Boazs Morgan chooses

diamond over gridiron

By Shannon J. Allen
Sand Mountain Reporter

Published May 01, 2004

Whit Morgan will be quick to tell you God has blessed him with athletic ability, and that ability produced several options for him to consider about his future beyond Boaz High School.

Maryville College and Rhodes College, both in Tennessee, wanted Morgan to play football, as did Huntingdon College of Montgomery. In the past week, the University of Alabama offered him an academic scholarship.

But the option Morgan chose was an academic scholarship to Snead State, which came with the added bonus of a chance to play baseball for the Parsons.

(Snead) Coach (Gerry) Ledbetter started talking to me late in the summer, at the beginning of the school year, just asking me if I was interested, Morgan said.

You know when you start playing Little League ball when youre a kid, you always dream about going and playing at the next level.

Most of the time you dont think about Snead State, you usually think about the Atlanta Braves, but you have to take what you get, and Im pleased to have this chance.

Ledbetter said he would have signed Morgan to an athletic scholarship, but that his mother, Connie, would rather him receive an academic scholarship.

Ive seen Whit play since he was in Little League, Ledbetter said. Hes always been real aggressive, hes a very smart boy and hes the leader, hes a definite leader. I think hell make me a good addition.

I think he can play outfield, and Im losing a good second baseman, so Im going to try to work him there some because he can run, and our second baseman has to run a lot.

When Whit gets to where he devotes himself just to one sport instead of all three sports, hell be a lot better. I think that will help him more than anything. In high school you want them to play everything if theyre good enough, and hes definitely good enough.

Morgan doesnt have a preference when it comes to his position at Snead.

I want to do whatever I can to help out, just do my role, he said. If thats infield, I havent done infield for a couple of years so Id probably have to work twice as hard, but Im willing to do that if thats what they need.

As a senior, Morgan led the Pirate baseball team in triples, walks, stolen bases and runs scored. He batted .319 with a .490 on-base percentage and .445 slugging percentage.

Morgan batted leadoff and started in left field. During the season, he also played center field, shortstop, third base, second base and pitched.

I am excited for Whit, said Boaz head coach Nickey Dixon. He will soon experience what many kids only dream about, the opportunity to play college baseball.

He is an outstanding young man. He is an athlete with incredible speed. He is very talented and has a bright future ahead of him.

Whit was a big part of a team that will be remembered as one of Boazs best. This team had the second-most wins in school history with 28, and they achieved a No. 6 midseason ranking, the best in school history.

They went to the playoffs for the fifth time in school history, and they were the 2004 Sand Mountain Classic champions.

Besides baseball and football, Morgan also lettered in basketball and track as a senior. He qualified for the State Track Meet in the 100-meter dash and triple jump.

First and foremost, I do have to thank God because without God, I dont have a chance to do any of this, and Hes definitely blessed me beyond belief, Morgan said.

This football season we had a great year. We made the playoffs in every sport and we qualified for State track, so its been a special year.

Falcons land Wilson

By Shannon J. Allen
Sand Mountain Reporter

Published May 04, 2004

The performance of senior Heath Wilson was instrumental in the success of the Boaz High School football and baseball teams during the 2003-04 school year.

Thursday afternoon, Wilson enjoyed another shining moment as he signed a baseball scholarship with the University of Montevallo. The Falcons are members of the NCAA Division II Gulf South Conference, where they compete in the East Division.

Its a big dream come true for me personally because Ive always wanted to play baseball, said Wilson, the son of Charles and Debbie Wilson. Its my dream ever since I was a little kid, and Ive been playing baseball since I was 5.

Wilson said the Falcons began recruiting him after Christmas and became really interested once the 2004 season started. Montevallos coaches, head coach Greg Goff and assistant coach Jeremy Browning, are in their first seasons at the university.

Mostly Coach Browning is the one who sold me on Montevallo, Wilson said. I talked to him more than I did Coach Goff, but Coach Goff is the pitching coach.

Before coming to Montevallo, Goff was pitching coach at Kentucky for four seasons.

Wilson will receive an opportunity to play early, as the Falcons graduate 16 seniors. They will return only three pitchers.

Wilson is one of only two high school pitchers the Falcons have signed. The others are from the junior college ranks.

They havent really talked to me about what Im going to do yet, Wilson said. Theyre just worried about getting the weight on me and proving my talents.

The 6-foot-1 Wilson weighs 160 pounds, and Montevallos coaches want him to gain 20 pounds by Christmas.

Id like to put on 20 pounds, he said. I want to put on some muscle.

Wilson realizes his performance during the limited fall schedule will be critical to how many innings he gets to pitch during the 2005 season.

If I do really good during the fall, Ill play some. I wont just be like opening day starter or anything like that.

Id like to come in and throw some relief next year, like 20 innings maybe would be good because they play so many games.

Wilson said his best pitch is his slider, followed by his fastball and changeup.

Ive been working on my two-seam fastball for a while, and thats what I really want to try to develop because its kind of like a sinker it goes like down and in. I also want to get more movement on my changeup.

During his senior season, Wilson compiled a 7-5 record with two saves. He had six complete games in 10 starts and allowed only 12 earned runs in 59.1 innings. He struck out 73 and walked eight.

Wilsons ERA was 1.42.

The Pirates finished 28-17, the second-most wins in program history. Boaz reached a midseason ranking of No. 6, the best in school history; won the Sand Mountain Classic and advanced to the Class 4A State playoffs.

Wilsons 73 strikeouts contributed to the Pirates establishing an AHSAA record for most strikeouts by a pitching staff in a season with 387.

Its been unbelievable, Wilson said of his senior year. I couldnt ask for much better, except for maybe winning the State title. Other than that everythings been great.

Boaz head coach Nickey Dixon is excited for Wilson.

Heath was a big part of one of the best Pirate baseball teams ever, Dixon said.

Coach Goff and Montevallo are signing a top quality left-handed pitcher who will be a solid addition to their staff. Heath has great command of his pitches. He hits his spots and really knows how to pitch.

I have spoken to Coach Goff several times and he is very excited about Heath choosing Montevallo. Coach Goff and his staff did a great job of recruiting this kid, and it really paid off for them. This is a proud day for Heath, his family and Boaz High baseball.