This is an opinion piece.

As we close the door on the year 2022 this weekend, I thought it would be appropriate to look back on 10 of the state’s biggest high school sports stories from the past 12 months.

There are so many important ones that I’m not going to rank them, but here is a look at 10 of the most memorable in my mind.

New all-time wins leader

UMS-Wright head football coach Terry Curtis became the AHSAA’s all-time football wins leader. Curtis, who just finished Year No. 24 at UMS, led his team to a 12-1 record in 2022, finishing the season with 348 career wins. He is now two victories ahead of retired Vestavia Hills coach Buddy Anderson (346), seven in front of Central-Clay County coach Danny Horn (341) and 11 ahead of Fyffe’s Paul Benefield (337). Curtis, Horn and Benefield are all still coaching.

THE streak reaches 21

Bayside Academy’s incredible volleyball state win streak reached 21 this year even though – at one point – this seemed like the season it might actually end. Bayside lost its No. 1 ranking for the first time in 14 years in September and was an underdog entering the state tournament in its first year competing in Class 6A. However, Ann Schilling’s team knocked off favored Mountain Brook in the semifinals and rival Spanish Fort in the final to claim another crown. Bayside’s streak is a national record. The Admirals have won 148 of their last 150 state tournament matches and haven’t not been a state champion since 2001 – the year the first Lord of the Rings was released.

Thompson 4 peats with 8th grade QB

Thompson became the first football team in the state to win four straight Class 7A state titles by defeating Auburn in the state championship game at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The way Mark Freeman’s team did it this year made it even more memorable. In un-Thompson-like fashion, the Warriors lost three regular-season games and before turning to an 8th-grade quarterback in the playoffs to lead them to the title. Trent Seaborn threw five TD passes in a 49-24 victory over Auburn. Seaborn is 14 and still in middle school.

AHSAA state baseball tournament moves

After years of playing the AHSAA state baseball championships in Montgomery, the finals moved in 2022, joining the state softball tournament in Northeast Alabama. The championships were played in May at Jacksonville State’s Jim Case Stadium and Oxford’s Choccolocco Park. Choccolocco now has been the home of the state softball tournament for the last two years. Though the original baseball agreement was only for a year, the AHSAA announced an extension earlier this month to keep the baseball and softball championships in Oxford and Jacksonville through 2027.

The Oakwood Academy controversy

In February, Oakwood Academy – a Seventh Day Adventist school in Huntsville – forfeited its Northeast Regional semifinal boys basketball game that was scheduled to be played on a Saturday afternoon at Jacksonville State. Seventh Day Adventists celebrate the Sabbath from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. The move led to Gov. Kay Ivey weighing in with her opinion in defense of the Oakwood and ultimately a lawsuit against the AHSAA. However, in September, the AHSAA’s Central Board announced a new ruling that would allow schools to request a religious accommodation during championship play when certain conditions are met.

New coach at Hoover

In January, Hoover officially announced former Florence coach Wade Waldrop as the Bucs new football coach. He became the eighth coach in program history and followed ultra-successful tenures by Rush Propst and Josh Niblett. In his first season, Waldrop led Hoover to an 11-2 record and the Class 7A semifinals. The Bucs’ only losses came against the two 7A finalists (Auburn in the regular-season opener and Thompson in the semifinals).

Chaos at the BJCC

Chaos briefly erupted at Birmingham’s BJCC during the AHSAA state basketball championships in March with reports ranging from multiple fights to an active shooter. There was no active shooter, according to Birmingham police, and authorities said there was no evidence of shots being fired either inside or outside of the downtown conference center. The commotion happened after the Class 6A boys’ title game between Cullman and Huffman and sent fans running through the building and even into the postgame press conference. Calm was quickly restored and, after a short delay, play resumed with Vestavia Hills facing Hoover for the 7A girls’ title.

Strange coaching move in Mobile County

After leading Vigor to the Class 4A state football title in 2021, coach John McKenzie was placed on administrative leave in February for reasons that were never disclosed. In June, McKenzie was announced as the new head football coach at Murphy High School. Both are Mobile County Public School system schools. Markus Cook was ultimately elevated to replace McKenzie at Vigor. Murphy went 2-7 in McKenzie’s first year. Vigor went 5-4 under Cook. Neither made the playoffs.

5-star Carver duo commits to Alabama

Carver-Montgomery 5-star defensive stars James Smith and Qua Russaw — ranked by many services the top 2 senior recruits in Alabama — always planned to go to the same college but neither revealed the secret nor spent much time on social media during the fall. On National Signing Day last week, Smith and Russaw committed to Alabama on ESPN2, choosing the Crimson Tide over rival Auburn and multiple other pursuers. We’ve heard of “package deals” many times before, but this truly was one from the start of their recruitment.

Closing in on more records

The Hazel Green and Pisgah girls each won their fifth straight state basketball titles in 2022 and can go for No. 6 in 2023. Pisgah defeated St. Luke’s 74-54 to win its second consecutive 2A title. Carey Ellison’s team won three straight 3A titles from 2018-2020, giving them five straight overall. Tim Miller’s Hazel Green team finished an undefeated season by beating Oxford 55-38 in the 6A final. The Trojans have won every 6A girls title since 2018 and now own a 76-game win streak entering this weekend. Lauderdale County owns the record for the state’s longest win streak at 86 games, a streak that ended Dec. 1, 2015.

Other 2022 headlines include: Football coach Ben Blackmon leaving Spanish Fort to take over at Enterprise; Three-time state championship coach Jamey Dubose returning to the state to take over at Orange Beach; Jack Hayes finishing a record-setting football career at Piedmont; Spanish Fort boys and girls missing 6A playoffs due to an eligibility issue; Sophomore WR Ryan Williams leading Saraland to its first state football title; McGill-Toolen’s Barry Dunning Jr. winning Mr. Basketball; Thompson WR Ryan Peppins winning Mr. Football; The Alabama-Mississippi All-Star football game returns to Mobile; Dothan football coach suspended for one week after shoving incident; Saraland BOE sues Baldwin County man over eligibility accusations.

Looking forward to a memorable 2023.

Happy New Year everyone. Thanks for reading this year and always.

Thought of the week

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” -Robert Louis Stevenson

Ben Thomas is the high school sportswriter at AL.com. He has been named one of the 50 legends of the Alabama Sports Writers Association. Follow him on twitter at @BenThomasPreps or email him at [email protected]. His weekly column is posted each Wednesday and Friday on AL.com. He can be heard weekly on “Inside High School Sports” on SportsTalk 99.5 FM in Mobile or on the free IHeart Radio App at 2 p.m. Wednesdays.