North Delta falls to Magnolia Hts in opener

For Southern Sports & Travel, By Brad Greer

North Delta had visiting Magnolia Heights right where they wanted them. That was until the second half got under way.
Trailing 18-14 at halftime, the Chiefs unleashed a powerful ground game to reel off 18 unanswered points to run past the Green Wave 32-18 Friday night in the season-opener for both schools. Senior Ben Billingsley bulldozed his way to 108 rushing yards while quarterback Mac McDonald rushed 17 times for 99 yards and two touchdowns to help guide the Chiefs to 248 yards on the ground.
Magnolia Heights took the lead for good by marching on a six-play, 61-yard drive to their first possession of the second half. Facing a 2nd-and 1 from the North Delta 41, McDonald hooked up with six-foot-three inch, 230-pound wide receiver Taz Zettegren for a 41-yard touchdown strike with 8:49 remaining in the third quarter to give the Chiefs a 20-18 lead.
After North Delta went three-and-out on the following drive, McDonald, who battled leg cramps for most of the second half, scampered 18 yards into the end-zone on a 4th-and-15 play from the Green Wave 18 at the 2:51 mark of the third period that made the score 26-18 after North Delta's Corbin Baker blocked the point after conversion attempt.
The Chiefs added a four-yard touchdown run by Zettegren with 39 seconds left in the contest to round out the final margin of victory. Zettegren finished the night with 207 all-purpose yards which included seven rushes for 51 yards to go along with six receptions for 99 yards and two scores.
Following a scoreless first quarter, Magnolia Heights jumped out to a 7-0 lead at 9:58 to go before halftime when McDonald found Zettegren all alone in the back corner of the end-zone for a 13-yard touchdown pass followed by Payton Smith's successful PAT.
North Delta would strike back quickly however as on the next series quarterback Bryan "B" Nickle juked four would-be Chief defenders then darted 58 yards for the score. John Cody Dalrymple's point after failed, leaving the score 7-6 with 8:17 remaining before intermission. The fleet-footed Nickle paced the Green Wave offense with 114 yards rushing on 14 carries.
The Green Wave took their first lead of the game on the next series as senior linebacker Micheal Magee got the home crowd on their feet by picking off a McDonald pass at the Chief 40 and returning it 30 yards to the Magnolia Heights 10-yard line. Then on the first play from scrimmage, Dalrymple took a pitchout from Nickle and dove into the end-zone to give North Delta a 12-7 lead after the two-point conversion failed.
Magnolia Heights then re-took the lead at 14-12 on a one-yard quarterback sneak by McDonald that capped off a eight-play 53-yard drive by the Chiefs with Smith added the PAT.
North Delta regained the lead however just before halftime as Magee hauled in a short pass from Nickle then busted loose from two tackles and raced 67 yards for the score. Tres Brasell was then stopped at the goal line on the two-point try, leaving the score 18-14 with 1:40 remaining before halftime.
North Delta rolled up 240 yards of offense on the night with including 164 rushing. Dalrymple followed Nickle in rushing with 25 yards on four carries while Brasell added 13 yards on four carries. Magee chipped in with 12 yards on three totes. Nickle finished the night two-of-11 passing for 76 yards and a touchdown. Baker caught one pass for nine yards while Magee had one reception for 67 yards.
Derrick Shawn led the Green Wave defense with nine tackles while Magee followed with six. Carson Bailey and Dalrymple added five stops each. Will Dunlap and Baker chipped in with four tackles while Will Reynolds registered a quarterback sack.
North Delta will host Tunica Academy Friday night at 7:30. Tunica had their game with Greenville Christian suspended Friday in the second quarter due to lighting problems. The contest will be resumed on Oct.8th.

Central Hinds rolls past Hillcrest

For Southern Sports & Travel, By Greg Biggs

Hillcrest Christian had revenge on their mind coming into Friday Night since Central Hinds had whopped them 40-0 last year. It marked the first time in several years Central Hinds had beaten Hillcrest in any sport. On this hot and sweaty night, Hillcrest won the toss and deferred hoping to stop Central Hinds and then regaining the edge in opening the second half. However, Hillcrest was thwarted from the opening kickoff. After a good run back to around their 40 yard line, Central Hinds marched down the field on the legs of QB Jordon Currie and RB Hunter Farrior and scored on a 4 yard run to go up 7 to 0. Hillcrest started on offense and after a 3 and out punted and again Central Hinds had good field position around their own 30 yard line. During this drive QB Jordon Currie made an electrifying run of 56 yards for a CHA touchdown to make it a 14-0 game. Again Hillcrest had a 3 and out and the 1st quarter ended 14-0. Central Hinds scored again on a long march that culminated in a RB Hunter Farrior touchdown run of 10 yards. Hillcrest had another 3 and out and the second quarter came to a close with all-state kicker Pate Demuth nailing a 47 yard field goal that had plenty of leg. Halftime 23-0
Hillcrest received the second half kickoff and proceeded to go 3 and out. Again Central Hinds had good field position and marched to another touchdown scored by RB Lee Douglas on a 1 yard run. That is where things became really interesting as Hillcrest's T.J. Knowles electrified the Hillcrest crowd with a 98 yard kick off return for a touchdown. However, he received an unsportsmanlike penalty as he flipped into the end zone. 30-6. Hillcrest then had to kickoff on it's own 25 yard line and Jordon Currie returned the favor running back a kickoff 56 yards for a Central Hinds touchdown. 36-6.
Needless to say the evening was dominated by the Central Hinds defense as Hillcrest did not convert a first down until 4:40 left in the contest. Overall, Hillcrest had an unofficial 27 yards of total Offense with 2 first downs. Central Hinds ended the evening with 306 total yards with Jordon Currie rushing for 138 yards on 15 carries and 1 touchdown and Hunter Farrior with 71 yards rushing on 10 carries and 3 touchdowns. Great team effort for Central Hinds as they have now outscored Hillcrest 89-6 in the last two years.
Final

