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Guide to all area high school football teams, including Columbus, Starkville, West Point, Macon and West Alabama. Published by The Dispatch.
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THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com2 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
places to be
FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALLteams to see
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ABERDEEN HIGH SCHOOL100 Bulldog Blvd., Aberdeen662-369-8933
ALICEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL417 3rd St. SE, Aliceville205-373-6378
AMORY HIGH SCHOOL1006 Sam Haskell Circle, Amory662-256-5753
CALEDONIA HIGH SCHOOL111 Confederate Drive, Caledonia662-356-2001
CENTRAL ACADEMY300 Hale Street, Macon662-726-5846
COLUMBUS HIGH SCHOOL215 Hemlock Street, Columbus662-241-7200
EAST OKTIBBEHA COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL178 Moor High Road, Crawford662-272-5603
EAST WEBSTER COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL195 Old Cumberland Road, Maben662-263-5321
HAMILTON HIGH SCHOOL40201 Hamilton Road, Hamilton662-343-8307
HEBRON CHRISTIAN SCHOOL6230 Henryville Road, Pheba662-494-7513
HERITAGE ACADEMY625 Magnolia Lane, Columbus662-327-5272
IMMANUEL CENTER FOR CHRISTIAN EDUCATION6405 Military Road, Steens662-328-7888
LAMAR COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL43880 Hwy. 17 S, Vernon205-695-7129
LOUISVILLE HIGH SCHOOL200 Ivy Avenue, Louisville662-773-3431
NEW HOPE HIGH SCHOOL3419 New Hope Road, Columbus662-244-4701
NOXUBEE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL16478 Hwy. 45, Macon662-76-4428
OAK HILL ACADEMY800 N. Eshman, West Point662-494-0301
PICKENS ACADEMY225 Ray Bass Road, Carrollton205-367-8144
PICKENS COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL205 4th Ave. SE, Reform256-375-2344
SOUTH LAMAR SCHOOL300 Sls Road, Millport205-662-4411
STARKVILLE ACADEMY505 Academy Drive, Starkville662-323-7814
STARKVILLE HIGH SCHOOL603 Yellowjacket Drive, Starville662-324-4130
SULLIGENT HIGH SCHOOL661 Elm Street, Sulligent205-698-9254
VICTORY CHRISTIAN ACADEMY374 Mill Road, Columbus662-327-7744
WEST LOWNDES HIGH SCHOOL644 South Frontage Road, Columbus662-244-5070
WEST OKTIBBEHA COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL2459 Holland Street, Maben662-263-8106
WEST POINT HIGH SCHOOL950 S. Eshman Avenue, West Point662-494-5083
WINSTON ACADEMY111 Richardson Road, Louisville662-773-3569
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WHAT’S INSIDE
Aberdeen Bulldogs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Aliceville Yellow Jackets . . . . . . . . . . 27
Amory Panthers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Caledonia Confederates. . . . . . . . . . . 5
Central Academy Vikings . . . . . . . . . 18
Columbus Falcons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
East Oktibbeha Titans . . . . . . . . . . . 12
East Webster Wolverines . . . . . . . . . 22
Hamilton Lions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Hebron Christian Eagles . . . . . . . . . 14
Heritage Academy Patriots . . . . . . . . 8
Immanuel Rams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Lamar County Bulldogs . . . . . . . . . . 29
Louisville Wildcats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
New Hope Trojans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Noxubee County Tigers . . . . . . . . . . 17
Oak Hill Academy Raiders . . . . . . . . 16
Pickens Academy Pirates. . . . . . . . . 25
Pickens County Tornadoes. . . . . . . . 26
South Lamar Stallions . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Starkville Academy Volunteers. . . . . 11
Starkville Yellow Jackets. . . . . . . . . . 10
Sulligent Blue Devils . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Victory Christian Eagles. . . . . . . . . . . 7
West Lowndes Panthers . . . . . . . . . . 9
West Oktibbeha Timberwolves. . . . . 13
West Point Green Wave . . . . . . . . . . 15
Winston Academy Patriots . . . . . . . . 24
About the cover: Front:Heritage Academy’s JohnLaws Ferguson, NewHope’s Zak Thrasher, andWest Point’s Tommy Keys.Back: Starkville’s JaquezJohnson, New Hope’sEarnest Lang, Columbus’Chris Richardson,Noxubee County’s CoreyWilliams, West Point’sJustin Cox, and Columbus’Drew Jordan. (KellyTippett photo)
How to reach usSports Department: 327-1297
To report game scores (24-hour line):
In Mississippi: 241-5000In Alabama: 1-888-477-1555
E-mail:n [email protected],
n [email protected], n [email protected],
Fax: 662-329-8937
FOOTBALL 2010A publication of
THE DISPATCHP.O. Box 511 • Columbus, MS 39703
(662) 328-2424
Editor andPublisher
Birney Imes
SportsAdam MinichinoHenry Matuszak
David Miller
Cover DesignJackie Taylor
PhotographersLuisa PorterKelly Tippett
Graphic ArtistsJackie Taylor
Holona Yarber
BY ADAM [email protected]
To establish a tradition, ateam needs leaders.
The Columbus HighSchool football team hashad its share of athletes thepast few years attempt to setthe example required tohelp the Falcons recapturetheir winning ways.
It has been since 2004since a Columbus High foot-ball team has had a winningseason.
Chris Richardson andDrew Jordan plan to makethis the season thatchanges.
On a team with 13 sen-iors and a talented group ofjuniors, first-year coachTony Stanford said the playand leadership ofRichardson and Jordan willhelp determine if theFalcons change theircourse.
“I think the biggest thingthey want to do, and wehave talked a lot about it, isthey want to get a traditionstarted,” Stanford said.“They want to be the classthat makes the playoffs anddo something in the playoffsinstead of every year we getclose and don’t make it. ...They don’t have anything tobuild off of. The only thingwe have to build off is wehave lost, we have lost. Youhave to start somewhere.We hope this class will be itand you can say, ‘So and sowas the leader of that team.’The kids all knew it. Weneed that type of traditionhere, and we hope the sen-ior class will be the oneswho start it, and these twoyoung men are part of thatclass.”
In their third year on thevarsity team, both playersworked hard in the offsea-son to position themselvesas leaders. They weren’tstandouts in their first twoseasons, but they focused inthe spring and in the sum-
mer on molding themselvesinto better football players.They feel they are ready andwilling to accept the daunt-ing challenge of transform-ing a program that has wonfour games in the past twoyears into a contender.
“I didn’t step it up like Iwas supposed to,” saidRichardson, who saw themajority of his action on spe-cial teams and at linebackerlast season. “This year, I amstepping up to the highestlevel as much as I can.”
Richardson said he made
a lot of excuses last seasonfor his performance. Hethought he had a lot of timeto make his mark but real-ized many players only haveone chance to play thegame. It hit him that if hedidn’t take his opportunityhe might miss it. As a result,Richardson has positionedhimself to earn playing timeat running back and seeingmore action at outside line-backer.
“I have to give glory toGod because without Him Iwouldn’t be in the spot I amnow and I wouldn’t havemade it,” said Richardson, a5-foot-9, 180-pounder.“When I first got on theteam, I saw the seniors lead-ing and I am trying to belike them. They are the rea-son I got better every dayand why I am trying to be asenior role model.”
Richardson said the sen-iors he has played with have
trained like they were“going to battle,” and he istrying to carry that mind-setforward this season.
“I believe this seasonshould be very successfulbecause we have workedsuper hard,” Richardson
said. Jordan replaced Billy
Autrey at center last season.He sensed a year ago thathis footwork and his hand-work needed to improve, sohe focused in the offseasonon ladder drills, cone drills,
and work in the weightroom to transform hisgame. The result is astronger, more confidentplayer who is anxious tolead by example.
“I have learned seniors
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 3HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
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1120 Gardner BlvdColumbus, MS
328-5776
Have a Great
Season!GO
FALCONS!
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch staffColumbus 2010 team: 1-Jimmy Cockrell, 2-Damian Baker, 3-Rashad Meeks, 4-Cedric Jackson, 5-Jalen Buchanan, 6-Keith Brooks, 7-Randy Brown, 8-Sharkee Robinson, 9-Jabari Edwards, 10-Jamarcus Jones, 11-Martavious McKinney, 12-Demarcus Vancy, 13-TJ Robinson, 14-Jarius Chatman, 15-Deontae Jones, 16-Trace Lee, 17-James Gunter,18-Gemriah Williams, 20-George Lowery, 21-Tyler Sanders, 22-Jamie Taylor, 24-Quan Latham, 25-Byerson Cockrell, 26-Willie Porter, 27-Jason Davis, 28-Roydrick Bailey, 29-Eric Roberts, 31-Chris Richardson, 32-Josh Thomas, 33-Steve White, 34-Ramadus Beasley, 36-Larry Williams, 37-Wesley Petty, 38-Ian Williams, 39-Ronald Gore, 40-Emmanuel Edens, 41-Brent Petty, 42-Jarvis Ellis, 43-Devontress Harris, 44-Corey Brown, 45-Tevin Oglen, 46-Martell Railey, 47-Chris Conner, 48-Tyler Calvert, 49-TylerDavis, 50-Wymon Mixon, 51-Brendon Harris, 53-Drew Jordan, 54-Orlando Taylor, 55-Jamel Grant, 56-Kenny Averhart, 57-Jaymarcus Sherrod, 58-Tim Hudgins, 59-JeremyMorgan, 60-Chris Wolfe, 62-Brodrick Trimel, 64-Jerome Monroe, 65-Cedric Jones, 66-Lyndon Johnson, 67-Jamal Robertson, 68-Ryan McDonald, 70-Austin Andrews, 71-KylerWard, 72-Bryant Hudgins, 74-Justin Verner, 75-Martavious Mitchell, 77-Tyshawn Carter, 78-Jake Thomas, 80-Tyler Brock, 81-Anturio Brooks, 82-Dalon Moore, 83-DeonTaylor, 84-Iziah Jones, 85-Jarcquarius Clark, 86-Greg Giles, 87-Michael Sturdivant, 88-Vidal Harris, 89-Martin Sherrod.
STAFF
COLUMBUS FALCONS
n HEAD COACH:Tony Stanford
(first year as head coach,third at school)
n ASSISTANTS:Jim Hamilton, Jeremy
Orsagh, Brandon Brown,Matt Snow, James
Richardson, Chris Childress,Paul Killen
Richardson, Jordan plan to change course
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffColumbus center Drew Jordan (53, left) and running back and outside linebacker Chris Richardson, (31, left) are willing to fight to lead theFalcons to a winning season.
MHSAA Class 6A, Region 1; 2009 Record 3-8
COLUMBUSSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At AberdeenAug. 27 NOXUBEE CO.Sept. 3 WEST POINTSept. 10 OpenSept. 17 At LouisvilleSept. 24 At TupeloOct. 1 SOUTHAVENOct. 8 At South PanolaOct. 15 DESOTO CENTRALOct. 22 At Horn LakeOct. 29 OLIVE BRANCHNov. 5 At Starkville
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
See COLUMBUS, 19
BY ADAM [email protected]
The scariest monstercomes off the screen witha tenaciousness thatmakes you squirm inyour seat.
But your parents toldyou time and time againthere are no such thingsas monsters, right?
If you believe that, youbetter make a point toattend a New Hope HighSchool football game thisseason.
The attraction won’tbe under a carnival tent,and it won’t have neonlights illuminating theway to a once-in-a-lifetimeoddity.
Instead, the Trojans’three-headed monsterwill appear on a greenfield every Friday nightthis fall and will try to runpast you or over you,depending on who is car-rying the ball.
On the first carry,Terrance Dentry mightbulldoze you into theturf.
On the second, JohnnyBeamon is likely to dancepast you, setting thestage for FranklinRichardson Jr. to jet past
you on carry No. 3 justwhen you’re trying tocatch your breath.
Now that’s an attackthat is bound to scare anydefense.
Those will be justthree of the weapons atthe disposal of New Hopecoach Michael Bradley.The Trojans showcasedall three on the field atthe same time occasional-ly last season. But oppo-nents figure to get a big-ger taste of the senior triothis year.
“We’re going to try tohave all three of them onthe field quite a bit thisyear,” Bradley said.“Frank is a very valuablemember of our defense,and we have basicallykept him of f of fensebecause we really didn’thave anybody to take hisplace on defense. We
have some younger play-ers who have come alongand maybe can give himsome relief on defense.
"He is a very versatileplayer. He runs well andhe catches the ball well.Putting him on the fieldwith Johnny andTerrance will definitelymake us more of a threat.It will open up things,hopefully, for the othertwo to have more room.”
Dentry, Beamon, andRichardson Jr. are justthree pieces in a multi-tal-ented offense that alsoincludes senior quarter-back Zak Thrasher, athree-year starter, run-ning back Darius Petty,and tight end LawrenceBrown.
But the three-headedmonster figures to giveNew Hope, which is com-ing off a program-best 11-
2 season in 2009, some-thing most teams in thestate don’t have: Threeexperienced players whocan change a game withone touch.
“We say we’re mon-sters,” said Dentry, a 5-foot-9, 175-pounder. “Wetell any other team that islooking at us they betterbe ready and bring allthey have.”
Dentry is the leader ofthe group after rushingfor a team-best 1,279yards and 12 touchdownslast season. He led theTrojans in rushing everygame except one, a sea-son-ending 41-21 loss toeventual Class 5A statechampion West Point.The defeat was one of twoNew Hope suf fered toWest Point. The lossesserved as motivation forDentry, Beamon, and
Richardson Jr. in the off-season and pushed themto train with each othernearly every day.
"When you lose to ateam twice and you havelost to them every year,plus your eighth gradeyear, something has toclick,” Beamon said. “Wehave something on ourchest. Every time we takethe field this year it iscoming from our heart.”
Beamon had 54 car-ries for 384 yards, anaverage of 7.1 yards percarry. He also led theteam with 24 catches for388 yards and four touch-downs.
At. 5-7, 160, Beamon isthe smallest of the threeplaymakers, but thatdoesn’t mean he is anyless dangerous. He useshis shiftiness and hisquick feet to make peoplemiss and to stretchdefenses for his team-mates.
Beamon admits heisn’t fond of monstermovies. After all, Beamonspends most of his sparetime watching ESPN, andthe network hasn’tbranched out to thatgenre yet.
Still, Beamon namedmore than a few nameswhen asked who he con-siders monster athletes.He said Ray Lewis,Warren Sapp, TerrellOwens, DonovanMcNabb, Brett Favre,Jerry Rice, and ChadOchocinco are playerswhose work ethic madethem monsters in hiseyes.
That’s the mind-set —
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com4 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Make An InitialMake An Initial Impression That Lasts!Impression That Lasts!
Show your team pride!All Area High School & College Cheerleader Outfi tsHairbowsBloomersSocks PompomsBlankets & More
Next to Belk • Columbus • 327-3332www.monogramsplusgifts.com
© The Dispatch
Ages 6 thru 10Registration August 9-30, 2010
Downtown Y onlyMUST Bring Birth Certificate
YMCA Members $40.00Program Members $50.00Interested in coaching??
Please call Perry at the YMCA.662-328-7696
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1120 Gardner BlvdColumbus, MS
328-5776
Have a Great
Season!GO
TROJANS!
NEW HOPESCHEDULE
Aug. 20 OpenAug. 27 At TupeloSept. 3 At AmorySept. 10 OpenSept. 17 At CaledoniaSept. 24 OXFORDOct. 1 At West PointOct. 8 LAKE CORMORANTOct. 15 SALTILLOOct. 22 CLARKSDALEOct. 29 At HernandoNov. 5 INDIANOLA GENTRYHOME GAMES IN CAPS
Credit?New Hope 2010 team: 2-Trae Collins, 3-Tanner Ryals, 4-Daniel Gregory, 5-Horace “Roc” Carr, 6-Curtis Shirley, 8-Kris Douglas, 9-Franklin Richardson, 10-Darius Petty, 12-Desmond Psalms, 14-Justin Dayhoff, 15-Zak Thrasher, 16-Ryan Lee, 17-Dylan Hawkins, 18-Lonnie Stephenson, 19-E.J. Jenkins, 20-Johnny Beamon, 21-Jameel Johnson, 22-Devin Walton, 23-JoJo Reeves, 24-Todd Harris, 25-Dylon Pritchett, 26-Terrance Dentry, 27-Ryan Lowe, 28-Ben Saint, 30-Austin Oswalt, 31-Fred Harrison, 32-M.J. Shirley,34-David Richardson, 35-Dalton Hodges, 36-Jeremy Washington, 37-Ben Veazey, 38-Terance Taylor, 42-Jarmar Payne, 44-Terrence Payne, 45-Tyler Warnat, 49-DustinOwens, 50-Mike Love, 52-Quentin White, 53-Zack Graves, 54-Kearick Patterson, 55-Q Newby, 56-Derek Pierce, 57-Justin Sherrod, 58-Thomas Fisher, 59-Charles Thompson,60-Trever Weeks, 61-Eric Romans, 62-Nate Saint, 64-Dalton Gray, 70-Christian Thornton, 72-Park Stevens, 74-Shawn Gray, 75-Lee Pegram, 76-Earnest Lang, 78-MarcusJohnson, 79-Corey Council, 80-Leebo Davis, 82-Tavoris Crowell, 86-Lawrence Brown. Head coach: Michael Bradley. Assistant coaches: Dale Hardin, Jacob Owen, MattKeith, Bob Reeves, Tony Odom.
NEW HOPE TROJANS
Adam Minichino/Dispatch Staff From left: New Hope High School seniors Terrance Dentry, Johnny Beamon, andFranklin Richardson Jr. will try to terrorize teams when they are on the field at thesame time on offense.
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:
Michael Bradley
(fifth season, 26-20)
n ASSISTANT
COACHES:
Dale Hardin, Bob
Reeves, Jacob Owen,
Matt Keith, Tony Odum,
Bill Ford
NUMBER’S GAME
16Number of returning
starters, including nine
on offense.
MHSAA Class 5A, Region 1; 2009 Record: 11-2
See NEW HOPE, 23
Three-headed monster set to make things go
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 5HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
1120 Gardner BlvdColumbus, MS
328-5776
Have a Great
Season!GO
CONFEDERATES!
CALEDONIASCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At RulevilleAug. 26 At SaltilloSept. 3 At West LowndesSept. 10 At NettletonSept. 17 NEW HOPESept. 24 HAMILTONOct.1 AMORYOct. 8 At HoustonOct. 15 LOUISVILLEOct. 22 At KosciuskoOct. 29 NOXUBEE CO.
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE CONFEDERATES
n RICHARD KEENE, TREYLANCASTER, GARRET WINSTONKeene, who also plays baseball,didn’t play football last season.
He played two years ago. Hecame to summer workouts and
Kendrick encouraged him to stick with it.
n COACH KENDRICK SAYS:“Our quarterback has to be a lit-
tle different athlete than thespread,” Kendrick said. “(Keene)has come on and done a fine job
of running (the Wing-T). Eventhough he didn’t play last year heshows some poise, which is what
you look for in the position.”
QUARTERBACKn TYLER ARMISTAD (FULLBACK)COLE REED-WOOD (FULLBACK),
TYLER LOWE (TAILBACK), CALEB ROEBUCK
Kendrick likes the grittiness ofArmistad and Reed-Wood and the
speed of Lowe.
n COACH KENDRICK SAYS:“That’s what you look for in some-one in the Wing-T, somebody who
has a little sand to them,” Kendricksaid. “They both get after you pretty
good.”
RUNNING BACKn ERIC DOUGLAS, JONATHAN COMER
Kendrick doesn’t disguise the factthat Caledonia will run the ball. Butdon’t be too eager to stack the boxbecause he said the Confederates
will burn you if you forget.
n COACH KENDRICK SAYS:“They better be able to block, too,”Kendrick said. “Everybody on ourteam needs to be able to block.”
RECEIVERSn HUNTER FOSTER, ALEX REED,TRES PEACOCK, COLE CARTER,HUNTER GRIFFIN, RYAN UNRUHThis group makes up for what it
lacks in girth with athleticism andquickness.
n COACH KENDRICK SAYS:“We don’t have big kids, but wehave decent size,” Kendrick said.“In the Wing-T we can utilize thespeed and quickness of the small-
er linemen.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n FOSTER, REED, PEACOCK,CARTER, GRIFFIN, UNRUH, NOE
ESTRADA, NICK MOORE:Kendrick said the Confederateswill run a 3-4 and try to rotateplayers in to keep them fresh.
n COACH KENDRICK SAYS:“All three of the guys up fronthave to be interchangeable,”
Kendrick said. “We have got someyoung kids who will be able to
help us.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn BREEN AND ARMISTAD
(INSIDE), LANCASTER ANDUNRUH (OUTSIDE)
Size also isn’t a priority at theposition. Kendrick likes the atti-tude these players have shown in
the preseason.
n COACH KENDRICK SAYS:“They are as big as nothing butthey like to mix it up and get
after you,” Kendrick said.
LINEBACKERn ROEBUCK, TYRUS HILL,
RANDY RANDLE, JON PHINIZEE,BEN MARCHBANKS
A blend of youth and experiencethat includes decent speed.
n COACH KENDRICK SAYS:“The safeties will be asked to fill
the lanes, and we feel they will bepretty solid,” Kendrick said.
SECONDARY
n BREEN (PUNTING),
JOSH AND KEVIN KUGEL
n COACH KENDRICK SAYS:
“I have been pleasantly sur-
prised,” Kendrick said.
SPECIAL TEAMS
CALEDONIA CONFEDERATES
n HEAD COACH:Ricky Kendrick
(first season at school)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
James Reed, MarkHysaw, James Moore
(defensive coordinator),Larry Wright
KEY IN 2010
n RICKY KENDRICK:“I realize they have hadsome good coaches, and
I am not sure I am asgood or better than any-body they have had here,
but nobody has beenwilling to endure the
storm. To me, it is goingto take somebody who
makes a commitment tothe kids and to the com-munity and is going tosee a ninth-grade group
graduate.”
NUMBER’S GAME
11Returning Starters:
6 –offense; 5 – defense
19The number of games
the Confederates have
lost in a row, dating
back to the 2008
season.
Senior offensive linemen to lead charge in Wing-T
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffCaledonia High School offensive lineman Alex Reed works on his blocking technique with the help of Noe Estrada, right. Reed will be one of the senior leaders up frontwho will try to use his speed and quickness in the Confederates’ new offense, a hydrid Wing-T installed by new coach Ricky Kendrick.
MHSAA Class 4A, Region 4; 2009 Record: 0-10
BY ADAM [email protected]
CALEDONIA — Change can bean ideal remedy.
But when that change involvesscrapping an offense that was put inone year earlier for something com-pletely different, the transformationcan slow to a crawl.
But Ricky Kendrick’s decision todo away with thespread offensecoach David Boykininstalled last yearand bring in theWing-T appears tobe a god fit withoffensive linemenHunter Foster, Alex
Reed, and Tres Peacock and therest of the Caledonia High Schoolfootball team.
“The way coach Kendrick intro-duces it is very powerful,” saidReed, a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder. “Hehas done it for a long time, andother teams have won champi-onships with it. South Panola wonquite a few championships with theWing T, so maybe in the years com-ing we can hopefully reach thosestandards.”
Reed’s comment reflects thepositivity Kendrick has fast-trackedinto the program. After a 1-9 seasonin 2008 and an 0-10 finish last sea-son, a positive approach likely is theonly one that would work.
Kendrick appears to be ready tostick around for a few years to makesure it sticks. If he does, he wouldend the revolving door nature to theCaledonia football job. Boykinreplaced Jack Hankins after the2005 season and coached two yearsbefore leaving. Jason Forrester
guided the team for one year beforeBoykin returned last season
Now it’s Kendrick’s turn to try totransform Caledonia into a winner.The former head coach at Nettletoncoached most recently at AmoryHigh, a Class 4A Region 4 rival ofCaledonia’s. Amory’s 28-0 victoryagainst Caledonia last year gaveKendrick a glimpse of what hewould eventually inherit. Seeing theConfederates made Kendrick real-ize a Wing-T might be a better fit fortheir personnel.
Reed won’t disagree. He isexpected to team with HunterFoster, Tres Peacock, Cole Carter,Hunter Griffin, and tight end RyanUnruh up front to help theConfederates erase the memory oflast season that saw them scoreonly 34 points. Caledonia was shutout five times, including four gamesin a row in the middle of the season.
Reed is confident theConfederates will be able to excel atthe Wing-T because it is easier tounderstand than Boykin’s spread
concepts. He also said Kendrick hasbrought a sense of pride to the pro-gram and a desire to get thingsdone that has renewed everyone’senthusiasm.
“He keeps us together as a fami-ly,” Reed said. “He treats us like acoach should and coaches us ashard as he can.”
Foster agrees that the Wing-Thas been easier to pick up. He saidthe Confederates are having morefun with the offense and that theylook pretty good through the firstpart of the preseason.
“We’re using our speed to getpeople sealed really quick and toget the ball upfield,” Foster said. “Itis all about working the ballupfield.”
Kendrick said the Wing-T’spulling and trapping of linemen dis-guises the Confederates’ lack of sizeup front. He said Reed, Peacock,and Foster have good mobility andare able to get out and move to cre-ate running lanes.
More importantly, Kendrick said
they have bought into the new sys-tem and encouraged their team-mates to do the same.
“Coming in new, you don’texpect to see such leadership,”Kendrick said. “Off a team that was0-10 last year these guys are firedup about football. They love thegame, they enjoy the team, and theyare excited about the team, and it iscarrying over to the younger folks.
“It seems like they’re buying inand really accepting things. Theyare very attentive at practice, andwe’ve had some of the best prac-tices I have been involved with.They have been eating it up.”
Kendrick plans to have the pro-grams that feed into CaledoniaHigh run the Wing-T, too. The abil-ity of younger players to run theoffense earlier in their careers willmake the transition to high schooleven easier.
Reed and the other four seniorson this year’s team likely won’t bearound to see those classes matureinto Wing-T experts. That’s OK,though, because Reed and histeammates intend to enjoy beingthe first class to run the offense thathelped transform the CaledoniaHigh football program.
“It will be a challenge this year,but we’re going to rise to the chal-lenge,” Reed said. “We have reallyhad that embroidered into ourbrains so it will run smoothly andthat we can take each step forwardand no steps back
“I think this year is really goingto change some things, and it isgoing to be a change for the better.With a new coaching staff andcoach Kendrick, it is time forCaledonia to step forward instead oftaking a step back.”
1-Randy Randle, 2-Jon JonPhinezee, 3-Jarrett Winston, 4-Eric Douglas, 5-Tyrus Hill, 6-Kevin Kugel, 7-Trey Lancaster,8-Ben Marchbanks, 10-JonathanPagaduan, 12-Caleb Roebuck,13-Joshua Kugel, 14-RyanUnruh, 15-Richard Keen, 16-Joshua Betts, 18-Lucas Eads,20-Onterrio Lowery, 21-ChrisGriffin, 22-Quavis Betts, 23-Nathan Brauer, 24-Tyler Lowe,25-Peter Pagaduan, 30-WilliamBreen, 31-Tyler Armistad, 32-Colton Gilbreath, 33-Cole Reed-Wood, 45-Dario Marques, 53-Tres Peacock, 55-Hunter Griffin,
56-Noe Estrada, 57-WillMainka, 60-Tyler Blain, 61-Michael Ward, 63-Lane Greggs,64-Jarrett Hopper, 67-ZacheryHarrell, 70-Alex Reed, 71-Garrett Wester, 74-ReedSchool, 75-Jaylon White, 77-Cole Carter, 78-Nicholas Moore,79-Hunter Foster, 80-JonathanComer, 83-Tyler Schultz, 84-Hunter McBride, 85-JasonBryant, 86-Xavier Hill, 88-TylerTreece. Head coach: RickyKendrick. Assistant coaches:James Moore, James Reed,Larry Wright, Mark Hysaw.
CALEDONIA 2010 TEAM
Kendrick
BY JAN BLAINESpecial to the Dispatch
STEENS — The ImmanuelChristian football team hasstruggled the past few years.
Most recently, the Rams fin-ished 1-9 season in Shawn Gates’first year as a head coach.
“There were a lot of growingpains we had to go through,”Gates said. “We did strugglewith various aspects of our per-formance and execution on thefield, but our biggest weaknesswas our lack in depth.”
Gates believes the Rams haveremedied that major hindrancethanks to the return of severalplayers returning from last sea-son in key positions and theaddition of some newcomerswho will bring add to the talentpool.
“We got eight guys returningthat gave me a good effort lastseason,” Gates said. “We werealso able to add a couple of kids,which puts our roster to 20 play-ers. That is a major boost for us.”
One of the newcomers is jun-ior tailback and linebackerNorris Harris. Gates is veryhigh on Harris’ ability to helpthe Rams this season. AlthoughHarris is a newcomer toImmanuel, he is well aware ofthe Rams’ recent struggles anddoesn’t want to see the same out-come this season.
“My goal is for us (Immanuel)to make the playoffs,” Harrissaid. “If we get there, I feel wewill have confidence and be ableto do something special.”
Gates said Harris bringsspeed and power and will be amajor boost for the rushingattack. Harris also will play ahuge role as a linebacker. Gateshinted Harris’ speed and powermight help him find his way intothe return game.
Harris’ versatility and quick-ness also has caught his the eyesof his teammates.
“We added speed this year
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com6 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
1120 Gardner BlvdColumbus, MS
328-5776
Have a Great
Season!GO
RAMS!
IMMANUELSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At HatleyAug. 27 At Central Aca.Sept. 3 CARROLL ACA.Sept. 10 At Calhoun Aca.Sept. 17 At Winona Chr.Sept. 24 N. RIVER, ALA.Oct. 1 HOULKAOct. 8 At HeidelbergOct. 15 HEBRON CHR.Oct. 22 CENT. HOLMESOct. 29 NEW SITEHOME GAMES IN CAPS
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch Staff
Immanuel 2010 team: 2-Norris Harris, 4-Brendan Bailey, 5-Josh Dantzler, 8-Jacob Rhodes, 10-Joel Meek, 12-Michael Tate, 14-Sam Mayo, 19-Ross Moore, 23-Wesley Lake,25-Justin James, 33-Zach Stricklin, 40-Bradley Briggs, 53-James Wriley, 54-Josh Davidson, 57-Zach Kimbrell, 65-Ryan Watkins, 66-Wil Harmond, 74-Jeremy Davidson, 75-Luke Hudson, 79-Christopher Randazzo, 81-Dustin White.
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE RAMS
n ROSS MOORE, JR.The Rams hope an improved
Moore, who was the starter lastseason, will provide solid
leadership.
n COACH GATES SAYS:“Ross (Moore) is looking muchbetter with his passes and tech-niques. He definitely turned out a
good summer.”
QUARTERBACKn MICHAEL TATE, JR.; NORRIS HARRIS, JR.
The Rams return experience withTate and have added a speedsterin Harris to bring an extra punch
to the running attack.
n COACH GATES SAYS:“By adding Norris we have defi-
nitely improved our speed. We aredefinitely stronger with the two
backs, and they have done a goodjob of gaining good weight this
offseason.”
