BATESVILLE – Tuesday morning was a big day for South Panola High School and its quarterback Derek Pegues.

Pegues received his jersey for being chosen to play in the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, January 15, 2005.

Present were his parents Candace and Darren Fondren and Ezell and Jeanette Pegues along with other family and friends. Also his teammates, classmates, administration and football players from Pope and Batesville Jr. High were on hand for the ceremony in the gymnasium.

Representatives from Sportlink and the U.S. Army were on hand to make the presentation. U.S. Army Sgt. Beverly Flores made the official presentation of the jersey to Pegues.

Flores also presented head football coach Ricky Woods and his wife, Susan, tickets to attend the game.

Pegues thanked his classmates and teammates for help making this opportunity possible for him.

Woods expounded on the thanks and publicly complimented Pegues on his work.

"Derek is very deserving of this honor," Woods said. "He works very, very hard to accomplish his goals. This did not come easy. With his God-given athletic ability, he is in the weightroom and through hard work and dedication, he has got to this point in his life.

"He has made the coaching staff, administration, teammates of South Panola High School, teachers and the community of Batesville proud," Woods added.

It was first announced Pegues was the only Mississippi player chosen for this honor, but since the first announcement two more Mississippi players have been chosen to play in the game: center Josh McNeil of Collins and noseguard Jerrell Powe of Wayne County.

These three will will be among the best 78 high school football student-athletes in the country, according to a bowl news release.

"It is a great pleasure to have this fine young man [Pegues] selected to represent his school and community as a U.S. Army All-American," said Colonel Thomas Nickerson, director of strategic outreach for the U.S. Army Accessions Command. "He has proven himself to be a superior athlete and I know he will add an exciting dimension to January’s game.

"Our slogan, ?An Amy of One,’ recognizes the value of individual talents toward achieving team goals, and his talents make him a strong addition to this All-American team," Nickerson added. "This game will highlight his skills for a national audience and the Army is pleased to provide this opportunity to him and all the U.S. Army All-Americans."

Pegues is a standout quarterback and defensive back at South Panola High School and was one of 400 players nominated nationally and one of 78 selected to participate by Tom Lemming, a well-respected evaluator of prep football talent and contributor to ESPN Sports and USA Today, according to the news release.

"One of two top prospects in the state of Mississippi, Derek is a Nebraska type QB on offense who will wind up playing cornerback in college. Derek shows great speed, balance and command. As a quarterback he is a leader who gets the job done with his arm and with his feet. He ?s a difference maker who is a dominating high school ball player," Lemming said in the news release.

Pegues also has the potential to be named a finalist for the Ball Park National High School Player-of-the-Year award honoring the nation’s best prep football player at the 2005 U.S. Army All-American Award Dinner on January 14, 2005, in San Antonio. The Ken "Sugarland Express" Hal Trophy is the equivalent of the high school Heisman Trophy and is named after record-setting running back Ken Hall of Sugarland, Texas.

"We’re excited about our sponsorship of such a worthwhile award," said Deborah Sabo, director of marking for Ball Park. "This honor rewards the core principles within high school football that we have her at Ball Park – excellence and quality."

Also given out at the U.S. Army all-American Awards Dinner will be the Myoplex Speed and Strength Athlete-of-the-year Award. This first-year award will be bestowed upon the nation’s fastest, strongest and most dedicated high school football player. The trophy presented to the winner will be set in the likeness of NFL great, Walter Payton.

"Speed and strength are the keys to success on the field," said Heather Fitzgerald, marking director for Myoplex. "And the keys to developing speed and strength are hard work in the gym and proper nutrition. We’ve helped elite NFL players improve their nutrition for more than a decade. With this award, we hope to show the nation’s top high school football players the role proper nutrition plays in reaching their goals."

The winning team of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl will receive the Herman Boone Trophy named after the legendary Virginia high school football coach who was immortalized in the Disney feature film, Remember the Titans. Also, the game?s most valuable player (MVP) will receive the Pete Dawkins MVP Trophy named after the 1958 Heisman Trophy winner.

Kickoff is set for noon CDT in the Alamodome. NBC plans a live telecast.

BATESVILLE – Panola County is getting ready for a clash of the jungle cats.

The Associated Press Poll No. 1 South Panola Tigers will host the North Panola Cougars in an inner-county matchup tonight.

South Panola is coming off a big 31-12 win over Clarksdale last week. North Panola is trying to make up for a 28-6 loss in Booneville.

This game marks South Panola’s home opener and the beginning of two home games.

North Panola will host its home opener next week against Holly Springs.

The Tigers have not played a home game since November of 2003 when they defeated Starkville for the North Half title.

Last year, the Tigers had a banner year going 15-0 and ending up with the state championship title.

They did it by shutting out the first two opponents last year. This year they gave up 12 points to Clarksdale and the North Panola Cougar players plan for the Tigers to give up some points to them tonight.

"Watch me when I go for a touchdown," said quarterback A.J. Johnson.

Under first year head coach Demetrius Hill the Cougars are looking forward to the matchup. The talk among the players has been growing for weeks, maybe even months now, for the right to brag another year.

The Cougars show no fear toward the Tiger team which has dominated some foes year after year.

Under third year head coach Ricky Woods, the Tigers have amassed a 30-1 record. With the win over Clarksdale, Woods had his 160th career win.

The ticket booth opens at 6 p.m. Reserved tickets are $8. General admission tickets are $5.

Another big matchup on tap for tonight is the contest between the No. 3 Meridian and the No. 7 Starkville. All eyes will be on these two teams throughout the season. Meridian is a favorite to win this matchup.

