a blemish and qualified for regionals.

The Homewood girls outdoor track and field team won the state championship as well, giving them the coveted Triple Crown sweep of all three state titles.

So take a minute to remember what those student-athletes accomplished in the 2016-17 school year, because before you know it, football, volleyball and cross-country will begin again.