A look back at Johnson County's top sports moments from 2022
Dec. 31—As the calendar changes from 2022 to 2023 this weekend — is it just me, or does 2023 seem way too futuristic to be real? — let's take a look back at some of the top sports moments in Johnson County from the past 12 months.
While no football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, baseball or softball teams from Johnson County made state championship runs, there were still some big-time sports accomplishments and news during 2022. A few individuals also earned the title of state champ while some teams achieved "firsts" in quite a while.
1. Cleburne Railroaders' turnaround season
The 2022 season for the Cleburne Railroaders was quite remarkable.
On June 16, Cleburne was at the bottom of the American Association standings with a 6-24 record. Only six wins through 30 games doesn't inspire much confidence. In fact, most teams would've quit.
But from that point forward, the Railroaders were one of the best teams in baseball.
After the 6-24 start, Cleburne went 44-26 over its final 70 games to not only reach .500 at 50-50, but the Railraoders qualified for the playoffs. But simply reaching the postseason wasn't the end for the 'Roaders.
In the divisional playoffs, Cleburne outlasted Kane County in a thrilling three-game series with the Railroaders claiming a 7-3 win in game 3 to advance to the East Division Championship Series, one round away from the Miles Wolff Cup Finals.
Cleburne's thrilling run came to an end against the Milwaukee Milkmen, who swept the Railroaders with wins of 5-2 and 2-1.
"There was no quit in this team and although they came up a little short, they came so close to a championship series," Cleburne Mayor Scott Cain said. "Thank you to the whole team for representing our community. This year we knocked on the championship door. Next season, let's go right on through it!"
The 2022 season marked the Railroaders' second consecutive playoff berth.
Milwaukee lost to Fargo-Moorhead in the 10th inning of game 5 in the championship series.
By season's end, Cleburne had an impressive six players — two-thirds of its lineup — with a batting average .300 or higher.
Kacy Clemens, son of MLB legend Roger Clemens, joined the Railroaders on June 21 and was a key catalyst in turning things around as he led the club with a .325 average with 59 RBIs and nine homers in 66 games. Edwin Arroyo finished with a .316 average with 41 RBIs, 56 walks and 64 runs scored in 87 games.
Zach Nehrir, an American Association All-Star and the league's defensive player of the year, boasted a .314 average with 72 RBIs, 17 homers, 48 walks and 81 runs in 95 games.
Hill Alexander hit .310 with 13 home runs, 48 RBIs and 51 runs in 63 games while Chuck Taylor hit .307 with 40 RBIs and 64 runs in 72 games. And Chase Simpson, one of the league's biggest bats, hit .302 with 24 homers, 83 RBIs, 65 walks and 74 runs in 96 games.
2. Johnson County head football coaching moves
There were a couple of big changes for Johnson County football programs this past year, and it all started when longtime Alvarado Head Football Coach and Athletic Director Jeff Dixon announced his retirement in April.
Dixon led the Indian football program for 17 years and retired as the program's longest-tenured head coach and the program's winningest coach. Dixon led Alvarado to its only state championship game appearance in 2011.
After Dixon retired, Alvarado didn't have to look far for a new head football coach as the district later pegged Casey Walraven as the Indians' new leader.
Walraven had spent the previous five seasons as Cleburne's head football coach. Before Cleburne, Walraven was head coach at Grandview for five years.
Taking the Alvarado job was a homecoming for Walraven, who played quarterback for the Indians and graduated from AHS in 1996. Walraven led the Indians to a five-win regular season in 2022 and their first playoff appearance since 2019. Included in those five wins was one of the state's biggest upsets as he led the Indians to a 50-49 win over defending state champion Stephenville on Oct. 28.
With Walraven's departure from Cleburne, that left a void for the Yellow Jackets' football program. On May 23, Cleburne ISD named Jim Woodard as the district's head football coach.
Woodard came to Cleburne after five years as offensive coordinator at Tomball Memorial.
The 2022 season was a tough one for Woodard and the Jackets, who finished 0-10.
3. Four athletes claim state powerlifting titles
In March, Cleburne's Morgan Marvell and Avery Tapia and Joshua's Abigail Mitchell and Hannah Willis each won state championships in powerlifting.
Competing in the Class 5A small school championships at the Texas High School Women's Powerlifting Association 2022 championships in Corpus Christi, the Lady Jackets and Lady Owls each had two student-athletes etch their names in the history books as state champs.
