Younger 'Dogs win title for lost teammate
The Morgan County Middle School boys basketball team went through a rollercoaster of emotions last week.
The younger ‘Dogs started the week by losing one of their own. Seventh-grade basketball player Avett Jackson passed away in an ATV accident on Jan. 20, along with Bennett Rabern, while Bryson Hammond survived the crash.
A few days later, MCMS completed a perfect season by beating Malcolm Bridge Middle School 45-36 in the championship game.
Eighth-grader Trey Carter led the Dogs with 32 points.
“I'm super proud, man. I don't know where to begin with words,” Morgan County head coach Derrick Worrell said. “Just battling opposition and playing great defense. Our model this year was defense, and defense turned to into offense. So they played extremely hard every game, every day in practice. It started in practice. We also got them to buy into what we wanted to do as a team. They bought in, and we got the results.”
Worell acknowledged that other players, such as Cam Benford and Zy Russell, also made an impact for Morgan County in the championship game.
“Those are our big three — [Sean, Cam, and Zy]. They’ve been our big three the whole season in scoring, but the whole team played great, especially on defense,” Worrell admitted. “We pressed a lot, trapped a lot, and turned teams over this year. It was just a tremendous team effort.”
Worrell acknowledged that the future of the high school basketball program is bright because of these three and others on the middle school team.
“We’re trying to get it back to that championship pedigree. We value a championship pedigree here at Morgan County,” he said. “That’s what we want to keep.”
The win was memorable for the players, their families, and the community that rallied around the team.
During the championship game, there was an empty seat on the bench where Avett Jackson’s jersey was displayed. Jackson was there “in spirit.”
Worrell said it was a special moment for the players, who didn’t bat an eye. They performed well on the biggest stage with Jackson’s parents in the crowd.
“It was challenging every day,” Worrell said. “The coaching staff, the teachers, the counselors, and the community, we all wrapped our arms around those kids. It was good to get it for a great, great young man. A great, great kid who was part of our team, and that was our goal. Once it happened, it made us even more focused. If you’ve seen the photo we took, his parents were there with us, and Avett was there with us in spirit.”