Central Hinds 49
Hillcrest 6

Oak Forest edges Centreville in defensive battle

Southern Sports & Travel, By Darron Thomas
On a hot and humid night in Centreville the Oak Forest Yellow Jackets produced two late game defensive stands to preserve a 14-6 week one win over the Centreville Tigers. Quarterback Chris Gill ran for one touchdown and hit Keaton Carter with a 38 yard strike for another as the Jackets earned a hard fought win for a 1-0 start to the 2010 season.

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Oak Forest took the opening possession and established their running game as four different ball carriers advanced the line of scrimmage to the Centreville 38 yard line four minutes into the opening quarter. Facing a 3rd and 8 Oak Forest quarterback Chris Gill hit senior wide-out Keanon Carter with a 38 yard touchdown strike at the 8:00 minute mark to complete a 75 yard 8 play drive. Tailback Denton Hanson went off right tackle for the two point conversion as the Jackets took an early 8-0 lead.

Oak Forest picked up 163 yards on the ground
Centreville mounted a solid drive on their initial possession and after the Oak Forest defense stiffened at the Jacket 43 yard line the Tigers converted on a 4th and 1 as Cliff Hurst went off the left side for a yard to extend the drive. Centreville’s drive stalled after a failed 3rd and 10 pass attempt with 3:30 remaining in the quarter.
Following a Cliff Hurst punt into the end-zone Oak Forest picked up a quick ten yards as tailback Alex Rimes busted through a hole to the Jacket 30 yard line. Centreville sophomore Randy Bell then picked off a Chris Gill pass at the Tiger 37 yard line at the 2:39 mark of the first quarter.
Centreville again found themselves glaring at a 3rd and long as the Oak Forest defense began controlling the line of scrimmage but a Cliff Hurst scramble for 21 yards to the Jacket 45 yard line gave the Tigers new life. Hunter Travis scampered for 14 yards to the Oak Forest 29 yard line to end the opening quarter with Oak Forest on top 8-0.

(Above) Centreville's Cliff Hurst is stopped by Oak Forest linebacker Drew Misita
Centreville’s momentum continued as Cliff Hurst hit freshman wide-out Colby Shaw on a slant pattern that extended the drive to the Oak Forest 8 yard line. Hurst went off the left side for 4 yards to the Jacket 4 yard line but a fumbled exchange on 2nd and goal cost the Tigers three yards. Centreville then hit pay-dirt as junior tailback Hunter Travis ran in from 7 yards out on a reverse at the 9:53 mark of the second quarter to complete a 63 yard 11 play drive. The PAT attempt failed giving Oak Forest an 8-6 advantage.
Oak Forest appeared to be on their way to increasing their lead at the end of the first half. Nine consecutive rushing plays that netted 48 yards from five different backs set the Jackets up at the Centreville 18 yard line with 1:25 remaining in the half. Following an incomplete pass and a Josh Hughes run for no gain, quarterback Chris Gill nailed Keaton Carter with an 18 yard touchdown pass with 45 seconds remaining but yellow flags littered the field as the score was negated due to a holding infraction. Following an Oak Forest unsuccessful 4th down attempt to extend the drive Centreville took over and killed the half with the Jackets on top 8-6.
Defense dominated much of a quickly played 3rd quarter but Oak Forest managed to finish the final four minutes with a drive that began on their own 15 yard line and at the onset of the final quarter the Jackets were sitting at Centreville’s 18 yard line.

(Above) Centreville tailback Hunter Travis (#2)
Quarterback Chris Gill started the final quarter with an 11 yard keeper down to the Tiger 7 yard line. Four plays later Gill would cap a 14 play 85 yard drive with a keeper from the one yard line to extend the Jackets lead to 14-6 with 9:35 remaining. The two point conversion attempt failed.