RUNNING BACKn JOSH DANTZLER, SO.;
JUSTIN JAMES, SR.The height of James, who is
6-foot-5, and the speed of Dantzlershould give the Rams two
valuable weapons to help movethe ball.
n COACH GATES SAYS:“Justin (James) is a big target forus with his height, and Dantzler
has done a great job improving hisspeed this offseason.”
RECEIVERSn JAMES RILEY, JR.;
JEREMY DAVIDSON, JR.; DUSTIN WHITE, SR.
Immanuel Christian has much-needed experience at the position
this season.
n COACH GATES SAYS:“Jeremy (Davidson) was all-area lastseason as a sophomore, so having
him return is huge for our experience,” Gates said. “James
(Riley) was honorable mention. Theywill definitely be a boost for us.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n JEREMY DAVIDSON, JR.; ZACH KIMBRELL, SO.; DUSTIN WHITE, SR.
Running a 3-4 defensive scheme hasits challenges, but the Rams
possess speed in the trenches,which could be a plus in their ability
to rush the passer this season.
n COACH GATES SAYS:“We are very quick upfront, whichis necessary for us so the otherguys can drop back in coverage
and not worry about much scrambling.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn NORRIS HARRIS, JR.;
JAMES RILEY, JR.; MICHAEL TATE, JR.;
JOSH DANTZLER, SO.These appear to have the speed
necessary to contain the rush andto drop back in coverage in select
schemes.
n COACH GATES SAYS:“Our linebackers are a very strong
unit. We have experience andspeed. I am looking forward to
seeing what they can do.”
LINEBACKERn WESLEY LAKE, SR.;
JUSTIN JAMES, SR.With two seniors returning, theRams could be threats when
opposing teams want to throw thefootball.
n COACH GATES SAYS:“The one thing this unit has aboveany other is stamina. Those two(Lake and James) don’t get tired
often. Add their speed andstrength to the mix and they
could be dangerous.”
SECONDARYn DUSTIN WHITE, SR.
Dustin White was an all-areaselection as a punter last seasonand is bidding for the kicking job
as well. With the addition ofHarris, Immanuel Christian could
have a secret weapon next season in the return game.
n COACH GATES SAYS:“It is good to have Dustin (White)
back as a punter. We are still trying to figure out who our kickerand returners might be, but I have
my eye on a couple of guys.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
IMMANUEL CHRISTIAN RAMS
n HEAD COACH:Shawn Gates
(Second year, 1-9)n ASSISTANT
COACHES:Daniel Merchant
(Defensive Coordinator),Greg Gates
(Quarterbacks),Bubba Davis (Offensive
Line and Special Teams),Will Sullivan (Wide
Receivers),Aaron Lee (Linebackers)
KEY IN 2010
n COACH GATES:“We have more playersthis season (20 on theroster). That is a majorimprovement from lastseason, when our num-bers seemed to be ahuge issue. We have
also been able toimprove our strength andspeed and gain a betterknowledge of the game.Hopefully that all adds
up to a turnaround nextseason.”
NUMBER’S GAME
8Returning Lettermen
8Returning Starters:
Offense – 8; Defense – 8
Rams look to have turnaround season
See IMMANUEL, 9
MAIS Class A, District 3; 2009 Record: 1-9
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch Staff Immanuel Christian’s Norris Harris (2) and Michael Tate will lead the Rams’ ground attack this season.
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 7HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
1120 Gardner BlvdColumbus, MS
328-5776
Have a Great
Season!GO
EAGLES!
VICTORY CHRISTIANSCHEDULE
Aug. 27 ELLWOOD CHR.Sept. 3 At New LifeSept. 10 At TabernacleSept. 17 At Victory BaptistSept. 24 TBAOct. 1 HERITAGEOct. 8 OpenOct. 15 NORTH RIVER CHR.Oct. 22 TUSCALOOSA CHR.
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffVictory Christian 2010 team - 8 Marcus Sims, 10-Brandon Foster, 12-Ben Williams, 20-Will Pitts, 21-Landon Ellis, 22 -Tyler Jones, 23-Tayler Frye, 24-Hunter Austin, 32-JayPace, 33-Charlie Price, 34-Kaleb Holliness, 48-Paul Blair, 50-Bo McCrary, 52-Joshua Foxworthy, 55-Destin Edwards, 56-Brandon Shaw, 62-Joey Shirah, 64-Aaron Ott, 67-Hunter Johnson, 70-Clinton Spencer, 80-Nick Hairston, 88-Sam Fisher
VICTORY EAGLES
BY JAN BLAINESpecial to the Dispatch
A winning streak is somethingany team wants to conjure.
But when the streak reaches22, winning almost appears tohave transformed into habit.
The Victory Christian footballteams enters this season riding a22-game win streak thanks to con-secutive Christian FootballAssociation championships. TheEagles’ five senior leaders havebeen there for every one of thosevictories.
“We have special leadership onthis team, and it will be importantfor this season,” said VictoryChristian coach Chris Hamm,who is in his 14th year. “Thisgroup of seniors works hard andare good leaders for the youngerguys. I believe the mark on thisseason’s team is the senior lead-ership.”
Many believe leadership is atrait that is untaught. If that istrue, Victory Christian is blessedto have five senior leaders whohave all played with each othersince junior high.
“That is a good thing for us,”said senior lineman DestinEdwards, “because we knowhow to play with each other andknow what to expect from oneanother.”
That familiarity, plenty of hardwork and determination and yes,some talent has helped the Eaglesremain unbeaten for so long.With such an impressive markstanding, one might assume theleaders of would feel added pres-sure. But senior fullback BenWilliams said they shy away fromany pressure.
“There is no pressure on us,we just have one goal,” Williamssaid. “That goal is to win anotherchampionship. Coach Hammdoes a great job of keeping uscomplacent and not letting us getcaught up in the win streak.”
The seniors are replacing astellar group of seniors from lastseason’s team, but the variety thatexists among this year’s groupcould be a formula for another
successful season for Hamm. Edwards, Williams, tailback /
cornerback Landon Ellis, receiver/ defensive lineman HunterJohnson, and receiver / line-backer Tyler Jones are friendswho have taken control of theirroles as leaders.
“As seniors we can’t goof offduring workouts,” Ellis said. “Itis OK to be fun, but there is atime to be serious, and it is up tous to be there and lead theyounger guys when they needit.”
This leadership role the sen-iors have seized goes beyondwins or losses. The seniors seetheir influence expanding past thegridiron and past this season.
“As seniors, our goal is a cham-pionship, but it is also to be thebest leaders we can be,” Johnsonsaid. “It is up to us to show theyounger guys how to carry them-selves, not only on the field butoff it as well, and, hopefully, it willcarry on into the future.”
Those quality characteristics
are just part of the formula thathas helped Hamm and theEagles be so successful.
“The kids work hard,” Hammsaid. “They love to win and theyknow that is impossible withoutgiving it their all during work-outs.”
This of fseason, hitting theweight room three times a weekand tossing in a dash of condi-tioning helped the Eagles buildstrength and improve stamina,both weaknesses according tothe five seniors.
“We all needed to add somemuscle and size to our bodies,”Ellis said. “But also, we all playboth ways so it was importantfor us to keep our stamina up inthe offseason.”
Normally, a major concern fora program that has experiencedso much success is apathy orcomplacency hindering a team’smentality, preparation, or effort.That doesn’t appear to be a fac-tor for Victory Christian.
“We want to win them all. We
want a three-peat,” Jones said.Williams interjected to make
the claim that the championshipwas more important than anundefeated season, shortly afterEdwards comically admitted anundefeated season wouldn’t be abad thing.
The camaraderie between theseniors proves why the Eagleshave been so successful. Theyshare a special bond that hasexisted since they were in juniorhigh and has turned them intowhat Edwards described as afamily.
“We all hangout with eachother, even away from football,”Edwards said. “We hang outafter the games and enjoy beingaround each other. We are avery tight-knit group.”
With the challenge of theupcoming season and with theopportunity to defend its win-ning streak and its champi-onships, Victory Christianappears to be in good hands ledby a special senior unit.
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE EAGLES
n MARCUS SIMS, JR.The Eagles look to replace
three-year starter Parker Eaves,but Hamm is confident Sims is
up for the challenge.
n COACH HAMM SAYS:“Marcus has got the size to playthe position and is still growing.
Add a great arm to that and all helacks is
experience.”
QUARTERBACKn BEN WILLIAMS, SR.;
LANDON ELLIS, SR.Victory Christian is experienced
and solid in the backfield and withEllis leading the attack.
n COACH HAMM SAYS:“Ben (Williams) is hard-nosed and
loves to hit, and does it well.Landon (Ellis) returns as our
starter, and we are very glad tohave him back.”
RUNNING BACKn TYLER JONES, SR.;
HUNTER JOHNSON, SR.Jones is Victory Christian’s most
experienced receiver, whileJohnson will attempt to prove
himself as he moved from linemanto a tight end.
n COACH HAMM SAYS:“Tyler has good hands and knowshow to use his size. Hunter hasalways been a big guy, but he isalso capable of catching some
passes.”
RECEIVERSn DESTIN EDWARDS, SR.;
AARON OTT, JR.; PAUL BLAIR, JR.
There’s some question marks onthe line with Johnson moving to
receiver, so the Eagles will dependon Edwards.
n COACH HAMM SAYS:“Destin is making a position switch
from guard to center, but I don’tsee him having a problem. We havehad some health issues on the line,but if we can resolve those I feel
they will perform well.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n BEN WILLIAMS, SR.; PAULBLAIR, JR.; HUNTER JOHNSON,
SR.; NICK HAIRSTON, JR.With all four starters returning
the first wave will bestrong again.
n COACH HAMM SAYS:“The defense did a good job lastseason shutting people down. I
especially see big things from thefront line
this season.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn TYLER JONES, SR.;
JAY PACE, JR.Jay Pace gets the nod to replace
Daylon Hairston. The return ofJones should bolster the unit.
n COACH HAMM SAYS:“Tyler will bring the experience to
the position, but Jay has thechance to be really good there as
well.
LINEBACKERn LANDON ELLIS, SR.; KALEB HOLINESS, JR.
Ellis has been the anchor at thisposition for a couple seasons, butHoliness looks to ride the momen-
tum from a great championshipgame last year into this season.
n COACH HAMM SAYS:“Landon does a good job in cover-age, but also is great at contain-
ing the outside rush. Kaleb issmaller but has worked hard andcontinually keeps improving.”as
SECONDARYn TYLER JONES, SR.; LANDON ELLIS, SR.;KALEB HOLINESS, JR.
Jones returns to handle the punt-ing duties. He also will be the
team’s kicker. Ellis and Holinesswill return kicks and punts.
n COACH HAMM SAYS:“We are replacing our kicker fromlast season (C.J. Bell), but I am
confident in Tyler’s leg. Landon andKaleb have been
consistently good for us at returning the ball.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
n HEAD COACH:Chris Hamm
(10-0 in 2009; 14 years)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Kevin Harrell(Defense/Special
Teams)Todd Dyer (Defense)
Ronnie McDaniel(Offense)
KEY IN 2010
n COACH HAMM:“We have special seniorleadership on this team,and it will be importantthis season. This groupof seniors works hard
and are good leaders forthe younger guys. Themark on this season’s
team is the senior leadership.”
NUMBER’S GAME
13Returning Lettermen
10Returning Starters:
Offense – 4; Defense – 6
Seniors look to maintain Eagles’ streak
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffFront row, from left: Victory Christian will look to Ben Williams, Landon Ellis, Tyler Jones and back row,from left, Destin Edwards, Joey Shirah, and Hunter Johnson to help the team contend for a third consecutive Christian Football Association title.
Christian Football Association; 2009 Record: 10-0 (CFA champions)
BY ADAM [email protected]
Stance Henderson would loveto remember the positives aboutthe 2009 season.
Unfortunately, the way thePatriots ended the campaignerased any of the momentum theteam generated early in the sea-son.
After winning its first threegames, Heritage Academy stum-bled in its next two games againstLamar School and Madison-Ridgeland Academy. Those lossesproved to be more damaging thanbelieved, as the Patriots lost thenext six games en route to theirfourth losing season in a row.
Henderson and his five seniorteammates don’t intend to allowthe same scenario to play out thisseason.
“The personnel (last year) was-n’t any more athletic (than it isthis year),” Henderson said. “It isthat the personnel this year hasthe football mind-set and theyknow how to dig deep when itgets tough.”
Henderson, a 6-foot, 205-poundfullback/middle linebacker willlead a senior group that includesleft guard/nose guard ColtonYounger, wide receiver/corner-back Glenn Akins, runningback/linebacker John LawsFerguson, defensive tackle/offen-sive tackle Tyler King, and wide
receiver/cornerback HunterBuxton.
Heritage Academy second-year coach Brad Butler isn’t surehow effective this year’s group ofsenior leaders will be, but he likeswhat he has seen from the playersin the offseason and in the presea-son. He hopes they can help keepthe team focused and motivatedthrough the ups and downs thatare bound to pop up this season.
"They have been leaders,”Butler said. “Even those whohaven’t been in leadership roleshave stepped their game up anotch. Leadership ability is a lotharder to find these days thanathletic ability is. That is thebiggest thing that is missing
these days compared to when Iplayed, and probably 20 years ear-lier than that.
“As young as we are, it isimportant our seniors step up asleaders because these guys havesome athletic ability and have hadsuccess before but this is new tothem, too.”
The “these guys” Butler refersto are a group of sophomores thatis the core of the team. Last year,the Patriots’ freshmen went unde-feated, which has created opti-mism that this year can be differ-ent from the past four years. Ithas been since 2005, whenHeritage Academy lost to
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS
n BRANDON BELL, CADE LOTTBell, a junior, is a transfer from
Caledonia High, where he was thestarting quarterback. He will
adjust from a spread formation tomore work as a pocket passer.
n COACH BUTLER SAYS:“Brandon (6-foot-2, 230 pounds)
runs well for a big guy, and he hasa good arm. Lott also will be usedin some packages. We feel good
about having him because ifsomething happens we can keepgoing without having a drastic
dropoff.”
QUARTERBACKn JOHN LAWS FERGUSON,
STANCE HENDERSON, AARON STUDDARD, MILLER PUCKETT,
HUDSON BEANBruisers — Ferguson, Henderson,
Studdard — will try to softendefenses so Puckett and Bean
can run past them. n COACH BUTLER SAYS:
“John Laws Ferguson is a powerrunner. Hudson played tailback
and Miller played out side on thefreshman team last year. Both
guys give us a different dimensionwith speed and quickness.”
RUNNING BACKn CADE LOTT, PARKER
DUNAWAY, TYLER MARCHAK,ZACH TAYLOR (SLOT),
DAVID HARDY, TAYLOR FIELDS(TIGHT END)
At 6-2, Lott is a big target, whileTaylor, a sophomore, is one of the
state’s top sprinters.n COACH BUTLER SAYS:
“Cade is not too big, but he hasgood speed and we feel like weshould be able to get him openand get one-on-one matchups.Tyler has great hands. In the
running game, we feel like Davidbecomes another lineman.”
RECEIVERSn BLAKE SHARP,
COLTON YOUNGER, WILL BONNER, CLINTMARKHAM, MATTHEWMORRISON, WESLEY
SWEDENBURG, MARSHALLTOMLINSON, COLBY UPTON,
BRYANT BONNER, TYLER KINGSeveral players on the line needto develop mean streaks to take
their play to another level.n COACH BUTLER SAYS:
“Tyler King has been the mostimproved lineman since day one.He had a great summer and is
coming off the ball well.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n SHARP, DAVID HARDY,SWEDENBURG, CLINT
MARKHAM, DREW JOHNSON,KING, BONNER, TAYLOR FIELDSSharp has “all of the tools” butneeds to play with an attitude.
n COACH BUTLER SAYS:
“David Hardy is long and can run.We feel he can pursue the ball upand down the line of scrimmage.At nose guard, Swedenburg is a
strong kid with a lot of quickness.Clint Markham has probably had
the best summer in two-a-daypractices as anybody.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn HENDERSON, FERGUSON,
TYLER KNIGHT, MARK ADAMS,STUDDARD, TYLER SUNDMANButler said the Patriots have a difficult time running the ball
against Henderson, a 6-foot, 210-pound senior who led the team intackles last season, in practice.
n COACH BUTLER SAYS:
“Stance is the leader of thedefense. Even in practice he playsevery down. John Laws plays on
the strong side, and he is probably as good on defense as
he is on offense.”
LINEBACKERn GLENN AKINS, RETURNING
STARTER, RANGY, GOODAGAINST THE RUN; MARCHAK,LOTT, BEAN, HUNTER BUXTON,
PARKER TURNER, PARKERDUNAWAY, PUCKETT
Akins, a senior and returningstarter, is rangy but good against
the run.n COACH BUTLER SAYS:
“We’re counting on Hudson beingable to make some plays againstthe run at the line of scrimmage.Parker Turner has a great nose forthe ball, and Parker Dunaway has
great closing speed.”
SECONDARYn BEAN (FIELD GOALS),
HENDERSON (KICKOFFS);TAYLOR HENDERSON (PUNTING)
Cade Lott will do all of the snapping, while Dunaway will do
the holding.
SPECIAL TEAMS
n HEAD COACH:Brad Butler
(second season, 3-8)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Marcus Davidson, GregSykes, Steve Morgan,
Randy Edmonson
NUMBER’S GAME
10Returning Starters:
Offense — 5;
Defense — 5
Seniors want to plot different ending
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com8 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
1120 Gardner BlvdColumbus, MS
328-5776
Have a Great
Season!GO
PATRIOTS!
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HERITAGEACADEMYSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At Oak HillAug. 27 WINSTONSept. 3 At StarkvilleSept. 10 LAMARSept. 17 MRASept. 24 At Pres. Chris.Oct. 1 At Magnolia Hts.Oct. 8 At JAOct. 15 PILLOWOct. 22 At WashingtonOct. 29 LEEHOME GAMES IN CAPS
Credit?Heritage Academy 2010 team: 1-Miller Puckett, 2-Cade Lott, 3-Tyler Marchak, 5-Stance Henderson, 7-Brandon Bell, 8-John Laws Ferguson, 13-Parker Turner, 21-TaylorFields, 22-Hudson Bean, 24-Parker Dunaway, 25-Aaron Studdard, 31-Hunter Buxton, 33-Tyler Knight, 34-Zach Taylor, 43-Tyler Sundman, 44-Mark Adams, 50-ColtonYounger, 51-Wesley Swedenburg, 54-Matthew Morrison, 55-Blake Sharp, 56-Colby Upton, 60-Clint Markham, 70-Tyler King, 71-Will Bonner, 73-Marshall Tomlinson, 74-DrewJohnson, 75-Bryant Bonner, 80-David Hardy, 85-Glenn Akins. Head coach: Brad Butler. Assistant coaches: Marcus Davidson, Greg Sykes, Steve Morgan, Randy Edmonson.
See PATRIOTS, 14
MAIS Class AAA, North Division I; 2009 Record: 3-8
KEY IN 2010
n COACH BUTLER:“We have more deptheven though we haveonly 29 on the roster.We have a lot of guys
who play different positions. They have to
become dogs rather thanpuppies.”
HERITAGE ACADEMY PATRIOTS
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 9HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Credit?West Lowndes 2010 team: 1-Jeremy Thomas, 3-Brandon Clark, 4-Deundrea Brooks, 5-DeAndra Lewis, 6-Gerald Sanders, 7-Darius Farmer, 8-Jamarquis Humphries, 10-Antonio Wilson, 11-Roy Miller, 12-Ladarius Snell, 13-Justin Stephenson, 15-Dearivs Douglas, 20-Trevor Stowers, 21-Raheen Brewer, 22-Donald Henley, 23-Marvin Monroe,24-Kendrick Sanders, 25-Dominique Kelly, 30-Roderick Johnson, 32-Marquise Johnson, 34-Deion Ameis, 38-Latrell Moore, 52-Robert Barker, 55-Breshon Brook. 54-FredricoMoody, 58-Ronnie Porter, 59-RaHeen Clemmons, 60-Korey Wilson, 62-Daniealgie Rice, 64-Ryan Stowers, 70-Jaboris Davis, 72-Jalen Douglas, 74-Levonte Cambell, 77-Demarcus Hill, 79-Herman Phillips, 80-Shaquille Sharp, 82-Kovi Rice, 83-Quantavis Snell. Head coach: Bobby Berry. Assistant coaches: Todd Stanley, Chester Harris, EddieChapman, Robert Hintont.
WEST LOWNDES PANTHERS
Senior leaders willing to sacrifice for successMHSAA Class 2A, Region 2; 2009 Record: 5-5
BY ADAM [email protected]
Donald Henley believed inthe 2009 West Lowndes HighSchool football team.
T h el inebacker/ fu l lback/widereceiver has so much confi-dence in last year’s squad thathe felt it should have made theplayoffs.
A 5-1 start to the season hasa way of building confidence.
But the momentum thePanthers built evaporated justas quickly as it grew. Losses toJ,Z. George, Ackerman, andEupora still left West Lowndesin contention for a playof fberth and a chance to finishwith a winning record.
Neither materialized after adisappointing 24-0 loss to EastWebster. The result helped theWolverines earn the fourth
playoff spot in the district andsent the Panthers packing.
Henley doesn’t rememberwhen it started, but he saidinflated egos and a lack of teamchemistry ruined a promisingseason.
“It is not just about that oneperson, it is about the wholeteam,” Henley said. “If one per-son goes down, we all godown.”
Henley and senior team-mates Fredrico Moody andBrandon Clark don’t intend tolet individualism to disrupt the2010 season. That’s why theyset out in the offseason and inthe preseason to set a positivebeginning. The players agreeteammates are communicatingand helping each other more toaddress issues before theybecome unmanageable.
“This year, everybody is onpoint and nobody has a big
head,” Henley said.“Everybody helps each otherout. They talk when they runplays.”
Henley, a 5-foot-8 1/2, 161-pounder, will split time this sea-son at linebacker, fullback, andwide receiver. He said toomany players on last season’stea thought they could do what-ever they wanted, and do it bet-ter than anybody.
That attitude ruined a faststart to the season that includ-ed victories against WestOktibbeha, East Oktibbeha,Caledonia, Wheeler, andHamilton.
But the energy lagged as thelosses mounted en route to a 5-5 finish.
“It never clicked because itseemed like some people hadtheir own opinions and theydidn’t want to listen to the cap-tains,” West Lowndes offensive
lineman/middle linebackerFredrico Moody said. “Thisyear, we really don’t have anyattitudes on the team, andeverybody wants to workhard.”
Moody served as a teamleader last season but “helped”Brandon Hill and other sen-iors. Earlier this year, he real-ized West Lowndes would havea pretty good team and that heshould take more responsibili-ty to set the example of howthings are supposed to bedone. So far, the example setby the seniors is paying off.
“Last year, our work habitwasn’t as good as it is thisyear,” said Clark, a 5-7, 150-pound safety/wide receiver.“We had a lot of attitudes lastyear. This year, everybody triesto listen to the captains tomake the team better.”
West Lowndes High football
coach Bobby Berry has beenpleased with the efforts of hisleaders. He said they workedhard in the summer to attendworkouts and to encouragetheir teammates to stayinvolved. He, too, believes thatwork shows the potential ofthis year’s team.
“I think we have a little bitmore leadership in this group,”Berry said. “We have kids whowant to step up and do betterand lead to make things better.They want to win, and whenyou want to win you’re willingto step up and pay the priceand do whatever it takes.
“They are willing to sacrificethemselves to do the thing forthe team and not have a selfishattitude. It is more of a team-oriented approach. Those qual-ities, you can’t teach. They arein born and they are thingskids want to do.”
Adam Minichino/Dispatch Staff
From left: West Lowndes High School seniors Brandon Clark, Fredrico Moody and Donald Henley.
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:Tony Stanford
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
662-241-7200 or 662-241-7310
662-241-7200 or 662-241-7310
662-241-7200 or 662-241-7310
WEST LOWNDESSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 West OktibbehaAug. 27 at East OktibbehaSept. 3 CaledoniaSept. 10 at PhiladelphiaSept. 17 at WheelerSept. 24 OpenOct. 1 HamiltonOct. 8 at J.Z. GeorgeOct. 15 at AckermanOct. 22 EuporaOct. 29 at East Webster
ImmanuelContinued from Page 16
with Norris (Harris),” juniorlineman James Riley said. “Wedo lack in size but we make upfor that with speed. We alsohave been lifting hard, and Ifeel we have all gotten a lotstronger.”
Coming off a difficult seasonis never easy, but one way toease the transition to success isbuilding experience. Gateshopes that won’t be as big of aproblem this season as it waslast year.
“We struggled in the area ofexperience and depth,” Gatessaid. “Fortunately, that will bemuch less of an issue this sea-son.”
One of the returnees for theRams will come at a marqueeposition, as junior Ross Moorewill return as quarterback.
“Ross has improved his lead-ership in the offseason,” Gatessaid. “He also looks better inhis passing and technique. Hedefinitely turned out a goodsummer for us.”
The Rams also return threeplayers on the offensive line tohelp protect Moore, two ofwhom — junior JeremyDavidson and Riley — receivedall-area honors last season.
Harris will join junior tail-back Michael Tate in the back-field, and Moore will have a
familiar big target in the slot in6-foot-5 receiver Justin James.Speedy sophomore JoshDantzler will provide anotheroption to help the Rams spreadthe ball out and move thechains.
On defense, ImmanuelChristian returns three in thetrenches, but Gates believeslinebacker will be his strongestunit. The Rams also have tworeturning in the secondary.
On special teams, all-areapunter Dustin White is back forhis senior season.
With the addition of experi-ence and a year under Gates’system, Immanuel Christian
appears ready for a change oftide and is eager for the seasonto start. Riley admits that whileit was very dif ficult to gothrough a losing season helearned from it and is betterprepared this season.
“Last season was very roughfor us,” Riley said. “It is miser-able losing, and we are all tiredof it. We are ready to win somefootball games, and we have allbeen working very hard tomake sure we change somethings.”
The hard work Riley speaksof is already showing off in thepreseason. Tate said the teamcontinues to work hard in the
weight room and in condition-ing. More importantly, he saidthis year’s team has a new atti-tude when it comes to football.
“We have a much better atti-tude when we come to prac-tice,” Tate said. “We take thingsmore serious and are workingharder than we have before.”
This new-found hungerappears to be contagious. As aresult, the players are eager tobegin changing the fortunes ofImmanuel Christian football.
“I anticipate a big turn-around,” Harris said. “I play towin football games, and that iswhy I came to Immanuel, towin.”
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com10 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
GoodLuck
Montgomery Gardenssenior living by Americare
1351 Old Hwy. 12 West • Starkville, MS662.323.4663 © The Dispatch
MSU, Starkville High School,
Starkville Christian, Starkville Academy,
East Oktibbeha & West Oktibbeha!
From all the residents and staff at
Montgomery Gardens Senior Living!
Courtesy of Starkville High SchoolStarkville 2010 team: 2-Bryce Henderson, 3-Taego Catlege, 4-Stanley Childs, 5-Jakarta Agnew, 6-Stanley Higgins, 7-Priston Henderson, 8-Eddie Brown, 9-Martavius Foster,10-D.J. Jordan, 11-Michael Newman, 12-Jaquez Johnson, 13-Lavon Miller, 14-Haden Higginbotham, 16-Eric Reed, 17-Shaquille Hill, 18-Gabe Myles, 19-Devonte Davis, 20-Colby Runnels, 21-Garrett Smith, 22-Raphael McClain, 23-J.B. Barriare, 24-Antoine Rieves, 25-Daniel Rumo, 26-Johnny Smith, 27-Daniel Jessie, 29-Preston Baker, 30-CoryCannon, 31-Jermaine Gillespie, 32-Devin Mitchell, 33-Eric Powe, 34-David Fair, 35-Dennis Ware, 36-Scotty Pittman, 37-Wesley Montgomery, 38-Jerreal Shields, 30-Corderra Frizell, 40-Shyquell Spruell, 41-Lamonte Reed, 42-Zaquarius Kilborn, 43-Vinnie Vozzo, 44-Leedward Jefferson, 45-Jacoby Smith, 47-Tony Bishop, 48-Devious Gandy,50-Demetre McCleon, 51-Eric Rogers, 52-Chris Prater, 53-Chris Crosby, 54-Kelvin Young, 55-Cody Smith, 56-Jarrod Atterberry, 57-Ben Newman, 58-Murphy Buckner, 60-Marcus Tate, 61-Javian Mobley, 65-Josh Kitchens, 67-Alex Hobbs, 72-Alandra Jones, 74-Kirk Kinard, 76-Chris Madison, 80-Jimmy Saulsberry, 81-Quavarious Robertson, 85-Kentrell Spencer, 86-Charles Hughes.
KEY IN 2010
n JAMIE MITCHELL:“We’ve got talent, but our depth is
paper thin. We’ll have a lot of playerswho’ll go both ways, and we’re going
to have to be a tough team.”
Johnson wants to have consistent year
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE YELLOWJACKETS
n JAQUEZ JOHNSON, MICHAEL NEWMAN
Johnson is a two-year starter anda dual-threat.
n COACH MITCHELL SAYS:“We’re going to ride Jaquez as far
as he’ll take us.”
QUARTERBACKn JAKARTA AGNEW, PRESTON
BAKER, DEVIN MITCHELLAgnew is coming off an injury-
plagued junior year and hasmoved to fullback.
n COACH MITCHELL SAYS:“Preston and Devin are a couple
of sophomores who’ll need togrow in a hurry.”
RUNNING BACK
n MARTAVIOUS FOSTER,SHAQUILLE HILL, GABE MYLES,
KENTRELL SPENCERFoster is Johnson’s favorite target
and is a flexible tight end. Therest of the group is inexperienced.
n COACH MITCHELL SAYS:“Another young group, but the talent is there to help Jaquez in
the passing game.”
RECEIVERS
n JARROD ATTERBERRY, CHRISPRATER, ERIC ROGERS
This trio started last year and willalso see time on defensive line.
n COACH MITCHELL SAYS:“Jarrod’s our leader. We’reexpecting our line to be a
strength.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n DAVID FAIR, CHRIS PRATER,
ERIC ROGERS
An area that lost several starters,
but coaches are high on Rogers.
n COACH MITCHELL SAYS:
“This group is fast and explosive.”
DEFENSIVE LINE
n D.J. JORDAN, DEVIN
MITCHELL, JAKARTA AGNEW
Jordan has added 10 pounds of
muscle and could garner major
college looks with a stellar senior
season.
n COACH MITCHELL SAYS:
“We’re expecting big things from
D.J. and Devin, while Jakarta has
really picked up his game.”
LINEBACKER
n JAQUEZ JOHNSON, GARRETT
SMITH, BRYCE HENDERSON,
GABE MYLES
An area in which the team struggled
last year, expect improvement and
more man-coverage.
n COACH MITCHELL SAYS:
“We’ve worked hard in the spring
and this fall to avoid the big plays in
the passing game.”
