The year 2000 began in the heat of basketball season, with both Trinity and Natchez making statements on the court. Cathedral made &uot;waves&uot; on the soccer field, and by March, baseball season was in full swing.

January

Terry Moffett volunteers to be Cathedral High School’s varsity boys head basketball coach after the death of Green Wave coach Bill Cameron to a heart attack on Dec. 23, 1999.

Eleven-year-old Timmy Foster of Natchez wins the national championship of the 10-11 age division in the NFL/Gatorade Punt, Pass & Kick Competition.

The national finals were held at ALLTEL Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla., prior to the Jacksonville Jaguars’ AFC divisional playoff game.

Tony Byrne, former mayor of Natchez (1968-1988) is named the Miss-Lou Athlete of the Century.

Byrne, who attended Natchez High School, is the only person to win a scoring title in football (192 points in 1953) and basketball (716 points in 1954) in the Big Eight Conference, which was comprised of all of the large schools in Mississippi.

Cathedral High’s soccer team wins its first-ever district championship with a 6-1 win over the Wesson Cobras and clinches a first-round playoff game at D’Evereux Stadium.

February

The Trinity Saints come back from a 19-0 first quarter deficit to defeat the Briarfield Rebels 80-79 to win their second-straight MPSA District 6-1A tournament championship.

The Tensas Lady Chiefs win an unprecedented fifth straight MPSA District 6-1A tournament championship with a 42-39 win over the Trinity Lady Saints.

The Riverdale Rebels, a team with no seniors and the No. 3 seed from MPSA’s District 5-1A, upset the defending MPSA South 1A state champion Trinity Saints 72-67 to win the MPSA South 1A state championship.

The Natchez High Bulldogs defeat the Jim Hill Tigers 80-65 to win the Division 6-5A championship and will host a South State 5A first-round playoff game for the first time since 1995.

March

Charlie Norris pitches a no-hitter in leading the Cathedral Green Wave to a 10-0 win over the McComb Tigers. Cathedral also gets home runs from Josh Torrey and Casey Rodgers.

Chad Lipscomb is named the new head baseball coach at Adams County Christian School after Ryan Porter is relieved of his duties by ACCS principal Rufus Carlock.

Natchez High School will be adding a girls soccer team to its program and Natchez Middle School will be fielding another football team. Both teams will compete starting in the 2000-2001 school year.

Adams County Christian School sophomore pitchers Russ Marks and Christopher Rayborn combine for a no-hitter in a 12-0 win over the Pine Hills Wildcats.

Adams County Christian School’s varsity baseball team pulls off a stunning sweep of No. 3 ranked Jackson Prep in MPSA South 4A action, winning the first game 10-2 and the second game 10-6.

Warren Whitaker is named the new head football coach at Wilkinson County Christian Academy following the resignation of Tom Nickens after only one year as head coach. The Rams went 3-8 in 1999 under Nickens.

Whitaker was WCCA’s head coach in 1987 and coached the WCCA’s junior high team for 16 years.

To be continued in tommorrow’s edition.

Editor’s note: This is the second in a series of reviews looking at the most important local sports stories of 2000.