About 70 volunteers showed up at Sardis Lake Engineer Point and Teckville Landing to help put out trees for fish habits Saturday morning.

"It takes all of us working together," said Park Ranger and coordinator Gary Harding.

One of the groups that volunteered to help was Boy Scout Troop 478 under scout leader Curtis Lauderdale.

Lauderdale had to work, so fathers Bart Broome and Jim Whitten oversaw the scouts.

Four of the scouts were working on life ranks which is one step away from Eagle Scout, according to Broome. Then a couple were working on their first class rank.

"In order to earn each rank, the scouts have to complete a community service," Broome said. "If anybody ever needs anything done in the community, give us a call. We need something all year long."

The temperature was around the mid 40s with a northerly breeze of about 10 to 15 mph that had volunteers donning coats, hats and gloves, along with the rubber boots in order to walk on the soggy lake bottom.

The lake level was low and that’s the perfect time to put out the 700 trees, according to Hardin. The trees were weighted down with concrete blocks so when the water rises, the trees will stay put.

The trees will be a habitat for the small fish to feed and for the bait fish, Hardin said.
 

The North Delta boys lost in a squeaker to Kirk Academy Friday night, 49-48 at home.

The defense of both teams was top notch and the score was close throughout the game.

In the fourth quarter, Kirk had taken the one point lead but North Delta had a chance to score. Nathanael Abernethy scored for the lead with less than a minute left in the game but a charging foul negated the score. Kirk held the ball for the win.

North Delta held a 14-13 first quarter lead. Then the Green Waves outscored Kirk 10-9 in the second quarter for a two point halftime lead, 24-22. The teams tied in the third quarter with 10 points each but the Green Wave still held the slight edge, 34-32.
Though it was not much heat on Kirk’s part, there was just enough to outscore North Delta 17-14 to take the lead and the game in the final minutes.

Dakota Mabry was the game’s top scorer with 21 points. Green Wave Nathanael Abernethy scored 12 points, followed by Jacob Gurley with 11. Brandon White and Evan West chipped in two points each.

The Green Wave teams hosted Lee Academy Thursday night. There was not much any of the Green Wave teams could do with the Colts teams. The Jr. High boys lost 43-22 but were only down by five points at the half.

"Lee employed a 2-2-1 zone press and we had a hard time getting the ball down the court," said Green Wave boys head coach Brad Wilson. "We played hard and defended well. They are just a lot bigger than we are."

North Delta has been starting most seventh graders the last five games. These seventh graders have to play teams who are starting ninth graders.

"They hustled," Wilson said. "I am really proud of them."

Scoring for the Jr. High Green Waves were Bateman Greenlee, 11 points; Taylor Heron, 7 points; Hunter West, Geri Lamm, Brian Nickle and Corbin Baker, 2 points each; and Michael Magee, 1 point.

The Lady Green Waves fell 62-15.

The varsity Green Wave boys hustled from a seven point deficit in the second half to a two point deficit at the half, 21-19.

Lee had increased the lead to 29-21 at the end of the fourth quarter. The Green Waves lost by 12.

The Green Waves will finish up the regular season this week with three games.

Tuesday, they will be at Carroll and Thursday, in a schedule switch, they will be at Bayou for district games both nights.

Friday, they will end the regular season at home to host Tunica Institute.
 

The contest will be open for all boys and girls ages 10 to 14. The contest will be held February 11 at the Batesville Intermediate School gymnasium.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. and all participants are asked to be there at that time.

The Knights Free Throw Championship is an annual event with winners progressing through local, district and state competitions.

All contestants will be recognized for their participation in the local event.

The winners of each girls and boys brackets will advance to the district level. Last year there were over 179,000 youth participating in over 3,000 local championships.

All participants should provide proof of their age and have parental consent.
 

One of the many great things that come from being a football official in the SEC is the friends you make along the way.

The officials as a whole are very close and we are really like a big family but I’m talking about the others associating with the teams and the game. One group I always like to go out of my way to be friendly with is the visiting team’s ball boys.

In any SEC game there will be two ball boys from the visitors working on the home sideline.

These guys do a great job keeping their wits about them especially when their team is putting a hurt on the home side. For the most part they are like men without a country. But they do have four or five game balls in their possession.

Typically, it’s an informal barter session where during a conversation between periods I’ll offer to trade some trinkets and beads for a ball. By trinkets and beads I mean such items as a CBS or ESPN hat or tee shirt for one of the balls. Most of the time it works too. Some of the best acquisitions include an UT game ball from the 2001 Tennessee at Florida game and a Notre Dame ball from their visit to Tennessee last season.

I even have one of Alabama’s game balls from this year’s Iron Bowl. This is one I have to know to keep separate since Alabama is the only school who doesn’t have their name or logo on their footballs. Tennessee’s gold T and Ole Miss’ blue script logo or Auburn’s UA logo add to the collection but there is no Al the Elephant or even Alabama lettered on them.

But I do know it was the last ball passed by Brodie Croyle in their last regular season game. I asked the equipment manager at Alabama one time why they don’t have anything on them to which he said it cuts down on thefts. Not all the time though.

With all the required physical conditioning we have to do the associated doctors and trainers with each team are good friends too.

During my recovery from my ankle injury I was shopping for a better specialist and Dr. Jerry Punch of ESPN told me of one in Birmingham with the world-known practice of Dr. Andrews. I knew if I called for an appointment and told them I was referred by Dr. Punch they’d probably hang up on me.

So, I called my doctor friend at Auburn and asked him about it and he gave me their direct phone number. With that and mentioning my association with the SEC got me an appointment the following week. Great friends everywhere I go in the SEC. See you next week for one more time.