SECONDARY
n WESLEY MONTGOMERY,COLBY RUNNELS
The Jackets have been searchingfor a reliable kicker and punter for
the past four seasons, and competition this fall is too close
to call.
n COACH MITCHELL SAYS:“We’re not going to get beat in
the kicking game, and we’repleased with Colby’s progress.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
STARKVILLE YELLOWJACKETSMHSAA Class 6A, Region 1; 2009 Record: 4-9
BY DAVID [email protected]
STARKVILLE — JaquezJohnson has a state championshiphe can always tout from his prepplaying days.
It’s just not a football title.A three-sport athlete, Johnson
was a junior guard for theStarkville High School boys bas-ketball team’s Class 6A state titleteam. He hit clutch 3-pointers,played stout defense, and, mostimportantly, made the right pass.
The senior quarterback’s miss-ing part to his skill set has beenwhat made him an ideal startingguard for Greg Carter’s YellowJackets — making the right pass.
For a quarterback who hasshown the ability to make everythrow on the field and to be a phys-ical runner, Johnson is putting allthe pieces together for what he
hopes will be his best football sea-son at Starkville High.
Basketball, ironically, is fueling
that fire, albeit, indirectly.“I learned from basketball just
how hard you have to work to get
to that title,” Johnson said. “Butfootball is my sport; I can’t wait forthis every year. I feel like I’ve gotto step it up and lead my team tosome more wins. Most of thegames we lost last year, I’d make abig play then I’d take us out with abad play.
“I feel I’ve got to step up andmake good plays consistently.”
The responsibility of leadingthe offense is magnified becauseof a lack of experience at receiverand running back.
Johnson no longer has stand-out Chuck Tillery or Justin Rogersto lean on. Instead, he hopes sen-ior tight end Martavious Fostercan help lead a receiving groupthat returns zero catches from lastseason.
“We’ve told him that as he goeswe’re going to go with him,” first-year Starkille High coach Jamie
See STARKVILLE, 21
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffJaquez Johnson will try to put together his best season this year incoach Jamie Mitchell’s first season at the school.
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:
Jamie Mitchell
(first year; 130-40 overall)
n ASSISTANT
COACHES:
Brooks Oakley (defensive
coordinator), Tate Fischer
(linebackers), Willie Gillespie
(defensive ends), Steve Denson
(defensive backs), Rob Morgan
(quarterbacks), Carlos Kemp
(running backs), Preston
Leathers (wide receivers /
offensive coordinator), Charlie
Smith (offensive line).
BY DAVID [email protected]
STARKVILLE — KyleHenson remembers the pres-sure of stepping into one ofthe most dismal situations hehas faced.
As the backup quarterbackfor Starkville Academy, hereplaced injured starter WillGoodwin when the team hadlost confidence and was in themiddle of a winless season.
He then realized he was ina position he wasn’t preparedto handle.
“It was a big change,”Henson said. “I’d had quarter-back experience in juniorhigh, but it tested my ability tohandle pressure in a big way.It’s hard to be positive going 0-11, and it was a tough time forthe entire team. But that expe-rience will help me in the longrun. I think I handled it thebest way I could.”
As the Volunteers’ full-timequarterback, Henson ischarged with turning aroundan offense that averaged 11.36points per game last season.
He’s in charge of a new,run-oriented offense and has astrong stable of running backsto help provide a spark.
But that’s just part ofHenson’s responsibility thisseason. He also will serve as aleader for a program that is inthe middle of one of thebiggest rebuilding periods inthe area.
The Volunteers, who areriding a 15-game losing streakdating back to 2008, have hadthree head coaches in four
years. Class AAA, Region Iplay hasn’t been kind, either,as they have gone 4-21 inregion play since ’06.
There’s a lot on the plateheading into this season,Henson admits.
“I don’t know if they realizethey’re testing my ability tohandle the pressure, but in myheart I know it,” Henson saidof the coaches. “They’ll besaying ‘Someone has to makea play, someone has to step up
right here.’ I’m looking at itlike they’re talking to me. Itmay sound selfish, but I wantto have the ball in my hands tomake the play. I feel like theywant to see me play underpressure every time we’re atpractice.”
For new coach Jeff Terrill,who left the junior collegeranks after a successful run atItawamba CommunityCollege, Year 1 of his rebuild-ing project is more aboutbuilding a foundation ratherthan orchestrating a remark-able turnaround.
Sure, it’d be nice to earnenough wins for a playof fberth, but with a roster withless than 30 players and onewinning season in the past sixyears, he’s realistic about thestate of the program and the
work it’s going to take getback to championship form.
“They still lack some confi-dence, and they’ve got tounderstand what it reallytakes to compete for fourquarters,” Terrill said. “It’sstill a big concern, but theef fort and enthusiasm wehave is great. The kids arehungry and have embracedeverything we’ve thrown atthem.”
That includes Henson, who
will see significant time at cor-nerback in addition to startingunder center.
“Being the man” comeswith the heightened responsi-bility of doing everything asthe team’s unquestionedleader.
“There’s got to be someunderstanding — it’s a learn-ing curve being a leader,”Terrill said. “The biggestthing we try to talk about is agreat leader being evenkeeled. He’s going to showthat confidence in the midst ofadversity. He’s got to be thereassuring guy. You got tohave that guy to help team-mates keep focus. It’s a situa-tion where you’re trying totrain him to be that consistentguy.”
Terrill is thankful his quar-
terback has taken charge andis ready to make the most ofthe 2010 season. Henson’swillingness to play multipleroles and to do what’s best forthe future of the program hasimpressed Terrill the most.
“These kids know whatthey’re up against,” Terrillsaid, “and having someonelike Kyle is a big plus. He hasexcellent skills and is a greatperson to build a teamaround.”
What Henson brings to thefield is quality in the runninggame, which makes him anideal quarterback to runStarkville Academy’s offense.But the passing game, whereTerrill and Co. hope to utilizeplay-action, is where Hensonstill has to grow. Henson’sleading targets look to be first-year player Pat Jones andspeedy Hamilton McBride.The Volunteers also aresearching for depth at receiv-er.
Henson sees the passinggame as one of the many chal-lenges the team will face thisyear.
“I could sit here and tellyou, I’m still not the greatestpasser,” Henson said. “But therun is going to set up the pass.I’ve got to throw for us to besuccessful, and those will beour big plays. I’ve been throw-ing every day since spring. Icould tell during 7-on-7 thatit’s been improving.
“We’ve already come a longway, so this is just anotherstep for us to make.”
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 11HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
STARKVILLEACADEMYSCHEDULE
Aug. 19 At AckermanAug. 27 LAMARSept. 3 HERITAGESept. 10 At ParklaneSept. 17 J.A.Sept. 24 WINSTONOct. 1 WASHINGTONOct. 8 At M.R.A.Oct. 15 At ClarksdaleOct. 22 MAG HEIGHTSOct. 29 At PillowHOME GAMES IN CAPS
Provided
Starkville Academy 2010 team: 2-Campbell Dobbs, 3-Will White, 6-Zach Slaughter, 7-Hamilton McBride, 8-Jyle Henson, 9-Ryan McKell, 11-Patrick Jones, 17-Taylor Hunt,20-Micheal Temple, 22-Sam Miller, 33-Ryan Mann, 36-Nathan Berry, 40-Matt Ward, 41-James Mapp, 48/55-Stephen Robertson, 50-Lane McClendon, 52-Jack McReynolds,54-Zack Thomas, 57-Jordan Dennis, 58-Clint Wall, 61-Cole Phelps, 62-Harrison McBride, 64/88-Adam Crittenden, 66-Angus Catchot, 70-Johnny Wyman, 72-Collin Stokes,75-Kaden Hunt, 77-Cody Ware, 78-Landon Scrivner. Coaches: Jeff Terrill, chad Crowe, Chase Nicholson, Chad Peterson, Near Henry, Casey Orr.
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE VOLUNTEERS
n KYLE HENSON, HAMILTON MCBRIDE
An explosive runner, Henson tookover midway through last seasonand has worked to improve his
passing mechanics.
n COACH TERRILL SAYS:“Coming back after the work
through the summer, you couldtell they had retained a good
grasp of the offense.”
QUARTERBACKn MATT WARD, RYAN MANN,
RYAN MCKELLWard is a bruising fullback whoprovides toughness and energy.
n COACH TERRILL SAYS:“We’ve got a little depth and have
shown great things in practice.We’re excited to see how we
perform.”
RUNNING BACKn PAT JONES, HAMILTON
MCBRIDE, ADAM CRITTENDENJones joined the team earlier this
year, while Crittenden has experience at tight end and
receiver.
n COACH TERRILL SAYS:“Pat has been a pleasant surprise,
and Hamilton McBride bringsspeed to the edge they didn’t
have last year.”
RECEIVERSn JORDAN DENNIS AND CODY WARE
Ware and Dennis are seniorguards who’ll provide a good
push up the middle.
n COACH TERRILL SAYS:“It all starts with those guys,
who’ve given us great consistencyand effort.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n JAMES MAPP,ADAM CRITTENDEN
Mapp brings speed off the edge,while Crittenden will be a force
against the run.
n COACH TERRILL SAYS:“They complement each otherwell. Our ends are the line’sstrong point. Good anchors.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn MATT WARD, RYAN MANN,
STEVEN ROBERTSONThis group was a question mark
last season, but Ward has found ahome inside, while Mann andRobertson will start outside.
n COACH TERRILL SAYS:“This group could be our
strongest suit. We’ve got depthwith Clint Wall and Nathan Berry.”
LINEBACKERn RYAN MCKELL, HAMILTON
MCBRIDE, TAYLOR HUNTMcBride and McKell will play both
ways, while Zach Thomas andMichael Temple are battling for a
starting safety spot.
n COACH TERRILL SAYS:“Each player brings something different to the group and gives
us some flexibility.”
SECONDARYn MATT WHITE, RYAN MANN,
HAMILTON MCBRIDEWhite has earned kicking duties,
while Mann and McBride are competing for the punter job.
n COACH TERRILL SAYS:“We’ll be new at all these
positions, but punting is more of aconcern.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
STARKVILLE ACADEMY VOLUNTEERS
n HEAD COACH:Jeff Terrill(First year)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Chad Crowe, ChaseNicholson, Neal Henry,
Chad Peterson
KEY IN 2010
n JEFF TERRILL:“The biggest thing we’re
working to build isrestoring confidence and
pride in this program.We know we’ve got a
streak hanging over ourhead, but we’re practic-
ing like winners.”
NUMBER’S GAME
12Returning Lettermen
13Returning Starters:
5 – Offense; 8 – Defense
15Current Starkville
Academy losing streak
dating back to 2008
MAIS Class AAA, Division 1; 2009 Record: 0-11
Terrill will look to Henson to help revitalize Vols
“I’m looking at it like they’re talking to me. Itmay sound selfish, but I want to have the ball inmy hands to make the play. I feel like they wantto see me play under pressure every time we’reat practice.”
Kyle Henson, backup quarterback for Starkville Academy
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com12 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffRoster not available at press time.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TITANS
n CHRIS HUNTER,
KORTLAND PETTY
Hunter is a second-year starter
who showed potential in 2009.
n COACH BROOKS SAYS:
“Veteran leadership and they’ll
both be on the field at the same
time in some capacity.”
QUARTERBACKn MARLON FAIR, LEXIE
EDWARDS, TERENCE RICEEdwards was second on the team
with 664 yards last season.
n COACH BROOKS SAYS:“We’ve got a lot of talent at thatposition, and Lexie and Marlonboth rushed for nearly 1,000
yards.”
RUNNING BACKn ARTHUR GILLESPIE,
TERENCE RICEOnly six of the Titans’ 29 offen-sive touchdowns came through
the air last season.
n COACH BROOKS SAYS:“They’re big, tall track guys who
can run. We’re excited aboutthem.”
RECEIVERSn MONTE HORSLEY, JALEN
PETERSON, JAMARQUIZ PAGE,JAMAL HALBERT
This is one of the team’s mostexperienced groups. Helped pavethe way for 2,190 rushing yards
last season.
n COACH BROOKS SAYS:“Big, tough, physical group will be
a strength.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n MONTE HORSLEY, STEVENBELL, FREDDIE WILLIAMS
Horsley is the leader after posting10 sacks last year.
n COACH BROOKS SAYS:“Just like the offensive line, thiswill be a strong group inside and
out.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn TINNIE PETERSON,
JIRTAVIOUS COXCox is a Starkville High transfer
and will look to step in immediate-ly after the Titans lost their top
tackler, Dee Garth, to graduation.
n COACH BROOKS SAYS:“This group is a big question
mark, but hopefully we’ll havesomeone step up.”
LINEBACKERn ARTHUR GILLESPIE,
KORTLAND PETTY, JUWAN
ROBERTS
Gillespie had three interceptions
last year, and with Petty helped
the Titans to a third-place state
track meet finish.
n COACH BROOKS SAYS:
“Our corners and safeties have
been doing 7-on-7 all summer and
have done a great job.”
SECONDARYn CHRIS HUNTER,
DAVALYN BELLThe Titans didn’t kick extra points
last year and struggled to getconsistent punting.
n COACH BROOKS SAYS:“Chris will punt and Davalyn willhandle kicking duties. Both are
veterans.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
EAST OKTIBBEHA TITANS
Horsley focuses on getting stronger to reach goalMHSAA Class 1A Region 3: 2009 Record: 4-7
BY DAVID [email protected]
CRAWFORD — Getquicker. Get stronger.
That’s all MonteHorsley could think aboutonce his junior seasonended at East OktibbehaHigh School.
The stout defensivetackle finished 2009 as theteam’s leader in sacks (10)and spearheaded aground attack thataccounted for 2,190 of theTitans’ 2,786 yards ofoffense.
Still, he felt somethingwas lacking. It was an ele-ment ideal for his position,and an attribute he knew
he needed to make themost of his final season asa Titan: Physicality.
Horsley figured he hadthe mind-set to be a tough,hard-nosed player, but hehad to have his body at100 percent fitness toreach his goal of being thetop defensive player inClass 1A football.
And with a dearth ofnew players, he knew he’dhave the future of the pro-gram looking to him as anexample.
“It’s just the guys outhere, people in school,and people who watch usplay,” Horsley said, “so Iknew I’d have to go hardon both sides of the balland make sure I was readyto go this season.”
The offseason solutionwas simple: Live in theweight room and takebreaks on the field.
“I think I did reallygood last year, but I knewI had to get better atwatching the ball, gettinga little faster off the snap,and getting stronger,”Horsley said. “I’ve been inthe weight room anddoing a lot of running. I’vebeen concentrating onhow I can achieve mygoal.”
The Titans, who’vebeen in a state of fluxsince the unexpecteddeparture of coachAnthony King, are lookingto build on last season’sfour-win total under newcoach Randy Brooks.
Although Brooks tookover the first week of prac-tice, he is familiar with the
players. He has coachedthe boys track and fieldteam the past two seasons,leading them to thirdplace at the 2009 1A statemeet.
He also was an assis-tant on King’s staff andhas witnessed Horsley’sprogression the past twoseasons.
“He’s gotten bigger,stronger and worked onhis speed,” Brooks said.“I’ve seen him grow frombeing a chubby kid togetting his bench in the290 range. I expect himto be more physical. I’vetold him people knowwho he is and you won’tbe able to sneak up onpeople.”
Brooks also stressedthe importance ofHorsley’s dominating thedefensive line because theteam lost its top two line-backers. Having Horsleyat the top of his game isvital, Brooks said.
“He’s a senior and aveteran on both sides ofthe line,” Brooks said.“Paired with JalenPeterson, they both goabout 255 and 260. He’sgoing to be very impor-tant to us.”
Brooks admits the tim-ing of his hire has made itdifficult to gauge howmuch progress his playersmade in the offseason.He’s keen to get his play-ers into game shape butwon’t have jamborees orscrimmages against otherschools to help thatprocess.
One certainty is
Horsley, who feels he’sone of many who’ve got-ten tougher and morephysical.
“The bigger, strongerteams like Weir, they havea strong line and fast play-ers,” Horsley said. “We
have to think quicker, bequicker, and be physicallike a Weir team. We wantto be that better team.”
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffEast Oktibbeha High School’s Monte Horsley has worked hard to get into top shapeand to help the Titans improve on a 4-7 record last season.
EAST OKTIBBEHASCHEDULE
Aug. 20 MNTGMRY CO.Aug. 27 WEST LOWNDESSept. 3 WEST OKTIBBEHASept. 10 SOUTH LEAKESept.17 At French CampSept. 24 NOXAPATEROct. 1 At ThomastownOct. 8 EDINBURGOct. 15 At WeirOct. 22 OpenOct. 29 At Nanih WaiyaNov. 5 ETHEL
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
KEY IN 2010
n RANDY BROOKS“Our biggest task is
playing consistent for
four quarters. We
missed out on a few
wins last year because
we had bad halves or
bad quarters.”
NUMBER’S GAME
13Returning Lettermen
16Returning Starters:
8 – Offense; 8 – Defense
3Number of games the
Titans lost by six points
or less in 2009.
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:
Randy Brooks, first year
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 13HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
David Miller/Dispatch StaffWest Oktibbeha 2010 team: 1-Von Smith, 2-Kelsey Jefferson, 3-Bishop Robinson, 4-Drake Powell, 10-Aaron Brownlee, 11-Dwight Quinn, 12-Shun Fair, 13-Jonathan Love,14-Josh Powe, 15-DeShaun Brown, 20-Colby Lucas, 23-Richard Richmond, 31-Ryan Hughes, 32-Damarcus Cunningham, 33-Tyas Baker, 36-Tiberias Lampkin, 42-LaVanteTate, 44-Lamorris Cunningham, 45-Darvis Reed, 46-Jeb Hawthorne, 50-Vasquez Clark, 51-Shareck Clark, 52-Pavious Lawrence, 56-Donovan Henderson, 63-StevenRobinson, 70-Alex Dawkins, 74-Andreas Brandt, 76-Sharad Stafford, Charles Mulling.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TIMBERWOLVES
n VON SMITHStarted as a freshman and
finished second in 1A with 1,454passing yards.
n COACH LOWERY SAYS:“Von’s done nothing but grow
since last year, and the offensewill grow as well.”
QUARTERBACKn JOSH POE, TIBERIAS LAMPKINPoe led the team with 391 yardsand five touchdowns last season
in a pass-oriented offense.
n COACH LOWERY SAYS:“We’re going to set up our run
with the pass, so we’ll see morelanes to run with a better passing
game.”
RUNNING BACKn DWIGHT QUINN, DRAKE
POWELL, AARON BROWNLEEAs Smith grows at quarterback,so too will the wideouts. Quinnhad 48 catches for 572 yards
last year.
n COACH LOWERY SAYS:“We were limited to four routes
last year, but take that and timesit by 10 this year and that’s
where we’re at.”
RECEIVERSn JEREMY BROWN, PAVIOUS
LAWRENCE, DONOVANHENDERSON
Lawrence is the strongest of thegroup, which, like last year, is a
bit undersized.
n COACH LOWERY SAYS:“We’re feeling better about our
pass protection and what we’ll beable to get done in the passing
game.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n DONOVAN HENDERSON,PAVIOUS LAWRENCE, TIBERIAS
LAMPKINLampkin had seven of the team’s
41 sacks last season.
n COACH LOWERY SAYS:“It’s a lot of the same guys from
our offensive line, and coachCistrunk has them working hard
and playing aggressive.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn JEREMY BROWN, JOSH POEWithout a doubt, the strength ofthe Timberwolves defense. Poe
was The Dispatch Small School’sDefensive Player of the
Year in ‘09.
n COACH LOWERY SAYS:“Fast, strong and a nose for the
ball. Those boys bring it.”
LINEBACKERn DRAKE POWELL, DWIGHT
QUINN, VON SMITHPowell led the team with three
interceptions in ’09, while Quinnand Smith will go both ways.
n COACH LOWERY SAYS:“I know there’s some concern
with Von, and whether we shouldor shouldn’t take that chance, buthe’s an athlete we’ve got to have
on the field.”
SECONDARYn DWIGHT QUINN
Not a strength of theTimberwolves, but Lowrey isn’t
worried.
n COACH LOWERY SAYS:“We’ll put in whoever we need to
get the job done.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
WEST OKTIBBEHA TIMBERWOLVES
Lowrey, Timberwolves not worried about numbersBY DAVID [email protected]
MABEN — WestOktibbeha High Schoolfootball fans should get usedto being the underdog.
It’s a role theTimberwolves don’t mindplaying, and senior wideout
D w i g h tQ u i n nprefers oppo-nents second-guess histeam’s talentand heart.
U n d e r -s t a n d a b l y,there’s more pleasurederived from winning withjust enough people to field ateam.
Quinn and Co. havewatched countless class-mates talk about joining theteam, show up for a practiceor two, then walk away froma program that was a touch-down away from making theClass 1A playoffs a year ago.
However, Timberwolvesplayers and coaches allagree on one thing: You’remissing the train to the post-season 2010.
The Timberwolves lostone senior — QuadarisThompson — from last sea-son, which is even more rea-son to believe the team willend its four-year playoffdrought.
“With the players at ourschool, it really doesn’t mat-ter about how many come,”Quinn said. “We know the13 that are here are going tobe committed to playingfootball. You can get 20 peo-ple out here at the end of theseason or right before theseason starts, but it’s stillgoing to be the same 13 thathave always been here.”
West Oktibbeha Highcoach Adam Lowrey has 18players in fall camp, andexpects to add two morebefore the team opens the
season Aug. 20 at WestLowndes.
Lowrey said he had moreplayers during the springperiod, but the tight ship heand assistant coach KelvinSistrunk run in Mabenturned into a reason forplayers’ defection.
But unless you’ve experi-enced the one-win season in2008 and the frustration thatcame with not being able torun a scout team and hopingall 15 players stay healthy,you’ll never know howtough you have to be to playfor Lowrey.
“We got too many ingre-dients that are going to bebig for us to slack off toplease one or two boys thatwant me to make it easierfor them,” Lowrey said. “Noteam that we’re going toplay is going to take it easyon us. They’re going to seeour small numbers andthey’re going to attack uswith depth. They’re going tosee our small line andthey’re going to attack uswith blitzes. We’re not goingto take it easy on anybodybecause it’s unfair to thisteam.”
If it sounds like Lowreyand Quinn are bitter, don’tput too much stock intotheir tone. They and the restof the team are as optimisticas ever ahead of Year 3 ofthe Lowrey era.
Quinn is a big reason forthat. He is coming off abreakout season in whichhe led the team with 48catches for 572 yards andsix touchdowns. He man-aged those numbers with
first-year quarterback VonSmith, who threw for 1,454yards at a 58-percent com-pletion rate. Smith’s yardagetotal was second in Class 1A.
Quinn, described as thefastest player on the roster,is expected to make a biggerimpact after theTimberwolves’ standoutperformances in Starkville’s7-on-7 passing league.
Playing against power-houses West Point andNoxubee County in the 7-on-7 league should make lifeeasier against 1A defenders,
Quinn said. “It’s a better experience
because coming from a 1Aschool you’ve got smallerpeople,” Quinn said. “Whenyou get to playing 5A and 6Aschools that have biggercornerbacks who are waystronger than you, they canjam you off the ball. But ifyou can get around that,when you get to 1A you’vebeen playing a lot better andfaster.
“This year, (the passinggame) is going to be quick-er because we’ve had that
repetition.”The 5-foot-10 speedster
admits last year’s learningcurve was steep in Lowrey’spass-oriented attack, but thesenior is keen to see hisquarterback continue thedevelopment that startedlast fall and ended with a 5-6record.
Last year’s goal was toprotect the 5-foot-6 Smith —then a freshman — with
plays designed to get theball out of his hand as quick-ly as possible. Lowrey saidthe team’s receivers had justfour routes last year but heexpects a more detailedpassing attack this seasonwith running back Josh Poe,The Dispatch’s 2009 SmallSchools Player of the Year,and Aaron Brownlee back inthe fold.
With more experiencedweapons, Quinn could findhimself as a decoy as teamslook to stop theTimberwolves’ top offensivethreat. But don’t expect it tobother him because heembodies the leadershipLowrey needs to help theteam make a playoff run.
“He doesn’t demand theball, and he understands theoffense is a system,“ Lowreysaid. “I don’t want to reducethe game down to one-on-one matchups. I don’t wantit to be, ‘If Dwight can’t do it,we lose.’ His experience andleadership — he’s not goingto crack. It can be 11 sec-onds to go in the game, andwe can be on our own 30 —he’s not going to crack.You’ve got to have a playerlike that on your team.”
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffWest Oktibbeha’s Dwight Quinn hopes more of theteammates on a bigger roster decide to stay with theteam as it makes a push to return to the playoffs.
WEST OKTIBBEHASCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At West LowndesAug. 27 At East WebsterSept. 3 At East OktibbehaSept. 10 NOXAPATERSept. 17 At ThomastownSept. 24 EDINBURGOct. 1 At WeirOct. 8 ETHELOct. 15 NANIH WAIYAOct. 22 OpenOct. 29 SOUTH LEAKENov. 5 At French CampHOME GAMES IN CAPS
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:
Adam Lowrey
(Second year,
6-16)
n ASSISTANT
COACHES:
Kelvin Cistrunk
(Off. Line/Def.
Coordinator);
Joseph Lampkin
KEY IN 2010
n ADAM LOWREY:“We’re not worryingabout low numbers
anymore because we’vegot the talent to be a
playoff team.”
NUMBER’S GAME
11Returning Lettermen
11Returning Starters:
10 offense; 10 defense
Lowrey
MHSAA Class 1A, Region 3: 2009 Record: 5-6
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com14 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
HEBRONCHRISTIANSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At Newton Aca.Aug. 27 DESOTOSept. 3 At W. Memphis Chr.Sept. 10 BENTON ACA.Sept. 17 OAK HILL ACA.Sept. 24 OpenOct. 1 At Ctl. Holmes Chr.Oct. 8 At Carroll Aca.Oct. 15 At ImmanuelOct. 22 CALHOUN ACA.Oct. 29 WINONA CHR.HOME GAMES IN CAPS
STAFF
HEBRON CHRISTIAN EAGLES
n HEAD COACH:
Greg Watkins
(third year, 4-6;
41-16 overall)
n ASSISTANT
COACHES:
David Foster (defensive
coordinator), Tri Nason
(special teams,
linemen), Bro. Andy
Parrish (linemen)
KEY IN 2010
n COACH WATKINS:
“Some teams are playing
eight-man (football) with
15, 16, or 18 guys. We
would love to have that
many guys. We just pray
God will be with our team
and keep our guys safe
and healthy.”
NUMBER’S GAME
6Returning Lettermen
4Returning Starters:
4 — Offense;
3 — Defense
Watkins hopes to avoid injuries this seasonBY JASON [email protected]
PHEBA — To continue playing11-man football this season, HebronChristian has to avoid unlucky acci-dents; be they pulled hamstrings,concussions or lightning strikes.
“Some teams are playing eight-man (football) with 15, 16, or 18guys. We would love to have thatmany guys,” Hebron Christiancoach Greg Watkins said. “We justpray God will be with our team andkeep our guys safe and healthy.”
The Eagles enter Watkins’ sec-ond year as coach with 14 players.Six of those players played last year,and only four were starters.
Experience is a concern, buthealth is a bigger concern, which iswhy conditioning was a priority ear-lier this month at a football camp atthe school.
“We started out doing two-a-daysand wound up doing four-a-days.Three of those (workouts) we spenttime doing conditioning and duringone we did offense and defense,”Watkins said.
Senior guard and linebackerKevin Simmons, one of four return-ing starters, said the team is shapingup better than expected with somany inexperienced players.
“We’re not looking too shabby,”Simmons said. “Everybody is goingto have to go both ways, so we’re inpretty good shape. Coach (Tri)Nason is the master drill sergeant.He comes up with all kinds of ran-dom (exercises) to keep you inshape.”
Two years ago, Hebron Christianfinished 8-5 to claim the District 3-AMAIS title. After graduating most ofits firepower from that team and los-ing coach Sam Pearson to PickensAcademy, the Eagles went 4-6 in2009 under Watkins.
“We lost a lot of close games atthe beginning of the year, but wekinda turned it on toward the end ofthe year and won three of our lastfour,” Watkins said.
This year, experienced playersare in shorter supply, but that mightnot be a bad thing. Watkins installeda new offense last year and experi-mented with multiple defenses.After settling on a 3-5 defense andcontinuing with a double-wingoffense, new players aren’t uncom-fortable outside Pearson’s system.
“They’ve run a certain type ofoffense for years and we’re chang-ing that,” Watkins said. “They werekinda in a spread formation, more ofa quarterback read. Now we run aspeed set, double wing. We do a ballfake every single play.”
The new offense is designed tokeep opposing defenses disciplinedand to punish them when they aban-don their reads.
“This offense makes a middlelinebacker stay at home,” Watkinssaid. “If he steps off, with (seniorfullback) Jae Shaw’s speed, if (Shaw)breaks through there he’s gone.”
Shaw, who functioned primarilyas a blocker last year, will split car-ries with junior tailback MarquezRobinson and sophomore WillCorbin Rogers. Watkins expectsShaw’s bruising style to draw atten-tion in the middle and to createopportunities for Robinson on theoutside.
Rogers also is the team’s No. 2quarterback behind 6-foot-2-inchsenior Chad Smith, who hasn’tplayed football since his freshmanyear. Watkins said Smith’s lack ofexperience shouldn’t hamper him inthe system.
“We feel pretty good with hisheight and arm strength,” Watkinssaid. “He’s pretty smooth back thereand has adjusted to the offense. Thebiggest thing for the quarterback iscarrying out the fakes and gettingyour footwork down,” he said.
Senior Carlton Clay is a wildcardat quarterback. The 6-4-inch basket-ball standout suffered a spinal cordconcussion in his sophomore yearand doctors advised him to abandonthe gridiron for the hardwood.
Clay attended camp with theEagles, sitting out full-contact drills,but he hopes to receive clearancefrom doctors to suit up for his senioryear. He said he won’t risk it if doc-tors advise against playing.
“If he gets cleared, we probablywon’t use him on defense,” Watkinssaid. “But if he does come out, he’sprobably the most athletic kid at ourschool. It would lift the team tremen-dously.”
Simmons and fellow senior andthree-year starter Jacob Crow willanchor the offensive line. They’ll beflanked by some big boys, but not alot of experience. Watkins will lookto his guards — Simmons and sen-ior Chase Ray — to use their speedand aggressiveness on pulling playsto clear running lanes.
A group of young receivers willneed the running game to succeedbefore the passing game can getstarted.
Senior Jacob Crow (6-1, 250) willanchor the defensive line at noseguard in the 3-5.
“It’s going to be hard for a centerto take (Crow) on one-on-one,”Watkins said. “He’s probably goingto help the linebackers by taking ontwo guys.”
Simmons is the only returninglinebacker. Junior Harley Thompson(6-1, 225) will roam the middle whilethe outermost linebackers play dualroles as cornerbacks.
