By Stephen Dawkins

Andrew Morton comes from a family that includes a father that is a tennis coach and three older brothers who play the sport. Jake Long didn’t pick up a racquet until the fifth grade.
Morton plays aggressively, relying on powerful groundstrokes. Long’s approach is based more on accuracy. Morton is taller with dark hair; Long’s is blonde.
You get the idea.
Jemison’s No. 3 doubles team has many differences but has enjoyed success because Long and Morton, above all else, are close friends that play unselfishly.
“They have cooperation, chemistry,” Jemison coach Benton Morton said about the North Chilton Advertiser’s Boys Spring Players of the Year. “Neither one of them is trying to outdo the other.”
Long and Andrew Morton, both eighth graders, have gone a combined 92-5 in doubles and singles matches in their two-year varsity careers and this past season led the Panthers to their seventh consecutive state tournament appearance under Benton Morton—and scored all of their team’s points in the tournament.
The two started playing together in the fifth grade. Long had never played before and was invited down to the city’s courts one day after school by Andrew Morton, who participated in the varsity team’s daily practices, though not necessarily by choice.
“Andrew, bless his heart, he had to come out there after school because I was his ride home,” Benton Morton said.
Long tagged along occasionally at first but then regularly by the time he and his doubles partner were sixth graders.
They played their first competitive matches together as seventh graders and haven’t looked back.
“We’re best friends,” Long said about the duo’s success, “so we’re able to communicate out there.”

By Stephen Dawkins

Jemison’s boys tennis team on Thursday advanced to state for the seventh consecutive season, and missed winning the sectional by one match.

Jemison’s No. 1 doubles team, Brandon Jones and Cole Thompson, fell to their St. James counterparts in a match that, if it had turned out differently, would have given Jemison the sectional championship.

Jones and Thompson were already playing above their heads: they finished second in Class 4A, Section 2 after coming in as the No. 4 seed.

“Cole and Brandon played the match of their lives,” Jemison coach Benton Morton said.

Jemison wound up finishing behind St. James, 53-48, in the tournament played at the O’Connor Tennis Center in Montgomery.

Jordan Jones and Drew Posey, meanwhile, won the No. 2 doubles championship, and Jake Long and Andrew Morton won the No. 3 doubles position.

Long and Morton also won the No. 5 and 6 singles spots, respectively.

Long and Morton are now a combined 54-0 in regular season and sectional matches over the past two seasons. They are 26-1 in doubles matches, with the loss being a default against St. James in the 2009 sectional—a loss they avenged on Thursday.

By Stephen Dawkins

Jemison’s girls didn’t qualify for state, but tennis coach Benton Morton said he was still proud of their performance.
The Panthers finished in third place out of six teams Wednesday in the Class 4A, Section 2 tournament at the O’Connor Tennis Center in Montgomery. The top two teams qualified for state. Jemison came in as the No. 4 seed.
“We’re building for next year now,” Morton said. “I couldn’t be happier with the girls. They really, really showed up today.”
St. James and Catholic-Montgomery swept the first and second-place finishes, respectively, at every position except No. 1 singles, where Jemison senior Ashley Gothard finished second in the section.

Jemison’s boys tennis team will compete in the Class 4A, Section 2 tournament on Thursday with a good chance of making the state tournament.

Jemison’s girls (7-6, 2-3 against section foes), meanwhile, will compete as the No. 4 seed in their sectional beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday at the O’Connor Tennis Center in Montgomery. The top two teams advance to state.

“They could surprise us,” coach Benton Morton said. “They’ve surprised us all year.”

The Panthers have only two players—No. 1 Ashley Gothard and No. 2 Jessica Swindle—back from last year’s team.

Jemison’s boys, meanwhile, will enter sectional play at O’Connor with No. 1 seeds at three positions (Andrew Morton at No. 5, Jake Long at No. 6 and Morton and Long at No. 3 doubles) and a 12-1 overall record. Their only loss, in their first contest of the season, was to St. James, who JHS will meet again in the sectional.

