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Top 10 Sun Sports Stories of 2008
  
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By Michael Sudhalter
With 2009 just hours away, it’s time to look back on the sports accomplishments and highlights of the past year in The 1960 Sun coverage area.
Players earned national attention, teams competed for (and sometimes won) state championships, athletes stepped on to the world’s greatest stage (the 2008 Beijing Olympics) and schools made athletic history.
All in all, it was a great year for sports. And we should be fortunate to have an upcoming year as special as the last one.
1. Russell Shepard’s senior season
Cy Ridge senior quarterback Russell Shepard dazzled teammates and opponents alike, amassing 3,812 offensive yards and 48 touchdowns during his senior season.
Shepard, the Touchdown Club of Houston offensive player of the year, was widely considered the top high school football player in the United States.
He finished with 9,000 career yards and 101 touchdowns in a three-year varsity career. Shepard had over 500 yards and six touchdowns in his final prep game, a 55-48 loss to Copperas Cove in the Class 5A Division II Regional Championship last month in Waco; the Rams finished 9-3.
The beginning of 2009 is looking very promising for Shepard. On Jan. 4, he’ll play in the ESPN Under-Armour All-American Game. Four days later, he’ll graduate from Cy Ridge, and four days after that, he’ll enroll at LSU, where he’s earned a football scholarship.
2. Cy-Fair girls basketball wins the Class 5A State Championship
The Lady Bobcats won the 2008 Class 5A Girls Basketball Championship last March, defeating DeSoto, 50-33 in Austin.
Cy-Fair was led by the Ogwumike sisters – senior Nneke and sophomore Chiney. Nneke Ogwumike was named the 2007-08 National Gatorade Player of the Year, and is now a freshmen on the Stanford women’s basketball team.
Chiney Ogwumike is the only returning starter on the Lady Bobcats’ 2008-09 team, which is the frontrunner to win District 15. Chiney Ogwumike was also named the 2008 Sun Volleyball Player of the Year.
3. Local Olympians shine in Beijing
A few area athletes got the opportunity to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Cat Osterman, a Cy Springs graduate, earned her second Olympic medal when the U.S. Women’s Softball Team captured the silver.
Osterman returned to the area in October and had her jersey number retired in a ceremony prior to a Cy Spring football game.
Jonathan Horton, a Cy-Fair graduate, won a silver medal in the gymnastics high bar event and was part of a U.S. Men’s Gymnastics team that took home the silver medal.
The U.S. Men’s Gymnastics coach is Kevin Mazeika, who owns and operates Mazeika’s Elite Gymnastics at Haynes Road and FM 1960.
Cypress resident Liezel Huber competed alongside Lindsay Davenport on a U.S. Women’s Tennis Doubles Team in Beijing; the pair did not medal.
4. Klein Forest boys basketball reaches the State Final Four
Klein Forest has a strong tradition in boys basketball, and the Golden Eagles reached the Class 5A State Final Four in Austin last March. It marked their second best finish in school history. The 2000 team was the state runner-up.
Four players – all guards – earned Division I scholarships from last season’s Klein Forest team (Chris Hines-Utah, Elliott Lloyd-Northern Colorado, Gabe Rogers-Northern Arizona and Trey Murray-Wichita State).
Darius Gatson, a senior guard on the current team who played for last year’s squad, has a chance to join his former teammates in the Division I ranks.
5. Cy Woods football, volleyball teams make history
Cy Woods opened in the fall of 2006, but the school has already been on the fast track of success.
The Wildcats football team reached the third round of the playoffs, falling to Dallas Skyline, 35-21, in its inaugural varsity season. The team finished 8-3 and in third place in the competitive Class 5A-District 15. They did it with a group of football players who had no varsity football experience.
The Cy Woods volleyball team, playing in its second varsity season, shared the district championship with perennial power Cy-Fair and advanced to the regional semifinals after reaching the regional quarterfinals in 2007.
6. Klein Oak football team reaches state quarterfinals
With five players committed to Division I universities, the Klein Oak High football team advanced to the Class 5A Division II state quarterfinals for just the second time in school history.
Offensive linemen Clint Naron (Texas A&M) and Kevin Forsch (Houston), defensive end Brian Corcoran (Air Force), defensive lineman Cody Davis (Purdue) and tight end Jordan Navjar (Stanford) helped lead the Panthers past Conroe Oak Ridge, Cy Creek and Dallas Lake Highlands before they lost to Copperas Cove, 45-7, earlier this month in the state quarterfinals.