Tapia ended her high school powerlifting career as a back-to-back state champion after she successfully defended the state title she won in 2021. Tapia squatted 490 pounds, which set a new state record in her weight class, she bench pressed 255 pounds and dead lifted 315 pounds for a total lift of 1,060 pounds.
Tapia not only defended her state title from a year ago, but she dominated the field. Tapia's 1,060-pound total was 90 pounds ahead of second place in her weight class.
After placing second in her weight class at state the previous year, Marvell finished at the top this year as a state champion. She squatted 405 pounds, bench pressed 205 pounds and dead lifted 325 pounds for a total combined lift of 935 pounds — five pounds ahead of second place.
For Joshua, Mitchell and Willis made school history as the first Lady Owl powerlifters to win state championships, joining Brek Galbreath, who won a boys state powerlifting title in 2018.
Mitchell squatted 460 pounds, bench pressed a state-record 280 pounds for her weight class, and dead lifted 340 pounds for a total of 1,080 pounds, 45 pounds ahead of second place. Mitchell was also rewarded the "most outstanding bench press" at the state meet.
Willis squatted 365 pounds, bench pressed 155 pounds and dead lifted 335 pounds for a total of 855 pounds, 15 pounds clear of the second-place finisher in her weight class.
4. Godley's Taylor McFarland goes back-to-back
Godley senior Taylor McFarland finished her high school track career at the top of the sport as a back-to-back state champion in the 400-meter dash.
After winning a state championship in the 400-meter dash in 2021, McFarland worked throughout the season — smoking the competition in the 400 throughout the spring — with an end goal of defending her state title. And when the moment came in May at the Class 4A UIL state track and field championships in Austin, McFarland came through when it mattered most to again win a state title in the 400.
McFarland took first place with a time of 56.42 seconds, holding off Waco La Vega sophomore Ariana Brown by 0.22 seconds, to successfully defend her state title.
McFarland won every 400-meter dash she competed in during 2021 and 2022, including district, area and regional titles to go along with her pair of state titles.
In addition to her first-place finish and gold medal in the 400, McFarland also won a silver medal with a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles in a time of 14.31 seconds.
McFarland signed with Tarleton State University to continue her track and field career.
5. Burleson Centennial football has record season
For a program that has experienced a great deal of success since its inception in 2011, the Burleson Centennial Spartans had their best season in program history in 2022.
The only team that could beat Burleson Centennial in 2022 was Aledo. The Spartans went 9-1 in the regular season with their only loss to Aledo in district play as Burleson Centennial finished runner-up in a tough District 3-5A Division I. Then the Spartans made not only their deepest playoff run in program history but the deepest playoff run in Burleson ISD history by reaching the state quarterfinals before falling to, again, Aledo.
When your only two losses of the season are against the eventual state champion — and that state champion being an 11-time state champion program, at that — there's not much to hang your head about.
The Spartans got off to a 6-0 start, the best in program history, before suffering a district loss to Aledo on Oct. 14. From there, the Spartans finished the regular season 3-0 to take second place.
In the playoffs, Burleson Centennial beat Lake Belton, 56-28, for the Spartans' sixth bi-district title since 2015. They then knocked off Amarillo Tascosa, 31-7, in the area playoffs. In the regional semifinals, the Spartans beat Amarillo High, 24-14, before their regional final showdown with Aledo.
In that game, the Bearcats jumped out to a 21-0 lead before Burleson Centennial battled back to even things up at 21-21 in the third quarter. Aledo scored back-to-back touchdowns for a 35-21 lead — with the Spartans turning the ball over on downs at the one-yard line in between — before the Bearcats added a late touchdown in the closing seconds to make the score look worse than the game actually was.
6. Grandview volleyball reaches regional tourney
The Grandview Lady Zebras reached the regional tournament for the first time since 2008.
Grandview finished the 2022 season with a 33-9 record and district title, their third consecutive district championship.
In the playoffs, the Lady Zebras beat Malakoff in bi-district, Lorena in area and Cameron Yoe in the regional quarterfinals to advance to the Class 3A Region III tournament. Grandview lost a hard-fought, five-set battle to Central Heights in the regional semifinals.
Grandview Coach Jesilyn Hatch recorded the 300th win of her head coaching career in August at the Rio Vista Tournament.