Rogers will be the deep man atsafety, but Watkins said he’ll play for-ward whenever possible.
“I like a safety that plays morelike a linebacker,” Watkins said. “Ifeel real good about a guy who’llcome up and throw a punch.”
The roles on special teams areundecided. Smith could handlepunts, but Nason is trying out sever-al players at kicker.
If the Eagles can remain healthy,
Watkins believe they have the talentto return to the playoffs.
If the injury bug does bite,they’re not going to give up.
“Eleven-man is where we reallywant to play,” Watkins said. “Untilwe drop down to 10 players, we’regoing to play 11-man.”
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE EAGLES
n CHAD SMITH, SR.; WILL CORBIN ROGERS, SO.
n COACH WATKINS SAYS:“Chad hasn’t played football in
two years, but he stepped right inthis spring and did some real good
things.”
QUARTERBACKn JAE SHAW, SR.;
MARQUEZ ROBINSON, JR.;
WILL CORBIN ROGERS, SO.;
TAYLOR COGGINS, SO.
n COACH WATKINS SAYS:
“Marquez is probably not going to
outrun anybody, but he’s as quick
as anybody within 10 yards.”
RUNNING BACK
n JOE CROW, JR.; TAYLOR COGGINS, SO.;
WILL CORBIN ROGERS, SO.
n COACH WATKINS SAYS:“We use our backs out of the
backfield a lot, but our run usuallyopens up our pass.”
RECEIVERSn KEVIN SIMMONS, SR.;
JACOB CROW, SR.; CHASE RAY,SR., HARLEY THOMPSON, JR.;
JARED JONES, SR.; JACOBWEIR, SO.; CODY TATUM, SO.;
TROY ARNOLD, FR.
n COACH WATKINS SAYS:“Our guards, Kevin and Chase, aretwo quick guys who will hit you in
the mouth.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n JACOB CROW, SR.; CODY TATUM, SO.;
TROY ARNOLD, FR.; JACOB WEIR, SR.;
JAROD JONES, SR.; JOE CROW, JR.
n COACH WATKINS SAYS:
“Jacob Crow is 6-1 and 225
pounds at the nose. “It’s going to
be hard for a center to take him
on one-on-one, which will probably
help the linebackers by taking on
two guys.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn KEVIN SIMMONS, SR.;
HARLEY THOMPSON, JR.;
CHASE RAY, SR.
n COACH WATKINS SAYS:
“Kevin is the only one coming
back from last year that started.”
LINEBACKER
n JAE SHAW, SR.; TAYLOR COGGINS, SO.;
CHAD SMITH, SR.; WILL CORBINROGERS, SO.;
MARQUEZ ROBINSON, JR.
n COACH WATKINS SAYS:“I feel good about (safety Corbin
Rogers) coming up and finishing atackle like a linebacker.”
SECONDARYn CHAD SMITH, SR. (PUNTER)
n COACH WATKINS SAYS:
“We have three guys we’re
evaluating. One may kick off and
another kick extra points.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
PatriotsContinued from Page 8
Starkville Academy,Butler’s former team, inthe state title game that theprogram has had a win-ning season.
Butler said the seniorswill have to deliver andhelp to instill a work ethicand an attitude that drivesthe program to greaterheights.
“Last year when thingswere going good we werepretty good, but when theystarted getting bad theysure went sour in a hurry,” Butler said. “We just did-n’t handle adversity verywell. Whether it is a game,a season, or life, you’regoing to go through sometimes where there is someadversity. Your successdepends on how you han-dle it.
“You’re going to turnthe ball over, you’re goingto have a costly penalty,you’re going to have atouchdown called back.Something bad is going tohappen in each game, butyou can’t say, ‘Here we goagain.’ That play is overand done with. Now let’ssee what we can do.Somebody has to make aplay to overcome that,rather than saying, ‘Herewe go again.’ I feel thisbunch has that ability tofight through some adver-sity.”
The seniors feel theyhave what it takes, too.They talked about how theteam lost its direction aftera 49-12 loss to LamarSchool and a 28-10 defeat
to MRA. The team also sawits offensive coordinatorquit in week six. All of theissues created an atmos-phere that devolved into ablame game.
To compound matters,this year’s seniors saideveryone wasn’t focusedlast season They said therewere too many distractionsin and out of the huddlethat pulled the team apart.
Ferguson put it bestwhen he said the “me, meattitudes” drowned out theteam concept.
Things appear to havestarted differently this sea-son.
The seniors said every-one is policing huddles andtraining sessions better,getting on teammateswhen they lose focus ormake a mistake.
“It is definitely a differ-ent atmosphere in prac-tice,” Buxton said.“Everyone has stepped up,it is more serious betweenthe play and after theplays.”
Henderson said thisyear’s squad is focused onwork ethic. He said every-one has to give their bestat all times if the Patriotswill realize their goal. Hesaid the seniors are readyto do their part to makesure everyone stays inline.
Butler hopes that is thecase. He said he doesn’talways feel the coacheshave to be the ones tomotivate layers. He hopesall of his players, especially
the seniors, will encourageand chastise their team-mates when things aredone right or wrong.
That didn’t happenenough last season.
"It seemed like the sec-ond (loss) was really kindof the turning point,”Butler said. “Then it start-ed to become a blamegame. Nobody wanted tostep up and say, ‘Hey, thatis my fault. I am going todo better.’ Some of themwanted to talk about whatwe were doing offensively.I brought them in here andasked them, ‘Are youdoing everything you’resupposed to do help us besuccessful?’ ... I want youto come in here and watchfilm and I will show youand you can watch your-self. If that is the best youcan do then really we needto find somebody else. Itjust became an effort prob-lem. In my years of coach-ing, I have never had thatproblem as far as effort.”
Butler said it was diffi-cult to overcome that “herewe go again” mind-set thatseemed to hang over theteam. He said the Patriotswere in a lot of games inthe second half of the sea-son but hurt themselveswith turnovers and penal-ties. Heritage Academyscored 14 points only onetime in the final six games,and was shut out twice.
"It got to the point lastyear that we got beat andsome of them didn’t care,”Butler said. “Hopefully, we
have eliminated some ofthat, but it takes leaders. Itain’t what I know and whatI can do. It is what they cando.”
Butler has seen moreenthusiasm in practice andthe potential for leaders toemerge. But he said theseniors will provide theintegral leadership that theteam needs if it is toreverse its fortunes.
“Stance has led byexample,” Butler said.“John Laws has beenthrough some tough timeswith injuries, but he is aleader. He gets done whatneeds to be done. I amcounting on him to giveeffort. Stance is going togive effort. Glenn is goingto give effort. I don’t faultthose guys’ effort, and did-n’t last year. They weren’tthe problem. What theyhave to realize that if youhave somebody who isstraying away, or who is aselfish player, or who getsto playing the blame game,you can’t get in there withthem. Let’s separate our-selves from him. Some ofthem got caught up in thatlast year. There were somethat got caught up in thefact that this is my buddyhere and he is starting tosay this, now which way doI go? Too many got into theblame game rather thanseparate themselves fromit.”
That’s a memory thePatriots would just as soonforget.
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffHeritage Academy senior running back John LawsFerguson also will play on defense this season. If hestays healthy, he should provide a stabilizing presenceon both units.
MAIS Class A, District 3; 2009 Record: 4-6
BY LOGAN LOWERYSpecial to the Dispatch
WEST POINT — WhenChris Chambless was promot-ed to head coach in 2006 heinherited a team that had justwon a state championshipunder Dennis Allen.
After three years at the helmof the Green Wave, Chamblessfinally got his squad back toJackson and hoisted the goldball once again.
“Since I got here we’ve wona whole lot of games but neverreally a championship, otherthan district championships,”Chambless said. “Last year, wewere finally able to get over thehump and win the big gamewhen it counted. We’ve beenclose every year but nevercould get by that big game.We’ve always had somethinggo wrong. The past year,injuries didn’t matter becausewe had other guys step up andget the job done.”
But the 2009 season didn’tbegin the way West Point want-ed. The Green Wave dropped aheartbreaking 27-20 opener inthe waning moments toShannon. The loss could havebeen the breaking point for theyoung squad.
“We had a young team lastyear with a lot of inexperi-ence,” Chambless said. “Weneeded that first-game experi-ence. When you go back andlook at the film you can see wefought hard that game. We justcame up on the short end of itand made some mistakes. Wecame back at practice and cor-
rected those mistakes andplayed together as a team.”
A bye week was what WestPoint needed to get back ontrack. The Green Wave put thatgame behind them and reeledoff 14 straight victories, cappedby a 35-14 victory againstWayne County in the Class 5Astate title game.
But even the returning play-ers understand being a defend-ing state champion meansopponents will be gunning foryou in the next season.
“They say there has alwaysbeen a target on West Point’sback,” senior nose guardTommy Keys said. “People arealways after us, and we like itthat way. It makes us workharder.”
Not only is there pressurefrom within the team to repeatthis season, but the playersalso face pressure from ClayCounty residents. The tight-knit community seeminglylives for Green Wave football inthe fall.
“Every year there is highexpectations for West Point,”Chambless said. “There ispressure from ourselves, theplayers, and the community.It’s good to have great commu-nity pressure for the kids to letus know they are behind us.It’s a good feeling to coachfootball in West Point.”
The Green Wave took a bighit losing standouts MichaelCarr and Curtis Virges to grad-uation. Both have started theircareers at Mississippi State.
West Point returns two sen-ior standouts on offense whowere vital to the 2009 title run.Quarterback Justin Coxreturns after accounting for1,869 yards and 21 touchdownsas a junior. The MississippiState commitment completed66 of 130 passing for 1,247yards, 12 touchdowns, and fiveinterceptions. He also rushedfor 622 yards on 122 carriesand nine more touchdowns.
“We’re working hard,” Coxsaid. “All I can say is I thinkwe’re going back. We’re stillgoing to play hard regardlessand are shooting for a no-lossseason.”
Workhorse running backLaKenderic Thomas alsoreturns. The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder rushed 194 times for1,221 yards and 13 touchdownsas a junior.
West Point outscored itsopponents 485-177 in 2009,including 146-42 in the play-offs.
Keys and classmateVontarrius Dora will be thestronghold of a traditionallystout defense.
“We’re more mature thisyear because more people haveplayed,” Dora said. “It shouldbe a good outcome just like lastyear.”
Chambless is counting onhis 21 seniors to lead the team.He also wants all of the playersto rely on the valuable gameexperience everyone gained inthe run to the state title.
“We’ve got some experience
coming back,” Chambless said.“But up front all we have is ourcenter and tight end comingback. Offensively, I thought wecame together real well thisspring and guys are fired up todo what we do which is playtough, physical football. Wehave to replace five starters ondefense, but we’ve got someguys with some experienceover there. We’re going to playthrough and get better everypractice and every game.”
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 15HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
WEST POINT GREEN WAVE
Green Wave prepare to defend championship
MHSAA Class 5A, Region 1; 2009 Record: 14-1
1-Justin Bobo, Justin Cox, 3-Jamarius Tallie, 4-JaquilleWhite, 5-Li’Erick Walker, 6-Kendrin Thompson, 7-MichaelBush, 8-Nelson McIntosh, 9-Stefon Branham, 10-AnthonyJohnson, 11-Stephen Burnett,15-Dequinten Spraggins, 16-Adrian Smith, 17-SteveVance, 18-William Harrell, 19-Tommy Keys, 20-MarioVirges, 21-Jacoby Lee, 22-Chaddrick Chandler, 24-LaKenderic Thomas, 26-Deismon Robinson, 27-TJMinor, 28-Tez Pulliam, 29-Stephon Ivy, 30-Jamal Petty,32-Brandon Edwards, 34-EricJohnson, 35-Jerry Randle, 36-Chris Glover, 38-WillieCollins, 39-Makarios Sears,40-Mark Minot, 42-KrisPernell, 44-Freddie Reed, 45-Javaris Quinn, 50-RomiaWilson, 51-Willie Swift, 52-
LeDerrius Taylor, 53-Demondtae Donald, 54-JoshPrice, 55-Anreon Benett, 56-Ed Brown, 57-KeidrickSamuel, 58-Octavius Doss,670-Eric Lemus, 61-RonaldMatthews, 62-Carson Miller,63-Leandrew Hampton, 65-Chris “Swag” Fuller, 66-Vontarrius Dora, 69-MontyMcIlwain, 71-Thomas Tiffin,72-Riley Morton, 73-Fredricus Mickens, 74-AlexHall, 75-Nadarruis Eckers,76-Jonathon Jones, 77-Martivuis Jefferson, 78-Jordan Johnson, 80-KwameWilliams, 81-Cody Brown.Head coach: ChrisChambless. Assistant coach-es: Lee J. Grisham, FloizellWilson, Rockey Melton,Casey Welch, KendallPickens, Roger Burton, BrettMorgan.
WEST POINT 2010 TEAM
n JUSTIN COX, SR.
n COACH CHAMBLESS SAYS:“We’re a running team and throwit when we need to. He gets the
job done.”
QUARTERBACKn LAKENDERIC THOMAS, SR.,
JACOBY LEE, SR.; MARIOVIRGES, SO. (FULLBACK)
n COACH CHAMBLESS SAYS:“Lakenderic Thomas and Jacoby
Lee are coming back eventhough we lost Xavier Hogan.We’ve also got Mario Virges
coming up. He is Curtis’ littlebrother.”
RUNNING BACKn JAMARIUS TALLIE, SR., STEFON
BRANHAM, SR., WILLIAMHARRELL, JR., CODY BROWN, SR.;
MICHAEL BUSH, SR., TJ MINOR,SO.
n COACH CHAMBLESS SAYS:“We lost Michael Carr, so that wasa big loss, but we’ve got some guyscoming up this year that will step inand do a great job coming off theball and blocking. They run goodroutes and we’ll be OK on the
receiving end.”
RECEIVERS
n WILLIE SWIFT, SR., ALEX
HALL, JR., LEDERRIUS TAYLOR,
SR., ROMIA WILSON, JR.,
JONATHAN JONES, JR.
n COACH CHAMBLESS SAYS:
“We’re an inexperienced offen-
sive line, but they are coming
together real well. I look for
them to have a lot of success.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n DEISMON ROBINSON, SR.,JAMAL PETTY, SR., ANTREONBENNETT, SO.; VONTARRIUS
DORA, SR., MONTY MCILWAIN,SR., TOMMY KEYS, SR.
n COACH CHAMBLESS SAYS:“If we can solidify a couple more
spots on our defensive frontwe’ll be OK.”
DEFENSIVE LINE
n JUSTIN BOBO, SR.,
BRANDON EDWARDS, JR.
n COACH CHAMBLESS SAYS:
“We’ve got one returning. We’ve
got to replace one and we’re on
the verge of doing that.”
LINEBACKER
n CHRIS GLOVER, SR.,JAQUILLE WHITE, SR.,
DEQUINTEN SPRAGGINS, JR.,LI’ERICK WALKER, SR.
n COACH CHAMBLESS SAYS:“We’ve really only got one guy inthe secondary coming back and
that’s Jaquille White. We’re inexperienced in the secondaryand to be good you have to playtogether for a while. It’s goingto take a couple of games, but
they’ll get it together. Our secondary is going to be fast,and that’s what we want forthem to run to the ball and
make some tackles.”
SECONDARY
n KWAME WILLIAMS;
CODY BROWN
SPECIAL TEAMS
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE GREEN WAVE
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:Chris Chambless
(45-8 in four seasons at West Point; 47-16 overall)n ASSISTANT
COACHES:Casey Welch (runningbacks), Lee J. Grisham(offensive coordinator),
Kendall Pickens (defensive line), RogerBurton (offensive line),
Ricky Melton (linebackers), Brian
Sellers (secondary), BrettMorgan (receivers).
NUMBER’S GAME
27Returning Lettermen
10Returning Starters:
6 – Offense; 5 – Defense
WEST POINTSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 SHANNONAug. 27 Vs. Mainland, Fla.Sept. 3 At ColumbusSept. 10 STARKVILLESept. 17 NOXUBEE CO.Sept. 24 At Indianola GentryOct. 1 NEW HOPEOct. 8 OXFORDOct. 15 At Lake CormorantOct. 22 SALTILLOOct. 29 At ClarksdaleNov. 5 At Hernando
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffWest Point High School’s Justin Cox, left, and Tommy Keys played integral roles last season in helping the Green Wave win the Mississippi High School ActivitiesAssociation Class 5A state title. This season, they will take on a bigger leadership role as the team tries to repeat at champions.
BY LOGAN LOWERYSpecial to the Dispatch
WEST POINT — On onehand, 2009 was a successfulseason for the Oak HillAcademy football team.
Yes, the Raiders qualifiedfor the playoffs for only thesecond time in 17 years, buttheir 3-9 record left plenty tobe desired.
If Oak Hill Academy hasany playoff aspirations againthis year it will have to real-ize them with limited num-bers. The Raiders have only16 players on the roster, andnearly every member of theteam will have no alternativebut to play both ways.
“Sometimes when yournumbers are really bad likewhat’s going on with us rightnow you have to get kidsready for multiple positions,”Gregg said. “It is what it is.I’m very glad I’m here, andit’s a cool place to work.These kids work hard andthey do what the coachesask them to do. They arerepresenting their schoolcorrectly, and you can’t real-ly ask much more than that.”
Depth will be a concern allseason, but it was expected.Gregg and his staff have beenpreparing the squad to goboth ways since the spring.
“One of the things youhave to do as a coach is pre-
pare kids not for the best sit-uation but for the worst situ-ation,” Gregg said. “If youprepare them for the worstand then the worst doesn’thappen then there is a lot ofachievement. Our numbershave been down and thisteam knew it the wholetime. We knew we’re goingto have 14 to 17 players andhave talked about it sincethe spring. Some of themeven ran track because I
told them it would helpthem in football, and it’sreally come to fruition.”
A majority of the roster ismade up of newcomers. OakHill Academy has only twoseniors: running back / line-backer Doss Miller and line-man Jordan Hawkins. TheRaiders do have three all-district performers backfrom a year ago in Miller,wide receiver / defensiveback Clay Henley, and offen-sive lineman / linebackerReid Posey.
Offensively, the Raiderswill seek continued successfrom Miller out of the back-field. He started only sevengames last year but man-aged nearly 1,200 yardsrushing. However, Oak Hillmanaged only 21 pointstwice last season and Gregghopes his two sophomore
quarterbacks and offensiveline scheme will allow formore productivity.
“I really love what we do
on offense,” Gregg said. “Ithink that gives our kids alot of success. It’s a hybridout of the shotgun of what
we did at Amory. It givesyour line a chance to givedouble team blocks at thepoint of attack. A kid that’s
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com16 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
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OAK HILLSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 HERITAGEAug. 27 PILLOWSept. 3 At IndianolaSept. 10 At LeakeSept. 17 At HebronSept. 24 CARROLLOct. 1 LAMAROct. 8 At ManchesterOct. 15 KIRKOct. 22 MARSHALLOct. 29 At Winston
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch Staff
Oak Hill 2010 team: 1-Chance Livingston, 4-Bo Sanford, 6-Mike Brown, 7-Jeb Stevens, 9-Phillip Liu, 12-Conner Baird, 22-Doss Miller, 23-ClayHenley, 27-Adam Turney, 28-Rusty Tait, 41-John Robert Wilborne, 52-Reid Posey, 53-Chad Moore, 55-Cole Fowler, 57-Cole Knowles. 65-JordanHawkins, 667-Palmer White, 77-Cooper Orman. Coaches: Leroy Gregg, Bradley Simmons, Carl Middleton.
OAK HILL ACADEMY RAIDERS
Raiders set to deal with smaller rosterMAIS AA, District 2; 2009 Record: 3-9
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffOak Hill Academy’s Doss Miller, left, and JordanHawkins are ready to be marathon men this season fora team that has less than 20 players on the roster.
See OAK HILL, 20
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:Leroy Gregg
(third season, 4-18 overall)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Bradley Simmons(Defense), Carl
Middleton (Special Teams)
NUMBER’S GAME
7Returning Lettermen
8Returning Starters:
4 – Offense; 4 – Defense
BY ADAM [email protected]
MACON — The greatness rollswith ease from the lips of TyroneShorter.
From Vincent Sanders to ChrisJones to Omarr Conner to JoeySanders to Brandon Tate, just toname a few — and not to getShorter into trouble — theNoxubee County football team hasbeen blessed with a plethora ofgreat players.
As assistant coach and now asfirst-year head coach, Shorter hasseen all of the Tigers’ mainstays inthe past 12 seasons. All of themhave had personalities and charac-
ter of champions and leaders.If things play out like Shorter
believes, he could be primed to addanother name to that list: CoreyWilliams.
“Corey is in that group. He isthe same kind of kid,” Shorter said.“He is a very good person and agood leader. When you talk aboutthe great players who have comethrough Noxubee County, CoreyWilliams will be mentioned in thatgroup.”
Williams, a 6-foot, 215-poundmiddle linebacker, is equallyversed in the history of NoxubeeCounty. He mentions AndrewWright, who is now at Jackson
State, and Ladarius Mitchell as twoof the “great” players who havecome through the program inrecent years. Williams said thosetwo taught him a lot of things, espe-cially how to be a player and not tobe “lazy.” His goal this season is toshow those two, and the rest of theTigers’ extended family, he is readyto build on the program’s legacy,which includes a state runner-upfinish in 2007 and a championshipin ’08.
"I got to go all out,” Williamssaid. “That is my motivation everymorning when I come up here. Ihave to make it, I have to do better.
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 17HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Priscilla King940 Tuscaloosa Road
Columbus, MS662-328-9988
www.shelterinsurance.com
Hurray!
Proud tosupport all area teams!
NOXUBEE COUNTYSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At StarkvilleAug. 27 At ColumbusSept. 3 MURRAHSept. 10 GREENVILLESept. 17 At West PointSept. 24 MEMPHIS SHEFFIELDOct. 1 KOSCIUSKOOct. 8 At AmoryOct. 15 HOUSTONOct. 22 At LouisvilleOct. 29 At CaledoniaHOME GAMES IN CAPS
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffNoxubee County 2010 team: 1-Janardreon Jones, 2-Daquarrius Mallard, 3-Fernando Phillips, 4-Jared Johnson, 5-Kamal Chamberlain, 7-Ladarrell Hunt, 8-Rodriques Brown, 9-Brandon Sanders, 12-Breylon Spencer, 13-LaQuinton Ashford, 14-Lamadrick Macon, 15-Alan Clay, 17-Terrence Barron, 18-Deangelo Ballard, 19-Jacoby Jones, 20-RodrickJoiner, 21-Todderick Tate, 23-Davion Pruitt, 24-Javoris Glenn, 26-Dennis Brooks, 27-Devonte Sanders, 28-Darrell Robinson, 29-Javancy Jones, 31-Dequalo Martin, 32-VernonScott, 33-Jeremy Hunt, 34-Corey Williams, 35-Jarvis Taylor, 40-Antonio Ryland, 52-Keshun Smith, 54-Martize Mitchell, 55-Byron Hill, 56-Tommy Lane, 57-DemarcusBarnett, 58-Demarcus Wilborn, 61-Ivan Goodwin, 64-Dylan Bradley, 65-Ralph Franklin, 67-Justin Clemmon, 71-Jonathan Orr, 73-Marcus Jackson, 74-Jared Farmer, 76-Jacoby Harris, 77-Keahnte Mitchell, 78-Ryald Mitchell, 79-Javodkis Tate, 80-James Hill, 86-Miles Ellis, 87-Robert Neal, 88-Nathaniel Peterson, 90-Taiwan Williams, 91-Anthony Skinner, 98-Pierre McCoy. Head coach: Tyrone Shorter. Assistant coaches: James Patterson, George Richardson, M.C. Taylor, Michael Ashford, Montez Miller,Anthony King, Johnathan Hunter, Gary Naylor.
NOXUBEE COUNTY TIGERS
Tigers expect Williams to be among the best
See NOXUBEE, 22 Coach Tyrone Shorter
MHSAA Class 4A, Region 4; 2009 Record: 12-2
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE VIKINGS
BY JASON [email protected]
MACON — Threeskeep popping up forCentral Academy’s foot-ball team.
Ronnie Sciple is enter-ing his third year ascoach. The Vikings lostthree games last yearand wound up in a three-way tie for the top spotin the North District ineight-man football.
This year, by the way,will be the Vikings’ thirdyear in the eight-manleague.
“Hopefully the thirdtime’s a charm,” Sciplesaid.
Central has compileda 13-5 record underSciple. It advanced tothe playof fs last yearafter finishing second ina three-team, round-robin-style over timetournament withRidgeland Veritas Schooland Meridian Calvar yChristian.
The logjam couldhave been solved with aseries of coin flips, butthe district chose not tolet fate decide.
“I would rather seethe kids settle it thansettle it on the flip of acoin,” Sciple said.“Letting the kids settle iton the field took a lot ofpressure of f of me.”
There was alreadyenough pressure on theVikings after seniorquar terback HunterCampbell was lost forthe season with aninjury in the third game.Senior tailback andNorth District of fensiveMVP Trevor Eaves car-ried the team with juniorquar terback FerrisMcGuire, but CentralAcademy couldn’tescape the first round.
Eaves and Campbellgraduated last year, butthe largest group of sen-iors to play duringSciple’s tenure will stepup to take their place.
Five of 14 playersSciple expects to see thefield this season are sen-iors.
He hopes their experi-ence will propel theVikings back to the play-of fs and past the firstround.
“All of our seniorshave probably playedsince their freshmanyears,” Sciple said.“Most of them havestarted since the ninthgrade. And this is proba-bly the first time in 10years (Central players)have been in the samesystem three years in arow.”
The Vikings will tryto squeeze every drop ofexperience out of theirupperclassmen to makeup for the team’s lack ofdepth.
With just 14 playersand no sophomores,“Everyone’s a sub, evendown to the ninth-graders,” Sciple said.“As long as the injury
bug don’t hit us weshould be all right.”
Sciple expects thisyear’s squad to resemblelast year’s afterCampbell’s injur y: Arun-first of fense, a bigline, and an emphasis onspeed.
“Eight-man is a gameof speed,” Sciple said“The more you canspread the field, themore gaps you have torun. We have a good,fast group of backs andreceivers.”
Playing both ways atfull speed will burn a lotof gas, but Sciple saidhis men are better condi-tioned this year than anyother during his tenure.
“I think we’re goingto look good,” he said.
Just in case, Sciple isdrilling his players tomake sure everyone cando everything.
“I tell our backs allthe time, if all threequarterbacks get hurt,we’ve got three backs
left and one of them hasgot to play quarterback,”Sciple said. “Anybodycan go in at any positionat any given time.
“We’ve got a greatbunch of kids. They’lltr y whether they’replaying of fensive line ortailback. They’ll giveyou every bit of ef for tthey’ve got becausethey know you don’thave anybody else.”
When he’s not leaningon a three-man rotationof running backs, Sciplewill dabble in a passinggame that took a majorhit last year whenCampbell went down.
The of fense lost itsbalance and was forcedto stick to the ground.
Now Sciple said theteam has a big enoughline to protect McGuirewhile his receivers getdown the field, or theVikings will be able tospread the field forquick strikes.
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com18 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
CENTRALACADEMY SCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At Franklin Aca.Aug. 27 IMMANUEL CHR.Sept. 3 TENSAS ACA.Sept. 10 At Briarfield Aca.Sept. 17 CALHOUN ACA.Sept. 25 At Veritas SchoolOct. 1 DELTA ACADEMYOct. 8 N. SUNFLOWER Oct. 15 OpenOct. 22 At Calvary Christ.Oct. 29 At Kemper Aca.
HOME GAMES IN CAPS
STAFF
n FERRIS MCGUIRE, SR.; COLE NEWMAN, JR.; ROWDY RIGDON, SR.
n COACH SCIPLE SAYS:“Ferris started six games last
year counting the playoffs. Coleplayed some in ’08 at quarter-back as s sophomore and somelast year, too. Even Rowdy has
done some mop-up duty.”
QUARTERBACKn WILL DISBROW, SR.;
JAY JONES, SR.; COLE NEWMAN, JR.;
ZAK COTTON, FR.
n COACH SCIPLE SAYS:“Will played for the last two yearsand was used primarily as a block-
er, but he runs the ball well.We’re going to depend on him a
lot.”
RUNNING BACKn ROWDY RIGDON, SR.; BRITT REYNOLDS, JR.; DREW PEARSON, JR.; STEPHEN LANE, FR.; RUSS TAYLOR, FR.
n COACH SCIPLE SAYS:“Rowdy was probably the go-toreceiver last year when we were
in regular formation.”
RECEIVERSn MATT TAYLOR, SR.;
REDMON BUTLER, JR.; WILL SCIPLE, JR.; CODY BROWN, JR.
n COACH SCIPLE SAYS:“Our O-line has been together
since last year. The same threestarted all year.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n CODY BROWN, JR.; REDMON BUTLER, JR.;
WILL SCIPLE, JR.
n COACH SCIPLE SAYS:“All had experience last year, buthopefully we’ll get to be a little
faster. We may go with a differentgroup of guys to get a little more
pressure.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn COLE NEWMAN, JR.; DREW PEARSON, JR.;
FERRIS MCGUIRE, SR.; WILL DISBROW, SR.
n COACH SCIPLE SAYS:“We’re going to be smaller but
we’re going to be faster.”
LINEBACKERn JAY JONES, SR.;
ROWDY RIGDON, SR.; ZAK COTTON, FR.
n COACH SCIPLE SAYS:“Hopefully we can get some helpfrom our freshmen to cover or get
a break here or there.”
SECONDARYn FERRIS MCGUIRE, SR. (ALL
KICKING DUTIES)
n COACH SCIPLE SAYS:“A lot of his kicking practice is
done on his own.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
CENTRAL ACADEMY VIKINGS
CONTACT INFORMATIONn TELEPHONE:
662-726-4817; 662-726-5846 n ATHLETIC DIRECTOR:
Mike Greenen WEBSITE:
www.caviking.org
Credit?Central Academy 2010 team: 1-Jay Jones, 3-Will Disbrow, 4-Drew Pearson, 11-Cole Newman, 17-Steven Lane, 19-Britt Reynolds, 21-Ferris McGuire, 25-Rowdy Rigdon, 48-Russ Taylor, 51-Redmon Butler, 71-Cody Brown, 72-Matt Taylor, 76-Will Sciple. Head coach: Robbie Sciple. Assistant coaches: Josh Jacobs, Pete Papas, Mike Greene,Nick Papas.
n HEAD COACH:Ronnie Sciple
(third year, 13-5)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Josh Jacobs (defensivecoordinator), Mike Green
(backs), Pete Papas(assistant line), Nick
Papas (assistant backs)
KEY IN 2010
n RONNIE SCIPLE:“Most of them have
started since the ninthgrade. And this is proba-bly the first time in 10
years (Central Academyplayers) have been in
the same system threeyears in a row.”
