Sports / Outdoors – 10/21/2005

Published 12:00 am Friday, October 21, 2005

The Panolian: SPORTS – October 21, 2005

  From the 10/21/05 issue of The Panolian     *REVISED*    

  

Pirates take over SP for homecoming
Tigers move to No. 10 and 11 in national polls
By Myra Bean

It has been seven pretty long weeks for the South Panola Tigers as they return home tonight for homecoming festivities.

The Tigers (7-0 overall, 3-0 district) continue to march up the USA Today national poll. This week they are ranked No. 12. If they keep going, they could be in the top 10 before the end of the season. In the South the Tigers are ranked No. 7.

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In the last two seasons, the Tigers have not broken into the top 10 until after they won the state championships.

In the National High School Football "Tony" Poll the Tigers jumped from No. 17 last week to No. 10 this week. In the regional rankings, South Panola is ranked No. 3.

The Tony Poll can be found at .

South Panola will host Southaven in the eighth game of the season as they celebrate "Pirates of South Panola…Curse of the Tigers" as the homecoming theme.

Tupelo (4-2 overall, 1-2 district) has been in some tough battles itself this season.

Non-conference foes they defeated were Clinton 20-7 to open the season, Louisville 17-12 and Amory 35-14.

Tupelo did not see a district win until last week over Southaven 7-6. Both teams scored a touchdown in the first quarter but held throughout the rest of the game. Southaven tried for the 2-point conversion which failed. Tupelo’s extra point kick was good for the lead and the win.

Against Starkville for the first district game of the season, Tupelo led 14-12 at halftime. The Yellowjackets limited the Golden Wave to just a field goal in the fourth quarter but scored two touchdowns themselves in the second half for the win.

South Panola had to overcome a second half surge which saw Columbus pull within three points last week. The Tigers refocused and pulled out a 48-25 win.

Other Region 1-5A games on tap tonight include Columbus at Grenada; Olive Branch at Horn Lake; and Starkville at Southaven.

Tickets for South Panola are $5 and will go on sale at the ticket booth at 6 p.m. The homecoming court will be presented at halftime where the queen will be announced and crowned.
    

Taking an early look at playoffs, BCS, NFL
By Myra Bean

I hate to break this to everybody but the end to the regular football season is fast approaching.

People are even beginning to talk playoffs.

South Panola looks to be well on its way to being the District champs this season, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Two more of the toughest teams in I-5A are on the horizon in Starkville and Grenada, the last two games of the season.

Southaven, who South Panola plays tonight for homecoming, has been in some tough matches this year but have not been able to close out for the win.

North Delta’s in the private school association and in the MPSA districts the top two teams get the playoff bids.

North Delta lost to both Indianola Academy and Lee Academy in Clarksdale who will play each other tonight.

Indianola and Lee are vying for the top two spots and unless a miracle occurs, North Delta will miss the playoffs for the first time since 1998. That hurts. But we will keep our eyes open for a miracle.

North Delta will end its regular season next Friday at home against Marshall. Tonight they will play at Bayou Academy.

North Panola’s playoff season is too iffy to call right now. The Cougars still have to play the two toughest teams in 3-3A, Senatobia and Water Valley, to even think about being in the playoffs. Those two teams are No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the standings in 3-3A.

If the Cougars pull off those wins, they are a shoe in for the playoffs. Holly Springs sits below the Cougars with a 1-2 district record with three district games left to play, Palmer, Independence and Byhalia.

If Holly Springs wins all three of those games, they will probably jump over North Panola. If they win two, there will probably be a toss up between the two teams to see who gets the No. 4 spot.

District 3-3A is so up in the air right now, we may need to table this discussion until after the games this week. There will still be two more games to play in the regular season, but there could be some shake up with the top three teams.

The Cougars have a bye week this week but have been working on some basic tackling fundamentals, according to head coach Demetrius Hill.

There was also a particular offensive action the Cougars will be working on in preparation for meeting Water Valley next week that they will try to perfect this week, Hill said. It has something to do with the option play.

Tonight, Hill will be in Water Valley to scout out the team and see what the Cougars will face next week.

That’s the update on the almost but not quite playoff situation. It’s fun to think ahead and see what scenarios could happen in football.

Just like in the NFL, the unexpected can happen in football for different reasons. That’s why people keep coming back for more each week.

In college, the BCS rankings were released Monday so I put the first week in today’s paper somewhere inside the C-section. None of the Mississippi teams are on there but the SEC has six teams on the list. USC as expected garnered the top spot again. We’ll see what will happen with that.

Keep those football contest entries coming. We have three more weeks in the contest to go so get yours in. I am not getting as many as I was. The most we received one week were 85 then it has dropped down into the 50s. Don’t give up even if you have won before.

The contest makes you get in there and watch some football so you can see how close you came.

Just about every week has been decided by the tiebreaker so you are doing great jobs of picking.

Well, high school basketball is on the horizon. We will do a special on Nov. 4 highlighting the high school teams from the three schools. We also will bring you the junior high teams.

See you on the sidelines.
  

Top Tumblers
     The Morgan Gymnastics team recently competed in the SEC Invitational held at Starkville. Team members include (kneeling, l to r) Bonnie Moore, Blair Wilkinson;
(back, l to r) Cassidy Jenkins, Malory Mixon and Madison Atkinson. Not pictured are Kelly Major and Emma Pittman.
     Mixon placed first in ages 12-14 Level 3. In Level 4, Moore placed first in ages 12-14; Jenkins placed second in age 11; Major placed third in 9-10B and Atkinson placed fourth in 9-10A. In Level 5, Wilkerson placed fourth in ages 12-14.
    