Centreville wasted little time in mounting an answer as a Hunter Travis 8 yard pickup and a 15 yard facemask penalty moved the Tigers from their own 28 yard line to midfield in quick fashion. Tyler Towles then hit senior Devin Hughes for a 19 yard hookup down to the Oak Forest 31 yard line. Centreville’s drive appeared to have stalled following a holding penalty and a loss of 5 yards on a JT Doughty run that pushed the ball back to the Oak Forest 39 yard line. On 3rd down Tyler Towles hit Hunter Travis for an 11 yard pick up to the Jackets 28 yard line. With 7:17 remaining in the 4th quarter, and facing a 4th and 12, Oak Forest was flagged for pass interference as quarterback Cliff Hurst attempted to hit Colby Shaw near the 8 yard line.
After a Hurst to Shaw reception gave the Tigers a 1st and goal from the Oak Forest 6 yard line the Jacket defense clamped down. Hurst was stopped for a 1 yard gain on 1st down and then Randy Bell was stopped for no gain setting up a crucial 3rd and goal with 5:16 remaining. A huge mistake cost the Tigers five yards pushing them back to the 10 yard line as they were flagged for delay of game. Cliff Hurst hit Randy Bell for a 5 yard pickup back to the original line of scrimmage but with 4:31 remaining Hurst was stopped for no gain on 4th down on a quarterback keeper as Oak Forest regained possession.

(Above) Oak Forest tailback Denton Hanson (#2)
Centreville’s defense responded by allowing 0 yards on three consecutive Oak Forest running plays forcing the Jackets to punt from their own end-zone after chewing up just over two minutes on the clock.
The Tigers set up shop at the Oak Forest 29 yard line with 2:04 remaining following a Chris Gill punt. Two incomplete passes presented Centreville with a 3rd and 10 but a false start penalty pushed the ball back five yards to the 34 yard line with 1:48 left. A Hurst to Travis completion netted 6 yards to the Oak Forest 28 setting up a 4th and 9 for the Tigers with 1:02 remaining. Centreville’s last hope ended on an incomplete pass that fell at the 3 yard line.
Oak Forest took over and knelt to earn a tough 14-6 road win.
“When it was crunch time they produced and controlled the line of scrimmage and ran the ball well,” said Oak Forest head coach Jason Brabham. “Our defense made two big stands at the end of the game to win it.”
Senior tailback Alex Rimes led Oak Forest with 65 yards on the ground while quarterback Chris Gill picked up 64 yards through the air and 27 yards rushing.
Cliff Hurst led Centreville with 73 yards on the ground and 33 yards passing.
Next up for Oak Forest is a trip to Jackson to take on Jackson Academy while Centreville hosts Parklane.

**Post game with Oak Forest head coach Jason Brabham**

Top ranked Brookhaven rolls

For Southern Sports & Travel, By Brett Rutland

With all of the high expectations that have surrounded the Brookhaven Academy Cougars and the 2010 season, head coach Herbert Davis just wanted his team to play well in the season debut against Silliman Institute. The Cougars did play well; so well in fact, that the starting offense and defense didn’t see the field after the first half.
Brookhaven thumped the Wildcats from Clinton, La 56-20 in the season opener for both schools and extended its win streak to 16 games. Silliman, which ended last season with a 34-14 playoff loss to the Cougars, fell to Brookhaven for the second time in as many games.

(Above) Brookhaven wide-out Bubba Keene (#5)
The Cougars wasted little time in getting things going offensively. On their second series, it took just three plays to find the end zone as Chandler Rogers connected with Bubba Keene on a 22 yard strike with 8:14 left in the first quarter. Tyler Trout added the first of his 7 extra points on the night, giving the visitors a 7-0 lead.
Less than three minutes later, Jennings Mills found pay dirt for the Cougars on a 2 yard run, pushing the lead to 14-0 with 5:24 left in the first.
From that point on, the Cougars scored at will. Mills scored on runs of 5, 13, and 61 yards before the intermission and Rogers connected with Jeff Rushing on a 12 yard strike and Sidney Chaffin on a 34 yard bomb to push the Cougar lead to 49-14 at the half.

(Above) Brookhaven tailback Jennings Mills (#10)
Jason Palermo connected with J.Q. Austin on passes of 43 and 20 yards to give the Wildcats their only scores of the half.
Davis took advantage of the cushion and played reserves for the remainder of the game. The only other points of the game came in the fourth quarter as Gage Posey scored on a 10 yard run. Bubba Keene added the extra point for a 56-14 Brookhaven lead with 10:38 left in the game.
Silliman's final score came on the last play of the game as Palermo scored on a two yard run.
“It was good to get our subs in and get them some experience early in the season.” said Davis. “Hopefully it will help give us some depth as the season goes on. But at the same time, we need to get our starters more time in game situations before they start to develop bad habits. Not every game we play is going to be like this so we have to be able to execute and score in tougher situations.”
Mills led the Brookhaven offense with 13 carries for 161 yards and four touchdowns. Rogers completed 3 of his 6 pass attempts for 68 yards and three scores. Will Lucas was the leading receiver, with 2 catches for 39 yards.
On defense, Mark Rushing led the Cougars with 7 tackles and an interception. C.J. Duckworth followed with 6 stops. Bailey Hodge, Jeff Rushing, and Alan Michael Allred each made five stops a piece. Connor Briarfield recovered a fumble.
Jason Palermo led the Silliman offense, completing 12 of his 29 pass attempts for 170 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once. J.Q. Austin was the leading receiver with 2 catches for 63 yards and two scores.
Brookhaven returns home to host Copiah Academy Friday night in a non-district match up. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at R.M. “Red” Stuard” Field.

