Anniston, White Plains, Piedmont and Oxford claim Calhoun County JV titles

By Shannon Fagan
Star Sports Writer

The Anniston High School 9th grade team claimed a 78-51 win over Oxford to win the 2006 Class 4A-5A Calhoun County Junior High Tournament. Pictured, 1st row: Domonique Dupree, Nebrasker Burnhart, Trae Barbours, Jesse Taylor. 2nd row: Andre Lee, Brenton Tolson, Quintin Birt, Dominique Wilkerson, Jamarcus Kirksey. 3rd row: Head coach Brett Thomas, Demarcus Smith, Dyimon Edmonson, Dion Ford, Milton Curry, Marquez Safford, Javontae Stubbs, Lorenzo Blair, assistant coach Henry Burton. Photo: Courtesy/Anniston City Schools

Anniston 78, Oxford 51

Anniston head coach Brett Thomas knew his team had to adjust to the pressure the Oxford Yellow Jackets were putting on them.

The Bulldogs switched from a 1-3-1 defense to a 1-2-2 in the second half in which the Yellow Jackets couldn’t recover as Anniston claimed a 78-51 win in the Class 4A-5A Calhoun County Junior High Tournament.

The win capped an 11-0 season for the Bulldogs.

“This was a good group of boys to coach,” Thomas said. “We just put in a lot of work this year. They were most interested in playing good defense than playing good offense.”

MVP Milton Curry led the Bulldogs with 19 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. Trae Barbours added 12 points off the bench. Marquez Safford added nine points and had 11 steals. Jamarcus Kirksey came away with eight points. Kirksey and Safford both made the all-tournament team.

Oxford was led by V. Wright’s 20 points, with 15 in the second half. Ryan Preston netted 12 points and Brandon Roberts added 11 points. Preston and Roberts were all-tournament selections.

Class 4A-5A Girls Championship

Oxford 54, Alexandria 40

After beating Anniston in the semifinals 54-49, Kristen Stringer netted 16 points to lead four Oxford players in double figures as the Yellow Jackets pulled away from the Valley Cubs.

Lisa Manning, Alison Norby and Jordan McCall all had 10 points in the title clincher for the Yellow Jackets (7-3). McCall was named the tournament’s MVP. Stringer, Manning and Norby were all-tournament team selections.

“I think we were prepared for them,” said Oxford head coach Julie Pisacrita.

“They kind of ran some of the same things we did, but the girls had the focus. This is the pinnacle of the junior high season. Winning this was important to them. I didn’t have to motivate them at all.”

Class 1A-3A Boys Championship

White Plains 70, Pleasant Valley 45

Elgin Bowman scored a game-high 27 points to lead White Plains to the 1A-3A county crown.

MVP John Raney added 15 points and Tyler Black came away with 13 as the Wildcats improved to 19-1 on the season. Bowman and Black were also selected to the all-tournament team.

“It’s a big privilege for us to win county,” said White Plains head coach Mike Altman. “I’m very fortunate to have great kids to coach. I’m so proud of these guys. I worked them hard, and they responded like champs.”

The Piedmont Lady Bulldogs defeated the White Plains Wildcats, 39-32, to claim the Class 1A-3A championship trophy. The Lady Bulldogs include: Back row: Hilarie Hincy, Aneisha Alexander, Andrea Adderhold, coach Grace Strott, Raven Prater, Brea Dixon, Shaquia Ridley, Sharea Mitchell. Front row: Paige Carroll, Caitlyn Hightower, Lauryn McCord, Christian Lockridge, Amy Atkins, Neisha Burroughs. Photo: Courtesy/Piedmont School

Pleasant Valley went on a 6-0 run to begin the game, but White Plains rallied for an 18-6 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats led 33-24 at the break and 51-40 at the end of the third quarter before the Raiders went on a run to cut the lead to six points.

White Plains managed to get several fast-break points down the stretch to preserve the win.

Class 1A-3A Girls Championship

Piedmont 39, White Plains 32

Top-seeded Piedmont got 13 points from Aneshia Alexander and 12 points from Raven Prater to earn the Class 1A-3A county title.

Prater, along with Amy Atkins, were named to the all-tournament team. Andrea Adderhold was the MVP after scoring 84 points for the entire tournament.

“We had played White Plains four times already and we won all four games,” said Piedmont coach Grace Strott. “We were still a little nervous playing them after we played them so many times, but for them to win it, they were pretty excited.”

Piedmont finished the season at 13-1.

• See more team photos in the Score! Basketball Gallery!

Shannon Fagan covers prep sports for The Anniston Star. He can be reached at 235-3573 or