NUMBER’S GAME
11Returning Lettermen
Threes wild for Central Academy in ’10Ferris McGuire Matt Taylor Rowdy Rigdon Jay Jones Will Disbrow
MAIS A District 3; 2009 Record: 6-3
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 19HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Brenda Owens/Special to the Dispatch
Hamilton 2010 team: Curtis Thompson, Tyler Gill, Blake Holley, Soloman Coleman, Cole Gll, Brandon Fikes, Zarratt Sims, Ryan Gilbert, Will Logan, Mason Perkins, Jay CobBarden, Jordan Jackson, Collin Sanders, CoJuante McMillian, Kyle Dahlem, Austin Welch, Jeremy Howard, Cedric Bell, Deion Howard, Evan Phillips, Silas Gill, DallasStockman, Adam McDaniel, Cole Richardson, Caleb Garvin, Seth Dement, Pallas Fair, Rudy Trimble, Ryan Pickle, Sydney Davis, Chance Maharrey, Curry Smith, DevinDavis, Casey Cantrell, Ken Spruill, Davis Hankins, Sequintis Coleman, Brett Garrison, Drew Randolph, Nick Owens, Cole Robinson, Quinshay Heard, Noy Cungy. Headcoach: Ray Weeks, Assistant coaches: Jonathan Honeycutt, Devin Hill, Matt Atkins, Jason Junkin, Victor Cunningham.
HAMILTON LIONS
Accountability could mean success in HamiltonBY DON ROWESpecial to the Dispatch
HAMILTON — HamiltonHigh School football coach RayWeeks has instituted a new pro-gram he calls, “Earning YourStripes,” and he feels it will bene-fit his team.
“It’s an accountability issue,”Weeks said. “We, as coaches, talkevery day about paying attentionto the little things, intangiblessuch as doing everything right,being disciplined, arriving ontime, not being a disruptive prob-lem in class.
“These traits, along witheffort, enthusiasm, not makingthe same mistake over and over,and working hard in practice or inthe weight room will make us abetter football team. ‘EarningYour Stripes’ is our way of devel-oping these habits and then rec-ognizing those efforts on the partof the players. When you holdpeople accountable for theiractions, you get better results.”
Weeks said helmet stripes willbe awarded to players who striveto improve their habits. But thosestripes can also be taken away.
“Just because you earn themdoesn’t mean you get to keepthem,” Weeks said.
Starting his seventh year atthe helm of the Lions’ programafter stops as head coach atLeake Academy in Madden andHeritage Academy in Columbusand as an assistant at AberdeenHigh, Weeks welcomes thereturn of six offensive starters,including quarterback AustinWelch, fullback Cole Gill, slotback Cojuante McMillian, andwide receiver Zarratt Sims. JuniorKyle Dahlem and senior TylerGill return to anchor the line.
Welch (6-foot-1, 170 pounds), astarter last year as a sophomore,will pull the trigger for Weeks’offense.
“He’s gotten taller and lostsome weight, and that’s allowedhim to become more mobile andalso improved his speed,” Weekssaid. “He looks to be more com-fortable, more confident this year,and we’re looking for him toimprove his performance.”
When the tough yards areneeded, Gill (5-11, 215), a senior,will get the call at fullback.
“Cole’s big and strong andwe’ll be looking to him to be ourgo-to guy in tough situations,”Weeks said.
Slot back duties will go toMcMillian (6-0, 185), a junior withtwo years starting experience.
“Cojuante is just a good foot-ball player who works hard andhas a great attitude,” Weeks said.
Another junior, Sims (6-1, 150)will line up at wideout and alsowill see action at quarterback.
“Zarratt is just one big mus-cle,” Weeks said. “There’s not anounce of fat on him. He’s a greatteam leader who also runs theoption well, so he could see somequarterback duties in certain situ-ations.”
Hamilton High returns thenucleus of its skill people, butneeds help along the offensiveline.
“We don’t have a lot of depththere or on the defensive front, soif one or two go down withinjuries it could be tough,” Weekssaid.
The already thin front linetook a hit recently when it wasdetermined that back problemswill force junior tight end/offen-sive tackle Collin Sanders (6-8,260) to miss at least half the sea-son.
“He’s a mighty big target attight end, but he can also playoffensive tackle,” Weeks said. “Aweek doesn’t go by that one col-lege or another doesn’t call tocheck on him.”
Ten seniors departed thescene, including Devin Hopper,Skyler Conwill, and BrysonLindsey, who were mainstays onthe offensive line. Dahlem (5-10,190) at center and Gill (6-4, 255)at left tackle are the only front-linereturning starters.
“Kyle is the leader and is justlike having a coach on the field,”Weeks said. “He knows every-one’s responsibilities and is ahard-working dependable kid —everything you want in a footballplayer.”
Weeks said Gill has the mostimportant job on the team:Protecting the quarterback fromhis left tackle position.
“Tyler has good technique andhas gotten a lot stronger and a lotquicker,” Weeks said. “He does agood job protecting our quarter-back.”
With the departure of Hopper,Conwill, and Lindsey, seniorBlake Holley (5-11, 230) is expect-ed to start at right tackle, whilejuniors Ryan Gilbert (5-10, 160),Cedric Bell (5-10, 175), andJeremy Howard (5-10, 215) arebattling for the two guard spots.
Gilbert accepted a move fromrunning back to guard, while Bellsat out last year.
“Ryan’s not big, but he’stough,” Weeks said. “Same goes
for Cedric who, once he knockedthe rust off, has progressed well.”
Weeks also said Howard hasbeen a pleasant surprise.
“Over the course of the sum-mer, Jeremy has gotten strongerand he hustles on every play,”Weeks said.
Asked who will fill in forSanders, Weeks didn’t have ananswer.
“That’s a good question,” hesaid. “Right now, we don’t haveone, so we may not go with a tightend.”
Should Weeks opt for twowideouts, sophomore ColeRichardson should get the call.
Slot back Deion Howard (5-9,170), a sophomore who played agreat deal as a backup last year,will round out the offense.
“Deion is a tough runner, but,more importantly, he has greatfield vision and makes greatcuts,” Weeks said. “He sees thefield really well.
“We’ve got good size and lots
of experience in the backfield, buteverything hinges on the offen-sive line. We don’t have a lot ofdepth there, so we’ve got to stayhealthy.”
As such, Weeks is counting onthe development of younger play-ers such as center Nick Owens toprovide some much neededdepth along the offensive front.
Not uncharacteristically for a2A school, no less than eight ornine offensive regulars will starton defense.
“That’s something you cometo expect at a small school,”Weeks said. “Most of our offen-sive starters will see double duty,so it’s imperative we are physical-ly ready to go both ways.”
Weeks said Bell and Dahlemshould be at defensive end, TylerGill and Holley at tackle, Gilbertat nose tackle, Cole Gill at middlelinebacker, McMillian andHoward at the outside linebackerslots, Sims at free safety, andBrandon Fikes, Curtis
Thompson, or Richardson at thecorners.
Silas Gill and Will Logan, whocould provide some relief help atseveral positions, also will try tobreak into the starting lineup.
A welcome addition to the pro-gram is foreign exchange studentNoy Cungy from France. He isexpected to help at cornerbackand wide receiver.
“Usually when you get a for-eign exchange student, he turnsout to be a soccer player who cankick and that’s it,” Weeks said.“Not Noy. This cat can play. He’sbeen to several NFL camps. Hecovers well defensively and runsgreat routes on offense, so it’seasy to see he’s played the gamebefore and has been wellcoached.”
Dahlem, who will play bothways, also will find time to handlethe kicking and punting chores.
MHSAA Class 2A, Region 2; 2009 Record: 5-6
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE LIONS
n AUSTIN WELCH, JR. With a year of experience, Weeks
looks for improved performance.
Junior Zarratt Sims could see
spot duty in option situations.
QUARTERBACKn COLE GILL, SR., COJUANTE
MCMILLIAN, JR., DEIONHOWARD, SOPH.
Solid group that could be
strength of the team.
RUNNING BACK
n SIMS AND COLERICHARDSON, SOPH.
Sims started a year ago oppositesenior Kevin McCartney, while
Richardson needs some experience. Senior Noy Cungy, anexchange student from France,could work his way into starting
lineup.
RECEIVERSn KYLE DAHLEM, JR.,
TYLER GILL, SR.Dahlem anchors the line at
center, while Gill is a wide bodyat left tackle. Senior Blake
Holley and juniors Ryan Gilbert,Cedric Bell, and Jeremy Howard
are all relatively untested.
OFFENSIVE LINE
n KYLE DAHLEM, JR., TYLERGILL, SR., BLAKE HOLLEY, RYAN
GILBERT, CEDRIC BELLBell, Dahlem, Gill, Holley, and
Gilbert will play both ways. Gill
and Holley are the only returning
starters.
DEFENSIVE LINEn COJUANTE MCMILLIAN,
COLE GILLCole Gill and McMillian started
last year. They also start on
offense.
LINEBACKER
n ZARRATT SIMS, NOY CUNGYSims is the only starter with
experience, although Cungy has
played in Europe.
SECONDARYn KYLE DAHLEM, JR.
Dahlem will handle the kicking
and punting chores.
SPECIAL TEAMS
HAMILTONSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 WEIRAug. 26 At SmithvilleSept. 3 NETTLETONSept. 10 HATLEYSept. 17 At HoulkaSept. 24 At CaledoniaOct. 1 At West LowndesOct. 8 At EuporaOct. 15 EAST WEBSTEROct. 22 ACKERMANOct. 29 At J.Z. GeorgeHOME GAMES ON CAPS
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:Ray Weeks
(Seventh year)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Jonathan Honeycutt,Devin Hill, Matt Atkins,
Jason Junkin, VictorCunningham.
NUMBER’S GAME
11Returning Starters:
6 offense; 5 defense
ColumbusContinued from Page 3
aren’t here to punish the under-classmen, they’re here to motivateIt is the coaches’ job to punish,”said Jordan a 5-9, 260-pounder. “Iam just hoping everybody willjump on board so we can have abetter season than the previousones.”
Jordan said he and Richardsonintend to let teammates know whenthey do something good. He saidthey also will encourage team-mates not to yell at someone if theydo something wrong. He said theplayers will be urged to take themaside to let them know what they
did and how they can correct it.Stanford said both players have
impressed him with their disciplineand attention to detail. He believesthey will set a positive example asyes sir, no sir leaders who will beon time and do whatever is neededto help the team succeed.
"(Chris) is not a different per-son,” Stanford said. “He has alwaysworked hard, and he has alwaysbeen where he is supposed to. Thebiggest thing with Chris is he did-n’t make a play. He was right thereto make a play and he never madeit, and we told him that. This year, it
looks like he is there. He was prob-ably the best coached kid last year,but he would not make a play. Thisyear, we hope he steps up andmakes some plays.
“The improvement (Drew) hasmade with his footwork has beenthe biggest thing. Drew did nothave real good feet. He got a littlequicker with it, he comes off theball a little quicker. He got a lotstronger in the weight room, andwe expect him to have a big year.He is going to be one of the leaderson our offensive line. We feel that isone of our strong points.”
Stanford said Richardson andJordan likely won’t be rah-rah lead-ers who make commotions slap-ping backs and hands. That’s finewith him because he knows theywill be at the front of the line in con-ditioning drills setting the tone foreveryone.
Columbus High has had leaderslike that the past few years, thenaysayers will say, so there isbound to be doubt that things willturn this season.
Jordan said people doubt theFalcons at their own risk.
“I think they’re wrong,” said
Drew of the naysayers. “I think wehave gotten a whole lot better sincelast year and we are here to wingames.”
Richardson and Jordan intendto realize that goal the old-fash-ioned way: with hard work.
“I just want to continue to work-ing hard and motivating everybodyand, like C.J. (Richardson) said toplay hard until the game is over,”Drew said. “I want to do thatthroughout life, too.”
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com20 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Credit?Amory 2010 team: 1-Quartez French, 2-Justin Lackey, 3-Braxton Polk, 4-Johnathan Randle, 6-Anthony Spratt, 8-Ryan Hill, 11-Chris Harper, 12-Clay Todd, 14-ForestWilliams, 15-Dee Evans, 16-Zack Khima, 18-Jeremy Roberts, 19-Fred Garth, 21-Charles Polk, 22-Chandler Riggs, 24-Lester Freeman, 26-Tashari Collins, 27-Shamar Wright,28-Robert Maharrey, 29-Alex Sullivan, 32-Tyler Crump, 35-Hayden Williams, 38-Jailon Lowe, 43-Jake Shelly, 47-Walton Chaney, 48-Bradley Riggs, 49-Larry Sanders, 51-Channing French, 53-Javontae Randle, 55-Cory Daughty, 56-Alex Farrar, 57-Greg Hadley, 58-Korie Jenkins, 62-Hunter Williams, 64-Duane Gilleylen, 66-Jason Talley, 69-Shaquille Perks, 71-Hunter Chism, 72-Deiontae Ivory, 73-Ben Oswalt, 74-Dusty Bryan, 75-John Mark Howell, 76-Michael Weirauch, 77-Ashton Cooper, 83-Leighton Todd,84-John Lenior, 86-Ryan Howell, Dario Robinson. Head coach: Trent Hammond. Assistant coaches: John Keith, Josh Baty, Linzy Patterson, Seth Lee, Ty Trahan, Jason Kelly.
AMORY PANTHERS
Hammond hopes to rebuild traditionMHSAA Class 4A, Region 4; 2009 Record: 3-9
BY DON ROWESpecial to the Dispatch
AMORY — First-year AmoryHigh School football coach TrentHammond has several concernsentering this season.
The fact that the Panthers haveonly three returning starters oneither side of the ball is chief amongHammond’s concerns, but trying tolive up to the school’s storied foot-ball tradition isn’t one of his mainworries.
“I’m well aware of Amory’s greatfootball tradition, and it is a well-deserved reputation, which hasbeen built over the years,”Hammond said. “I’m not trying todownplay its importance becauseit’s great to coach in a place that hassuch a winning tradition. But tradi-tions don’t take snaps on Fridaynight — football players do.”
Hammond said most of the play-ers on his team weren’t born orwere very young when that win-ning tradition was established, sothe Panthers are going to have todo whatever it takes to make theirmark and improve on last year’s 3-9record.
“Make no mistake, a winningtradition is a positive, but our play-ers are going to have to establishtheir tradition and play for them-selves,” Hammond said. “We can’twaste time worrying about whathappened 10 or 20 years ago. We’regoing to have to do our own thing,the things we believe in, and if weare successful, these players willleave their own legacy.”
Hammond beat out over threedozen applicants for the job afterveteran coach Pat Byrd resigned atthe close of the 2009 season. He hasa proven track record as a success-ful coach — both as an assistantand as a head coach.
After a year as an assistant atBogue Chitto in 1995, Hammondserved four years (1996-99) asdefensive coordinator at LawrenceCounty, where he helped guide theCougars to a state championship in1999. He made it two consecutivestate titles as co-defensive coordina-tor at McComb the following year(2000) before returning toLawrence County to become headcoach from 2001-03.
Leaving Monticello, Hammondtook over the Water Valley programfrom 2004-07 and served asFranklin County’s head coach thepast two years (2008-09).
“Coach Hammond came to ushighly recommended and in theshort time he’s been on the job,
he’s lived up to his press clippings,”Amory High Principal David Posssaid. “We’ve gotten a lot of positivefeedback from the players and theirparents.”
Under no illusions when heaccepted the position at AmoryHigh, Hammond knows he’s facinga rebuilding year this season.
“We have less than a dozenreturning lettermen and just sixstarters back on offense anddefense, so it’s going to be arebuilding year,” Hammond said.“But that doesn’t mean we can’thave a successful season. It justmeans we’re going to have to workreally hard to make up for a lack ofexperience.”
Seventeen seniors exhaustedtheir eligibility last season, many ofwhom were regulars, so Hammondwill have to find replacements foreight players on offense and eightmore on defense.
“We’ve got some young, talent-ed players who we are counting on,and the only negative to that is theylack experience,” Hammond said.“We went through spring drills withmost of them, but a few others are alittle behind because our baseballteam made it all the way to thefinals.
“But whether they participatedin spring drills or not, they still lackthat all-important game experience,so that puts us a little behind.”
Seniors Ryan Hill and ShaquillePerks and junior Forest Williamswill provide the leadership onoffense, while seniors ChanningFrench, Duane Gilleylen, andCharles Polk will lead the defensivecharge.
“That’s it as far as returningstarters,” Hammond said, “so thatmeans there are a lot of opportuni-ties for some of the younger guys tostep up and claim a spot in the start-ing lineup.”
On the plus side, Williams, whostated last season, provides experi-ence at the all-important quarter-back position in Hammond’s Wing-T offense.
“Forest is about 6-2, 180 and hasa good arm,” Hammond said. “He’sa leader in the huddle and he car-ries himself well.”
Despite a lack of size, Hillshould be one of Williams’ main tar-gets at wide receiver.
“Ryan is one tough kid whomight weigh 125 pounds soakingwet with rocks in his pockets,”Hammond said. “But what he lacksphysically, he makes up for by giv-ing everything he has on everysnap.”
Like Hill, Perks (5-7, 200) isn’tblessed with tremendous size, buthe is the only returning offensivelineman and will start at pullingguard.
“Shaq has played in the trenchesbefore and he does a good job,”Hammond said. “He makes up forhis lack of size with good quick-ness.”
Rounding out the list of replace-ments on the offensive line aresophomore Dusty Bryant (6-2, 290)at center, junior Greg Hadley (6-1,200) at guard, senior Korie Jenkins(6-0, 200) at right tackle, sopho-mores Deiontae Ivory (6-1, 230) orMichael Weirauch (6-2, 210) at lefttackle, and senior Walton Chaney(6-2, 200) at tight end.
The skill positions should befilled by junior Justin Lackey (6-2,185) at flanker/wide receiver, soph-omore Dario Robinson (5-9, 160) atwide receiver or at wingback, and
senior John Randle (5-11, 190) atfullback.
Defensively, only one linemanand a pair of linebackers return —one of whom could line up at any ofthree positions.
Gilleylen, a defensive tackle, isthe biggest of the three veterans (6-0, 260). Hammond’s goal is to turnhim into a dominating player.
“We want him to dominate theline of scrimmage,” Hammond said.“He’s worked extremely hard toincrease his bench (press) 50pounds since I’ve been here, and heruns well, and I think he’s poised tohave a good year.”
Channing French (6-0, 210)anchors the linebacking corps and,despite having to master new defen-sive schemes, “has developed into apretty good football player,”Hammond said.
Possibly the team’s most versa-tile player, Polk (5-10, 225) is a
hybrid-type player who might lineup at defensive tackle, defensiveend, or at linebacker depending onthe scheme.
A dozen or so Panthers havepositioned themselves to claim theeight remaining spots, includingsenior Larry Sanders (5-10, 185) atdefensive end, senior LesterFreeman (5-7, 180) and juniorJavontae Randle (5-8, 200) at nosetackle, junior Jeremy Roberts (5-10,180), sophomore Hayden Williams(5-10, 160), and Bradley Riggs (6-0,190) at linebacker, junior QuartezFrench (5-8, 180) and sophomoreAbaris Woodrick (5-10, 170) at cor-nerback, junior rover Zack Khima(5-9, 170), and seniors ChandlerRiggs (6-0, 190) and Chris Harper,along with Roberts, at free safety.
The kicking duties will fall toChaney or Khima, while seniorJake Shelly will handle the puntingchores.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PANTHERS
n FOREST WILLIAMS, JR.
Only returning starter in the
offensive backfield.
QUARTERBACKn JOHN RANDLE, SR., DARIO
ROBINSON, SOPH.An extremely quick utility
player who will be in the lineup
somewhere.
RUNNING BACK
n WALTON CHANEY, SR.Big target with great hands at
tight end. Justin Lackey, Jr.
Played some last year. Ryan Hill,
Sr. Not blessed with great speed,
but tough as nails.
RECEIVERS
n SHAQUILLE PERKS, SR.Only returning starter. Dusty
Bryant, Soph. Hard work and lotsof effort got him in the startinglineup. Greg Hadley, Jr. Always
where he’s supposed to be. KorieJenkins, Sr. Tough and hard-nosedin first year back after giving upfootball for Mixed Martial Artscompetition. Deiontae Ivory,
Soph. or Michael Weirauch, Soph.Locked in a battle to start, but
Ivory a little ahead.
OFFENSIVE LINE
n DUANE GILLEYLEN, SR.,CHARLES POLK, SR., LARRY
SANDERS, SR., LESTERFREEMAN, SR. AND JAVONTAE
RANDLE, JR.Gilleylen only returning starter.
DEFENSIVE LINE
n CHANNING FRENCH, SR.Bradley Riggs, Jeremy Roberts,
Jr. and Hayden Williams, Soph.
battling for first-team status.
LINEBACKERn QUARTEZ FRENCH, JR.,
ABARIS WOODRICK, SOPH.,ZACK KHIMA, JR., CHANDLERRIGGS, SR., CHRIS HARPER,
SR. AND ROBERTS.Lack game experience, but pos-sess speed and physical tools to
get the job done.
SECONDARY
n ZACK KHIMA, JR.Khima, last year’s kicker, or
Chaney in battle for top spot.
Jake Shelly, Sr., is the punter.
SPECIAL TEAMS
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:Trent Hammond
(first year)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Ty Trahan, John Keith,Josh Baty, Linzy
Patterson, Jason Kelly,Seth Lee
NUMBER’S GAME
10Returning Lettermen
7Returning Starters:
3 – Offense; 3 – Defense;
1 – Special Teams
AMORYSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At NettletonAug. 27 ITAWAMBASept. 3 NEW HOPESept. 10 At AberdeenSept. 17 At ShannonSept. 24 PONTOTOCOct. 1 At CaledoniaOct. 8 NOXUBEE CO.Oct. 15 At KosciuskoOct. 22 HOUSTONOct. 29 At LouisvilleHOME GAMES IN CAPS
Oak HillContinued from Page 16
not 6-foot-4, 275 but hasanother kid about his sizeand if they are both comingoff the ball correctly and arestep for step, an average-sized kid becomes a betterblocker.”
While the Raiders’ lack ofsize is a disadvantage offen-sively, Gregg feels he canturn the tables on the otherside of the ball. He hopes touse his overall team speed toattack on defense.
“We’re going to base outof a 50 front, and because ofsize there is not going to be alot reading on our defense,”Gregg said. “We’re going tohave to do some attacking.We do have a lot of quicknessand a lot of closing speed outof a couple of our players.Our coaches are workingvery hard at improving tech-niques out of every position.”
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE RAIDERS
n JEB STEVENS
n COACH GREGG SAYS:“Our quarterbacks are doing a good
job of delivering the football.”
QUARTERBACKn DOSS MILLER, SR., MIKE
LANE, JR., BO SANFORD, SO.;PHILLIP LIU, SO.
n COACH GREGG SAYS:“Our running backs are going to
have speed and a lot of toughness,” Gregg said. “Doss
Miller only started seven gamesat running back last year and hadnearly 1,200 yards rushing. Theharder the ballgame, the better
his numbers were.”
RUNNING BACKn CLAY HENLEY, JR., RUSTY
TAIT, JR. , ADAM TURNEY, SO.;JOHN ROBERT WILBOURNE, JR.:
n COACH GREGG SAYS:“Our receiving corps are going tobe strong. They run good routesand catch the ball in traffic realwell,” Gregg said. “J.R. is a big
kid and he’s easy for our quarterbacks to see. He’s an easy
target to see and he’s got softhands.”
RECEIVERSn JORDAN HAWKINS, SR., REIDPOSEY, JR., CHAD MOORE, JR.,COLE FOWLER, SO., COOPERORMAN, SO., PALMER WHITE,
SO.
n COACH GREGG SAYS:“Our offensive line is not going to
have a lot of size to it. Strength-wise it’s going to beaverage. The cohesiveness is
really good and are doing a goodjob on our blocking schemes.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n JOHN ROBERT WILBOURNE,JR., CHAD MOORE, JR., COLE
FOWLER,SO., JORDAN HAWKINS,SR., COOPER ORMAN, SO.,
PALMER WHITE, SO.n COACH GREGG SAYS:
“We’re going to have a little depthbut it’s all young kids. There’s not alot of size but we really don’t want alot of size. We want quickness andguys who are going to command
double teams and penetrate the lineof scrimmage, and with our starters
that’s what we have.”
DEFENSIVE LINE
n REID POSEY, JR., MIKE LANE, JR., DOSS MILLER, SR.
n COACH GREGG SAYS:“(This) is going to be the strength of our team.
We’ve got kids that will run and strike you whenthey get there.”
LINEBACKERn CLAY HENLEY, JR., RUSTY TAIT, JR., ADAM
TURNERY, SO., BO SANFORD, SO.n COACH GREGG SAYS:
“Our defensive back area is already better than wewere last year. We’ve got some returners that
covered a lot of fast people.”
SECONDARY
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 21HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
ABERDEENSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 COLUMBUSAug. 27 At Ray BrooksSept. 3 PONTOTOCSept. 10 AMORYSept. 17 OKOLONASept. 24 At HoustonOct. 1 At WinonaOct. 8 WATER VALLEYOct. 15 At MoorevilleOct. 22 S. PONTOTOCOct. 29 At NettletonHOME GAMES IN CAPS
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
n DESMOND JONES, SR.Will guide a more run-oriented
team this year.
QUARTERBACKn VICTOR HODGES, SR.
Leads a solid foursome thatincludes Justin Lucas, Soph.,Brandon Smith, Sr. and Andre
Jernigan, Sr.
RUNNING BACKn JALEN DEVAULD, SR.,JOHNNY WILSON, SR.,
AARON MCMILLIAN, SOPH., JALEN BELL, JR.
Devauld is only wideout with expe-rience. Wilson and McMillian areboth untested speed-merchants.Bell is a dependable returnee at
tight end.
RECEIVERSn FRED WARD, SR., RICHIE BOONE, SR.,
CORTAVIAN DOSS, SR., RICKIE MCCALLISTER, JR.,
DAMIEN WALKER, JR.All are veterans who started last
year.
OFFENSIVE LINE
n FRED WARD, SR., CHANNING WARD, JR. ANDRE JERNIGAN, SR.
BRAXTON ANDERSON, JR.,JORDAN GATHINGS, JR.
Fred Ward and Channing Wardhave the tools to play at the nextlevel. Jernigan and are both soliddefensive ends. Gathings is small
in stature, but extremely fast.
DEFENSIVE LINEn JOHNNY MCMILLIAN, JR.
AND LUCASBoth are relatively inexperienced.
LINEBACKERn JOHNNY WILSON, SR.,DEMARIO WILSON, JR.,
CORINO BLANCHARD, JR., ANDSMITH
The Wilsons are both very athlet-ic, but untested at the corners.
Smith brings two years experienceto the dog safety position, andBlanchard is a heady, physical
free safety.
SECONDARYn ROBERT GARDNER, SOPH.AND ANTONIO CRAYTON, SR.Both punting and kicking posi-
tions are up for grabs.
SPECIAL TEAMS
ABERDEEN BULLDOGS
n HEAD COACH:Chris Duncan
(fourth year, 33-9)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Justin Moss, PatrickSchoolar, Latorrence
Bivens, Alex Williams,Sammie Burroughs
NUMBER’S GAME
13Returning Starters:
7 — Offense;
6 — Defense
New QB Jones has plenty of confidenceBY DON ROWESpecial to the Dispatch
ABERDEEN — Neverlet it be said that AberdeenHigh School quarterbackDesmond Jones lacks con-fidence.
A senior who has start-ed one game under centerfor the Bulldogs, Jonesfeels he has the tools tolead Aberdeen back toJackson in December.
“I have a great deal oftrust in my teammates andthey trust me,” said the 5-foot-10, 170-pound Jones.“If everybody does theirjob and I do mine like I’mcapable of, there’s no rea-son why we can’t make itback to Jackson again thisyear.”
Aberdeen High coachChris Duncan is confidentJones can get the job done.
“Des is a good leaderwho runs the ball well andthrows adequately,”Duncan said. “He playedsome cornerback for uslast year, so having a toughkid in that position is aplus.”
Jones, who transferredto Aberdeen fromNettleton his sophomoreyear, will be looked to toreplace Aaron Andrew, atalented passer who threwfor 2,823 yards and 30touchdowns and rushedfor 362 yards during lastyear’s 13-3 campaign.
Jones won’t have theluxury of throwing tothree of the best receiversto suit up for the Bulldogsat one time – ErikBuchanan, Rashad Pargo,and Mario Lucas, all ofwhom signed to play foot-ball at ItawambaCommunity College aftercombining for 114 catches,2,432 yards and 22 TDs.
Nor will he have thegood fortune of handingoff to Jamerson Love, whoran for 1,773 yards on 195carries and scored 19touchdowns. He alsocaught 19 balls for 434yards and six scores.
Duncan downplaysJones’ inexperience andsaid he doesn’t expect himto match Aaron Andrew’sgaudy stats this season.
“We’re not expecting
him to carry the load forus,” Duncan said. “Withwhat we’re asking him todo, we think he’ll do fine.When the lights come on,he’ll be up to the task.”
The loss of such talentnot withstanding, the cup-board is far from bare. Theone advantage Jones hasover his predecessor is thereturn of a veteran offen-sive line that featuresthree seniors and two jun-iors – all of whom startedfor the Bulldogs last sea-son.
“Having the offensive
line coming back is a bigadvantage for us,” saidJones. “They have beentested in the past, and theirexperience takes some ofthe pressure off me.”
Senior left tackle FredWard (6-4, 250), a three-year starter, anchors thefront line.
“Fred is my MichaelOher,” Duncan said. “He’sa phenomenal athlete andthe only one on the teamwho can block ChanningWard, his cousin.”
Ward’s counterpart onthe opposite side of the O-line is Damien Walker (6-0, 235). He will line up nextto guard Rickie McAllister(6-1, 250). Both are jun-iors.
“They’re both experi-enced, they’re good passblockers and both areextremely competitive,”Duncan said.
Senior center RichieBoone (6-0, 260) and sen-ior guard Cortavian Doss(6-0, 240) round out theoffensive front lineup.
“Richie does a good jobsnapping the ball out ofthe shotgun and is verystrong, while Cortavianhas been in our systemfour years and has verygood technique,” Duncansaid.
While Love, who signed
on at Mississippi State as adefensive back, garneredmost of the attention offen-sively last year, Jones willhave no less than fourquality backs behind himthis season, not to mentionthree receivers whoDuncan said are quickerthan last year’s receivingcorps.
Heading up the list ofbackfield returnees is sen-ior Victor Hodges (5-7,180), a punishing type run-ner who rushed for morethan 800 yards last yeardespite playing behind
Love.“Victor is not as explo-
sive a runner as Love, buthe is everything a truerunning back should be,”Duncan said. “He relishescontact and he’ll run overyou, he’ll run around you,or he’ll run past you. He’sa tough, hard-nosed kidwho, if he was stretchedanother inch or two, couldplay anywhere.”
The fullback chores willfall to sophomore JustinLucas (5-11, 200).
“Justin’s picked upabout 30 pounds since lastyear, and he’s what youwant in a fullback,”Duncan said. “He’s abruiser who’s not afraid tostick his nose in there.”
