BATESVILLE – From the first hit, the South Panola Tigers knew they were in for a very physical contest with the G.W. Carver Rams Friday night.

The Tigers, No. 1 in the Associated Press Polls and The Clarion-Ledger Super 10 Poll, remain undefeated 4-0 for the season and own an 18-game win streak.

Though the Tigers managed to blowout the Rams 46-7 in this rematch from 2003, the game was not without its consequences.

Sophomore linebacker Chris Strong was sidelined during the second half after a knee injury. Strong said the initial examination showed something to do with his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) but he said it was not torn.

One of the biggest highlights of the night in this lopsided game was the 50-yard field goal by Tiger kicker Russ Belk, with Luke Kiihnl holding, who set a new school record with that kick. The kick came with 7:48 left in the game.

The Tigers had their share of problems with turnovers. A fumbled punt return turned into the only touchdown score for the Rams with 4:35 left in the first half.

Before then the Tigers were playing with a vengeance and had built up a 23-0 lead.

Germichael Sanford scored the first touchdown for the Tigers on their first possession. On third and goal from the two-yard line, Sanford bullied his way up the middle for the score.

Belk was five of six point after touchdown (PAT) kicks on the night. He has only missed two PATs this season.

The Tigers recovered a Ram fumble on the Ram’s four yard line. On first and goal Sanford took the ball in for the touchdown with 5:23 left in the first quarter. The Tigers took a 14-0 lead into second half.

If you happened to see the ESPN2 version of the Southern Cal and Virginia Tech kickoff classic game you got to see what I deal with when I work as a TV Coordinator.

The SEC has an official assigned to all TV games who is the TV Coordinator and he does just that. He coordinates the game with the television broadcast so all will run as smooth as glass. We wear a headset that is linked to either the producer or an assistant producer out in the TV trucks and we communicate with the referee via signals when it is time for a protected break for the television commercials.
On ESPN2 you could see behind the scenes what goes on to get a game out for TV while the game was going out on ESPN.

I know most all of those who make up the ESPN crew for their Saturday night games and I thought it was interesting they went along with being interviewed and allowed cameras in the truck. Most of the time the tension is a foot thick in there and they don’t like to be interrupted for anything.

I can tell you from experience they had to really watch the language because if you ever watch me on the field there will be times when I start grinning for apparently no reason. It’s just what happens when I hear engineers or directors scream words or phrases that you pray don’t get out on the air.

I’m sorry but it’s funny and I can’t help it. Not too sure about their new sideline person or "talent" in their language, who made a comment that she wasn’t too sure if she liked her new job. All I know is the one they used to have, Adrian Carston, used to scare me.

He would come up behind me on the sidelines and shout a question about some call or something and scare me to death. He’s about six foot six inches tall so that didn’t help either. They can’t hear too well because of the fitted earpieces they have to hear the producer and everyone else, including me, talking back and forth.

It always amazes me how the play-by-play people can carry on their interpretation of the game with a producer in their ear telling them what to talk about or where to take their train of thought they have going at any one time. Like anything, it takes tons of practice and just plain getting used to.

Not unlike making penalty announcements with a microphone and hearing your own voice echoing back a second or so after you said it. You just have to work at it is all.

The more experienced producers and those who have been working with the same announcers for a while are more relaxed and it gets to be a smooth flow through the game.

The producer will "steer" the announcer to different items to be covered or maybe something in the game that happens. But then some of these guys just seem to grate the heck out of the announcers they are working with.

Some have made my short list of those I hope I never see again. I did just what I was supposed to do but they just had a terrible attitude no matter what was happening. It always seemed that they didn’t like what they were doing. But those are a small minority for sure.

I guess I had better tell exactly how a TV Coordinator does his job. For one thing, he is typically cussed more than the guys in stripes on the field are.

I always try to explain to the complainers that during a break is a great time to hit the restrooms or food stands without missing anything.

The networks that carry SEC games have a contracted format that we follow during a game. ESPN, Jefferson Pilot, Fox Sports Network and CBS all carry SEC football to the world and each has a different format for the length of the breaks, how many breaks and when they may use them. The most common time is after a punt or score.

Then there are charged timeouts or injury timeouts and the television coordinator has to be paying attention so he can let the referee know immediately that TV wants to take the break at that point. We are to time each break and record when it was taken and let TV know if they went over their allotted time.

I usually do some other things such as time the dead ball intervals from when the play is over until the next ready-for-play whistle. To keep the game moving in a good tempo this interval is supposed to be between 12 to 14 seconds. I’ll write these down during the first half and give them to the referee at halftime so he can adjust if necessary.

The North Delta Green Wave took its game on the road Friday, September 10, to Carrollton to take on the Carroll Academy Rebels in the second district game of the season. The Green Wave improved its winning record to 4-0, 2-0 district, with a defeat of the Rebels 46-7.

It was all Green Wave football when they rushed for 455 yards on the ground and the Green Wave defense stepped up and held the Rebels to only 121 yards on the ground and 33 yards in the air.

"I knew that we executed some things and the main thing was that our backs blocked a lot better for each other," said Johnston. "Once we get everybody on the same page and working together, then we can make some things happen."

Johnston feels good about his team and is pleased with them at this point of the season.

"We are doing some things right and I certainly feel good about where we are," said Johnston. "You want to improve every week and I think that we have done that. We definitely had a pretty good solid effort at Carroll last Friday night."

The Green Wave wasted no time in getting the game going its way when Jacob Gurley intercepted the Rebels’ ball on their second offensive pass and returned it 15 yards with only 11:36 on the clock.

SARDIS – The North Panola Cougars’ home opener did not go as they expected. The Cougars dropped the non-conference contest to Holly Springs 14-7 Friday night.

The Cougars owned the field in this contest for the past two years, but this year was not to be.

The Cougars struck first on a six-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Perry Trammell to wide receiver Roderick Jefferson.

A.J. Johnson kicked the extra point for the 7-0 lead with 5:59 left on the first quarter clock.
That score was set up by a fumble recovery by Cougar Larry Burdette who returned it to the six yard line with 7:24 on the clock.

On the very next Holly Springs possession, the Hawks struck on a 70-yard touchdown reception with 3:55 left in the quarter.

The Cougars blocked the PAT and maintained a 7-6 lead until the Hawks struck right before halftime and with the two-point conversion took the 14-7 lead.

Each team shut each other out in the second half and allowed no scores.

The Cougars go to 0-3 on the season. The Hawks go to 1-2.

The Cougars go back on the road Friday to open the district season at M.S. Palmer in Marks. Palmer is under new head coach Eugene Lamberth of Batesville.