Beetvsports

The Sam Cotton Round Robin basketball league will continue today from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at the Griggs Recreation Center. There was a great turnout last week, with 40 players participating. The players are divided into four teams, and they play a round-robin series of games before a mini-tournament is held at the end of the day. Last week, Troup beat LaGrange 16-15 in the championship game. The league began on April 15, and it will continue through Aug. 26, with games played every Wednesday. Everyone is invited, so come on out to Griggs and check it out. Coach Cotton does a great job with this league, and the players always get a lot out of it.

As Antravious Terry and Jamarri Terry get ready for their respective college journeys, they got a helping hand from their former school, Callaway Middle School. Antravious and Jamarri were "adopted" by Callaway Middle, and they were presented with a care package that will give them a head start in college. Antravious will attend Louisiana State University, and he is going to attempt to walk-on to the football team. Jamarri is heading to Brewton Parker where he'll be a part of the track and field program. Both men credit their time at Callaway Middle with helping them to develop into the people they are now. Best of luck to Jamarri and Antravious.

BASEBALL - ANOTHER SPECIAL SEASON ENDS FOR TIGERS WITH CLOSE LOSS IN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

They came up just short of a repeat championship, but what a ride it was for the Troup Tigers.
Another special season ended for Troup with a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Pickens in the Class AAA state-championship game on Monday night in Columbus.
The teams split a doubleheader on Saturday, setting up Monday’s winner-take-all game three.
Despite a brilliant pitching performance from Davis Moncus, the Tigers were denied in their quest for a second straight state title.
Still, it was a fantastic season for the Tigers (35-6 overall), who won a region title, set a program record for wins in a season, and made it to the championship series for a second straight year.
“You walk out of here like a man. It’s a life lesson,” said Troup head coach Tanner Glisson. “You can do all the right things and have a really good team, and sometimes the ball just doesn’t go your way, and that’s life. So, right now it’s about life lessons. They’re hurt, and they’re disappointed, but I’m proud of the way they battled. That was a good ball game. It was 2-1, it came right down to the end. I don’t think anybody could breathe until it was over.”
The Dragons jumped on top with two runs in the top of the first inning with AJ Rice coming through with a two-run double, but Davis Moncus was basically untouchable after that.
Moncus finished the game with six consecutive shutout innings, and at one point he retired 18 straight batters before giving up a one-out single in the top of the seventh.
Moncus did everything he could to give his team a chance to win, but the Tigers were unable to get much going against Pickens pitcher Everett Grubbs, who pitched 6 2/3 innings before Robert Turner got the final out.
This was the second straight year Moncus went the distance in the championship game.
In 2025, Moncus gave up three runs in the first inning, but he settled in after that and led his team to a 6-3 victory over Cherokee Bluff as the Tigers won the first state title in program history.
Flash forward a year, and the left-handed Moncus delivered another dominant performance, holding Pickens to two hits and one earned run while setting down 20 of the final 21 batters he faced.
“If I had woke up this morning and you’d told me they’d only get two hits, I’d have taken it 10 times over,” Glisson said. “Davis is a competitor. He’s heart-broken in there right now. He just wants to win for his team, but he threw the ball exceptionally well, and I’m glad he’s back for another year.”
Pickens struck first in the game.
After a walk and an error, AJ Rice lined the ball to the fence in right field for a two-run double, and Pickens led 2-0 in the top of the first.
Moncus set down the next two batters to limit the damage, and Pickens only had one base runner the rest of the game.
Troup had a chance to get back into it in the bottom of the second after Chase Mosley reached on an error and Courtney Wilson singled with one out, but Grubbs got out of that jam with no runs scoring.
The Tigers broke through for a run in the bottom of the fourth.
Davis Moncus and Carson Walker got things started with back-to-back singles, and Troup had runners on the corners with no outs.
With Chase Mosley at the plate, Pickens turned a double play, and while one run scored, Troup’s hopes for a big inning were thwarted.
Grubbs got a groundout to end the fourth inning, and Pickens maintained a 2-1 lead.
The Tigers had another golden scoring opportunity in the fifth inning.
Trey Dean singled with one out, and Garrison Edwards reached on an infield single with two outs, and the Tigers had runners on first and third.
Brady Willis then put a charge into one, but his hard-hit fly ball was caught by the center fielder, and Grubbs and the Dragons once again escaped with the narrow one-run lead intact.
The bottom of the sixth inning saw the Tigers threatening again.
Davis Moncus reached on an error leading off, and with two outs, he stole second to put himself in scoring position.
Next up was Courtney Wilson, who hit the ball on the ground up the middle, and Pickens shortstop Jennings Allen stumbled a bit and was unable to come up with the ball cleanly.
Allen got to his feet, scooped up the ball, and made a throw home in an effort to get Davis Moncus, who was looking to score all the way from second base.
In a bang-bang play at the plate, Pickens catcher Kam Jenkins got the tag down, and while Moncus and the other Troup players who were close by thought he was safe, the home-plate umpire called him out.
It was an incredibly close play, and it happened in a blur, and the umpire called it as he saw it.
For his part, Glisson accepted the call, although he did go toward the home-plate area just to make sure everyone kept their cool.
“It was a bang-bang call,” Glisson said. “Sometimes it goes your way, and sometimes it doesn’t. The umpire is trying to do the best he can do. I have no problem with the call. It’s just a big moment, and it was not a collision at the plate, but there was a lot of chaos at the plate, and I wanted to make sure we didn’t have people get involved in that.”
Moncus, with some help from his defense, got through the top of the seventh with no more runs scoring.
Left fielder Garrison Edwards made an awesome diving catch for the first out in the inning, and shortstop Chase Mosley went airborne to catch a line drive for the second out after a Pickens base hit.
Moncus got the third out of the inning on a lazy fly ball to center fielder Torreion Delaney, and the Tigers still trailed 2-1.
The Tigers were hoping to mount some late-game magic, just as they did in game two when they scored eight runs in the top of the seventh inning after trailing 1-0.
The Tigers couldn’t duplicate that in game three, though.
Grubbs got a groundout and a strikeout for the first two outs, and he had to leave the game because he’d reached his pitch limit.
Robert Turner stepped to the mound and ended the suspense with a strikeout, and the Dragons celebrated a state title.
Pickens lost to Troup in the semifinals in 2025 before turning the tables in the championship series this year.
“We’ve had to battle all year long with a bulls-eye on our back, and we came up one run short,” Glisson said. “But hats off to Pickens. We battled these guys in the semifinals last year and we were able to get ‘em in game three. They thought they had a team that could win it. This year they got us, and they won it. It’s been a good series the past two years.”
It was the final game for a group of Troup seniors who have left their mark on the program.
The seniors were a part of one state-title team, and they were agonizingly close to leaving as back-to-back state champs.
“I told them, you’ve got two things leaving out of here. You’ve got the name on the back of your jersey, and your family name,” said Glisson, when asked what his message was to the seniors. “Keep your head up high and appreciate these fans who were outstanding the last two days. It’ll take a little bit. The most it’s going to hurt is right now, and they’re young guys whose careers ended here in high school.”