SOUTH PANOLA KICKOFF
BATESVILLE – Last year South Panola took the six plus hour trip to New Orleans to face George Washington Carver.

Carver was ranked in the Louisiana polls and South Panola was heading the Mississippi polls. Anticipation grew as the date for this clash of power teams grew closer.

South Panola wasted little time showing who was the dominant team and left New Orleans with a 42-22 win.

The Tigers, on a 17-game win streak, enters the contest 2-0 after a 62-6 blowout of North Panola last week.

South Panola remains atop the Associated Press Polls and after last week’s Brookhaven loss to Vicksburg, jumped to No. 1 in The Clarion-Ledger Super 10 poll.

Carver opened the season with a 22-2 loss to St. Augustine last Friday night. They are under their third new coach in just nine months. The team returned two starters from last year’s team. According to published reports, Carver made it to the playoff regionals last year but had to forfeit a game due to an ineligible player.

So far this season, the Tigers have scored 93 points and allowed 18 points.

The Tigers hope to keep the win streak going and correct some mistakes from last week’s game. The team fumbled three times and lost the ball twice to North Panola.

Tickets will go on sale at the ticket booth at 6 p.m. tonight. General admission is $5. Reserved tickets are $8.

Kickoff for this non-conference matchup is 7 p.m.

NORTH PANOLA
SARDIS – The North Panola Cougars will finally play their first home game tonight. The Cougars will host the Holly Springs Hawks in a non-conference matchup.

The Cougars have defeated the Hawks the last two years. Last year, the Cougars enjoyed a 46-12 win. In 2002, North Panola used Holly Springs to break a 16-game losing streak with a 14-6 victory.

But both teams enter this contest 0-2 for the season. The Cougars are coming of back-to-back losses to Booneville and South Panola. They have scored a total of 12 points on the season and have given up 90 points.

Holly Springs lost the lead and the game to Independence last week 33-32.

The Hawks led 26-14 at halftime and then scored another touchdown in the third quarter for a 32-14 lead.

Independence staged a comeback in the fourth quarter which sat the Hawks down. Independence scored 19 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take the win.

Throughout the game, both teams missed the two-point conversions. Holly Springs missed four conversions for eight points. Independence missed three conversions for six points.

Holly Springs lost its season opener to Tunica Rosa Fort 20-12. That game was tied at 12 going into halftiime. Tunica scored in the third quarter and both teams shut each other out in the fourth quarter.

Both teams are hoping for a win to avoid going 0-3 on the season. The teams are 3A and fairly well matched, but in different regions.

Kickoff is 7 p.m. on Cougar Field.

NORTH DELTA
"I told the team last Friday night to enjoy this win for the next 48 hours.

It was a holiday on Monday, but not for us. We practiced Monday morning and I let them have the afternoon off. I hope that we have enjoyed this win and we are going to move on to this week, which we have another district game with Carroll Academy." Carroll (2-1) lost to East Rankin last Friday night 31-21. According to Johnston, East Rankin has a real good football team.

"The guy that was the coach at Manchester when we played them at the State Championship is now the football coach down there at East Rankin," said Johnston. "He does a real good job. I have seen them on film and they have a good football team. That game between them and Carroll could have went either way. Carroll has some real talented players. Coach Banks does a good job with them down there. Carroll is a tough place to play. We are going to have to take our "A" game. That is what we talked about on Monday and hopefully we are focused on Carroll Academy." The pep rally for the team will be at 2:30 in the gym and the players will leave at 4 p.m. Tune in to 106.9 FM for the pregame show starting at 7 p.m. with Johnston and Mickey Aldridge.

Directions to Carroll Academy: Carroll Academy is located one mile north of Hwy 82, about half way between Greenwood and Winona. There are signs on Hwy

BATESVILLE – The South Panola Tigers extended their win streak to 17 after the 62-6 blowout of inner-county rival North Panola Friday night.

The North Panola Cougars were definitely the underdogs against the No. 1 ranked Associated Press Tigers.

Last year the Tigers shutout the Cougars, but the Cougars were determined not to go down without a score and succeeded.

Deon Gordon scored the Cougars’ only touchdown at the end of the third quarter. The Cougars were penalized for celebration with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The extra point kick was attempted from the 17 yard line and missed.

The Tigers dominated the game from the beginning.

North Panola gave up its first possession on a punt and the Tigers scored on their first possession.

Quarterback Derek Pegues found wide receiver Travis Sanford for a 60-yard touchdown reception at the 8:55 mark of the first quarter.

Kicker Russ Belk’s PAT was good for the 7-0 lead.

After another punt by the Cougars, The Tigers marched the ball down the field to the 18 yard line. Pegues found Travis Sanford again for the 18 yard pass reception and touchdown. With the PAT the Tigers led 14-0 with 3:30 left in the first quarter.

A bungled punt by North Panola found the Tigers on the Cougars’ 18 yard line. Two plays later, Jeramie Griffin scored on a seven yard run with 1:50 left in the first quarter. With the PAT, the Tigers led 21-0 going into the second quarter.

The Cougars punted at the end of the first quarter and the Tigers marched the ball down the field from their own 48 yard line.

With 10:17 on the clock, Germichael Sanford scored on a 12 yard run. The PAT was no good and the Tigers led 27-0.

Kerry Hoskins intercepted the ball on the Cougars’ next possession and returned it to the 38 yard line.

Five plays later, Darius Barksdale scored on an 11-yard run with 7:33 left in the first half. The PAT gave the Tigers a 34-0 lead.

Another interception by Cedric Wright three plays later was returned for an 11-yard touchdown with 67:23 left in the half. Belk’s PAT gave the Tigers a 41-0 lead.