“We’re definitely better than we were at the beginning of the year,” Morton said. “We just have to handle the pressure.”

Jemison’s boys have finished second in the sectional for six consecutive years.

By Stephen Dawkins

Jake Long and Andrew Morton clinched important sectional seeding on April 6 as Jemison’s boys and girls tennis teams took decisive victories against Brewbaker Tech at Alabama State University.
The Panther boys won, 8-1, and the girls won, 9-0.
Long and Morton clinched the No. 1 spots in No. 6 and No. 5 singles, respectively, and No. 3 doubles for the sectional tournament. Both are unbeaten on the season.
On April 7, Jemison’s boys won convincingly and the girls lost barely as the Panthers continued to prepare for the playoffs.
The boys defeated Wetumpka, 8-1, playing at Clanton City Park, and the girls lost, 5-4.
“They’re tired right now,” Jemison coach Benton Morton said. “I’ve been working them hard.
“They’ve got to be in shape for sectionals, though.”
The boys won every match except for No. 1 doubles.
Jemison’s boys made a clean sweep of the week with a 7-2 win over Chilton County on April 9.
The Panther girls also won, 7-0.
Jemison boys winners included: Drew Posey, Taylor Long, Andrew Morton, Jake Long and the doubles combinations of Cole Thompson and Brandon Jones, Posey and Jordan Jones, and Morton and Jake Long. Chilton County’s boys winners were Michael Elder and Nicholas Lyn.
Jemison’s girls winners included: Ashley Gothard, Jessica Swindle, Anna Davenport, Brittany Bryant, Macey Thompson and the doubles combinations of Gothard and Thompson, and Swindle and Bryant.

From staff reports

Jemison’s boys tennis team on Feb. 18 evened its record at one win and one loss on the young season with a 7-2 decision at Thompson.
Cole Thompson, Drew Posey, Andrew Morton and Jake Long were all singles winners for the Panthers.
Jemison also got doubles wins from the combinations of Thompson and Posey, Brandon Jones and Taylor Long, and Morton and Jake Long.
JHS dropped its first match of the season, 6-3 to Saint James on Feb. 17.
Morton and Jake Long accounted for all of Jemison’s points. Both won their singles match, and their doubles team was also victorious.
Jemison’s girls team lost to both Saint James and Thompson.

By Stephen Dawkins

Perhaps the biggest news this weekend is that the Jemison baseball team will begin its season Monday, but there’s oh-so-much more to spring sports than baseball.
And that’s why it’s my favorite sports season. Well, at least one of the reasons.
Also on the slate for this week is soccer, softball and tennis. Chilton County’s soccer team has already played two matches, and its third, and first at home, will be Thursday when Shades Mountain visits. The program continues to make strides—this year the Tigers have their largest ever senior class including two players, Hunter Bennett and Noe Chavez, who have a chance to go on and play in college.
Billingsley’s softball team will travel to Indian Springs on Tuesday, as well.
Then, on Thursday, one of the county’s best-kept secrets will begin its season. Jemison tennis has enjoyed state championships in the past and remarkable success under coach Benton Morton, and the Panthers get their 2010 campaign underway by hosting one of their rivals, St. James out of Montgomery.
Jemison had one of its best seasons under Mortonlast year, but 2010 will feature many new faces out on the courts.
Of course, baseball begins Monday. Jemison will host both LAMP and Stanhope Elmore on opening day, and Verbena will visit Thorsby.
Chilton County and Isabella will be playing away from home, and Maplesville doesn’t begin its season until Tuesday.
There are always plenty of competitive baseball and softball teams in the county, and this year should be no different.
There’s something for everyone during the spring sports season (I haven’t even mentioned track and field and golf).
My other favorite part of the season, though, is the chance to get outside and enjoy some nice weather.
With high temperatures this week forecasted only as warm as the mid-50s, we might have to wait to enjoy that aspect of the spring. Oh well, let’s zip up our jackets and head to the ballpark.

– Dawkins is the sports editor for The North Chilton Advertiser.