WCBI’s Top 10 Sports Moments of 2014

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI Sports) – It’s a year that’s seen championships, win streaks and many, many firsts. WCBI counts down the top ten sports moments of 2014. What are your top sports moments? Did we leave something out? Comment below and let us know.

10) The basketball rivalry
Mississippi State and Ole Miss met in men’s basketball on a bigger stage than usual in March. The SEC Tournament saw the rivals play for the third time in the season.

A young and short-staffed MSU team scored the first 10 points and led by 13 in the second half, but Ole Miss mounted a comeback led by Marshall Henderson and Jarvis Summers. The Rebels won by 12.

9) Ladies’ titles
Three girls teams from our area won prominent state championships in 2014. A young but extremely talented East Webster softball squad won the state title for the second-straight year in Ridgeland. The Wolverines took the fast-pitch trophy in 1A without any seniors. The Booneville girls basketball team took the crown in 3A, its first state title in school history. Itawamba AHS won in 4A, the first time it had claimed a state title since 1952.

8) Baseball champions
For the first time in school history, Smithville was crowned MHSAA baseball state champs, winning in 1A. New Hope made it back-to-back championships in 5A under head coach Lee Boyd.

7) Shattering scorecards
The Mississippi State women’s golf team had a historic season. Star Ally McDonald led the Bulldogs to a top-ten NCAA finish and MSU climbed to No. 2 in the polls in October. Head coach Ginger Brown-Lemm and the team will call Old Waverly home this coming season, increasing the attention around the program.

6) The Jackets’ buzz
The Starkville High School football team finished the regular season undefeated in November. It was a stellar season by all accounts. The Yellow Jackets spent most of the season ranked in the top three in the state and were in the top 10 nationally. Starkville lost in the north half title game when South Panola took out the Jackets.

5) SEC dominance
Before the SEC football teams started playing one another in conference games, the SEC hit a peak in the rankings. Eight SEC teams were ranked in the top 25 for five-straight weeks and on Sept. 1 five teams in the top 10 hailed from the SEC for the second-straight week. Alabama was the only conference team to finish basically unscathed (with one loss) and the Crimson Tide ended up No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Some say the SEC was over-hyped, while others point to the inevitability of conference teams beating themselves up throughout the regular season.

4) EMCC’s reign
The EMCC football team has dominated JUCO football for the better part of four seasons. Earlier this month, the Lions won their third national title in four years. They went undefeated and beat opponents by an average of 300 points (or, at least, they might have if not for the newly-instituted running clock in a second-half blowout). Head coach Buddy Stephens has made quite the run in Scooba.

3) The Tigers’ title
The Noxubee County High School football team took home the 4A state title this season. The Tigers grabbed the gold ball for the second time in three years under head coach Tyrone Shorter, despite entering the season without high expectations from the outside. Noxubee County won its games by an average of 20 points and uncharacteristically relied on its offense. The Tigers are the WCBI Team of the Year.

2) “Ole-maha”
The Ole Miss baseball team went to Omaha, Neb. for the first time since 1972 in June. The team finished as one of the top teams in the country in 2014. The Rebels won a home Regional then the Super Regional in Lafayette, Louisiana before making it to the College World Series. Ole Miss didn’t just show up, it won twice in Omaha, reinvigorating a program with a storied baseball past.

1) Mississippi Madness
It’s not just one moment, it’s a season’s worth. Football fans in the state of Mississippi will remember 2014 for a very long time. Both Mississippi State and Ole Miss ascended to heights the schools hadn’t seen in decades. Both teams were ranked third nationally on Oct. 5 and MSU was No. 1 in the polls the next week for the first time in program history after beating three-straight teams then ranked in the top 10.

ESPN’s College Gameday visited both Oxford and Starkville. The two teams graced the cover of Sports Illustrated. Ole Miss won one of the most highly-anticipated Egg Bowls of all time and Bulldogs quarterback Dak Prescott placed eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting. It was a season filled with the phrase, “it’s the first time that’s happened since…”

Now, big-time bowl games await the schools. The journeys end on New Years Eve with Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl and Mississippi State in the Orange.