"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven."
    — Ecclesiastes 3, verse 1 — later used in The Byrds song "Turn, Turn,Turn," popularized in Oct. 1965.

Sport events, for me, are points in history — a way to remember where I was during a particular juncture of my life.
    For instance in 2028, I can look back and remember 2008. "Oh, yeah," I'll tell myself. "That was the year Wellington lost to Andale in the playoffs, or Conway Springs was heading to the state championship game. So and so was playing. Yeah, I was still living in Wellington with three kids and doing something or another at the time."
    I may forget the names and the specifics, but I assure you I tie more things together from the past based on a sports moment than about anything else — except a song.
    Hopefully, I'll remember what a great year 2008 was during the fall.
    Whether it was Wellington's 17th consecutive year in the football playoffs, or a sixth state championship bid by Conway Springs, or the Wellington girls tennis program rising to power, there's a lot to remember.
    Thus here are the Cueball Awards for autumn 2008 on the best we saw in Sumner County athletics.

    Best finish to a game — Wellington 24 Gravette, Ark. 21. The unusual game between two out-of-state opponents was as good as I have seen in years in high school football. Felipe Matsuzoe kicked the game winning 23-yard field goal to give the Crusaders the victory in a stunning comeback where the Dukes scored 17 points in the fourth quarter.
   
    Kicks are us — Speaking of which: Matsuzoe, a Brazilian exchange student, hit 28 PATs for the season, fifth most for kickers on the all-time school list. He also hit four field goals this season.
   
    Record breakers — Markkel Bradley 88-yard touchdown punt return was the longest in Wellington High School history in a game against Andover Central. That broke Chris Chapin's 86-yard run against Campus in 1967.
   
    Tied record mark — Tanner Church scrambled 95 yards for a touchdown in a home game against Chaparral. It tied the longest run from scrimmage set by Jerry McComb in 1956.
   
    Best return — Jake Brooner returned to the broadcast booth as voice of the Crusaders. Nice to have the Brooner family back after his father, Mike, left us a year ago.
   
    Best game to determine a SCBL championship — Argonia quarterback Clay Boatright came up just six inches short of a touchdown on the final play of scrimmage giving South Haven a 34-30 victory and the SCBL crown.
   
    Give the scoreboard keeper a raise — Caldwell defeated Oxford 66-60 for a combined 126 points. I wonder if the high school basketball game between these two teams will be this high in scoring.
   
    Youth movement — The Wellington varsity girls tennis team placed ninth at state and saw its No. 1 doubles team of Kaitlyn Buck and Lexis Hibbs place ninth. All told, the girls tennis team won five tournaments and received a top 10 ranking. All, but one starter, were either freshmen or sophomores.
   
    Getting younger — Wellington's Middle School girls tennis team won their second consecutive Pioneer League Tournament, this time by an even larger margin in Arkansas City.
   
    State championship hardware — The Belle Plaine girls cross country team brought home the school's second state championship by winning the Class 3A crown.
   
    A first place first — The Wellington boys and girls seventh grade cross country team swept the team championships at the Pioneer League tournament held at Hargis Creek. It was the first time ever for the boys and the girls haven't won it since 1995. Ren Bean and Jayden Ledesma were individual champions in eighth grade boys and seventh grade girls respectively.
   
    Life in the pros — Sara Lungren, a 2003 Caldwell High School graduate, is now playing professional volleyball in Benidorm, Spain.
   
    The rise of the Class of 2008 — Christiana McQuin, a 2008 WHS graduate, was named all-freshman volleyball player in the Summit League playing for the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 2008 WHS graduate Zak Tazkargy became a force for the Southwestern College football team as a middle linebacker. Cass Myers, a 2008 graduate at South Haven, was SC's leading rusher.
   
    Revenge is sweet — The Conway Springs football team lost to Garden Plain 21-7 during the regular season, but the Cardinals came back to beat the same team in the state semifinals 45-25.
   
    Picture of the year — I've always felt I take great sports photographs. But the one of Wellington wide receiver Sage Aguilar nabbing a touchdown catch in the game against Clearwater on homecoming is a classic. How he stayed on his feet to score after the leap showed how incredible his athletic skills were.
   
    Super sophomore — I keep looking at the statistics of Braden Lebeda, an emerging quarterback at Caldwell, and just say "wow."
   
    Upset of the year — Conway Springs 13-6 loss to Cheney in week one continues to look like an aberration if there ever was one.
   
    Game of the year — Wellington vs. Andale, state playoff second round. Yes, it turned out to be a loss for the Wellington football team, but you had to be there to view one of the most stunning, hard hitting, hair-on-your-arm-raising kind of games I've seen in a very long time.
   
    Play of the year — With Conway Springs clutching to a 14-13 lead against Garden Plain, running back Jaydan Bird proved why he is a difference maker, when he scrambled 80 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter state semifinal game. It turned this close-knit game into a romp.
    Coach of the year — For the second straight year, I’m giving it to Conway Springs head coach Lelin George and his troops. Conway Springs has been on one heck of a playoff run, regardless of what might be happening today against Silver Lake in the state championship game.
   
    Team of the year — Where to start? I could list about 10 of them for this award. I'm still going to give it to the Conway Springs football team which outscored its playoff opponents 188-78. The Cardinals opponents cumulative record is 50-5 counting Silver Lake. Wow.
   
    Female athlete of the year — It was a good year for volleyball players like Ali Brewster of Argonia and Breanna Bryant of South Haven, and there are a slew of high school tennis players from Conway Springs and Wellington, who are deserving of the award.
    But I'm going with Amanda Callaway, a senior cross country runner for Belle Plaine. She won the state championship in Class 3A girls with a time of 15:32.55.
   
    Male athlete of the year — This one is tough. There were several players I really enjoyed following this year including Caleb Brill at Conway Springs, whose ultimate speed and nose for the hole was breathtaking this year. I really liked the enthusiasm of Heath Carroll and what he brought to the table as a linebacker and fullback. Nor could I deny recognizing the leadership of Nathen Yunker, the able South Haven quarterback for the past two seasons.
    But I'm giving it to Jaydan Bird, the running back of Conway Springs, who brought the Cardinals that one needed spark to lift them to the state championship game.
    ———
    •Tracy McCue is sports editor of the Wellington Daily News. He can be reached at sports@wellingtondailynews.com.