Game Stats
BA.......SI
First Downs 16..13
Rushes-Yards 33-260 26-(-12)
Passing Yards 109..170
Total Offense 369..158
Passing
Comp/Att/Int 6-13-0..12-29-1
Fumbles-Lost 1-0..3-1
Punts-AVG 3-47..7-29
Penalties-Yards 12-101..8-79

Score by Quarters
BA 21 28 0 7 56
SI...0 .14 0 6 20

.*Photos courtesy of Rhonda Posey

Prewitt propels Sylva Bay
For Southern Sports & Travel, By Josh Smith
Sylva Bay pulled the Jasper County Rivalry even at one Thursday night with a 20-15 victory over the Stringer Red Devils. Sylva Bay jumped out to a 20-0 lead, before leading 20-7 at halftime. The Saints scored on the first play from scrimmage with a 51 yard run from Cody Prewitt, Prewitt finished the night with 19 carries for 182 yards, 32 yards passing and 11 tackles. Prewitt was truly everywhere on the field Thursday night. Sylva Bay scored its second touchdown on a 2 yard buck by Wade Robertson with 7:21 left in the second quarter. The play of the night put the Saints up 20-0, Prewitt rushed around his right end, broke one tackle, hurdled a defender and raced 71 yards to the end zone. Stringer answer this score, when Jeremiah Chandler scored a touchdown on a 1 yard quarterback sneak with 18 seconds left before halftime.
In the 2nd half, the Stringer Red Devils played much better, but it still wasn't enough. Stringer started the second half scoring with a safety with 1:54 left in the 3rd quarter. Stringer sacked Prewitt, the Sylva Bay quarterback in the end zone. Sylva Bay had chances to increase its lead in the 4th quarter, but two fumbled snaps killed its drives. The 1st fumbled snap came on 3rd down at the 6:05 mark of the 4th quarter and the 2nd fumbled snap came on 4th and short, in the red zone, with just 1:40 left in the game. Stringer sandwiched a 40 yard touchdown from Jeremiah Chandler to Josh Chandler with 5 minutes left in the game in between the fumbled snaps. After the 2nd fumbled snap, Stringer was not able to move the ball and went four plays and out, turning the ball over to Sylva Bay. Stringer was out of time outs at this point and thus, Sylva Bay knelled the ball for the remaining plays of the game, giving the Saints the victory. Zach Gregory had 11 carries for 52 yards for the Saints. Anthony Moore rushed 15 times for 111 yards for Stringer while Jeremiah Chandler completed 6 of 14 passes for 96 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions.

Saints march past Spartans
Courtesy of The Bastrop Enterprise
NATCHEZ, Miss. — Seven different players crossed the goal line as the Trinity Episcopal Saints streamed to a 54-8 season-opening victory over Prairie View on Friday night.
Trinity, the defending MAIS Class 1A state champion, needed just 86 seconds to get on the board as Jake Winston gathered in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Givonni Dent.
It remained 6-0 until Dent scored on a 14-yard keeper with 5:42 remaining in the first period. Zach Marshall’s first of six PATs put the Saints up 13-0.
Just over three minutes later, Kent King scored on a 50-yard burst to give the Saints a 19-0 first quarter cushion.
Scoring twice during a span of one minute, 20 seconds late in the second quarter, Trinity put the game out of reach at the half.
Daniel Dunaway powered his way into the endzone from three yards away and Dent flipped a 19-yard TD strike to Tanner Cage to put the Saints in command 33-0.
Trinity added three defensive touchdowns in the second half.
Eric James and Tip McKenzie returned interceptions for touchdowns from 30 and 60 yards out, respectively, as Trinity opened up a 47-0 third quarter spread.
Prairie View broke up the shutout early in the fourth quarter on a 25-yard pass to Curtis Blakely from Cody Smith. Garrett Laird ran the 2-point conversion.
Dent, who had a hand in four touchdowns, closed out the scoring with a 75-yard fumble return with 3:30 remaining.
Trinity rushed for 205 yards on 22 carries, an average of 9.3 yards per pop. King led the way with 145 yards and a touchdown on 13 attempts. Dent accounted for 105 yards of total offense (72 passing, 33 rushing).
Sam Spires was a bright spot offensively for the Spartans with 64 yards on seven carries.
Blakely topped the Spartans’ tackle chart with six stops.
Prairie View’s home opener is Friday at 7 p.m. with Porter’s Chapel providing the opposition.

Pick Em Championship

Picks must be received via email by noon on Fridays. One "gimme" game is on this weeks' board with Sylva Bay at Stringer playing tonight. Week one response has been great.

