Pandemic cancels spring sports season, continues to impact games heading to 2021
In reviewing the previous year in sports, sporting stories fell into one of two categories, those that happened before COVID-19 and those that happened after.
But when it comes to 2020, the pandemic has dominated the news in 2020. Here’s a look at the top stories of 2020:
1. COVID kills spring sports seasons. In a year to forget, the most unforgettable thing to happen to the world of sports in 2020 was the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic changed the landscape of high school and college sports within a week’s time. Schools entered spring break with a full schedule of events. Some schools played some spring break sports. But, by the end of spring break, schools had temporarily shut down, which also shut down sports as well. Those schools never went back on campus and spring sports were cancelled.
The ripple effect of the pandemic was felt for the rest of the calendar year. Starting in the summer, schools gradually started welcoming students back on campus but in vastly different manners than had ever been seen before. As summer drew to a close, the big question was would there be a football season. The public schools eventually pushed back two weeks and finally started a season. The pandemic still had an effect on local schools and wreaked havoc on some schedules. Both public and private schools held their football championships and finished their seasons.
As the year entered November and December, COVID cases started to rise and started to wreak havoc on schedules as well, causing multiple cancellations. Both Newton basketball teams missed the month of December with COVID cases and exposure.
2. Andy Ogletree is low amateur at The Masters. The COVID-19 pandemic had as much of an impact on Union’s Andy Ogletree as it did any other sportsman in Newton County.
Ogletree entered 2020 riding as big of a wave as anybody. Ogletree was the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and helped the United States to a Walker Cup victory. Ogletree was looking forward to a senior season at Georgia Tech and a possible national championship bid. But the pandemic cancelled spring sports and pushed the Masters from April to October. While Ogletree did get a start in the U.S. Open, the British Open was cancelled.
Ogletree eventually got to fulfill a life-long dream when he got to play in the Masters, playing the opening two days with his childhood idol, Tiger Woods.
Ogletree didn’t disappoint in his Masters’ debut as he made the cut. Ogletree then made a name for himself when he was low amateur at The Masters, drawing plenty of national television time in the process.
A few weeks later, Ogletree started as a professional in his first PGA Tour event and made the cut at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Ogletree had a solid week in his first professional start, finishing in a tie for 46th at 5-under par. Ogletree shot a 2-under-par 69 to open the tournament and was four-under par 67 in the second round to make the cut. Ogletree shot 1-under par 70 on Saturday to move to 7-under par before shooting a 2-over-par 73 on Sunday. Ogletree did birdie four of the last six holes on Sunday to salvage the round.
3. Newton football has turnaround season. The Newton High School football team entered the 2020 season on a 16-game losing streak in coach Zach Grady’s third season.
Grady consistently said all summer that the Tigers would be better in 2020 and would be a playoff team.
Grady’s words were prophetic as the Tigers snapped that 16-game losing streak with a 20-14 win over Class 4A Leake Central. The Tigers finished the regular season with a 5-3 record and made the Class 2A playoffs as the No. 4 seed out of Division 6-2A. The Tigers then went on the road in the first round and came away with a 7-6 win over Perry Central.
Newton lost the next week to Enterprise-Clarke and finished the season with a 6-4 record.
4. Newton County goes undefeated in regular season. The Newton County football team had a season to remember, despite a disappointing loss to end the season.
The Cougars rolled through the regular season with an 8-0 record and won the Division 5-4A championship, ending with a 50-0 win over Northeast Jones to finish the regular season.
The Cougars opened the Class 4A playoffs with a 23-14 win over Purvis but lost a 31-28 heartbreaker to North Pike in the second round to end their season.
Senior running back Carlois Walker had another huge season with 1,786 yards and 20 TDs after rushing for 1,657 yards as a junior for one of the most successful two-year stretches in Newton County football history.
5. Kenyon Clay leads Union to third round of Class 2A playoffs
After a year as a backup, Kenyon Clay was finally the starting quarterback for the Union Yellowjackets in coach Jordan Wren’s first season.
