'92 baseball team earns RHS Sports Hall of Fame entry

Democrat Sports Staff

The 1992 Clay County Central baseball team is one of four 2009 inductees into the Rector High School Sports Hall of Fame (RHSSHOF).

No one can deny the importance of the team, nor its impact on Rector athletics, as the young men and coaches who were a part of the squad earned the only senior high state championship in school history, capturing the Class A title with a 12-6 win over Hackett in El Dorado.

It's not unfair to call the 1992 Cougars a team of destiny. Over their last eight games of the season, all of which were wins, the squad averaged 11.5 runs per game against some of the stiffest competition in the state.

During the district tournament, CCC defeated Manila 10-0 in the first round, topped Bay 14-4 in the semifinals, then got past Buffalo Island Central 10-9 in the district finals.

The thrilling district win was eclipsed by the Cougars' 9-3 win over Marked Tree in the second round of the regional tournament, following first-round byes for both teams. At the time, Marked Tree was the top-ranked team in Class A. CCC rolled in the final, drumming McCrory to the tune of 24-5 for the regional crown.

The Cougars started the state tournament with a thrilling 4-3 win over the Smackover Buckaroos in Smackover. The game was crucial because CCC not only was playing on the opponents' home field, but also because Smackover had been the number one team in the state for most of the season.

"The Smackover win was a big one for our team," then CCC coach Richard Huggins said. "There was a lot riding on it. They were a very good team, playing in front of their home crowd. It felt more like a championship game than a first round game."

Jimmy Greenway earned the win for the Cougars, working six innings. David Scales picked up the save, working the seventh inning.

Scotty Burdin led CCC at the plate, notching three hits. Greenway notched two hits in the victory.

The Cougars' second game of the state tourney was an entirely different animal. Clay County Central had five errors in the first inning, allowing Bergman to claim a 3-0 lead. The Cougars were able to battle back thanks to strong hitting, a key for the team, earning a 9-5 win. All eight CCC hits in the contest were singles. Burdin and Greenway finished with two hits and three RBIs each. Keat Cohn, Matt Moore, Kevin Manchester and Jeremy McDaniel notched one hit each. David Scales, who earned the win on the mound, also notched an RBI on a sacrifice fly.

The Cougars ran away with the championship game, outpacing Hackett 12-6.

CCC had a whopping 15 hits in the final. Moore led the way with four hits and two RBIs. Cohn drove in five runs on three hits. Greenway had two RBIs on a pair of hits. Scales and Burdin finished with two hits each. McDaniel had one hit and an RBI. Jonathan Kemp drove in a run on a sac fly.

The Cougars had a flurry of offense during the state tournament, scoring 25 runs in three games. Four players hit .500 or better during the tourney, as Burdin went 7-13, Greenway and Cohn went 6-11 each and Moore was 5-10.

Another important part of the team's trip to El Dorado was the strong fan base which followed. For a trip more than 300 miles away from Rector, over 200 Cougar faithful made the trip to support the team in their championship quest.

In addition to being the only varsity program to win a state title in school history, the 1992 Cougars also set records for the baseball program. Their 18 homeruns and team batting average of .363 are the highest totals in school history.

The team was made up of Scotty Burdin, David Scales, Keat Cohn, Jimmy Greenway, Jason Manchester, Todd Ford, Matt Moore, Kevin Manchester, Jeremy McDaniel, Jeremy Huggins, Stacey Benson, Jonathan Kemp, Neal Wimberley, Alberto Garcia, Aaron Arrant, Eric Bolster, Chris Haywood, Jason Waddell and Benton York. Richard Huggins was the head coach. Kelly Scobey was the assistant coach. Debbie Baker kept the scorebook.

Greenway, Scales, Burdin and Cohn were named to the All-State Team with Greenway receiving the MVP award. Greenway also was named to the All-Region Team. Jason Manchester, Cohn, Scales and Greenway were All-District Team selections with Scales and Greenway receiving Co-MVP honors.

CCC finished the season with an overall record of 21-7.

The team will be honored during a special luncheon at the school's cafeteria at noon Saturday, Sept. 5. Team coaches and members will be present to take part in the event. A plaque featuring the team and its accomplishments will be placed in the RHSSHOF case in the school gymnasium.