."S"Shout Outs"

Weekly "Shout Outs" will be posted each week. If you know of a player deserving of a "Shout Out" email info to aafandaman@yahoo.com

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Each Friday night scores will be posted on Southern Sports & Travel live as they are reported.

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PLEASE TEXT SCORES TO 985-750-3455

Brookhaven starts season on the road

Cougars look to extend winning streak as 2010 season gets underway

Brookhaven’s quest to defend their AA state championship begins this Friday as the top ranked Cougars travel to Clinton, Louisiana to battle the tenth ranked Silliman Wildcats. Led by quarterback Chandler Rogers Brookhaven will be looking to extend their winning streak to sixteen games after a perfect 15-0 season in 2009.
Brookhaven head coach Herbert Davis talks about the upcoming season, his concerns about this season’s squad and the Cougar’s week one matchup against Silliman in the audio clip below.

Trinity reloaded in 2010

Could the 2010 version be better?

The Trinity Saints open up the 2010 season at home this Friday night as the Prairie View Spartans visit Natchez. Trinity is coming of a 12-3 season and their second class-A state championship in the past four years. David King enters his 13th season as Trinity head coach and talks about the upcoming season, replacing key players from last season and class-A football in the audio clip below.

Writers wanted!!

Southern Sports & Travel is looking for students or fans who have an interest in sports writing. If you're a school administrator or teacher and know of a student that may possess writing skills, what better way to gain experience than writing about his or her school's athletic events? If you're just a fan writing about your school's athletic program is a great way to promote your school and give athletes the recognition they deserve. Southern Sports & Travel is growing at such a rate that the ability to provide comprehensive coverage is a challenge. Be a part of that continuing growth.

email me at aafandaman@yahoo.com

It's "Go Time"

Could 2010 be that rare season?
Southern Sports & Travel, By Darron Thomas
Summer conditioning programs, two-a-days, scrimmages and jamborees.......The only thing remaining until the start of the 2010 football season is a few days of final preparation as Presbyterian visits Columbia and Sylva Bay travels to Stringer to officially kick off the season this Thursday night.
Could we see repeat state champions in all three classes in 2010 or will there be a whole new crop of state champions at seasons' end? The more energy spent crunching stats and making roster comparisons amongst who could be serious contenders proves only one thing, paper doesn't mean squat! While there are many arguments to support favorites in each class it's also easy to see scenarios where no 2009 state title holders repeat.
This past week I was fortunate enough to see the two teams holding down the top two spots in the Southern Sports & Travel class AA rankings. On Thursday I made the drive to balmy Gallman to take in the Copiah Jamboree for the second consecutive year. While I was interested in seeing all the squads participating I was most interested in taking a gander at the River Oaks Mustangs. Much talk about AA football has been centered around River Oaks and the weapons they'll have particularly on offense this season. The big question has been, is it just hype or do the Mustangs have a legitimate shot at winning the south AA title and advancing to the state championship? After seeing River Oaks in person I can qualify that this squad has the talent to win a state title. I'll also submit that River Oaks could possess the best team speed in the MAIS. If there is a better running back tandem than Vincent Moore and Teshadi Talton I want to know.
This brings me to Friday night in McComb where Parklane hosted their yearly Jamboree with regulars Brookhaven and Centreville. After qualifying my statement that River Oaks has the talent to win a state crown it would be no stretch to suggest that Brookhaven could run the table in 2010 as they did in 2009. While River Oaks may have an edge in team speed the state champs have arguably the best quarterback/receiver tandem in the MAIS in Chandler Rogers and Bubba Keene. To be a champion you must beat the champion and in 2009 Brookhaven halted Centreville's quest for a third consecutive AA title and most importantly the Cougars have won the big game. Looking at the south and north regions in class AA it's my humble opinion that while I think the best two teams are in the south it appears to me that the north is more balanced with several very good contenders. By week three the north region could dominate the top ten rankings. Also apparent is the distinct possibility that the two best teams will be neglected the opportunity to play each other for the state title due to the current two region formula that is becoming increasingly unpopular amongst football fans.
Finding anyone to dispute that the Trinity Saints are heavily favored to repeat as single-A state champions is nearly impossible. Trinity head coach David King lost big offensive contributors in RJ Fleming, Jordan Dossett and Brandon Daggs but the Saints shouldn't miss a beat in 2010. Having the toughest schedule in single-A has paid huge dividends for the Saints over the years and 2010 should be no exception. Just who is most likely to advance to the class A title game from the north region may surprise a few but I like Tunica's chances of getting a huge monkey off their backs and finally getting past DeSoto.
Is there anyone who thinks it will not be a Jackson Academy/Prep battle in class AAA division I once again? JA head coach David Sykes has a solid core returning from a 2009 squad that had just one blemish on their AAA title run, a 22-21 loss to MRA in week four. Jackson Academy's 29 point win over Jackson Prep to win the state AAA crown solidified the Raiders as the best in the MAIS in 2009.
The class AAA division II race could be wide open as Washington prepares to defend their title for the second straight season. Pillow, Magnolia Heights and Oak Forest will mount strong opposition in division II. Washington's metal will be tested early as the Generals face Jackson Prep and River Oaks on the road followed by home games against Pillow and Magnolia Heights.
So after all the study and prognosticating could this be one of those very rare football seasons in which all three class champions successfully defend their titles?