Navjar will play in the ESPN Under-Armour All-American Game on Sunday in Orlando, Fla.
7. Klein boys soccer falls in the state championship game
The Bearkats reached the state championship game in coach Allen Baker’s final season last April.
Baker coached three Klein teams to state titles (1997, 1999 and 2005) and 13 state tournament appearances, but the 2008 Bearkats fell to Lewisville Marcus in the Class 5A State Championship Game.
Baker retired as the all-time winningest soccer coach in the Lone Star State; he coached the sport for just over a quarter-century and put the Klein soccer program on the map.
In 2006, Baker was named the 2006 National High School Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.
8. Hurricane Ike cancels two weeks worth of high school sporting events
School was canceled during Hurricane Ike, which also meant that extracurricular events, including sports, were not held for a two-week period. In some areas of Houston, the cancellations extended longer. In Cy-Fair/Klein, football teams missed at least one – and some teams – two games. However, none of the cancelled games were district games, so they weren’t rescheduled. The hurricane came just before district volleyball was slated to start, so Cy-Fair and Klein schools were forced to squeeze several make-up volleyball games between their regularly scheduled ones.
9. Cy-Fair graduate Sam McGuffie signs with Michigan, leaves after freshman season
Cy-Fair senior running back Sam McGuffie signed with Michigan, choosing the Wolverines over Texas A&M last February after a stellar prep career with the Bobcats. He played for the struggling Big Blue as a true freshman, amassing 486 yards and three touchdowns in an injury-plagued season that saw him suffer three concussions.
Earlier this month, McGuffie decided to transfer out of Ann Arbor to a Division I school in Texas. He hasn’t announced where he’ll enroll/play next, but expect that decision to come in early 2009.
10. Cy Falls graduate Scott Kazmir pitches in the World Series
Scott Kazmir, a 2002 Cy Falls graduate, helped make baseball history this fall. Kazmir, the all-time winningest pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 11-year history, led the team to a series of firsts – first winning season, first division title, first American League Championship and first World Series appearance after a decade in which the franchise was among baseball’s worst teams.
The Rays lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 1 in the World Series, but Kazmir started two games, including Tampa Bay’s first-ever World Series game. He also pitched in the postseason against the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox.
Players earned national attention, teams competed for (and sometimes won) state championships, athletes stepped on to the world’s greatest stage (the 2008 Beijing Olympics) and schools made athletic history.
All in all, it was a great year for sports. And we should be fortunate to have an upcoming year as special as the last one.
1. Russell Shepard’s senior season
Cy Ridge senior quarterback Russell Shepard dazzled teammates and opponents alike, amassing 3,812 offensive yards and 48 touchdowns during his senior season.
Shepard, the Touchdown Club of Houston offensive player of the year, was widely considered the top high school football player in the United States.
He finished with 9,000 career yards and 101 touchdowns in a three-year varsity career. Shepard had over 500 yards and six touchdowns in his final prep game, a 55-48 loss to Copperas Cove in the Class 5A Division II Regional Championship last month in Waco; the Rams finished 9-3.
The beginning of 2009 is looking very promising for Shepard. On Jan. 4, he’ll play in the ESPN Under-Armour All-American Game. Four days later, he’ll graduate from Cy Ridge, and four days after that, he’ll enroll at LSU, where he’s earned a football scholarship.
2. Cy-Fair girls basketball wins the Class 5A State Championship
The Lady Bobcats won the 2008 Class 5A Girls Basketball Championship last March, defeating DeSoto, 50-33 in Austin.
Cy-Fair was led by the Ogwumike sisters – senior Nneke and sophomore Chiney. Nneke Ogwumike was named the 2007-08 National Gatorade Player of the Year, and is now a freshmen on the Stanford women’s basketball team.
Chiney Ogwumike is the only returning starter on the Lady Bobcats’ 2008-09 team, which is the frontrunner to win District 15. Chiney Ogwumike was also named the 2008 Sun Volleyball Player of the Year.
3. Local Olympians shine in Beijing
A few area athletes got the opportunity to compete in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Cat Osterman, a Cy Springs graduate, earned her second Olympic medal when the U.S. Women’s Softball Team captured the silver.
Osterman returned to the area in October and had her jersey number retired in a ceremony prior to a Cy Spring football game.
