The Top County Sports Stories of 2020

Looking back at the year that was in Fayette County sports, here’s my view on the stories of the year:

1. COVID Impacts – No surprise here that the biggest local sports story was the coronavirus impacts. High school baseball, softball, soccer, track, tennis, and golf were halted right in the middle of their seasons back in March and never resumed. The teams that lost out on the most because of the cancellation of their seasons, I think, were the Round Top-Carmine boys baseball team which had a legit shot at the state title, and the La Grange boys and girls soccer teams which both looked poised for long playoff runs. Play didn’t begin again for high school sports until August when volleyball and football began. On a more serious note, athletically, revered former Schulenburg football coach David Hus mann (who led the Shorthorns to state titles in 1991 and 1992) died from complications of the coronavirus in December.

2. Dobbins Takes NFL by Storm – La Grange’s J.K. Dobbins started the year 2020 in stellar fashion by scoring a touchdown for Ohio State on Jan. 1 in the Rose Bowl as the Buckeyes beat Washington 28-23 in his final collegiate game. Dobbins then wowed scouts at the NFL combine before being drafted in the second round (55th overall) by the Baltimore Ravens. He’s quickly become a star in Baltimore. Sunday, with his seventh touchdown of the season, he set the Ravens’ record for most TDs by a rookie. He’s run for 645 yards and also had 18 catches for 120 yards this season so far.

3. Change in leadership for the Shorthorns – In February, Brandon Brown resigned after five seasons as head football coach and athletic director at Schulenburg, where he had compiled a 26-25 overall record. Walt Brock of Granger was hired as his replacement, and Brock immediately had success with the Shorthorns as they started the season with four straight wins and vaulted into the state’s Top 10, but then lost their final three games to miss out on the playoffs.

4. Schulenburg girls basketball – The Schulenburg girls basketball team was amazing last season, rolling to a 34-5 overall record. They won five playoffs games culminating in a 59-38 regional final blowout over Poth to vault them to the Alamodome at the state semifinals where they finally lost to eventual state champ Shallowater in early March, right before the COVID shutdowns began. They are at it again this season, and have a 10-3 overall record and 3-0 mark in district so far.

5. Trio of volleyball teams nearly realize state dreams – Three Fayette County volleyball teams had legitimate chances at making the state tournament. Schulenburg, Fayetteville and Round Top-Carmine all had stellar regular seasons, but all three suffered heart-breaking five-set losses deep in the postseason. RT-C lost in the regional semis (Sweet 16) and Schulenburg and Fayetteville lost in the regional finals, among the final eight teams alive in their state in their classifications.

6. La Grange girls basketball – The Lady Leps surged to a 30-5 overall record last spring, tying the school record for wins. The La Grange girls never lost at home all season, but their stay in the playoffs wasn’t as long as they hoped as the Lady Leps fell to Liberty Hill in the second round of the postseason.

7. Leps in MLB – It was a short but eventful major league baseball season for two former La Grange Leps. Homer Bailey, 34, signed a one-year contract with the Minnesota Twins, but because of injuries he pitched in just two games, but was effective in both. He is currently a free agent. Meanwhile, Trey Supak, 24, was called up to the major leagues for the first time in his career by the Milwaukee Brewers in August, but did not appear in a game before being sent down. He eventually became a free agent and has been invited to spring training by the Oakland A’s.

8. LG football comeback against La Vernia – By most accounts it was a rough season for the La Grange football team. The Leps started the year with legit hopes of making a deep regional run, but injuries really took a bite out of La Grange and they limped to a 4-6 record and missed the playoffs. But La Grange did score a memorable win at home over La Vernia. La Grange had started the season with two losses and was trailing La Vernia 28-10 in their third game before scoring 22 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to win 32-28.

8. Flatonia Basketball – This is a story still in the making, but the Flatonia basketball team started the season 10-0 and it will be fun to see what the Bulldogs do as they continue their season in 2021.