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See ya somewhere........

Copiah Jamboree

River Oaks head coach Robert Hannah & Adams Christian head coach Paul Hayles discuss the Copiah Jamboree and week one

East Rankin head coach Matt Butts talks about the Copiah Jamboree and the Patriots week one matchup with Lamar

Pillow coach ready to see his team perform in jamboree
Courtesy of The Greenwood Commonwealth
Pillow Academy head football coach Michael Fair is excited about seeing his team battle in a game situation.
He'll get that chance Friday during a jamboree at Lee Academy in Clarksdale. The Mustangs will go against Washington School at 6:30 p.m. and Lee at 8:30 p.m.
The Pillow B-team will play against Washington at 6 and 7:30 p.m.
"We just want to compete against some other folks. It's been a long three weeks of practice, and we're tired of beating up on each other," said the third-year PA head coach. "I want to see how we handle game-like situations because we've got plenty of guys who haven't been in a lot of those.
"Of course, you want to win, but I want to see us be physical and hit folks."
The Mustangs kick off the 2010 season at home Aug. 20 against Kirk Academy.
Pillow is holding "Meet the Mustangs" at 6:30 p.m. today where all fall athletes and cheerleaders will be introduced.
• CARROLL: The Rebels of Carroll Academy will compete in a jamboree Friday at Manchester Academy in Yazoo City.
The Rebels will face off against Oak Hill at 6 p.m. and Hillcrest at 7:10 p.m.
First-year CA head coach Roger Gordon said this will give him a better idea of where his young squad is going into its Aug. 20 season opener at home against Winona Christian.
"It's hard for us to get a real good look in practice against an opposing offense or defense. We look real good in practice, but this will give us a true indication of where we are and what need to work on."

2010 MAIS AA Football Forecast

Click heading for link

From the notebook.............
*With only two short weeks remaining until the official start of the 2010 MAIS football season coaching staffs are in the process of planning and preparing for the August 20th start. The same can be said for Southern Sports & Travel as improvements have been made in preparation for the upcoming year. Improvements such as a new web design, audio clips, video highlights, Facebook page specifically for game photos, player profiles and a wider coverage to include all four MAIS classes. These improvements are part of a long range plan to provide not only quality coverage of MAIS athletics but also highlight the many gifted coaches and athletes in the association.
*Big “Shout Out” for former MAIS standouts Witt Haggard of Lamar and Pack Toler of Jackson Prep. Both Haggard and Toler are officially Ole Miss Rebels. Haggard is a quarterback and Toler is listed as a safety on the Rebel’s roster.
*One topic that repeatedly comes up in many of my conversations about the upcoming football season is the desire to move the season back to begin on the first Friday of September. I’ve yet to hear a serious counter to that suggestion. The MAIS wisely nixed the state basketball playoff format that was introduced last season and put the previous format back into place. Many hope serious consideration will be put upon the need to revamp the early start of football season as well.
*I’ve received several calls regarding player profile videos and what I can now say with confidence is that there are two methods in which the profiles can be posted. Videos can be uploaded to YouTube and then published on Southern Sports & Travel or completed player profile videos on DVD can be mailed to me and I’ll post them.
*The 2010 Football Preview will be posted on Tuesday. Many hours of sending faxes and making phone calls over the past two weeks have produced good results in the area of gathering information but there is still work to be done. Phone calls, messages and multiple faxes have been sent to all 89 MAIS schools participating in football.
*Another new feature for the 2010 football season is the “Fast Facts” links on the right sidebar of the website. These links provide tidbits of information about all the teams and the hope is to have the links 100% complete by August 20th.
*Many thanks to the schools that have purchased sponsorship ads to help Southern Sports & Travel continue to grow. Without continued support this site will obviously fail to provide coverage to MAIS athletics. To purchase an ad please email me at aafandaman@yahoo.com for rates.
*Beginning in two weeks I’ll be a weekly regular on Sportstalk 107.7 fm. I’ll be discussing MAIS football with Robbie Hamilton either on Tuesday or Wednesday mornings. We’ll discuss the previous weeks’ big matchups and the ones upcoming. Might even include some predictions. Sportstalk 107.7 fm provides a live internet stream and their link is posted on Southern Sports & Travel.
*Southern Sports & Travel featured games for the first three weeks are already in the books. Week one will feature Oak Forest at Centreville….Week two will be Washington at River Oaks….Week three will feature two matchups: Riverfield at Brookhaven and Central Hinds at Lamar.
*Live scores will be posted each Friday night. Please email me at aafandaman@yahoo.com or text me at 985-750-3455 if you can provide scores on game nights.

