GULF SHORES, AL — Finding footing for a fledgling program can be a difficult task.
Getting a full schedule is difficult. Getting kids out and keeping them out, even more so.
So when a first-year program like Liberty County’s makes a two-day trip well away from home, it’s kind of a big deal for the program as a whole.
Wednesday and Thursday, the Bulldogs competed in the Gulf Shores Scuffle. Team scores were a bit difficult to track, as the tournament host grouped varsity boys, varsity girls, and JH competitors into one large list for team-score purposes. Counting down from the list, it appears Liberty County finished ninth in varsity boys, with 27 points. North Bay Haven also competed in the event, taking sixth with 49 points.
Alabama’s Mortimer Jordan HS won the event with 245.5 points, with host Gulf Shores second at 208.
Liberty County had one top-four place finish in the tournament, as Jay Brown was fourth at 113. Brown took a 10-8 win in sudden victory in the quarters over a Gulf Shores competitor, but then fell to the eventual runnerup from Mortimer Jordan, 8-3, in the semis. Brown decisioned a second Gulf Shores comeptitor, 5-1, in the consi semis, before falling, 7-5, to McAdory (AL) in the third-place match.
Additionally, Hunter Brown (5th at 120) and Scout Harr (6th at 285) were placers for Liberty County.
NOTE: A full varsity individual recap of North Bay Haven’s tournament could not be shared in this story, due to missing results from the Buccaneers; if received on or before Monday night (6 p.m. ET), we will update this story.
Liberty County is next on the mats Thursday with the 1A-District 2 duals tournament at Wakulla; North Bay Haven will be at Mosley’s Panhandle Championships on January 7-8.
Complete varsity brackets from the tournament can be found HERE.