Seniors Brandon Smith(5-11, 170) and AndreJernigan (6-0, 205) willprovide backup help at tail-back and fullback, respec-tively.
Wide receiver is one ofDuncan’s chief concernscenters.
“We’re fast and real ath-letic, but not really skilledyet,” Duncan said. “I knowyou can’t teach athleti-cism, but you can work toget better and better.”
Senior Jalen Devauld, athree-year starter, is theonly returning widereceiver with more than
token experience.“Jalen catches the ball
well and runs goodroutes,” Duncan said.“He’s our most polishedand most experiencedreceiver.”
Rounding out thereceiving corps are seniorJohnny Wilson (5-11, 165)and sophomore AaronMcMillian, both of whom,according to Duncan, arefaster than any of lastyear’s receivers.
“Johnny’s the fastest ofthe bunch, a real burnerwho can play,” Duncansaid. “Aaron, who is thesecond fastest, runs welland can catch the ball, butis young and needs somepolish.”
Junior Jalen Bell, astarter on last year’s staterunner-up squad, willreturn at tight end.
“Jalen is tough andplays hard,” Duncan said.“He makes the plays.”
Four offensive starterson offense will go bothways, including Fred Wardat tackle, Lucas at line-backer, Smith at dog(strong) safety, andWilson at cornerback.
Highly recruited juniorChanning Ward (6-3 1/2,235) will join his cousin,Fred, to form one of theregion’s best defensivetackle combinations.
“Both of them are aboutthe best around,” Duncansaid. “With one on oneside and one on the otherside, they look to dominatethe line of scrimmage.”
The Wards will sand-wich junior nose tackleJordan Gathings (5-11,180), a returning starterfrom last year.
“Jordan is a tough char-acter who isn’t real big butwho uses his quickness toget to the ball,” Duncansaid. “He doesn’t mindmixing it up.”
Senior Andre Jernigan(6-0, 225) and juniorBraxton Anderson (6-0,205) man the defensiveends posts.
“Andre is a good athleteand a three-year starterwho knows the ropes,while Braxton is reallyphysical and runs well,”
Duncan said. “I’m excitedabout having both of themat either end of the line.”
Linebacking chores willfall to Lucas and juniorJohnny McMillian (5-11,175).
“Johnny is the fastestplayer on the team, but heneeds to improve his tack-ling,” Duncan said.
Brandon Smith and jun-ior Corino Blanchard willstart at dog safety and freesafety, respectively.
“Brandon is a goodcover guy who has startedthe past three years,”Duncan said. “Blanchardis very smart, a straight-Astudent who won’t makemany mistakes. He’splayed corner the last twoyears and is very physi-cal.”
A pair of Wilsons willhandle the cornerbackslots, senior JohnnyWilson and juniorDemario Wilson (5-11,155).
“Johnny is one of thebest athletes on the team,and the sky is the limit asfar as he is concerned,”Duncan said, “andDemario was the surpriseof the spring despite neverhaving played before.”
Sophomore RobertGardner and senior soccerplayer Antonio Craytonare in the mix to handlethe kicking and puntingduties.
As the defending Class3A North State champi-ons, Duncan realizeseveryone will be gunningfor his Bulldogs, but heshares his quarterback’sconfidence in Aberdeen’schances to get back toJackson.
“We’re solid up front aswell as defensively,”Duncan said. “We have agood mix of experienceand good, young talentand the kids expect to winhere now. They’re moreconfident and they don’taccept defeat.
“As long as they keepworking hard and doingthe things the way they dothem, we have just as gooda chance as anybody totake another shot atJackson.”
MHSAA Class 3A, Region 2; 2009 Record: 13-3
“Having the offensive line coming backis a big advantage for us. They have beentested in the past, and their experiencetakes some of the pressure off me.”
Aberdeen quarterback Desmond Jones
StarkvilleContinued from Page 10
Mitchell said of Johnson.“Whether that’s fair to a sen-ior or not, I don’t know. But Ithink he relishes that spotand wants that responsibili-ty.”
Johnson is prepared toshoulder the load of guidinga young group of skill play-ers and having an increasedrole on defense. Ideally,Mitchell wouldn’t want hisstarting quarterback to playvery much at safety, but theexperience-strapped Jacketshave no choice, Mitchellsaid.
In turn, the extra work inpractice has given Johnsonan extra level of physical andmental toughness, he said.
“By the time we go to
team offense I’ve alreadydone the full practice ondefense,” Johnson said. “I’vestill got to get back there,make the right reads, andmake the throw. Even if I’mtired, I’ve got to pushthrough it.
“It’s more like a game sit-uation.”
Johnson helped lead theJackets to a 4-9 record and aplayoff berth last season,though many in the programthought the results shouldhave been better. Starkvillelost to Louisville 26-21.Turnovers also contributedheavily to losses atSouthaven and at homeagainst Olive Branch.Fumbles and interceptions
played a role in both losses,which came by 11 and 10points, respectively.
Consistency, in Mitchell’smind, is the key to Johnsonbecoming the quarterbackexpected of someone withhis skill set.
“He can make any throwon the field — the deep out,the comeback, the takeoff —and has great ability,”Mitchell said. “Not complet-ing the shallow routes some-times and taking the shotwhen he doesn’t need to arethe times when the consis-tency is lacking. That’s thebig thing for him. That 2- to-3-yard route can turn into abig play just as easy as thepass down the field can.
Make the easy throw.”Though the 6-foot, 205-
pound Johnson will play withincreased pressure to leadthe Yellow Jackets back tothe playoffs, the new coach-ing staff and renewed opti-mism in the program pro-vides a stress-free routineevery time the team prac-tices.
A big part of the pressure-less feel is having an experi-enced offensive line withreturners Chris Prater,Jarrod Atterberry, and EricRogers. Running backJakarta Agnew, who missedall of last season, is backhealthy and has impressedin his move to fullback.
All that’s left is for
Johnson to get in sync withthe likes of first-year playerand basketball teammateShaquille Hill, and sopho-mores Kentrell Spencer andGabe Myles, all of whom willmake up the top end ofStarkville’s receiving corps.
“We’re good protectionwise, but we’re still learningall the routes and just tryingto get on the same page,”Johnson said. “Kentrell runsgood routes and isn’t afraidto drop his shoulder andmake a move once he catch-es the ball. That’s encourag-ing, and I don’t think it’ll takeus long to get it down.
“By the time we hit dis-trict, everything should besmoothed out and ready. We
shouldn’t have to call theplay in the huddle — every-body knows where to go. Iexpect by Meridian, weshould be good.”
STARKVILLESCHEDULE
Aug. 20 NOXUBEE CO.Aug. 27 At LouisvilleSept. 3 At MeridianSept. 10 At West PointSept. 17 OpenSept. 24 At Desota CentralOct. 1 TUPELOOct. 8 At Horn LakeOct. 15 SOUTHAVENOct. 22 At Olive BranchOct. 29 SOUTH PANOLANov. 5 COLUMBUSHOME GAMES IN CAPS
1-Victor Hodges, 2-Desmond Jones, 3-Tamarkus Payne, 4-Corino Blanchard, 5-Braxton Anderson, 6-Joshua Ewing, 7-Aaron McMillian, 8-Jalen Devauld, 9-Sammy Burroughs,10-Justin Lucas, 11-Tyler Fields, 12-Jeremy Brandon, 13-Johnny Wilson, 14-Keon Spratt, 15-Ramontez Hodges,16-Chris McMillian,17-Nick Sims, 18-Patrick Lockett, 19-Trey Mims, 20-Brandon Walker, 21-Demario Wilson, 22-Chico Harrison, 23-Johnny McMillian, 24-Brandon Smith, 25-Andre Jernigan, 26-Erick Cunningham,27-Travis Garth, 28-Devontae Fudge, 29-David Foster, 30-Jordan Walker, 31-Tylan McMillian, 32-William Peterson, 33-John Randle, 34-TevinJones, 43-JanorrisBlanchard, 44-JordanWalker, 50-FredWard, 51-ChanningWard, 52-BrandonHodges, 53-RichieBoone, 54-ZaviForshee, 55-Alexander Harper, 56-Latherio Cox, 57-Jordan Gathings, 58-Tavarus Eckford, 59-Bobby Ward, 60-Rickie McAllister, 61-Devontae Walker, 63-Damien Walker, 64-Jarius Garth, 65-James Randle, 66-Sebastian McFarland,67-Jahrel Wilson, 68-Aaron Wilson, 72-Antonio McFarland,73-Cortavian Doss,74-Jamarkus Irons,75-Theodore Boyd,80-Michael Hodges,84-Jalen Bell.
ABERDEEN2010 TEAM
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com22 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
EAST WEBSTERSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At South PontotocAug. 27 WEST OKTIBBEHASept. 3 At VardamanSept. 10 At HoulkaSept. 17 BRUCESept. 24 At Alcorn CentralOct. 1 EUPORAOct. 8 At AckermanOct. 15 At HamiltonOct. 22 J.Z. GEORGEOct. 29 WEST LOWNDESHOME GAMES IN CAPS
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE WOLVERINES
n LEDRICK PATTERSON,
MIGUEL GRAHAM
Patterson and Graham have
big-game experience.
n COACH CARDEN SAYS:
“We will use both of those guys to
kind of change the look.”
QUARTERBACKn TIMAKIS BELL, DEMETRIUSO’BRIANT, BOLO MCCURRY,
DAMIAN BRITTBell, O’Briant, and McCurry give
the Wolverines dangerous options.
n COACH CARDEN SAYS:“We have a lot of experience
returning here. We expect to beable to run the ball.”
RUNNING BACKn MIGUEL GRAHAM, LEDRICKPATTERSON, JOSH GLADNEY
When not quarterbacking, expectGraham or Patterson to be in the
game at wide receiver.
n COACH CARDEN SAYS:“Those are all seniors and are all
pretty good.”
RECEIVERSn TYLER GREGG, HUNTER
CUNNINGHAM, AUSTINHARRISON, BRODY WHITE,
LILTON VANCE, XAVIER MOYE,COLBY WILLIAMSON, CHARLES
MOSELEY, AND AUSTINHALFORD
The line has a mixture of experience and youth.
n COACH CARDEN SAYS:“We will be counting on Hunter
Cunningham and Austin Harrisonfor leadership.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n BOLO MCCURRY, BRENNANSPARKS, LILTON VANCE, AUSTIN
HARRISON, DILLON DORSEY,AND CHARLES GUYTON
The Wolverines are counting on this unit to shut down
running games.
n COACH STANDFORD SAYS:“We need some big plays anytime
we can get them.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn XAVIER MOYE, DAMIAN BRITT,
LEDRICK PATTERSON,
DEMETRIUS O’BRIANT, TYLER
GREGG, AND AUSTIN HALFORD
Two-way players will be the key.
n COACH CARDEN SAYS:
“We will be needing these guys to
be in the middle of things.”
LINEBACKERn CODY SILVER, JOSH GLADNEY,
MIGUEL GRAHAM, RYAN JOHNSON
East Webster will have somespeed at this position.
n COACH CARDEN SAYS:“When teams go deep, we have to
be ready.”
SECONDARY
n TIMAKIS BELL, CONNERGRAHAM
Bell brings experience to the
kicking game.
SPECIAL TEAMS
EAST WEBSTER WOLVERINES
n HEAD COACH:Jimmy Carden(15th season)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Doug Wilson (defensivecoordinator), KennyWilliams (special
teams), Philip Jordan,and Jason Smith.
KEY IN 2010
n JIMMY CARDEN:“We just need to get alittle luck, get somebounces, and stay
healthy.”
NUMBER’S GAME
15Returning Starters:
8 – Offense; 7 – Defense
14Number of seniors
Carden is counting on
to lead the team to an
outstanding season.
Carden hopes team can build off 2009BY AUSTIN BISHOPSpecial to the Dispatch
MABEN — If you ask membersof the East Webster High Schoolfootball team what the turning pointof their 2009 season was, to a manthey likely will give you the sameanswer.
“It started back at the second halfof the J.Z. George game,” said sen-ior defensive tackle Lilton Vance.“We came out at halftime with a dif-ferent attitude. Coach (JimmyCarden) just told us to get ourminds right or we wouldn’t be goingto the playoffs.”
While the Wolverines, whotrailed 19-0 at halftime, went on tolose 19-14, the team learned some-thing about itself.
“We just came together as ateam,” Demetrius O’Briant said.“We all got on the same page. Thecoaches just kept pushing us and webegan to work together.”
After falling to 4-6 and 0-4 inRegion 2-2A play, the Wolverinesdefeated West Lowndes 24-0 to closethe regular season and wound upwinning a tiebreaker to take fourthplace in the region and a spot in theplayoffs.
Then the unexpected happened.First East Webster knocked off
top-seeded Coahoma County 33-8 inthe first round of the MississippiHigh School Activities AssociationClass 2A State Playoffs, before beat-ing Calhoun City 28-14 in the secondround to set up a rematch withundefeated Ackerman.
“Nobody gave us a chanceagainst Ackerman,” linebackerXavier Moye said. “We played themgood and almost beat them. It
makes us want to work even hardernow.”
Ackerman beat East Webster 14-12 and went on to play for the StateChampionship.
Now the Wolverines hope lastyear’s amazing turnaround leads togood things this season.
“I think we have a lot of goodexpectations,” offensive tackleBrody White said. “We are lookingto have a great year and are tryingto continue to improve.”
“Last year, we surprised a lot ofpeople because we were the under-dogs,” quarterback/wide receiverMiguel Graham said. “But we cameout and proved some things to a lotof people. This year will be a littledifferent. Most folks will be aimingat us, so we have to be ready.”
“We really gained a lot of confi-dence last year. That’s the biggestthing,” Carden said. “We had kidswho had not played much otherthan in a mop-up situation. We werereplacing so many starters. It tookthem a while to learn what it took towin.”
Carden, who is entering his 15thseason as a head coach, admittedexpectations might have been lowlast year, but pointed out that theWolverines didn’t get embarrassedin any games.
“We were competitive,” he said.“Then in the second half (of the J.Z.George game) we just decided tocome out and smack them in themouth. That turned everythingaround.”
Said O’Briant, “We still have awhole lot to prove. We got disap-pointed in the third round of theplayoffs last year, so we’re not doneyet.”
MHSAA Class 2A, Region 2; 2009 Record: 7-7
1-Bret Flora, 2-Miguel Graham,4-Bolo McCurry, 5-Darius Dear,7-McKinley Hollenhead, 8-Clayton Hudspeth, 10-CodyMcKee, 11-Damien Britt, 12-Ledrick Patterson, 15-RyanJohnson, 16-Timakis Bell, 20-Terry Shaw, 22-MarquesReives, 23-Jayson Latham, 25-Josh Gladney, 26-Tyler Doss,27-Cody Silver, 30-DemetriusO’Briant, 32-Thomas Brooks,35-Nick Reynolds, 38-TylerStory, 50-Brennon Sparks. 52-Austin Harrison 53-ColbyWilliamson, 54-Xavier Moye,55-Lilton Vance, 56-Jacob
Newland, 57-Andy Dunn, 58-Charles Mosley, 60-AustinHalford, 63-Scott Winfield, 64-Austin Cunningham, 65-LaterrisPowell, 66-Trey Chism, 67-Curtis Helms, 68-JonathanCollins, 70-Charles Guyton, 71-Tanner Pritchard, 73-DillonDorsey, 75-Jake Williams, 76-Brody White, 78-HunterCunningham, 88-Jermarcus Ivy,99-Tyler Gregg. Head coach:Jimmy Carden. Assistantcoaches: Doug Wilson, PhilipJordan, Kenny Williamson,Jason Smith.
EAST WEBSTER 2010 TEAM
NoxubeeContinued from Page 17
If I am tired, I am still goingto go 110 percent and I amgoing to give everything Ihave.”
Williams said Wright firsttaught him focus when hewas a sophomore on thatClass 4A title squad. Theinstructions helped a playerwho wasn’t sure where hewould wind up on the fieldfind a place at linebacker, oneof the focal points on defense.
It has turned out to be aperfect home for Williams,who has developed a reputa-tion for speed.
“Corey can run and he is abig kid,” Shorter said. “He isone of the fastest guys on theteam. The way he plays, hedoesn’t have to say a word. Alot of the kids see how heplays and play as hard as hedoes. he just gets everybodypumped up. He is like acoach on the field. Some ofthe past linebackers, they seethings on the field and comeback and tell you so you canmake the adjustment. He isthat kind of player.”
Shorter said Williams isso fast — 100 mph in practiceand in games — that he oftenhas to tell him to slow downso he doesn’t overrun playsor allow his aggressivenature to put him out of posi-tion. That’s a minor quibbleto make about a player whowill lead another chapter of aNoxubee County defenseknown for its team speed andswarming nature.
"I feel a linebacker shouldhave more leadership and bemore of a team leader,”Williams said. “The best line-backers lead their team, andthat is how I picture myself. Isee myself as a leader on andoff the field.”
Shorter, who has coachedWilliams since the seventhgrade, could tell immediatelyhe had a future leader. He
saw Williams try to motivatehis middle school teammatesand knew he would be spe-cial. As a sophomore,Williams had a chance toexperience a state title. Thisseason, he hopes Williamswill take what the great play-ers before him have doneand make his mark to setchampionship pace.
“He will play college foot-
ball, no doubt,” Shorter said.“A lot of people are recruitinghim as a safety. He couldhave been a great runningback, but he is so aggressiveand he wanted to playdefense, and that’s where weneeded him.
“His tools, his mechanics,his techniques, fit in that cat-egory of being one of thegreatest players to come
through here.”Williams doesn’t know
what his legacy at NoxubeeCounty will be. He isn’t evensure where he will go to playfootball in college. He said hehasn’t received any scholar-ship offers but is interestedin Southern Miss,Mississippi State, andAuburn. If football doesn’twork out, he plans to go to
school to study computer sci-ence or physical therapy.
There’s no doubtWilliams will apply the sameintensity to those pursuitsthat he uses on the footballfield. But before he takes thatnext step he has unfinishedbusiness for the Tigers, andit involves making sureanother great chapter isadded to the program’s
annals.“I feel I can do better and
I can make it happen,”Williams said. “This year isgoing to be all out. I am goingto give it all I have. I am goingto work very hard to be a bet-ter player than I was last yearand the year before. I amgoing to strive to be thebest.”
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TIGERS
n JARED JOHNSON, JACOBY BALLARD
Noxubee County played two quarterbacks in the spring and inthe summer. The system paid offas the Tigers won 7-on-7 passing
camps at East MississippiCommunity College and at theUniversity of Mississippi. Theyalso had a strong showing at
Mississippi State’s event.
n COACH SHORTER SAYS:“Jared has the edge. He is
pushing Jared. It is looking likewe probably will play two
quarterbacks again. They are battling, but I think Jared has the
edge in experience.”
QUARTERBACKn ANTONIO RYLAND,
DARRELL ROBINSON
Shorter admits the Tigers will be
young at a position that hasn’t
been a focal point in recent years,
but he feels there is plenty
of depth.
n COACH SHORTER SAYS:
“We have maybe five running
backs this year. We are very
talented.”
RUNNING BACKn TERRENCE BARON,
JANARDREON JONES,
DAQUARRIUS MALLARD,
BREYLON SPENCER
Baron, a junior, filled in nicely last
season when Vincent Sanders,
who is now at the University of
Mississippi, was injured to give
the Tigers a deep threat. This
season, he will lead a cast of
young and speedy receivers.
n COACH SHORTER SAYS:
“From this summer, we like what
we saw. I thought going into the
spring we probably were going to
have to run the ball a little more,
but these guys came along during
the summer and I think we’re
going to be able to be balanced.”
RECEIVERSn KESHUN SMITH, DEMARCUS
BARNETT, JAVODKIS TATEWhile the team might not have anabundance of size, most of it is atthis position, led by the return of
three starters
n COACH SHORTER SAYS:“I think that is the strength of ouroffense,” Shorter said. “We havesome more guys who played a lot
last year, so we have a lot of confidence in our offensive line. Ifwe go back to Jackson, it is goingto be through the offensive line.We’re going to depend on theoffensive line to carry us this
year.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n JACOBY HARRIS
Another position filled with youth
that Shorter said could be a
concern. He said the return of
Harris, a senior, will help make up
for the loss of two ends.
n COACH SHORTER SAYS:
“In the spring we gave up a lot of
yards rushing. We are trying to
strengthen our defense.”
DEFENSIVE LINE
n COREY WILLIAMS, TODDERICK TATE
n COACH SHORTER SAYS:“The strength of our defense is
our linebackers.”
LINEBACKER
n LADARRELL HUNT, BRANDONSANDERS, BARRON, MALLARD,
JONES, RODRICK JOINERThe Tigers return only one starterat this position, but Shorter feelsconfident the players who had ataste of action last season will
step up.
SECONDARYn KAMAL CHAMBERLAIN /
JARED JOHNSON OR JONES (WR)
Chamberlain, a junior, kicked lastseason, while Johnson or Joneswill compete for playing time at
punter.
SPECIAL TEAMS
STAFFn HEAD COACH:Tyrone Shorter
(first year)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:James Patterson, George
Richardson, M.C. Taylor, MichaelAshford, Montez Miller, Anthony
King, Johnathan Hunter, GaryNaylor
BY AUSTIN BISHOPSpecial to the Dispatch
LOUISVILLE — WhenWyatt Roberts steps undercenter for the LouisvilleHigh School Wildcats atNorthwest Rankin HighSchool on Aug. 20, it willlikely be a first for the his-toric football program thatis the proud owner ofseven state champi-onships.
“I don’t remember afreshman starting at quar-terback at Louisville, so Iguess it will be somethingnew,” said LHS headcoach M.C. Miller, who iscoaching his hometownteam after 24 years atneighboring NoxubeeCounty. “Right now, he’swho we are looking at. Wethink he can get the jobdone.”
With such a long list oftop-level quarterbacksbefore him — includingformer Ole Miss star TimEllis who started as asophomore in 1972 —Roberts says he is tryingto not think too muchabout how old he is, butjust doing what he’s askedto do.
“I just look at it as play-ing quarterback,” saidRoberts, who has yet toget his driver’s license. “Ijust have to do what I needto do for us to win.”
When Roberts trans-ferred to LHS fromWinston Academy lastspring, he said he had noidea he would wind upstarting the 2010 seasonas the No. 1 quarterbackfor the varsity.
“I thought I would begetting ninth grade reps,but I had no idea abouthigh school,” he said. “Inthe Spring I started get-ting some reps and theystarted working me in andit just went from there.”
Miller, who played atCamille High School inLouisville before integra-tion, said the decision togo with Roberts wasn’t somuch out of necessity, butwas a move that was bestfor the team.
“We have (Tajh) Fordand C.J. (Bates) who canplay quarterback,” Millersaid of the senior and jun-ior who both have hadgame experience at theposition. “But they bothwould rather and playreceiver and they make usa better team when theyare out there.
“With him coming inand taking over he willthrow the ball to them andthat’s what they want,” hesaid. “They know I like tothrow the ball.”
Roberts admits it willcertainly help his gameday jitters when he looksaround and sees the likesof Ford, Bates and seniorBlake Cunningham tothrow too.
“It just takes away a lot
of the pressure to makeperfect throws,” Robertssaid. “If you just give thema chance they will makeplays on the ball and dogood things for you.”
“That helps a wholelot,” Miller said. “He hasthree college receivers tothrow to. If he gets inthere and gets the jobdone, we should bestrong.”
Miller said if Robertsstruggles early, he won’thesitate to bring Bates orFord in to give his youngquarterback a littlebreather. “We’ll just resthim a little and then workhim back in.
“We are going to goahead and work with himand built the team aroundhim,” Miller said. “Hewants to do whatever youtell him to do and he’spretty confident he can dothe job. He’s a good, lowkey kid that is going togive it his best every timehe tries and everybodysees that.”
Roberts, who says thespeed of the game hasbeen his biggest adjust-ment, knows he will face asteep learning curve.
“I’m hoping I will getinto the rhythm in the firstgame, but it will probablybe the second or thirdgame before I really getcomfortable,” Robertssaid.
And as far as being soyoung he can’t drive him-self to the games, Millerhas that figured out aswell.
“I think Mom and Popwill just have to bring himon,” he said with a laugh.“And I will be sure to givethem directions.”
n WYATT ROBERTS, C.J. BATES,TAHJ FORD
Bates and Ford have experience toback up Roberts who will get his
chance to lead the team as a fresh-man.
n COACH MILLER SAYS:“He (Roberts) throws a real goodpass and those receivers (Bates,
Ford and Blake Cunningham) will justmake him better.”
QUARTERBACKn DAVAIS SCHAFFER, CHAD LOVESchaffer brings experience to the
position.
n COACH MILLER SAYS:“I would to throw the ball 100
percent of the time, but we want torun it we need to be able to.”
RUNNING BACKn TAHJ FORD, C.J. BATES,
BLAKE CUNNINGHAM, JAY HUNT,DALTON HUDSPETH, CORY HARDY,
JORDAN FLEMING.Miller says Ford, Bates and
Cunningham are all Division-Iprospects and compares them to thebest receivers he coached while at
Noxubee County.n COACH MILLER SAYS:
“This may be the best group ofreceivers I’ve ever had at one time.”
RECEIVERS
n LAMARCUS CISTRUNK, JUSTIN MARSHALL, DEONTA HAWTHORNE, JACK VOWELL,
ANDREW HUGHES, CHAD METTS, NOAH CORCORAN,BRENT LOGAN
This is the area of the team that gives Miller the mostconcern.
n COACH MILLER SAYS:“We have to find us some lineman who can play. If we
don’t, we’re going to get our freshman quarterbackkilled.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n QUINTARUS PARKS, TAVAROUS TISDALE, BRENT LOGAN,
KENTRELL MCCULLY, CHAFFIN TRIPLETT,
MARCUS ODOM, ANTHONY DAVISSeveral players were still battling forplaying time as preseason practice
wound down.
n COACH MILLER SAYS:“A lot of guys may get a chance to
play there.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn JONATHON COLEMAN,
KEVIN WASHINGTON, ROCKWELL GRAHAM, TAHJ FORD
Wildcats still looking for linebackingdepth.
n COACH MILLER SAYS:“We need our linebackers to play
well in order to keep the offense offthe field.”
LINEBACKERn C.J. BATES, ZAN CARTER,
BLAKE CUNNINGHAM, DAVID MATTHEWS, COREY HART
The front-line guys — Bates, Carter,and Cunningham — are experienced
and are outstanding cover guys.
n COACH MILLER SAYS:“We need to work on our depth.
Those guys can’t play all the time.”
SECONDARY
n DALTON HUDSPETHExpected place-kicker
Zach McGarr transferredafter last school year.
n COACH MILLER SAYS:“I’ve never had a kicker
before and I might not thisyear.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 23HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
LOUISVILLESCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At NW RankinAug. 27 STARKVILLESept. 3 QUITMANSept. 10 At TupeloSept. 17 COLUMBUSSept. 24 At W. LauderdaleOct. 1 HOUSTONOct. 8 At KosciuskoOct. 15 At CaledoniaOct. 22 NOXUBEE CO.Oct. 29 AMORYHOME GAMES IN CAPS
™
STAFF
LOUISVILLE WILDCATS
n HEAD COACH:M.C. Miller
(First year)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
David Boykin (offensive
coordinator), Wayne
Jones (defensive line),
Ryan Thompson (offen-
sive line), Robert Finch
(offensive line), Chad
Gibson (linebackers),
Jake Hill (safeties), Tee
Miller (cornerbacks),
Chris Jones (wide
receivers), Tremond
Miller (running backs)
KEY IN 2010
n M.C. MILLER:“We want to throw theball every time we can,
but it’s all going tocome down to the
offensive line. That’swhat we are working
hard to find more thananything else. We have
all the way up to districttime to do it, but thesooner the better.”
NUMBER’S GAME
3The number of Division I
prospects the Wildcats
have at wide receiver in
Tahj Ford, C.J. Bates,
and Blake Cunningham.
New coach Miller to go with freshman QBMHSAA Class 4A, Region 4; 2009 Record: 8-5
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE WILDCATS
Help us help them.The Humane Society
662-327-3107
Class 3ARegion 1, District 1
Alcorn CentralBelmontBoonevilleCorinthKossuthRipley
Region 2, District 1AberdeenMoorevilleNettletonSouth PontotocWater ValleyWinona
Region 3, District 2CharlestonEast SideHolly SpringsIndependenceM S PalmerRuleville Central
Region 4, District 3Bailey Leflore CountyLelandRiversideS V MarshallSouth Delta
Region 5, District 5ClarkdaleChoctaw CentralHeidelbergKemper CountyPhiladelphia SE Lauderdale
Region 6, District 6CarthageForestMcLaurinMortonRaleighSt AndrewsVelma Jackson
Region 7, District 7Amite CountyFranklin County
HazlehurstJefferson CountyTylertownWilkinson County
Region 8, District 8CollinsPerry CentralSeminarySt PatrickSumrallWest Marion
Class 4ARegion 1, District 1
ItawambaNew AlbanyNorth PontotocPontotocShannonTishomingo
Region 2, District 2ByhaliaCenter HillLafayetteLewisburgNorth PanolaRosa FortSenatobia
Region 3, District 3Amanda ElzyClevelandGreenwoodHumphreys CountyMcClainYazoo County
Region 4, District 4AmoryCaledoniaHoustonKosciuskoLouisvilleNoxubee County
Region 5, District 5LaurelNE JonesNE LauderdaleQuitmanSouth Jones
West LauderdaleRegion 6, District 6
FlorenceMageeMendenhallNewton CountyRaymondRichland
Region 7, District 7ColumbiaCrystal SpringsLawrence CountyNorth PikePort Gibson South Pike
Region 8, District 8BayForrest County AHSGreene CountyPass ChristianPoplarvillePurvisSt Stanislaus
Class 5ARegion 1, District 2Clarksdale Gentry Hernando Lake Cormorant New Hope Oxford Saltillo West Point
Region 2, District 6Callaway Canton Lanier Neshoba CentralPearlProvine Ridgeland Yazoo City
Region 3, District 7Brookhaven Forest Hill McComb Pearl River Central
Picayune Stone County Wayne County West Jones
Region 4, District 8D’Iberville East Central Gautier Long Beach Moss Point St Martin Vancleave West Harrison
Class 6ARegion 1, District 2
Columbus DeSoto Central Horn Lake Olive Branch Southaven South Panola Starkville Tupelo
Region 2, District 6Clinton Greenville-Weston Grenada Madison Central Murrah NW Rankin Vicksburg Warren Central
Region 3, District 6Brandon Hattiesburg Jim Hill Meridian Natchez Oak Grove Terry Wingfield
Region 4, District 8Biloxi George County Gulfport Hancock Harrison Central Ocean Springs Pascagoula Petal
MHSAA ALIGNMENTS
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com24 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
WINSTON ACADEMY PATRIOTS
Seniors want to help restore championship magicBY AUSTIN BISHOPSpecial to the Dispatch
LOUISVILLE —Sometimes it’s the historyyou learn when you are 4years old that sinks in themost.