Clay had a monster season for the Yellowjackets as he rushed for 1,307 yards and passed for 1,521 yards for more than 2,800 yards of total offense. Clay was eventually named the Division 6-2A Most Valuable Offensive Players and was a Class 2A first-team All-state selection.
More importantly, Clay led the Yellowjackets to a 7-2 regular season with losses to Newton County (28-7) and Scott Central (38-33). The Yellowjackets beat Philadelphia 40-21 to finish second in Division 6-2A and then won two playoff games, beating East Marion (35-0) and Wesson (64-44) before falling to eventual 2A champion Taylorsville (65-37).
6. Brad Breland retires at Union
While there weren’t many coaching moves of note in 2020, one of the biggest came out of Union when veteran coach Brad Breland announced he was retiring.
Breland was coming off a somewhat disappointing 6-5 season that ended with a 50-12 loss to eventual 2A champion Taylorsville in the first round of the Class 2A playoffs. A few weeks later, Breland coached Mississippi to a win over Alabama in the Mississippi-Alabama All-star football game, joining brother Jeff Breland.
In February, Union hired Jordan Wren to take over the Union program. In his first season, Wren led the Yellowjackets to a 9-3 record and third round of the Class 2A playoffs.
Breland eventually took a private-school job, taking the head coaching job at East Rankin Academy.
7. Rob Roberts retires at Newton County Academy
Rob Roberts ended the most successful stretch of football in Newton County Academy history when he stepped down as the school’s football coach in January.
Roberts went 84-77 in his 13 years as head coach, which was highlighted by the 2014 state championship and a 12-2 record. Roberts also recorded nine winning seasons and six district championships.
NCA eventually hired Arnie Oakes to be the school’s next head coach.
8. Newton County boys soccer team make Class 4A championship game
One of the highlights of the Pre-COVID era was the Newton County boys soccer team.
The Cougars made a historic run for the school as they went 23-2 on the season with 23 straight wins. They had bookend losses on the season that ended with a 4-1 loss to St. Stanislaus in the Class 4A championship game.
The Cougars advanced to the championship game in dramatic fashion. Trailing 2-0 at the half on the road at Ripley, the Cougars mounted a comeback for the ages. Coach Will Thompson moved Graham Lewis and Lee Hill to the offensive end and Hill responded with three second-half goals to lead the Cougars to a 3-2 win.
9. Former Newton and Ole Miss great Stan Hindman dies
A Newton County and Ole Miss legend passed away this year when former Newton High School great Stan Hindman died in July.
Hindman was an All-American at Ole Miss and was eventually selected in the first round of the NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers, where he played for seven seasons as a defensive tackle.
Hindman passed away after a successful career as an architect in the San Francisco Bay Area, getting an architecture degree from UCLA after his time in the NFL.
10. East Central opens new football field house
East Central Community College took a big step this spring when they opened a 12,300-square foot football facility, which is located in the north end zone at Bailey Stadium.
The $2.6 million facility contains a new locker room for the East Central football team along with new offices for the coaches and a team meeting room. It also houses a state-of-the art training room with a hydrotherapy pool that will be used by student athletes in all nine sports at East Central.
The softball field at Newton County’s Mack Fanning Baseball/Softball Complex likely would have hosted several rounds of playoffs for the Newton County fastpitch softball team. Unfortunately, the Lady Cougars didn’t get the opportunity to defend their Class 4A title.
Robbie Robertson/The Appeal
Andy Ogletree putts on the fifth green during the practice round at the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club (West Course) in Mamaroneck, N.Y. on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020.
USGA/Robert Beck
Carlois Walker sealed the Cougars’ rivalry game against Union with a dynamic touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. This would be one of the toughest matchups of the season for Newton County.
Brent Maze/The Appeal
Newton’s Tyreke Snow runs for a touchdown against Scott Central during the 2020 football season. He was one of the leaders of the Tiger football team this season.
Brent Maze/The Appeal
Kenyon Clay (8) breaks around the Philadelphia defense to make a Union first down.
Jason Dyess/Fourth & Goal Photography
Brad Breland hugs his daughter, Parker, after he won the MS-AL All-Star Game.
Brent Maze/The Appeal
