TIFTON, Ga. — The Tift County Athletic Hall of Fame recently unveiled its Class of 2018. Among the best and brightest in Tift County athletics history are eight individual athletes, a coach, two teams and the annual service award.

The individuals are Bobby Anderson, Stanley Brownlee, Joseph Carter, Tye Cottle, Landy Ewings, Luther Jefferson and Michael Turner. Bobby Simpson will be inducted as a coach. The teams selected were the 1997 Blue Devils football team and the 2004 boys basketball team. Andy Ellis is the Meritorious Service honoree.

This year’s Hall of Fame game is set for Aug. 24. Tift hosts longtime rival Valdosta, a date that doubles as the Blue Devils’ first home game of the season. The Hall of Fame ceremony will be Aug. 25.

Anderson lettered in three sports at TCHS, — football, basketball and track and was named All-State in football in 1968. Following his high school years, he attended Florida State, which had offered him a football scholarship. While there, Anderson was one of the four players who integrated FSU’s varsity football team in 1970.

Brownlee was part of a fine family tradition at Tift County, one of several siblings to excel on the basketball floor. After a senior season with the Blue Devils that saw him average 18 points per game and be named All-Region Player of the Year and All-State by two different organizations, Brownlee turned to college. He played at Jones County Community College (Miss.) and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, earning high honors at both. Brownlee then earned a scholarship to Crichton College (Tenn.).

Carter, nicknamed “Pogo,” was a hoops standout at TCHS. After averaging 15 points per game as a junior, he went on to an even bigger senior season. Dubbed a “fan favorite” by The Tifton Gazette, Carter played two years for ABAC before moving on to Valdosta State. At ABAC, he had multiple 20-point games and helped the Stallions finish second in the state tournament.

Cottle, who the Atlanta Journal-Constitution named All-State as a football player in 1986, is fourth all-time in passing yardage at Tift County. He was a four-year starter at Valdosta State and led the Gulf South Conference in passing as a senior. Besides football, Cottle was also a standout golf player as a Blue Devil, winning the individual state title in 1987.

Dean’s achievements as an athlete continue each week. A former football player at Tift and Valdosta State, Dean has played for the Minnesota Vikings and Buffalo Bills and is now in his third season with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League. Dean was named defensive team captain of the Tiger-Cats last season. All-State as a junior and senior at TCHS, he won national defensive player of the year awards at VSU.

Ewings came out of Tift County as a highly prized football recruit, having won Lineman of the Year during the 1979 season, a campaign where the Blue Devils finished second in Class AAAA. An all-around athlete, he also participated in track, basketball and baseball. He signed with the University of Georgia in 1980, a class that included Herschel Walker and a group that contributed hugely to the Bulldogs’ national championship that year.

Jefferson is the lone individual to have not graduated from Tift County High. Rather, Jefferson was a Wilson High Tiger. Having played in the Georgia Interscholastic Association state basketball tournament with Wilson, he walked on to ABAC. A two-year letterman and all-conference player with the Stallions, Jefferson continued his hoops career at UNC-Charlotte. He later played basketball in the military.

Turner was a key cog in Tift County’s 1983 state football championship, but was not limited to fame on the gridiron. Equally a standout in baseball, he played that sport for the University of Georgia, ultimately lettering for the Bulldogs in 1987 and 1988. As a senior on the state championship football team, Turner scored 13 touchdowns and threw for three more. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution named him first team All-State.

Simpson, who is being inducted as a coach, was an athlete at Tift County High before going into education. He coached baseball at TCHS and later applied his skills at Florida State and for Major League Baseball. Simpson has coached international softball, including leading the British women’s fastpitch team and has assisted teams in Greece and the Netherlands.

Ellis, a longtime physical therapist, has kept Tift’s athletes on their feet.

Both teams to be inducted this year played for state championships.

Coached by Charlie Winslette, the 1997 Tift County football squad finished 12-3. The team started 3-2, but then won nine straight games. In the Class AAAA semifinals, they snapped the 26-game winning streak of Brookwood in a 21-14 victory at the Georgia Dome. Parkview won the state title over the Devils, 21-7. Six Tift players were named All-State.

The 2003-04 Devils basketball team coasted through the regular season undefeated, then won the Region 1-AAAAA championship. Tift survived several upset bids prior to defeating Lithonia in the semifinals at the Gwinnett Arena, 58-54. A Louis Williams-led South Gwinnett team ended the Devils’ state title dream in the finals, 75-49, giving them a final record of 28-1.

The Tift County Athletic Hall of Fame inducted its first class in 2014.

Individuals and coaches inducted in 2014 were Nanci Bowen, Gene Brodie, Nick Green, Arthur Mott, Jody Patton, Clay Shiver, Darrien Teals, Darby Veazey and Travis Williams. 2015: Earl Andrson, Nancy Anderson Mark, Alfred Bell, Tommy Blackshear, Buddy Cawley, Todd Fordham, Roy Hart, Ken Hobby and Pablo Machado. 2016: Emmett Bowers, Justin Brownlee, Monroe Jones, Morgan Jones, Monique Jordan, Johnny Lipsey, Todd Shiver and Winford Vickers. 2017: Alvin Davis, Z.B. Hamilton, David Johnson, Wesley McGriff, Stan Shiver, Shirley Strawter, Nate Taylor and Dylan Windom.