That’s what first-yearWinston Academy coachHarold Wisdom is hopingfor as his Patriots take thefield this season lookingto play for the school’sseventh MAIS state cham-pionship.
“We have five seniorswho have been at theacademy since K-4,”Wisdom. “They are ourleaders because they arethe most invested.”
They also have therichest memories of WA’ssix state titles.
“I was really young,but I still remember get-ting ready for the gameson Friday night,” seniorlinebacker Rob Moffittsaid. “We looked up to allof the players. I canremember them comingaround and signing pho-tos for us. That was whenwe were winning all ofthose championships in arow.”
“When we talk abouttradition and restoringpride and all of that, it real-ly hits home to the kidswho have been here,”Wisdom said.
The last state title forWinston Academy camein 2000. That’s somethingboth Moffitt and Wisdomhope to change.
Winning footballgames in Winston County— whether it be atWinston Academy,Louisville, Noxapater orNanih Waiya — is some-thing that is expected, nothoped for.
“If you win on Fridaynight you will have a goodweek of school the nextweek,” Moffitt said. “Ifyou don’t, it’s going todrag out and practice isgoing to be slow and peo-ple won’t even say hey toyou on the weekends.”
Last year the Patriotswent 6-5, but Moffitt saidWisdom and assistantcoach Sam Hathorn have
brought a high level ofintensity that should makea difference as the seasonwears on.
“We weren’t in shapethe first two games lastyear, but I’m pretty surewe will be one of the mostin-shape teams aroundthis year,” he said.
“Winning close games
early is going to be impor-tant to us,” Wisdom said.“Last year we started 0-2with last-second losses toLeake and Heritage. Greatteams find a way to winclose games, good teamsdon’t.”
Wisdom says Moffitt’spresence on defensemakes his job as both
head coach and defensivecoordinator a whole loteasier.
“What makes him sounique is that he doesn’thave to think,” Wisdomsaid of the 5-foot-10, 200pound outside linebacker.“He can finish the (defen-sive) call before I evenmake it. He is an emotion-
al leader and the sparkplug for our defense.
“He can really run, andhe will thump you,” hesaid. “He can really bringit.”
Moffitt is also anaccomplished punter, whois drawing attention fromDivision I schools.
But before he moves
on, Moffitt has one morething he wants to do.
“We are just going toconcentrate on beatingLeake right now, but ofcourse you think about astate championship,”Moffitt said. “If we winthat last one, I’m not goingto be sad walking off thefield for the last time.”
MAIS AA, District 2; 2009 Record: 6-5
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PATRIOTS
n TYLER SULLIVANThe 6-foot-4, 240-pound junior
passed for 1,500 yards as a sophomore.
n COACH WISDOM SAYS:“We expect good things out of
him.”
QUARTERBACKn ZACK TAYLOR
AND PARKER BULLOCKTaylor, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound soph-
omore is expected to providesome tough inside running, while
Bullock will add speed to thebackfield.
n COACH WISDOM SAYS:“He’s (Taylor) a bull in a china
shop. He’s a downhill runner anda big kid for his age.”
RUNNING BACKn CAMERON PASCHAL, TYLER
GOLSON, AUSTIN FLAKE, SMITHASHLEY, AND PARKER BULLOCKThe Patriots have a combinationof athletic possession and speed
receivers to give opponents different looks.
n COACH WISDOM SAYS:“(Paschal) has unbelievable ath-
letic ability. When he’s going, he’sdangerous.”
RECEIVERSn TRENT BRANTLEY, TOMMY
RUSSELL, REED WATSON,CASEY MOFFITT, JACOB
ROGERS, NICK MORROW,PARKER JONES
This could be key to offensive pro-duction. The unit lost three
starters from last year.
n COACH WISDOM SAYS:“We think we have some guyswho are going to fill in well.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n JOHN HAMILTON, NATHANSTONE, AND PARKER JONES
The Patriots run a three-man front
n COACH WISDOM SAYS:“We feel real good about these
guys.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn J.P. ARNETT, JACKSON
FORRESTER, NICK MORROW,
AND ROB MOFFITT
Stephen Arnett, the two-time
MAIS leader in tackles has gradu-
ated, but plenty of talent returns.
n COACH WISDOM SAYS:
“We are complex in what we do.
We do a lot of things.”
LINEBACKERn PARKER BULLOCK, TYLER
GOLSON, CAMERON PASCHAL,AND SMITH ASHLEY
A lot of experience returns.
n COACH WISDOM SAYS:“They know what we are looking
for them (to do).”
SECONDARYn TYLER GOLSON AND ROB MOFFITT
This is expected to be a strongsuit, as Moffitt is one of thestate’s top returning punters.
Golson can kick with either foot.
n COACH WISDOM SAYS:“He (Moffitt) has a couple of D-I
offers as a punter.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
WINSTON ACADEMYSCHEDULE
Aug. 20 At LeakeAug. 27 At HeritageSept. 3 SYLVA BAYSept. 10 At CarrollSept. 17 KIRKSept. 24 At StarkvilleOct. 1 MANCHESTEROct. 8 OpenOct. 15 At LamarOct. 22 CANTONOct. 29 OAK HILLHOME GAMES IN CAPS
KEY IN 2010
n HAROLD WISDOM“It’s come a point wherewinning district champi-ons just isn’t satisfying.Getting back to the tra-dition of the program —
the six state champi-onships and competing
year in and year out for astate championships —that’s the level we want
to be at every year.”
STAFF
n HEAD COACH:Harold Wisdom
(first year)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Sam Hathorn (offensivecoordinator), Matt Young(running backs/lineback-ers), Ryan Parks (wide
receivers), MichaelHineman (defensive
backs), Joe Ward (quar-terbacks)
NUMBER’S GAME
17Returning Starters:
9 – Offense; 8 – Defense
14Number of seniors
among the 53 players
on the roster.
New Hope Continued from Page 4
or a feeling that “enoughis enough” — he said heand his New Hope team-mates have as they pre-pare for this season. Forthe three-headed mon-ster, that attitude hasbeen percolating since theeighth grade when theplayers started to worktogether in the offseason.
Their focus has thepotential to be scary.
“A monster sleeps withthat attitude,” Beamonsaid. “A monster eats withthat attitude. He wakes upearly. It is him, andnobody can take it awayfrom him.”
Richardson Jr. hasplayed defense with thatmentality. Last season, hewas second on the teamwith 52 tackles while play-ing free safety and corner-back. This season, he like-ly will build on his offen-sive production from 2009(193 yards rushing, twotouchdowns; 17 catchesfor 250 yards, three touch-downs).
“It excites me a lot andkind of puts pressure onme,” said Richardson Jr.,who is 5-10, 185, of hischance to see a biggerrole on offense. “It feelsgreat to know you havedifferent weapons. If onegets tired you can replacethem with another oneand it is like someonenever left the game.”
Richardson said headded about 10 poundsfrom last season and feelsa whole lot stronger and alittle faster. The improve-ments are part of a work-out regimen that featuredrunning, pulling tires,
jumping rope, and liftingweights that have put thethree-headed monster ontrack to be a terror thisseason.
Bradley said his sen-iors will be able to sharethe spotlight if theyremember to help each
other and their team-mates.
“They know for themto be successful they haveto make sure the othertwo are successful, notjust those team, but theteam as a while,” Bradleysaid. “Johnny Beamon is
one of our best blockers.Frank Richardson is a realgood blocker. TerranceDentry gets real excitedwhen Darius Petty doessomething real good orLawrence Brown makes agood catch. They areunselfish. They are very
concerned about the teamfirst. They are the reasonI love to coach, kids likethat. We have a bunch ofthem at New Hope.”
Bradley might not wantto admit it, but he alsoloves to coach monsters.This season, he might
have the most in hiscoaching career, and theonly three-headed beastin the state.
It should be enough tomake most opposingcoaches uneasy as theypace the sidelines.
Lights, camera, action.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TROJANS
n ZAK THRASHER, E.J. JENKINSThrasher is about to enter his thirdfull season at the position. He has
matured as a game manager.Jenkins, a sophomore, hasn’t taken
a varsity snap.
n COACH BRADLEY SAYS:“We have a lot of experience there.Zak started a couple of games as a
freshman. E.J. has a lot of talent.We hope we’re going to be able toplay him at other places this year.
The quarterback position is in prettygood hands.”
QUARTERBACKn TERRANCE DENTRY, JOHNNY
BEAMON, FRANKLINRICHARDSON JR.
The Three Amigos should have alot of fun trying to outdo eachother in a ground game that is
equal parts lightning and thunder.
n COACH BRADLEY SAYS:“Those three are god ballplayers
that probably would start for a lotof teams.”
RUNNING BACKn LAWRENCE BROWN
(TIGHT END), DARIUS PETTY,DILLON HAWKINS, KRIS
DOUGLAS, RYAN LEEThis position would have been even
deeper if Daniel Gregory hadn’t suffered a season-ending knee injury
in the spring.
n COACH BRADLEY SAYS:“I feel pretty good about our
wideout situation. JoJo Reeves willget some time at tight end with
Lawrence.”
RECEIVERSn COREY COUNCIL, EARNEST
LANG, MIKE LOVE, LEE PEGRAM,PARK STEVENS, TREVER
WEEKS, MARCUS JOHNSONThree starters return in what
could be one of the keys to theteam. If the line opens holes forDentry, Beamon, and Richardson
Jr. to run through, the Trojanscould enjoy a long playoff run.
OFFENSIVE LINE
n TERRENCE PAYNE, JOJOREEVES, JOHNSON, COUNCIL,
LEEBO DAVIS, DALTON HODGES,DEREK PIERCE
This could be another question marksolely to find out how the Trojans
replace Seth Stillman, who was oneof the team leaders last season.
n COACH BRADLEY SAYS:“We have four or five guys who
could step up into the defensive endspots. We have a lot of experience
returning.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn CURTIS SHIRLEY, DOUGLAS,HORACE CARR, BEN VEAZEY
Shirley and Douglas have a knackfor making things happen. Last
year, Douglas created nineturnovers and returned an
interception for a touchdown.
n COACH BRADLEY SAYS:“We feel pretty good about our
linebacking group.”
LINEBACKERn JENKINS, PETTY, RICHARDSON
JR., LEE, JAMEEL JOHNSON,TODD HARRIS
The development of some of theyounger players could mean
Richardson Jr. gets more touches on offense.
n COACH BRADLEY SAYS:“We have a number of playerswho have the potential to play
some.”
SECONDARYn TANNER RYALS, HAWKINS
Ryals is in his fourth year as kickerand could be a valuable weapon in
close games. Hawkins will competefor time at punter.
n COACH BRADLEY SAYS:“We are very excited about ourkicking game. I think we have achance to have one of the best
kickers (Ryals) in the state. He hasworked very hard the last couple ofyears to become a great kicker. He
does a great job.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
BY HENRY [email protected]
CARROLLTON, Ala. —John Gartman is follow-
ing in the footsteps of hisfather as he begins hisfirst season as head foot-ball coach at PickensAcademy.
Gartman has takenover the reins of the foot-ball program at the schoolwhere his father, Robert,was head coach in 1983-84.
Gartman, 31, looks tohave the same success ashis father, who coachedPickens Academy to theAlabama IndependentSchool Association Class3A state championshipgame in 1984.
“Some of my earliestmemories are from here,”Gartman said. “I was 6 or7 years old when we werehere. My dad’s secondyear in 1984 we playedFairview in the state
championship game. Iremember that. That wasthe only time PickensAcademy was in the statechampionship game in 3A.That’s some of my earliestmemories of being aroundthe football team.”
Gartman, who walked
on to play at theUniversity of Alabama in1997 and lettered as areceiver in 2000, replacesSam Pearson, who leftafter one season tobecome the coach atSouthern BaptistEducational Center in
Olive Branch.Gartman’s first day on
the job at PickensAcademy was July 6. Sincethen he has met people heknew from when hisfather was the coach.
“I’ve seen a lot of peo-ple who were involved
with (the 1984) team forthe first time in 25 years,”Gartman said. “A lot ofplayers from that team,their sons are now playingfor me. That’s an interest-ing situation.
“My dad is still goodfriends with a lot of peoplehe knew 25 years ago. Iprobably have more sup-port and good willbecause of that than if Iwould have if it was some-one these people didn’tknow. The fact there aresome deep roots fromyears ago, I knew thatwould help me get accli-mated to everything.”
Gartman said hisfather, who is coach atSumter Academy in York,Ala., was excited he gotthe job at PickensAcademy.
“We don’t play them,thank goodness,”Gartman said. “I don’tthink my mom could han-
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 25HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
Celebrating 40 Years of Excellencein Academics and Athletics.
Our mission is to provide a qualityeducation in a well-disciplined, Christian environment.
~Success at Pickens Academy in 2010~• Class of 2010 received over $500,000 in scholarships.
• 100% of the Class of 2010 enrolled in Post Secondary Education.
• The Lady Pirates win it all! “2010 AISA State Champion Basketball Team”
• The Marching Pirates received “Superior Performance” at the 2010 AISA State Band Festival.
• The Varsity Cheerleaders received the honor of 2010 AISA/UCA East Division State Champions.
• Championship athletic programs for boys and girls at the Pee Wee, Junior Varsity and Varsity levels.
• Pee Wee, Junior Varsity, and Varsity Cheerleading Squads have won numerous awards.
• Award winning Marching Band Program with Junior Varsity and Varsity Majorette Squads.
Pickens Academy • 225 Ray Bass Road • Carrollton, AL 35447 • 205-367-8144Accredited By The Southern Association Of Colleges And Schools (SACS)
And The Alabama Independent School Association (AISA)www.pickensacademy.com
PICKENSACADEMY SCHEDULE
Aug. 27 RESTORATIONSept. 3 At SpringwoodSept. 10 SO. CHOCTAWSept. 17 At TuscaloosaSept. 24 EDGEWOODOct. 1 At EvangelOct. 8 FLINT HILLOct. 15 At LakesideOct. 22 BESSEMEROct. 29 At MarengoHOME GAMES IN CAPS
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffPickens Academy 2010 team: 2-Andrew McElroy, 8-Oliver Owens, 9-Sam Beachler, 11-Jacob Acker, 12-Arron Jones, 14-Joel Pratt, 17-John Morgan Owens,20-Lance Acker, 21-Justin McGahey, 22-Josh Lewis, 24-Meherg McKinley, 26-Garrett Estes, 31-Forrest Lewis, 32-Judson Smith, 45-Caleb Carr, 50-HunterBooth, 53-Jamison McCrary, 55-Chase Britt, 59-Herbie House, 60-Bryant Turner, 62-Brad Lowery, 65-Preston McGahey, 70-Caleb Gardner, 76-JonathanMcDaniel, 79-Travis Noland, 81-Logan Potts, 82-Phillip Fikes, 83-Reece McGlawn, 85-Daniel Cameron, 97-Mark Johnson.
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PIRATES
n JACOB ACKER
n COACH GARTMAN SAYS:“He’s a very smart kid. He’s a 4.0student. He’s very savvy. He seesthings that you don’t necessarilycoach. He handles the ball well.We run a lot of option, and very
rarely have we put the ball on theground. He reads well and pitcheswell. He’s just a very good game
manager.”
QUARTERBACKn JOHN MORGAN OWENS,
GARRETT ESTES, JOSH LEWIS
n COACH GARTMAN SAYS:“They’re all very tough. We’ve gotthree or four that we’ve got a lot
of confidence in. I don’t thinkwe’ll have one back who willcarry the ball the bulk of the
time. It will be spread out prettygood. We don’t have one work-
horse. We’ve got a few we’ve gotconfidence in.”
RUNNING BACKn JUDSON SMITH (SPLIT END),
JOEL PRATT (FLANKER),
FORREST LEWIS (TIGHT END)
n COACH GARTMAN SAYS:
“All I can tell you is they’re get-
ting pretty good at blocking
because that’s what they’re going
to be doing most of the time. We
do throw it some and they’re exe-
cuting pretty well. We have some
confidence there.”
RECEIVERSn JONATHAN MCDANIEL
(CENTER),
CHASE BRITT (GUARD),
ANDREW HOUSE (GUARD),
TRAVIS NOLAND (TACKLE),
BRAD LOWERY (TACKLE)
n COACH GARTMAN SAYS:
“They’re coming along pretty
good. They’re smart. They pick
things up. They execute well. I
think they’ll perform well for us.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n FORREST LEWIS (END),JUDSON SMITH (END),
BRYANT TURNER (TACKLE),MARK JOHNSON (TACKLE),
BRAD LOWERY (NOSE GUARD)
n COACH GARTMAN SAYS:“We have a lot of size, more than
most teams we play. BryantTurner and Mark Johnson and BradLowery are pretty-good sized. They
move well. I’ve been impressedwith them so far.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn HUNTER BOOTH, ANDREW HOUSE
n COACH GARTMAN SAYS:“They’re both pretty tough.
Andrew House, he’s done what Iexpected. I heard a lot of goodthings about him this summer,
and everything I heard has beentrue. Hunter Booth has reallystepped up. He’s just a sopho-more. I really wasn’t expecting
him to be in the mix at linebackerbut he has been very impressive
this August.”
LINEBACKERn JOEL PRATT (CORNERBACK),JOSH LEWIS (CORNERBACK),JACOB ACKER (FREE SAFETY),
JOHN MORGAN OWENS(STRONG SAFETY)
n COACH GARTMAN SAYS:“They’ve done a good job. Jacob
Acker is a very smart and instinc-tive player. Josh Lewis at corner-
back has been impressive.They’re not real big, but they’ll
come up and hit you. John MorganOwens plays free safety and he’s
our fastest player for sure.”
SECONDARY
PICKENS ACADEMY PIRATES
n HEAD COACH:John Gartman
(first season as coach)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Wallace Crawford (offensive line, defensive
line), Wade Goodman(receivers, defensive
backs), Josh Thompson(running backs, defensive backs)
KEY IN 2010
n JOHN GARTMAN:“I think we’ll be a solid
team. We’ve got some
tough teams that we’ll
play.”
NUMBER’S GAME
19Returning Lettermen
10Returning Starters
4 — Offense;
6 — Defense
Gartman follows in father’s footsteps
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch Staff Pickens Academy coach John Gartman has benefited from the relationships hisfather, Robert, built at the school when he was coach in the 1980s.
See PICKENS, 27
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If you have any questions, call sportseditor Adam Minichino at 662-327-1297.
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Every Tuesday, The CommercialDispatch will recognize a standout prep per-former.
Every Wednesday starting Sept. 2, TheCommercial Dispatch will feature a formerlocal high school athlete who has gone onto play a sport in college.
BY HENRY [email protected]
REFORM, Ala. —Beginning his senior sea-son, Deion Curry has hissights set on a state cham-pionship.
The talented quarter-back and safety is deter-mined to lead PickensCounty to a state title aftercoming up short last sea-son.
Curry took it personal-ly when Pickens County
had its sea-son end in a22-6 loss toReeltown inthe semifi-nals of theA l a b a m aH i g hS c h o o l
Athletic Association Class2A state playoffs.
The 5-foot-11 1/2, 175-pound Curry, TheDispatch’s West AlabamaDefensive Player of theYear in 2009, has vowed tolead Pickens County tothe Promised Land thisseason.
“Last year, we wereexpecting to win state,”Curry said. “This year,I’ve promised my team Iwill not let that happenagain. Everybody hadhigh hopes in football andthought we were going todo it, and then we fellshort. I told my team I willnever let them downagain. I’m going to putthem on my back, and Ipromised them we’regoing to win state.”
Curry was instrumentalin leading Pickens Countyto a state championship inboys basketball inFebruary. That title has wethis appetite to be crowned a
football champion.He isn’t the only
Pickens County playerhungry for a state title infootball. Senior runningback and linebacker TimSimpson wants to do hispart, too.
“All we need is leader-ship,” Simpson said. “Wewant to win every gamebecause we don’t like los-ing.
“We’re motivated. Wewant to get there. Our sen-iors really want it. I wantit. I hope everybody elsewill want it.”
Simpson appreciateshaving a teammate likeCurry who has such a
strong will to win and is ateam leader.
“He said he can’t let usdown and he won’t let usdown,” Simpson said.“He’s going to give it hisall. That’s somebody weneed. I wish everybodyelse had the same confi-dence he has. I’ve got it.He’s the quarterback, andit’s good to have a quarter-back that has all of thatconfidence.”
Pickens County coachScott Marchant, TheDispatch’s West Alabamaco-Coach of the Year in2009, hopes theTornadoes will rememberlast year’s loss to
Reeltown and that it helpsthem get over the edgethis year.
“I hope that motivatesthe kids,” Marchant said.“I hope they understandthey didn’t quite reachtheir goals and they willre-affirm what they needto do to get better. ... Wecan’t live on last year’s vic-tories, and we’re not goingto die on last year’sdefeats. We have a freshslate, and we’ll make outof it what we will.”
Pickens Countyreturns five starters onboth sides of the ball as itbegins its quest to reachLegion Field in
Birmingham, Ala., he siteof the state title game.
But Pickens Countyhas to replace 12 seniorsfrom last year’s team thatfinished 12-2. Marchantsaid there are questionsthat have to be answeredbefore the Tornadoes candeclare themselves a statecontender.
“We expect to workhard and try to get betterevery practice and everygame,” said Marchant,who begins his secondseason as head coach afterbeing the defensive coor-dinator. “If we do that and
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com26 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
PICKENS COUNTYSCHEDULE
Aug. 27 ACASept. 3 SHADES MTN CHR.Sept. 10 At KeithSept. 17 JOHN ESSEXSept. 24 At AlicevilleOct. 1 At AutaugavilleOct. 8 MAPLESVILLEOct.15 At SunshineOct. 22 At Holy SpiritOct. 28 GORDOHOME GAMES IN CAPS
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE TORNADOES
n DEION CURRY, DEMARCO HALL, DEVONTE SIMON
Curry begins his third season asthe starter.
n COACH MARCHANT SAYS:“We’ve got a returning starter at
quarterback who’s thrown for1,000 yards the previous two
years. We feel that’s a big assetfor us.”
QUARTERBACKn JAMES ADAMS,
TIM SIMPSON
n COACH MARCHANT SAYS:“We’re a little undersized, but Ifeel they’re going to do a real
good job. They’ve not big backs,but they’re adequate. They’re very
elusive.”
RUNNING BACKn LAJUAN DOSS, DEMARCO HALL
n COACH MARCHANT SAYS:“We’ve got some new guys that
didn’t play football last year.We’ve got one returning starter inLaJuan Doss. He’s a big-play guy.”
RECEIVERSn ZEB FINCH (CENTER),
TRAVIS BAILEY (GUARD), NICK STEWART (GUARD), JORDY BARTON (GUARD),
LAMARCUS JACKSON (TACKLE)
n COACH MARCHANT SAYS:“We’ve got a lot of new guys on
the offensive line. I feel like we’regoing to be big. I don’t know how
good we’re going to be. I feelgood about their potential. Theywork hard. I’m cautiously opti-
mistic.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n NICK STEWART (END),WILLIAM STEWART (TACKLE),
TERRIEN STEELE (TACKLE)
n COACH MARCHANT SAYS:“They’re pretty hard to block kidsthat can really anchor the middlefor me. I feel pretty confident howthey’re going to play. They got alot of playing time last year and Ikind of know what they can do.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn TRAVIS BAILEY, TIM SIMPSON
n COACH MARCHANT SAYS:“I feel great about our returningstarters. I feel like we have tal-ent. We have a couple of guys
competing for the other positionand I feel like we’ll have a prettygood player there. Returning two
out of three isn’t bad.”
LINEBACKERn DEION CURRY
(STRONG SAFETY), DEMARCO HALL (FREE SAFETY)
n COACH MARCHANT SAYS:“The cornerbacks, we’re still
working on those,”
SECONDARY
PICKENS COUNTY TORNADOES
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffPickens County 2010 team: 1-Deion Curry, 4-LaJuan Doss, 7-Devonte Simon, 14-Warren Betts, 20-William Stewart, 25-James Adams, 33-Decarius Burton, 54-NickStewart, 56-Travis Bailey, 75-LaMarcus Jackson, 77-Zeb Finch, Demrcus Hall, Tim Simpson, Terrien Steele.
n HEAD COACH:
Scott Marchant
(second season,
12-2 overall)
n ASSISTANT
COACHES:
Eddie Lee Doss (running
backs, linebackers),
Malcolm Giles
(receivers, defensive
backs), Antonio Lanier
( receivers, defensive
backs), Chris McCrary
(defensive coordinator),
Chan Mullenix, Heath
Simpson
KEY IN 2010
n COACH MARCHANT:“I hope (coming up a
game shy of playing for astate championship lastseason) motivates thekids. I hope they under-stand they didn’t quitereach their goals and
they will re-affirm whatthey need to do to getbetter. We can’t live onlast year’s victories, andwe’re not going to die on
last year’s defeats.”
NUMBER’S GAME
20Returning Lettermen
10Returning Starters:
5 — Offense;
5 — Defense
Tornadoes set sights on 1A state title
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffPickens County High School coach Scott Marchant, left, will rely on the playmaking ability of senior Deion Curryagain this season.
Marchant
See TORNADOES, 27
AHSAA Class A, Region 4; 2009 Record: 12-2
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 27HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
ALICEVILLESCHEDULE
Aug. 27 GREENE CO.Sept. 3 At Sipsey ValleySept. 10 MONTEVALLOSept. 17 At Sumter Co.Sept. 24 PICKENS CO.Oct. 1 GORDOOct. 8 At Hale Co.Oct. 15 GREENSBOROOct. 22 At NorthsideHOME GAMES IN CAPS
AHSAA Class AAA, Region 4; 2009 Record: 5-6
BY HENRY [email protected]
ALICEVILLE, Ala. — EddieHill will coach out of the good-ness of his heart this season.
Hill is beginning his first sea-son as the coach of the AlicevilleHigh School football team, andhe’s not being paid a dime to do it.
Hill agreed to coach the YellowJackets without being paid as away to give something back aftersurviving cancer surgery fiveyears ago.
“I told the Good Lord if He letme out from under this, I’d givesomething back,” said Hill, whowill only say he’s in his 60s. “Ithink we all need to give some-thing back. I don’t charge themanything. I do it from my heart. Ilove working with youngsters.”
Hill becomes Aliceville’sfourth coach in four years, follow-ing Patrick Plott, James Rush, andRobin Tyra.
Aliceville was 5-6 last seasonand hasn’t had a winning seasonsince going 10-2 in Plott’s secondyear at the helm in 2006.
“They’d been going through alot of coaching changes, so I tolda friend of mine that I’d coachthem,” Hill said. “I was talking tothe athletic director (Joe Hurst)and I told him I’d coach them. Itold him, ‘You don’t have to payme.’ I told him, ‘I’ll coach them fora couple of years and I’ll get yourprogram back on solid ground.’ ”
Hill has 21 years of coachingexperience, but Aliceville High ishis first head coaching positionand his first coaching job since1993.
He last coached linebackers atOpp (Ala.) High. He also was anassistant coach at Samson (Ala.)High, Kinston (Ala.) High andAlabama State University inMontgomery, Ala.
Hill stepped away from coach-ing and moved into school admin-istration. He was superintendentat Daleville (Ala.) High andWilcox County (Ala.) schools.
His last job was in the financedepartment of the Alabama State
Department of Education.Pickens County was one of the
counties Hill worked with at theAlabama State Department ofEducation, which is how helearned Aliceville High had a foot-ball opening.
Hill and his family live inEnterprise, Ala., and he’s rentinga house in Aliceville to coach thefootball team.
Hill is retired and he’s finan-cially stable enough to take a jobaway from home and not get paid.
“A friend of mine told me Imust be losing my mind,” Hillsaid. “I’m not rich, but I’m notpoor. I can eat. I live in Enterprise,Ala., which is four and a halfhours from here. I drive up andstay in a house and I go home onthe weekends. Through the sea-son I’ll stay here and help the
young men.“It’s a love. It’s a labor of love.
My wife says I ought to callESPN. I’m not interested in some-thing like that. I’m just happy toget up in the mornings. I love peo-ple.”
Hill intends to get the programback on solid ground financiallyand hand it over to CharlesMoody, who in his first season asassistant head coach and defen-sive coordinator.
The 25-year old Moody playedat Daleville when Hill was thesuperintendent.
Moody believes Hill is theideal coach to get Aliceville Highback on sold footing.
“One thing about coach Hill ishe’s very charismatic,” Moodysaid. “He can get people to gravi-
tate toward him. He’s a goodleader. He can get people to dopretty much whatever it is hewants done.”
Moody believes Hill is morethan capable of transforming theprogram even though he hasn’tcoached in 17 years.
“It’s like riding a bicycle,”Moody said. “Once you do it, younever forget. He still knows whathe’s doing.”
Hill hopes to restore the richtradition of Aliceville High foot-ball. He wants the community torelive the glory days when theYellow Jackets won Class 3A statechampionships in 1997 and 2000.
“Football is the mecca of thislittle community,” Hill said. “Thething about it is stability. I thinkwe’ll get there.”
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE YELLOW JACKETS
n JAVARIS DANCYn COACH HILL SAYS:
“We’ll be OK. He didn’t get toplay a lot last year, but he’ll be
OK.”
QUARTERBACKn JEREMY MCMULLEN
(FULLBACK)
n COACH HILL SAYS:“We’re still trying to find some-one to step up. So goes the lineso goes the running backs, we
hope. They’recompeting with each other for
the positions.”
RUNNING BACKn MACK BURDEN,
JOE ROBINSON
n COACH HILL SAYS:
“We’ve got one senior back.
We’ve got a lot of freshmen out
there. We’re young out there.”
RECEIVERSn HARRY MCCAA (CENTER),DEMARKUS HALL (GUARD),DALVIN OWENS (GUARD),
ALEXANDER HOOD (TACKLE),JERWAYNE LAVENDER (TACKLE)
n COACH HILL SAYS:“They’re seniors but they’ve got
to get used to us (coaches).They’ve got to get used to our
scheme and how we’re blocking.”
OFFENSIVE LINEn DARIUS HUGHES, GERALD
STERLING
DEFENSIVE LINE
n UNDECIDED
LINEBACKER
n UNDECIDED
SECONDARY
ALICEVILLE YELLOW JACKETS
CONTACT INFORMATIONn TELEPHONE:205-373-6378
n ATHLETIC DIRECTOR:Joe Hurst
n WEBSITE:www.ahs.pickens.k12.al.us
n HEAD COACH:Eddie Hill
(first season)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Charles Moody
(assistant head coach,
defensive coordinator),
Quintin Prude (defensive
backs), Billy Sterling
(defensive line),
Alphonso Wilder
(offensive line), Fred
Woods (offensive
coordinator)
NUMBER’S GAME
3Eddie Hill is Aliceville’s
third head coach in
three years.
Hill gives back to Aliceville in a big way
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch Staff Aliceville High School football coach Eddie Hill is renting a house inAliceville while he coaches the team for free.