Jonathan Horton, a Cy-Fair graduate, won a silver medal in the gymnastics high bar event and was part of a U.S. Men’s Gymnastics team that took home the silver medal.
The U.S. Men’s Gymnastics coach is Kevin Mazeika, who owns and operates Mazeika’s Elite Gymnastics at Haynes Road and FM 1960.
Cypress resident Liezel Huber competed alongside Lindsay Davenport on a U.S. Women’s Tennis Doubles Team in Beijing; the pair did not medal.
4. Klein Forest boys basketball reaches the State Final Four
Klein Forest has a strong tradition in boys basketball, and the Golden Eagles reached the Class 5A State Final Four in Austin last March. It marked their second best finish in school history. The 2000 team was the state runner-up.
Four players – all guards – earned Division I scholarships from last season’s Klein Forest team (Chris Hines-Utah, Elliott Lloyd-Northern Colorado, Gabe Rogers-Northern Arizona and Trey Murray-Wichita State).
Darius Gatson, a senior guard on the current team who played for last year’s squad, has a chance to join his former teammates in the Division I ranks.
5. Cy Woods football, volleyball teams make history
Cy Woods opened in the fall of 2006, but the school has already been on the fast track of success.
The Wildcats football team reached the third round of the playoffs, falling to Dallas Skyline, 35-21, in its inaugural varsity season. The team finished 8-3 and in third place in the competitive Class 5A-District 15. They did it with a group of football players who had no varsity football experience.
The Cy Woods volleyball team, playing in its second varsity season, shared the district championship with perennial power Cy-Fair and advanced to the regional semifinals after reaching the regional quarterfinals in 2007.
6. Klein Oak football team reaches state quarterfinals
With five players committed to Division I universities, the Klein Oak High football team advanced to the Class 5A Division II state quarterfinals for just the second time in school history.
Offensive linemen Clint Naron (Texas A&M) and Kevin Forsch (Houston), defensive end Brian Corcoran (Air Force), defensive lineman Cody Davis (Purdue) and tight end Jordan Navjar (Stanford) helped lead the Panthers past Conroe Oak Ridge, Cy Creek and Dallas Lake Highlands before they lost to Copperas Cove, 45-7, earlier this month in the state quarterfinals.
Navjar will play in the ESPN Under-Armour All-American Game on Sunday in Orlando, Fla.
7. Klein boys soccer falls in the state championship game
The Bearkats reached the state championship game in coach Allen Baker’s final season last April.
Baker coached three Klein teams to state titles (1997, 1999 and 2005) and 13 state tournament appearances, but the 2008 Bearkats fell to Lewisville Marcus in the Class 5A State Championship Game.
Baker retired as the all-time winningest soccer coach in the Lone Star State; he coached the sport for just over a quarter-century and put the Klein soccer program on the map.
In 2006, Baker was named the 2006 National High School Boys Soccer Coach of the Year.
8. Hurricane Ike cancels two weeks worth of high school sporting events
School was canceled during Hurricane Ike, which also meant that extracurricular events, including sports, were not held for a two-week period. In some areas of Houston, the cancellations extended longer. In Cy-Fair/Klein, football teams missed at least one – and some teams – two games. However, none of the cancelled games were district games, so they weren’t rescheduled. The hurricane came just before district volleyball was slated to start, so Cy-Fair and Klein schools were forced to squeeze several make-up volleyball games between their regularly scheduled ones.
9. Cy-Fair graduate Sam McGuffie signs with Michigan, leaves after freshman season
Cy-Fair senior running back Sam McGuffie signed with Michigan, choosing the Wolverines over Texas A&M last February after a stellar prep career with the Bobcats. He played for the struggling Big Blue as a true freshman, amassing 486 yards and three touchdowns in an injury-plagued season that saw him suffer three concussions.
Earlier this month, McGuffie decided to transfer out of Ann Arbor to a Division I school in Texas. He hasn’t announced where he’ll enroll/play next, but expect that decision to come in early 2009.
10. Cy Falls graduate Scott Kazmir pitches in the World Series
Scott Kazmir, a 2002 Cy Falls graduate, helped make baseball history this fall. Kazmir, the all-time winningest pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays’ 11-year history, led the team to a series of firsts – first winning season, first division title, first American League Championship and first World Series appearance after a decade in which the franchise was among baseball’s worst teams.
The Rays lost to the Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 1 in the World Series, but Kazmir started two games, including Tampa Bay’s first-ever World Series game. He also pitched in the postseason against the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox.
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