Lady Spartans well-armed for repeat run
By Marq Mitcham, Bastrop Daily Enterprise
Since winning the MAIS Class 2A state championship last season, the Prairie View Lady Spartans’ fastpitch team has undergone a makeover.
Principal Ed Bain, who guided the Lady Spartans to a 22-3 record and the school’s first-ever fastpitch state title, has turned the coaching duties over to his assistant, Dan Smart.
On the field, the Lady Spartans have only one player in the same position, although it would be difficult to overstate her value. Senior pitcher Kayla Tyson (20-1), last year’s state MVP, allowed just 16 runs in 21 games last season and was untouchable down the stretch. She also contributed at the plate, batting .263.
Prairie View enters the season minus three fixtures as catcher Mallory Hall, third baseman Caroline Oliphant and shortstop Kara Burchfield were all five-year starters. Also lost to graduation were starting first baseman Lena Kate Thompson and reserve outfielder Laiken Russell. In addition, junior Molly Gregory, who was projected to make the move from center field to catcher, suffered a season-ending knee injury during a summer basketball camp. She is scheduled to have surgery on Thursday to repair a torn ACL.
The Lady Spartans opened the season Friday in the Riverfield round robin tournament, picking up wins against Riverdale and Riverfield and falling to Tensas in a game in which most of the starters sat out.
In all, the Lady Spartans return four starters, although all except Tyson have changed positions since last season.
Kristen Oliphant (.300) has moved from second base to catcher, while Leslie Spires (.340) and Victoria Billings (.321) have shifted from the outfield to shortstop and third base, respectively. Oliphant and Spires are also Tyson’s backups in the circle.
The remainder of the infield has Blake Stutts at first base and Bastrop High transfer Stormee Sebren at second.
Stutts, a senior who only came out for softball this season, has been a pleasant surprise.
“Blake was in one of my Civics classes and I asked if anyone would like to come out for softball,” Smart recalled. “Blake said, ‘I’d love to play softball.’ I hit her some ground balls one day and coach (Larry) Taylor and I looked at each other like, oh my God.”
An all-new outfield has Taylor Gentry in center field with Amanda Jones and Kirstin Swain flip-flopping between left and right.
Although he has had to tinker with the lineup, Smart believes he may have already found the right combination.
“We’ve had to move a lot of people around,” Smart said. “The way we’re jelling, this may be (the lineup) for a while.”
Smart is pleasantly surprised by the Lady Spartans’ progress.
“We’re a little further along than I expected us to be at this time,” Smart said. “A lot of times when you have a team coming off of a state championship, everybody wants to live in the past. They want it to be like last year. But every year brings changes.
“We already have good team chemistry. Usually, you don’t see that on a team that hasn’t been together very long. The girls were having fun in the Riverfield tournament. That’s 90 percent of it — if you relax and have fun, you’re going to play a lot better.”
Prairie View is back in action Thursday at 6 p.m. vs. Franklin Academy in Winnsboro.

Heat no bother for Raiders
Courtesy of The Daily Times Leader
Oak Hill Academy head football coach Leroy Gregg said on Tuesday that the temperature was just a number.
It was a mighty high number by the time Gregg and his team walked out on to the practice field in the mid-afternoon heat.
Temperatures reached as high as 104 degrees on Tuesday afternoon, but it was business as usual for the Raiders, who are getting ready for their season opener against Heritage on August 20.
The team took the field at about 3:15, and the sun was relentless.
However, the Raider players did their warm-ups, stretches and first practices without a bother.
There was plenty of water to hydrate with, and every Raider took advantage, but it was right back to business when that was over.
Good practices in this current heat wave are going to prove big for the Raiders, who have Immanuel Christian coming this Friday for a scrimmage game.
Temperatures are forecasted to dip down into the mid-90s again as the week goes on, but Friday night’s game-time temps are not going to be cool by any stretch.
Since practice started last Monday, Gregg has noted multiple times that his team has completed very good practices and that the boys are in good shape from a summer of conditioning and weight training.
Practices on Monday and Tuesday were a testament to that.

Inside The Huddle

Lamar head football coach Mac Barnes talks about the upcoming 2010 season

Apaches making strides in first week
Courtesy of The Minden Press-Herald
After Friday’s two practices, the Glenbrook Apaches will have completed their first week of two-a-day workouts.
Monday through Thursday, the Apaches worked out in shorts and t-shirts, starting today they will add shoulder pads and then go to full pads on Monday.
”The kids are working hard and we’ve had a successful week,” Glenbrook head coach Ryan Porter said. “We’ve been able to get a lot of work done.”
The Apaches will continue their two-a-day workouts through next week and then go to a once-a-day schedule as school starts on August 9th.
Glenbrook will play their jamboree on Friday, August 13 at Union Christian academy in Farmerville. The Apaches first real game will be the next week, August 20 at Claiborne Academy.
“This week has gone real good so far,” Porter said. “We’ve been able to install our basic running and passing packages during the first three days. We’ve been introducing a little special teams stuff every day.”
Despite getting a lot done so far this week, Porter says the team will be a little limited until the pads come on.
“At this point, there’s only so much you can do, until you put the pads on,” he said. “We’re continuing to work on fundamentals, making sure everyone in lining up correctly and the guys are moving in the right direction.”
One thing Porter is working on, is finding replacements for the graduated skill position players from last year’s team.
“we have to replace four receivers and our quarterback,” he said. “We lost a lot of quality guys and it will be tough to replace them, because they were very good football players. But we have some new guys, some young guys that are really stepping up. When we put the pads on and go up against someone else, that’s when we’ll see what we got.”