Isiah Wilder, Mack Burden,Victor Windham, JevorisLong, Dalvin Owens,Alexander Hood, DemarioBrown, Darrius Hughes,Gerald Sterling, JavarisDancy, Jerwayne Lavender,Terry Mayhew, MarquiseMayhew, Lawrence Scott,Demarkus Hall, Harry McCaa,Rashawn Colvin, TremaineJackson, Jermaine McMullen,Joe Robinson, Antonio Cole,Marquise Colvin, AnthonyColvin, Tyquindez Richey,Lyzell McCaa, TyshonWingham, Stephon Dunner,Demetrius Bell, RockemShenre, Johnny Bush,Jaterrius Steele, TebviseHughes, Azariah Sterling,Quandarius Hinton, JakariGarner, Tevin Winn, ThomasColvin, Robert Taylor, WesleyLittle, Curmonteal Taylor,Anthony Jones, DemetricWalker, Brandon Colvin,James Ingram, KadariusLittle, Anthony Brown.
ALICEVILLE 2010 TEAM
TornadoesContinued from Page 26
work hard and do the littlethings you have to payattention to, we shouldhave a pretty good footballteam.
“It’s hard to judge. Wehave so many new guys.We have so many newfaces. We have a goodnucleus of returning guys,but we lost an awful lot ofgood seniors who weregreat football players.We’re going to have to seeif the kids step up and takeon leadership roles andwork as hard as they needto. If they do, the potentialis there for a great season.”
It starts with Curry,who was a key cog on bothsides of the ball last sea-son. He directed anoffense that scored 458points (an average of 32.7
points per game). He com-pleted 89 of 161 passes for1,530 yards and 19 touch-downs with just threeinterceptions. He rushed91 times for 274 yards andtwo scores.
Curry also led a stingydefense that allowed 170points (an average of 12.1points per game). He ledthe Tornadoes with 136tackles and interceptedthree passes, returningone pick for a touchdown.
“Deion is a winner,”Marchant said. “He wantsto win. He’s a very compet-itive young man. I have alot of faith in him that he’sgoing to try his best to leadhis team. He leads byexample. He’s a leader ondefense and a leader onoffense.”
PickensContinued from Page 25
dle that. I don’t know if itwould bother him or mevery much, but my momwould be pretty torn onthat.”
Gartman embarks onhis first job as head coachafter being the defensivecoordinator at MorganAcademy for five years andMontgomery Macon-Eastthe past three years.
Morgan Academy haswon more AISA statechampionships (11) thanany other school. Gartmanwas part of championshipteams in 2003 and 2005.
Gartman is PickensAcademy’s fourth coach insix years since LynnWright resigned after a 17-year tenure from 1988-2004.
He follows BillRickman, MatthewLavender and Pearsonsince Wright resigned.
“I hope to be here for awhile,” Gartman said.“We’ve got some young tal-ent coming up. The JVteam was 5-1 or 6-1, sothere’s some young talentcoming up.”
Wright coached thePirates to state champi-onships and undefeatedseasons in 1994-96, ’98, and’99, and led them to thechampionship game in
2004.Pickens Academy has
the longest winning streakin AISA history (47games). It started in the1994 season and lastedthrough five games of the1997 campaign
Gartman hopes he canrestore that winning tradi-tion.
“I kept up with Pickensthrough the years, so Iknow all about the teamsin the ’90s,” Gartman said.“I’m good friends with a lotof those people. I went toschool with them when Iwas real, real young. Iknow coach Wright. Iplayed for him in the All-Star game. His oldest son,Josh, is a friend of mine.He coaches at BessemerAcademy. I know Jody andJonathan, also. I coachedagainst Jonathan when Iwas at Morgan in 2003. Mysecond year at Morgan weplayed Pickens in the sec-ond round of the playoffsto go to Troy to play Faith,and we won in double over-time.”
Gartman said he wasvery interested in becom-ing Pickens Academy’scoach when the positionbecame open.
“Traditionally Pickensis one of the top schools in
the AISA,” Gartman said.“Five state championshipsand played in a couplemore. They played for it in2004 and 1984, so they’vebeen involved in sevenstate championship gamessince 1984, winning five ofthem.
“I’m very familiar witheverything that’s gone onhere. It’s a football school,and that’s something Iwanted to be involved in.”
Pickens Academy sen-ior running back and safe-ty Forrest Lewis said theplayers are excited abouthaving Gartman as theircoach.
“He hasn’t been herelong, but the plays he runsare real easy and we’vecaught on real fast,” Lewissaid. “We’ve run thisbefore when we were injunior high, so it’s prettyeasy to catch on to.
“When coach Pearsonwas here we had more of aspread offense. Whencoach Gartman got herehe came with the ‘I’ and weran that in junior high thethree years I played. It waseasy to catch on. It’s realeasy to understand.”
Gartman learned a lotof what he knows aboutfootball from his father,and he believes their
philosophies and schemesare very similar. He saidPickens Academy will be arun-oriented team that willrun out of ‘I,’ split-back andtriple option formations.
“We’re not real compli-cated in what we do,”Gartman said. “It’s mostlyabout execution ratherthan a real complicatedscheme. It’s just funda-mentally sound and outex-ecuting other teams.
“There will be somesimilarities to what we doand what coach Wright didas far as being physical andoutexecuting people moreso than using smoke andmirrors. We’re going to dothings the players can han-dle. It’s not what the coachknows, it’s what the play-ers know. I can knoweverything in the world,but if they don’t know it outthere it doesn’t make anydifference in the world.We’re not going to do any-thing we can’t do well. Thisbeing my first year, weneed to keep it prettybasic.”
Gartman hopes it’s allthe start of leadingPickens Academy back tobeing a dominating team inthe AISA again.
BY HENRY [email protected]
MILLPORT, Ala. —Ken Mitchell has loftyexpectations for his seniorseason with the SouthLamar High School foot-ball team
The diminutive tailbackand cornerback expectsthe Stallions to be muchimproved from last seasonwhen they won just onegame in Josh Harper’sfirst season as head coach.
“We’ve been comingout here all summer longworking hard,” the 5-foot-7, 170-pound Mitchellsaid. “I think we have achance to do a lot of greatthings. I think we can wina lot more games andmake the playoffs. Ourultimate goal is to make itto the state championship(game). We’re workinghard and trying to get bet-ter every day.”
South Lamar returnsseven starters on offenseand eight on defense fromlast year’s 1-9 team thatwas outscored 370-121and shut out twice.
Mitchell is a returningoffensive starter alongwith quarterback TrentWilson, fullback HankParker, tight end JoshElliott, guards Cory Jonesand Cole Trull, and tackleChris Knight.
Mitchell is also areturning defensivestarter along with Trull atnose tackle, TremaineWillingham at end, Elliott,Jones and Parker at line-backer, Jordan Smith at
cornerback, and BlakeMitchell at free safety.
Mitchell wants to doeverything he can to helpthe Stallions avoid a disap-pointing season like theyhad a year ago.
“It’s a team effort, but Iwould like for coachHarper to put the game onmy back in tough situa-tions because I would loveto take that role,” Mitchellsaid. “I want the ball in myhands when we’re fourth-and-2 and we need a firstdown. I want to be thatrunning back to get thatfirst down.”
Mitchell wants to carrythe ball as much as possi-ble, and Harper is willingto oblige.
Without attaching anumber, Harper said heintends to get Mitchell theball as many times as pos-sible for the team to besuccessful.
“It’s the same way withthe other kids,” Harpersaid. “Trent Wilson isback and I want himthrowing accurate passesas many times possible. Iwant our receivers catch-ing as many passes as pos-sible. Same thing ondefense. I want these kidsmaking as many tackles aspossible.”
Going through a disap-pointing season in 2009hasn’t kept Mitchell frombeing optimistic about thisseason.
“It’s just like coachHarper says, you’ve got toput it behind you,”Mitchell said. “We’ve had
to put last season behindus and work on a new sea-son.
“We’ve got a lot of peo-ple coming back, a lot ofstarters. A lot of peoplegot experience last year.They know we can’t do
much worse than we didlast year. We’re going toget better.”
Mitchell hopes to behealthy this season afterplaying with cracked ribsin 2009. He missed thefirst half against Brilliant
(third game) and didn’t
play against Lynn (fourth
game) and Sulligent (10th
game).
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com28 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
SOUTH LAMARSCHEDULE
Aug. 27 LAMAR CO.Sept. 3 At HubbertvilleSept. 10 MARION CO.Sept. 17 At BrilliantSept. 24 WINFIELDOct. 1 BERRYOct. 8 At LynnOct. 15 PARRISHOct. 22 MEEKOct. 28 At SulligentHOME GAMES IN CAPS
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch Staff
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE STALLIONS
n JORDAN SMITH, TRENT WILSON
Wilson suffered a slight muscletear in his back and the healing
process has been slow
n COACH HARPER SAYS:“We’re going to have to replaceour quarterback, Brad McCool,
from last year. That’s an untestedposition. It’s going to be a youngposition, but the good thing aboutit is for the future they’re going to
get a lot of valuable experiencethis year.”
QUARTERBACKn KEN MITCHELL,
HANK PARKER, JORDAN SMITH
n COACH HARPER SAYS:“I think on the offensive side ofthe ball, that’s our most positive
position. We’ve got some valuableexperience returning. If we stayhealthy, I think good things are
going to happen.”
RUNNING BACKn KYLE ROBERTSON, NICKFISHER, DANIEL ATKINSON,
JOSH ELLIOTT
n COACH HARPER SAYS:“We’re not going to be very big.We’re going to have good hands,though. We’re going to be throw-ing the ball enough hopefully to
keep teams offbalance.”
RECEIVERSn JAROD BEASLEY, CORY
JONES, COLE TRULL, DAKOTARIVERS, CHRIS KNIGHT
n COACH HARPER SAYS:“The offensive line is going to beanchored by Cory Jones. We’restill going to be very small upfront and it depends on how
aggressive we’regoing to be.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n TREMAINE WILLINGHAM,SHANE WRIGHT, COLE TRULL
n COACH HARPER SAYS:“I think we’re going to be prettysalty. I think we’re going to begood up front. We’ll fluctuate
between a three-man front andfour-man front. I’m excited about
our defensive line.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn CORY JONES, HANK PARKER,
JOSH ELLIOTT, NICK FISHER
n COACH HARPER SAYS:
“We’ve got four gritty guys who I
trust will go find the football. Last
year, we didn’t return any starters
and this year we return all four of
our linebackers.”
LINEBACKERn JORDAN SMITH, KEN
MITCHELL, DANIEL ATKINSON,
BLAKE MITCHELL
n COACH HARPER SAYS:
“Our corners, for so long we were
iffy and not knowing what to
expect, but we’ve got a lot of
experience coming back in Ken
Mitchell and Jordan Smith. I think
we’ve got two of the best
cornerbacks in the region.”
SECONDARY
SOUTH LAMAR STALLIONS
n HEAD COACH:Josh Harper
(second season, 1-9 overall)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Shane Foster(linebackers), JustinHayes (junior high),
Johnny House (offensiveand defense lines), LesHouse (running backs),Morris Moore (defensive
coordinator), GregWeathers (junior high),Lane Wright (offensive
coordinator)
KEY IN 2010
n HEAD JOSH HARPER“I feel we’re competi-
tive. I feelwe’ve gota chance
to do goodthings. Ifeel like
we’ve gota winningattitude. What makes us
a better team is thekids. They’ve come andworked. Everybody hasbeen picking everybodyup. We don’t want to go
through (a 1-9 recordlike last season) no
more.”
NUMBER’S GAME
18Returning Lettermen
15Returning Starters:
7 – Offense, 8 – Defense
Mitchell wants game to be in his hands
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffSouth Lamar High School’s Ken Mitchell will play both ways and will be a keyleader in the Stallions’ attempt to improve on their 1-9 record in 2009.
AHSAA Class A, Region 5; 2009 Record: 1-9
See SOUTH LAMAR, 30
1-Kyle Robertson, 2-Trent Wilson, 3-Jordan Smith,4-Blake Mitchell, 5-Chris Cobb, 6-Daniel Atkinson,7-Canaan Fleming, 8-Justin Sanford, 11-HankParker, 12-Josh Elliott, 16-Lance Jones, 17-TylerRiley, 21-Ken Mitchell, 22-Marquis Mitchell, 25-Talbert Pate, 32-Avery Ward, 34-TremaineWillingham, 50-Colby Robinson, 53-Chris Knight,55-Jason Lawson, 58-Landon McGee, 57-DakotaRivers, 58-Dustin Crowe, 62-Issac Humbers, 63-Dustin Weathers, 64-Dustin Homan, 70-JarodBeasley, 71-Davey Long, 72-Aaron Oglesby, 73-Todd Aldridge, 74-Cole Trull, 75-Luke Palmiter, 77-Shane Wright, 78-Cory Jones, 82-Nick Fisher, 86-Cody Daniel. Head coach: Josh Harper. Assistantcoaches: Morris Moore, Lane Wright, ShaneFoster, Justin Hayes, Johnny House, Les House,Greg Weathers.
SOUTH LAMAR 2010 TEAM
BY HENRY [email protected]
VERNON, Ala. ––From Mighty Mights up,Eric Hudson has beennicknamed “Turbo”because of how fast he canrun on a football field.
The Lamar CountyHigh School junior hasalso been known for hisversatility and this seasonhe’s going to get hischance to showcase hisskills at more than oneposition.
Hudson will start atquarterback, but he’ll alsobe used as a tailback andwingback.
“Turbo’s an athlete,”Lamar County coach KenAdams said. “We’ve got acouple of guys that arecompeting (at quarter-back) because we’d likefor Turbo to play a coupleof positions on the field.
“I’m comfortable withhim at quarterback, butI’m also comfortable with
being able to put him attailback and put him atwingback.”
The candidates todirect the offense whenHudson lines up at tail-back or wingback areDallas Cockerham andRyan Price.
Hudson will get his firstchance to quarterback theteam after being used as atailback and wingback thepast two years.
Hudson takes the quar-terback reins fromMichael Bradford, wholed Lamar County to a 13-1 record in his second sea-son at the helm of theoffense a year ago.
Hudson is just the thirdquarterback in sevenyears for Lamar County asBrad Barnes was thestarter for four years priorto Bradford.
Adams believesHudson has the athleticability and is familiar withthe offense to make themove to quarterback.
“He understands whatwe’re trying to do,”Adams said. “Hopefullyhe’ll be able to run theoffense, which is whatMichael was good at lastyear. The thing about it isTurbo’s been a tailbackand he’s been a playmak-er. The quarterback isn’tnecessarily the playmaker.The quarterback’s job isto run the offense.
“He understands whatwe’re doing offensivelyand that’s the key. That’smore important than any-thing else.”
Hudson takes over forBradford, who directed ahigh-powered offense thatscored 529 points in 14games for an average of37.8 points per game.
Bradford completed 47of 91 passes for 626 yardsand 11 touchdowns on arun-oriented team andwas the Bulldogs’ leadingrusher with 1,014 yardsand 19 touchdowns.
“I’ve got some pretty
big shoes to fill sinceMichael left, but the back-field is looking right rightnow,” Hudson said. “We’vegot enough power.Everybody has just got tostep up and be ready.”
Lining up behindHudson in the backfieldwill be Kenneth Hill andDemetrius Williams.
Hill and Williams areconfident that Hudson canlead the Bulldogs offen-sively.
“To me, Turbo is thebest person (at quarter-back),” Hill said. “He’s agreat athlete.”
Williams said, “He’s agood quarterback. That’sall I can say. I want to seewhat he can do this year. Ibelieve he’s got goodaccuracy. He’s smart atfootball. Being a safety (ondefense) he’s got goodfootball sense.”
Hudson is confidenthe’ll be able to run theoffense.
“I can see the entire
field,” Hudson said. “I feelgood about pitching theball. I believe I can movethe ball around.”
Defensively Hudsonwas a ballhawk for theBulldogs last season whenhe intercepted 14 passes.
Hudson got his nick-name from his uncle,George Sneed, while play-ing Mighty Mights inVernon.
“When it’s time to run,I can run,” Hudson said ofgetting the nickname. “Wewere racing at practiceone day. Will Frankns andI had to race to see whowas the fastest on theteam and ever since I’vebeen called Turbo. It juststuck with me and every-body started calling methat.”
Hudson’s goal is to leadLamar County to a statechampionship after theBulldogs came up shortof a title last season whenit lost to Clay County inthe semifinals.
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 29HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
LAMAR COUNTYSCHEDULE
Aug. 27 At South LamarSept. 3 CHEROKEESept. 10 At Phil CampbellSept. 17 RED BAYSept. 24 At Am. Christ. Aca.Sept. 30 SULLIGENTOct. 8 CLBRT HEIGHTSOct. 15 At LexingtonOct. 22 At HattonOct. 29 WINFIELDHOME GAMES IN CAPS
LAMAR COUNTY BULLDOGS
Peyton Bobo/Courtesy of The West Alabama GazetteLamar County 2010 team: 1-Eric Hudson, 2-Josh Smith, 3-Kendall Smith, 4-Ken Hill, 5-Caleb Randolph, 6-Jacob McLemore, 7-Ty Waldon, 8-Justin Perkins, 9-Ryan Price, 10-Bryer Bolton, 11-Alex Wheeler, 14-Eric Smith, 15-Dallas Cockerham, 20-Brantley Stanford, 22-Hunter Cunningham, 25-Devin Dias, 26-Ryan Barham, 27-Brady Merchant,30-Jonathan Allen, 34-Lemetrius Williams, 37-Briggs Roberts, 45-Jacob Smith, 50-Spencer Martinez, 52-Joshua Smith, 53-Randall Graham, 54-Tyler Sprouse, 55-ChessMoore, 56-Alex Denton, 57-Phillip Powers, 59-John Isabell, 62-Kyle Galloway, 69-Garrett Moore, 70-Jacob Smith, 73-Coby Bradford, 83-Eriberto Casas.
Lamar County has speedster in ‘Turbo’ STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
n ERIC HUDSON,DALLAS COCKERHAM,
RYAN PRICEHudson takes over as the starter
for two-year starter MichaelBradford after starting at tailback
last season
n COACH ADAMS SAYS:“I feel good about the guys we’vegot there. Those are the guys that
worked there in the spring. Wehave three guys that have totally
different qualities.”
QUARTERBACKn KEN HILL (TAILBACK),DEMETRIUS WILLIAMS
(FULLBACK)
n COACH ADAMS SAYS:“We’ve got to find a wingback. Itgives an opportunity for some of
these guys to step up.”
RUNNING BACKn JUSTIN PERKINS, JONATHAN ALLEN,
DALLAS COCKERHAM
n COACH ADAMS SAYS:“We’ve got some guys that’s gotsome experience. They got some
experience this summer in 7-on-7.”
RECEIVERSn BRANTLEY STANFORD
(CENTER),KYLE GALLOWAY (GUARD),TYLER SPROUSE (TACKLE)
n COACH ADAMS SAYS:“We have a couple of guys thathave some experience and someothers that have to come along.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n COBY BRADFORD (DEFENSIVE END), KYLE GALLOWAY
(DEFENSIVE TACKLE), TYLER SPROUSE
(DEFENSIVE TACKLE)
n COACH ADAMS SAYS:“We want to close the gaps.
We’re not looking for big guys. Alot of times we’re looking forspeed. We’re looking to be
aggressive.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn LEMETRIUS WILLIAMS
(INSIDE), KEN HILL (OUTSIDE),
JUSTIN PERKINS (OUTSIDE)
n COACH GATES SAYS:“We have to find some guys to fillin at the inside linebacker spots.”
LINEBACKERn ERIC HUDSON (FREE SAFETY),
DALLAS COCKERHAMHudson is the only returning
starter.
n COACH GATES SAYS:“Turbo (Hudson) had 14 picks lastyear. He’s a leader back there. He
does a great job of setting ourdefensive secondary.”
SECONDARY
n HEAD COACH:Ken Adams
(25-11, three seasons)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Ryan Atkins, Tim Bobbitt(quarterbacks,
linebackers), SteveBrock (junior high),David Easley (widereceivers, defensivebacks), Justin Lann
(offensive line, defensiveline), Heath Pennington
(running backs, linebackers), Don
Thornton (offensive line,defensive line)
KEY IN 2010
n COACH ADAMS:“It was hard being one
game away (from playingfor a state championshiplast season). It was niceto get to 13 (a school
record for wins in a sea-son). It’s just work.We’ve got to work.We’ve got to go outthere at practice and
work.”
NUMBER’S GAME
12Returning Lettermen
13Returning Starters:
7 — Offense;
6 — Defense
AHSAA Class AA, Region 8; 2009 Record: 13-1
CONTACT INFORMATIONn TELEPHONE:205-695-7717
n ATHLETIC DIRECTOR:Vance Herron
n WEBSITE:www.godogs.us / www.lamarcountyfootball.com
BY HENRY [email protected]
SULLIGENT, Ala. —Tony Johnson has one goalin mind entering this season.
The Sulligent HighSchool senior has his sightsset on winning a state cham-pionship.
The 6-foot-3, 230-poundguard / linebacker wants tohelp Sulligent High atone forthe 2008 season when it lostto Leroy 41-8 in the AlabamaHigh School AthleticAssociation Class 2A statechampionship game.
“I want a (state champi-onship) ring before I gradu-ate, and this is my senioryear, so I have to do it thisyear,” Johnson said. “Wehave to do it this year.”
The Blue Devils willattempt to get back to thestate title game after theylost last year to Tanner in thefirst round of the playoffs tofinish 7-4.
Johnson said the loss toLeroy still serves as motiva-tion.
“We’ve just got to get it,”Johnson said. “We didn’t getit done last year. We talkabout it every day at practiceand at workouts. We alwaystalk about it. It’s a lot of moti-vation.”
Johnson believes thisyear’s team has what it takesto get back to the champi-onship game and win.
“I think we’re going to goto the championship thisyear,” Johnson said. “We’vebeen practicing hard thisseason. When you workhard, good things happen.
“We play together as ateam. We want it more thanany other team. We workharder than any other team.We just want to get it.”
Johnson believes theBlue Devils are faster, big-ger, and stronger and have abetter defense than the 2008team.
Johnson is the most expe-rienced player on the team.He has been on the varsitysince the ninth grade, andhas started since the 10th.
Sulligent High coachDwight Bowling believesJohnson has all the qualitiesto lead the Blue Devils to astate championship.
“Tony is an excellentplayer,” Bowling said. “Hehas great leadership abili-ties. He’s real aggressive. Hemakes a lot of plays. Heseems to figure out wherethe ball is going in a hurryand he gets there.
Defensively he is a greatplayer.
“He’s got good size. Heruns well. He’s got good sizeand he can move. He’s pret-ty strong. He’s got a goodwork ethic. He’s got thewhole package.”
The Blue Devils will haveto contend with a difficultregion schedule before theycan think about winning astate championship.Sulligent has been moved toClass 2A, Region 8, whichincludes Cherokee, ColbertHeights, Hatton, LamarCounty, Lexington, PhilCampbell, and Red Bay.
“(The region) is muchstronger than the one we’vebeen in,” Bowling said.“There’s not any weak sis-ters in this one. There wereseveral weak ones in theother one. We counted sixteams where any of those sixcould win the region. It’s
going to be tough. There’snot going to be any offweeks this season.”
As a junior a year ago,Johnson had 67 tackles foran average of 7.4 tackles pergame. He had two sacks fora loss of 7 yards, intercepteda pass with a 15-yard return,caused a fumble, and hadtwo fumble recoveries.
Bowling believes any col-lege would be fortunate tosign a player of Johnson’scaliber.
“Everybody that came bythis spring and looked athim was really impressedwith his physique and size,”Bowling said. “He went to acouple of camps. I know hewent to the UAB camp, and Italked to that coach and hewas really impressed withhim. They even thought ofhim maybe as a tight end.Some of the people mighteven look at him on the
offensive side. He hasn’tplayed tight end for us, buthe might could do that, too.”
Johnson has participatedin linebacker and tight enddrills at college camps.
Johnson would prefer tobe recruited to play line-backer in college, but heisn’t ruling out tight end.
“I like tight end,”Johnson said. “I like toreceive the ball. People tellme I’ve got good hands for alineman. I don’t see myselfas a lineman.”
He said the thing he likesabout defense is hittingopposing ballcarriers.
Johnson said he’s beingrecruited by the Universityof Mississippi, Auburn,UAB, Alabama State, andJacksonville State.
“I like Ole Miss,”Johnson said. “I just like theway they play. I like theirstyle of play. I (also) like
Auburn. I’ve been anAuburn fan ever since I wasa little kid. I’ve always want-ed to go there.”
But before he worriesabout where he’s going to goto college, Johnson’s focuswill be on helping SulligentHigh win a state champi-onship.
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com30 SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
SULLIGENTSCHEDULE
Aug. 19 At SmithvilleAug. 26 HAMILTONSept. 3 At HattonSept. 10 LEXINGTONSept. 17 At Colbert HeightsSept. 24 MARION CO.Sept. 30 At Lamar Co.Oct. 8 RED BAYOct. 15 At CherokeeOct. 22 At Phil CampbellOct. 28 SOUTH LAMARHOME GAMES IN CAPS
STAFF
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE BLUE DEVILS
n JOHN POTMESIL
n COACH BOWLING SAYS:“Much improved over last year.The experience from last year isgoing to carry over. We’re going
to be much better at that position.”
QUARTERBACKn WESLEY PARSON, DEIONJENKINS, ISHMAEL RIGGINS
n COACH BOWLING SAYS:“We lost some speed and
experience. We’re going to beyouthful and inexperienced, but
we have some ability.”
RUNNING BACKn PETER SWANINGAN, MASON
FRANKLIN, LOGAN BARNES
n COACH BOWLING SAYS:“A lot of big-play ability there withPeter. He’s capable of making the
big play.”
RECEIVERSn DUSTAN REEVES, TONY
JOHNSON, PARKER
NORTHINGTON, JALEN
MARTINEZ, MATT HANKINS
n COACH BOWLING SAYS:
“Experience and size and should
be our strong point on offense.”
OFFENSIVE LINE
n ISHMAEL RIGGINS, PARKERNORTHINGTON, DUSTANREEVES, MATT HANKINS,
CODY HOLMES
n COACH BOWLING SAYS:“Up front we’re going to be
experienced. That’s going to helpus.”
DEFENSIVE LINEn TONY JOHNSON, MASONFRANKLIN, COCO METCALF,
WESLEY PARSON
n COACH BOWLING SAYS:“Linebacker will be one of our
strengths. We have a lot of speedthere.”
LINEBACKERn RYAN REEVES
n COACH BOWLING SAYS:“The secondary is a key point. Wehave people we haven’t decided
on yet.”
SECONDARY
SULLIGENT BLUE DEVILS
n HEAD COACH:Dwight Bowling
(36-15 in four years; 225-78 overall)
n ASSISTANT COACHES:
Brandon Crawford(receivers), GarryHolmes (defensive
coordinator), RonnieHubbard (defensivebacks), Mario Ortiz
(special teams), JamesTidwell (offensive line,
defensive line)
KEY IN 2010
n COACH DWIGHTBOWLING:
“We’ve had to replace alot of good players andwe’ve moved some peo-ple around to new posi-
tions. We had a realgood spring. We’re prob-ably going to have a lit-
tle more team speedthan we’ve had.
We’re going to be competitive.”
NUMBER’S GAME
21Returning Lettermen
10Returning Starters:
5 — offense;
5 — defense
Johnson focused on championship reward
Kelly Tippett/Dispatch StaffSulligent High School football coach Dwight Bowling will try to lead 21 returning lettermen back to the playoffsin hopes of making another run at a state title.
AHSAA Class AA, Region 8; 2009 Record: 7-4
South LamarContinued from Page 28
He showed he’s willing to dowhatever it takes to help histeam when he played the secondhalf against Brilliant and led theteam to a 39-14 victory. He car-ried the ball twice and scored onruns of 34 yards and 70 yards.
“We were trailing at halftime7-6,” Harper said. “He came tome and said, ‘Coach, I’ll play,we’ve got a chance to win this.’That was our first chance to wina ballgame. He said, ‘Coach, giveme a chance, give me a chance
to play,’ so I put him on the oppo-site side so if he did get hit he’dget hit on the other side of hisgood ribs. He touched the balltwice for two touchdowns. Thosetwo touches helped us pullaway.”
Despite being injured last sea-son, Mitchell rushed for 829yards in eight games (an averageof 103.6 yards per game). Healso scored 11 touchdowns.
Mitchell’s goal this season isto rush for 1,500 yards and to
score 15 or more touchdowns.South Lamar has a history of
producing quality runningbacks, and Mitchell wants to addhis name to the list.
Kevin Hayden started the tra-dition when Millport andKennedy high schools consoli-dated to form South Lamar Highin 1986. Steve Hayden, the first2,000-yard rusher in school his-tory, Tim Harton, ReggieHayden, Kasey Jones, and JustinBrock have kept up the tradition.
“I really do (want to follow intheir footsteps) because I look atfilm of how those players playedthe game and loved the game,”Mitchell said. “They weren’tscared of anything. They dideverything they could everyweek to try to help their teamwin.”
Harper believes Mitchell canadd his name to the list of greatrunning backs in South Lamarhistory.
“It’s been a steady trek,”
Harper said. “He can become aleague of his own. I can see metalking to kids in the future andsay, ‘Hey, I want you to be asquick as Ken was with the ball onthe first cut, I want you to be aspositive as Kasey was, I want youto be as good making moves asKevin and Tim, I want you tohave the power Steve had.’”
Mitchell is counting on beingthe next great South Lamar run-ning back and leading theStallions to a memorable season.
SULLIGENT 2010 TEAM1-L’il D Coleman, 2-John Potmesil, 3-PeterSwaningan, 4-DanielRichards, 5-CodyMosley, 6-CocoMetcalfe, 7-RyanReeves, 8-VictorSwain, 9-JaggerEastman, 10-RockySides, 11-DeionJenkins, 12-TyrinBankhead, 13-NathanHollis, 14-WesleyParson, 15-KileySmith, 17-DominiqueWallace, 21-LoganBarnes, 22-NichJohnson, 23-TeddyDennis, 25-JacobSpruill, 26-MasonFranklin, 30-Benji Clay,32-Hunter Wright, 33-Taylor Nethery, 34-Storm Plunkett, 35-Steven Willingham, 36-Cameron Coleman, 38-Nathan Kerry, 40-Andrew Taylor, 42-Devin Carruth, 44-Ishmael Riggins, 48-Tray Trentham, 52-Drew Hankins, 55-Parker Northington,59-Dustan Reeves, 60-Jessee Kimbrough, 62-Dillon Barnes, 63-Austin Pinkerton, 65-Josh Trentham, 68-Matt Hankins, 69-Jordan Moore, 72-TonyJohnson, 74-GarrettGuyton, 75-MarioCasas, 77-CodyHolmes, 78-JalenMartinez, 79-ZachHankins, 82-KeenumDavis, 84-Brent Cribbs,85-Tyler Smith.
THE DISPATCH • www.cdispatch.com SUNDAY, AUGUST 15, 2010 31HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL
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