It wasn't Troup's night, but Davis Moncus was absolutely awesome in Monday's 2-1 loss to Pickens in the state-championship game. Davis pitched a seven-inning complete game, and he only gave up two hits and one earned run. At one point, Davis retired 18 straight batters before giving up a one-out single in the top of the seventh. This was the second straight year Davis pitched a complete game in the championship game. In 2025, Davis went the distance as Troup beat Cherokee Bluff 6-3 to win it all. Davis tossed another gem this year, but unfortunately for he and the Tigers, the Dragons did just enough to walk away with the win. Still, it was a special performance by Davis, who enjoyed a fantastic all-around season. Davis was always up to the challenge on the mound, and offensively he set the single-season program record for hits and doubles. The good news for the Tigers is Davis has one more season remaining, so he and his teammates will look to win it all in 2027.

The Troup Tigers finished the season 35-6 (setting a new program record for wins in a season), they won a second straight Region 2-AAA championship, they won four playoff series, and they pushed Pickens to game three in the championship series before dropping a 2-1 heart-breaker. Had a play here or there gone differently, the Tigers would have celebrated a second straight state title, but it wasn't meant to be. There are a bunch of disappointed players and coaches, but what a ride it has been. I had an awesome time documenting this team's journey, and the Tigers were always such an enjoyable team to watch. They really are a fun group of players, and they love competing, and they love baseball. The seniors are leaving an incredibly legacy of success, and they have carved out a place in Troup baseball history that will last forever. Best of luck to the seniors as they prepare for their post high-school lives. That's a group that includes Carson Williams, Jake Perry, Carson Walker, Torreion Delaney, Cason Spears and Garrison Edwards. The returning players, and that's a talented group, will work even harder to return to the mountaintop next season. Congratulations to the Tigers on a special season, and check back for more coverage.

Congratulations to LaGrange High graduate Steve Westmoreland, who led the Morgan County Bulldogs to the Class AA state championship. Morgan County beat Pierce County 6-4 and 9-0 in the championship series. Steve has had a remarkable coaching career and he won his 400th career game earlier this season, and now he's a state champion. Steve's son Carter plays for Morgan County, so what an awesome moment that was for father and son.
Steve came to Morgan County as head coach in 2023, and the team has enjoyed a phenomenal run of success since then, leading up to the state championship. Steve and his twin brother John were both standout baseball players at LaGrange in the 90s, and they enjoyed a lot of success under head coach Donnie Branch. Steve eventually went into coaching (while John became an accountant), and in addition to being a baseball coach, he has also been a head softball coach and has been an assistant coach in a number of other sports as well. What a career Steve has had, and I know he'll look forward to getting that state-championship ring. Congratulations again to Steve, and I know the whole Westmoreland family is thrilled tonight.
NOTE: Thanks to the Lake Oconee News for this awesome photo which was taken after he won his 400th game

I'll have a live reaction video to Troup's 2-1 loss to Pickens coming up shortly. A lot to talk about for sure, and once again congratulations to the Tigers on an awesome season.