Lamar standout working hard in Oxford

By Darron Thomas

Former Lamar standout Witt Haggard has put in a full summer of work as he prepares for his freshman year at Ole Miss. Haggard was classified as a “preferred walk-on” but is confident that his development will progress and he will ultimately be a solid contributor to the Ole Miss football program.
Haggard passed for 3,798 yards and 51 touchdowns in his senior season at Lamar under head coach Mac Barnes and while he did have offers from a variety of small schools Haggard made the decision to pursue his goal of playing at a division-I university.
Haggard’s work during the summer has already started paying dividends according to Witt’s father. “He is up every morning at 5:20 am and ready to lift at 5:55 am,” said David Haggard. “You can see his size increasing already after almost two months of workouts with Ole Miss strength coach Don Decker.”
Haggard has been taking classes during the summer while afternoons are filled with throwing and learning plays. “We are all watching him and very excited,” said David Haggard. “He’ll soon get a number and will be listed on the new roster that is due out between now and August 6th.”
Haggard will be #4 on the depth chart and hopes to dress for a lot of the games this season.

Inside The Huddle

Central Hinds head football coach Todd Montgomery talks about the upcoming 2010 season

Parklane Academy loses 2 grid starters
Courtesy of The Enterprise-Journal
Parklane Academy head football coach Bo Milton has experienced a less-than-memorable offseason.
Milton has announced that starting cornerback/slot receiver Hunter Authement will miss the upcoming season after suffering a torn ACL in his right knee.
Junior quarterback Steven Swindle announced he is transferring to Oak Grove this fall.
Swindle’s departure leaves senior Brandon Austin and sophomore Zac Stutzman in competition for the starting job, Milton said.
“They’re getting an equal number of snaps in practice,” Milton said.

Parklane Academy sophomore football player James Michael Schmidt will miss the upcoming season after suffering a freak and frightening accident while night fishing with his friends July 4 at Eagle Lake in Vicksburg.
According to his mother Pam Schmidt, the 16-year-old younger brother of former Parklane multi-sport athlete Chance Schmidt, James Michael sustained the injury when his friend tried to set the hook in a fish that had hit. When the boy jerked the line backward toward Schmidt, the fish came off and the hook hit Schmidt in his right eye.
Mrs. Schmidt said the hook went through her son’s eyeball and exited the sciera, also known as the white of the eye.
“I was thinking, ‘Did this really happen?’ ” James Michael said by phone Monday. “I was just shocked.”
According to Pam Schmidt, the hook remained lodged in her son’s eye for about eight hours. The boy was taken to the emergency room at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Vicksburg, where he and his parents were told that the facility did not have the doctors to treat the injury.
James Michael was then transported by ambulance to Baptist Hospital in Jackson. After a specialist was called in, James Michael underwent surgery to remove the hook.
Mrs. Schmidt said her son received five stitches, which will remain in the eye for several months, but he otherwise has not lost vision in the eye.
“God was watching out for him,” Mrs. Schmidt said. “It’s a miracle he didn’t lose sight in the eye. We’re very grateful.”
While there is a 5 percent chance the injury could be healed by a hard contact lens once the stitches are removed, John Michael said doctors told him there is a 95 percent chance he will need a cornea transplant.
If James Michael does require a cornea transplant, he would no longer be able to play sports, he said.
“You really don’t want to hear anything like that if you love football as much as I do,” he said. “I love the game. But I have to realize that later on in life, it may be for my own good. Later on in life, I’ll be able to see.”

Inside The Huddle

Marshall head football coach Keith Wicker talks about the upcoming 2010 season

MAIS PRESEASON RANKINGS

AAA Top Five
1) Jackson Academy...12-1
2) Jackson Prep..........10-3
3) Washington............10-2
4) Pillow......................9-3
5) Oak Forest...............5-6

AA Top Ten
1) Brookhaven...........15-0
2) River Oaks.............11-2
3) Simpson................11-2
4) North Delta.............7-3
5) Centreville.............9-4
6) Leake.....................7-4
7) Central Hinds.........7-5
8) Marshall.................10-2
9) Lamar....................12-2
10) Silliman................6-5

Single-A Top Ten
1) Trinity....................12-3
2) DeSoto...................13-1
3) Tunica.....................9-4
4) Sylva Bay................9-3
5) Winona...................8-3
6) Riverfield...............10-4
7) Tri-County..............11-2
8) Deer Creek..............8-3
9) Heidelberg..............8-3
10) University..............7-4