 
NP Band
     The North Panola band has come a long way in the last few years and the members rock, sing and swing their instruments during the performance. The band is under the direction of Warner Scott.
    
Chapman signed as free agent with Colts
Kory Chapman signed as free agent running back by the Indianapolis Colts on September 20. After preseason, he was placed back on the practice squad of the New England Patriots.

He has not seen any action yet, but is listed as No. 4 on the Colts’ depth chart. Chapman, native of Batesville, wears No. 31.

The Colts are 6-0 and now the only team undefeated in the NFL. Sunday, they play the Texans in Houston at noon.
    

ND heads to Cleveland for district matchup with Bayou
By Angie Ledbetter

The North Delta Green Wave (6-3 overall, 2-2 district), will continue their district action tonight when they travel about 75 minutes to Cleveland, Mississippi to take on the Bayou Academy Colts (3-6 overall, 1-4 district).

The Green Wave are coming off of a loss to Indianola Academy 7-35 last Friday night.

In district play, the Colts defeated Marshall Academy 18-14 on September 2, lost to Indianola Academy 0-42 on September 9, lost to Kirk Academy 6-26 on September 23, to Lee Academy 21-48 on September 30, and they lost to Carroll Academy 34-48 last Friday night. Out of district play, the Colts defeated Marvell, Arkansas 28-13 on August 19 and Tunica 34-22 on October 7.

The Colts come into this game with 18 players on their roster. They will be under the leadership of quarterback Caleb Reed. Other key players to watch will be Cory McClendon and Paul Mangialardi.

"Bayou is a real danger offensively," head Green Wave coach Rick Johnston said. "They run the speed set. They do a real good job executing the option, the counter traps and then the speed.

"We are going to have to have a real good game plan for that because they do a real good job," he continued. "Defensively, we ought to be able to move the ball on their defense. It is just going to be how well that we prepare and how well that we are able to focus on the task at hand."

The Colt’s coaching staff include head coach Rodney Martin. The assistants coaches are Winn Scott and Matt Brannan.

In 2003, when these two teams met, the Green Wave defeated the Colts 40-14 and last year, the Green Wave won the battle 54-14 also.

Tonight the Green Wave will be looking to improve their district record to 3-2.

Tune in to FM 106.9 at 7 p.m. for the pregame show with Johnston. Kickoff is at 7:30.

The Mississippi Farm Bureau High School Scoreboard show begins at 10 p.m. with Green Wave and other game highlights.
    

Directions to Bayou: Go to Cleveland. Go west at the intersection of Hwy. 61 and Hwy. 8. Approximately 4 miles from the intersection, turn right at Crosby Road. Visitor parking for football is the first entrance to the school.
 
Memphis Motorsports gears up for big NASCAR weekend; Charlie Daniels to sing national anthem, give concert
In late breaking news, Memphis Motorsports Park officials announced Thursday morning that all grandstand seating for Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series Sam’s Town 250 has been sold.

The Memphis Motorsports Club – the exclusive hospitality option on race-day – is also a sell-out for this race.

All that remains for the procrastinating race fan are $15 tickets for the two practice sessions on Friday at 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Qualifying will be broadcast live on Saturday on SPEED Channel at 11:00 a.m., and race coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. on TNT. MRN Radio live coverage begins at 1:45 p.m. locally on WGKX-FM Kix 106.

Blue Hat recording artist and music legend Charlie Daniels will sing the National Anthem during pre-race ceremonies. And a few hours later when the smoke clears from victory lane and the fireworks, he will pick up his fiddle with The Charlie Daniels Band and headline a post-race concert at Memphis Motorsports Park.

"Charlie Daniels, like NASCAR, is an American original. And like NASCAR, Charlie Daniels’ music brings people together. We are honored to be part of his seemingly endless coast-to-coast tour of this great country," said Jason Rittenberry, Memphis Motorsports Park vice president and general manager.

NASCAR roars into town next week with a full schedule of events on and off the track in advance of the Sam’s Town 250 at Memphis Motorsports Park on Saturday, Oct. 22.

FRIDAY Oct. 21 – Before taking to the track for two afternoon practice sessions, NASCAR drivers will make a special trip to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at 9 a.m. to visit with patients and their families.

RACE DAY Oct. 22 – Racers will take to the track for qualifying at 10:35 a.m.

Blue Hat recording artist and music legend Charlie Daniels will sing the National Anthem during pre-race ceremonies; Lisa Marie Presley will give the "Drivers, Start Your Engines" command; Charlie Brown will ride in the pace car, and Snoopy will wave the green flag for the first of 250 laps on one of the most intimate and exciting short tracks in NASCAR.

And when the smoke finally clears from victory lane and the fireworks, The Charlie Daniels Band will headline a post-race, 90-minute concert at the track.

Race day will also feature a concert at noon by The Winter Brothers Band, a high-energy group of veteran Southern rockers who have previously played on the same bill with The Charlie Daniels Band.

And the race will take the green flag following the "command" by race grand marshal Lisa Marie Presley at 2:30 p.m.

For Friday practice tickets or more information, call 1-866-40-SPEED (77333) or visit
 

NOVEMBER 1
Registration for the Batesville Men’s basketball league will be held Tuesday, November 1 at 7 p.m. at the Batesville Intermediate School gymnasium.
     Teams must have a representative at this meting and should bring $100 deposit to insure a place in the league. Practice times will be assigned at this time.
 

                                         
                         
 

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