Hatch and senior outside hitter Shelby Martin headlined the 2022 All-Johnson County volleyball team as the co-coach of the year and co-MVP, respectively.
7. Rio Vista baseball claims first district title in 25 years
The 2022 season was a memorable one for the Rio Vista Eagles, who won their first district championship in a quarter of a century.
Rio Vista went 13-0 in district play — out-scoring the opposition by a combined 160-21 in the process — as the Eagles won their first district title since 1997. Rio Vista finished as bi-district champs and area finalists with a 20-6 overall record.
The Eagles, led by Head Coach Michael Vanderhoff and All-Johnson County MVP Taylor Pritchett, lost in the area playoffs to eventual state champion Valley Mills.
8. Godley volleyball wins first outright district title since 2009
In 2022, the Godley Lady Cats captured their first outright district championship in volleyball since 2009.
Not only did the Lady Cats claim their first outright district title in 13 seasons, but Godley did so in dominant fashion, finishing as undefeated district champs. The Lady Cats didn't lose a single set in league play.
Godley also had a 22-match winning streak at one point of the season and was ranked as high as No. 2 in Class 4A. The Lady Cats claimed their third consecutive bi-district title before falling to Celina in the area playoffs in a top-10 battle. Godley finished the season with a 31-7 record.
Godley Coach Courtney Hammett won the first all-district coach of the year honor in her career and was also the All-Johnson County co-coach of the year. Baylee Mobley was one of the state's most productive hitters with more than 550 kills on the season to earn All-Johnson County offensive MVP honors.
9. Godley's Taylor Grimes continues stellar college career
After a record-breaking 2021 season for the University of Incarnate Word football program, Godley's Taylor Grimes continued putting up big numbers for the Cardinals in 2022.
Grimes, who earned All-American honors as well as all-conference recognition, helped UIW to the FCS semifinals where the Cardinals suffered a 35-32 loss to defending national champion North Dakota State University. Grimes finished the 2022 season with 83 receptions for 1,221 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Grimes will get some consideration in the NFL Draft, according to UIW Coach Clint Killough, who said he's had "a number of scouts" ask about Grimes.
"I think he'll have a career in the NFL, to be completely honest with you," Killough said in November. "... I definitely think he's going to have an opportunity to play in the NFL, in my opinion."
T10. Former Burleson Centennial pitcher selected in MLB Draft
Burleson Centennial's Jacob Meador was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 12th round of the 2022 MLB Draft in July.
Meador, a right-handed pitcher who was a third-year sophomore in 2022, led Dallas Baptist University with seven wins on the mound in 2022. Meador went 7-3 in 14 starts and his 91 strikeouts were the third-most in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Meador was a dominant pitcher for the Spartans as he posted a career record of 28-4 with 483 strikeouts. He was the 2019 All-Johnson County MVP.
Meador's 12th-round selection by the Dodgers was the second time he has been drafted. In 2019, Meador was a 31st-round selection out of high school by the Seattle Mariners, but he opted to play college ball. Meador signed with TCU and began his college career with the Horned Frogs before transferring to DBU.
T10. Godley RB, WR have record-breaking seasons
Godley junior running back Landon Thigpen and senior wide receiver Drew Coleman enjoyed record success in 2022.
The dynamic duo helped Godley to one of its deepest playoff runs in program history, reaching the regional semifinals before a 62-55 loss to Monahans.
Thigpen, in his first full season as Godley's starting running back, not only broke the Wildcats' single-season rushing record, but he obliterated it.
Thigpen rushed for 3,047 yards and 28 touchdowns on 368 carries. Thigpen rushed for 2,203 yards in the regular season before adding 844 rushing yards in three playoff games.
Thigpen finished as one of the nation's top-15 leading rushers and was second in the state of Texas behind Mineola's Dawson Pendergrass, a Baylor commit. Thigpen's play earned him offensive MVP of District 4-4A Division II.
Coleman, meanwhile, set a new mark for career receiving yards at Godley. Coleman broke Taylor Grimes' career receiving yards mark in week 11 with a record-breaking performance in a 71-35 win over Benbrook in a game where Coleman hauled in seven receptions for 164 yards and a school-record five touchdown receptions in one half.
Coleman finished the season with 74 catches for 1,420 yards and 21 touchdown receptions. Coleman finished his career with 180 receptions for 3,249 receiving yards and 39 touchdown receptions.
