Just one year after winning the 4A state championship, the Childersburg Tigers came just a few games short of repeating the feat. Childersburg won its area and hosted the first round of the playoffs. The Tigers swept Central-Tuscaloosa in the first round and defeated a tough Elmore County team on the road in the second round to earn the right to host the quarterfinals.
Childersburg fell to Jackson in the third round to end the season with a record of 23-10. The Tigers lead the 4A-5A All-County team with seven selections.
Walker Cobb, Logan Holmes, D.J. Mizzell, Josh Podoris, Nick Strickland, Brian Wheeler and Hunter Yarnell were all named to the All-County team. Strickland, Wheeler and Yarnell proved to be good senior leaders for the team. All three were also in the finals of the Lions Club East-West All-Star game. Wheeler, 4A Player of the Year for 2007, was also drafted to the Detroit Tigers in June. While the seniors all left their mark on the program, the underclassmen contributed a lot as well.
Mizzell, who was a freshman, served as the leadoff hitter for the Tigers throughout the 2008 season. Cobb, Holmes and Podoris all pitched some for Childersburg this season. After the loss to Jackson, Childersburg head coach Chad Slaten said he was proud of all of his players.
“I’m the luckiest coach in the world to coach what I get to coach,” Slaten said after the game. “I think it’s a cliché. I think coaches say that just to be saying it sometimes, but I’ve got the best kids that there is. I’ve got kids that will fight, they’ll scratch and they’ll claw and they proved that tonight.
“I don’t care if you go no wins and 30 losses, if they play hard for you, that’s all you can ask for. These kids they fight you ‘til the end. I’m just lucky to be coaching them.”
The Talladega Tigers fell short of making the playoffs, but had several standout players. Craig Granger, Alex Johnson and Ryan Pettus were recognized for their performance by being named to the All-County Team. Granger and Johnson were both big hitters for the Tigers in 2008 while Pettus led the team in pitching.
The Sylacauga Aggies went through some growing pains in 2008 after losing a lot of seniors the year before. The Aggies didn’t make the playoffs this season after advancing to the quarterfinal round the two previous years. Sylacauga’s Chase Benfield and Ryne Drummonds were named to the All-County team.
