| EA Sports names Woods National Coach of the Year |
 |
South Panola head football coach Ricky Woods with his wife, Susan, was speaking to the Tigers following the 2005 State Championship game.
|
| By Myra Bean
South Panola head football coach Ricky Woods has been tagged as the National Coach of the Year by EA Sports.
EA (Electronic Arts) is an independent developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for personal computers and advanced entertainment systems, according to its website.
It has produced games including Madden NFL Football, NCAA Football and NBA? LIVE Basketball, to name a few.
"I’m real pleased," said Woods. He did not know if this honor meant he was in the league with John Madden as far as coaching goes.
Woods has been coaching at South Panola since 2002. In the four years, he has coached the team to a 59-1 record with 45 straight wins. The teams have won three consecutive state championships and been in the four state championships since Woods has been at the helm.
The 45-game win streak is the third longest streak in the nation, according to EA Sports. EA Sports has South Panola ending the season No. 8 in its Students Sports FAB 50 rankings.
"The Tigers beat every opponent by double figures, including a 52-14 finals rout of Meridian," EA Sports said.
Woods’ overall 17-year coaching record is 189-40.
|
| Tigers to play in All-Star Games |
| Some South Panola players have been named to post season All-Star teams.
Picked to play on the Mississippi team to play in the Alabama/Mississippi All Star game are wide receiver Rodney Gray and offensive lineman Josh Boren.
The game will be played Saturday, June 3 at 7 p.m. in Mobile, Ala. in Ladd Peebles Stadium.
The head coach is Johnny Hill of Oxford. Assistant coaches are Durwood Anderson of Raleigh; Teddy Dyess of Lumberton; Mark Grubbs of Bruce; Jim Hughes of Clarksdale; Lance Pogue of Eupora; and Eugene Sanders of Leland.
South Panola also has some players picked for the Bernard Blackwell Classic which is the Mississippi version of the North/South game.
The game will change venues this year and be played in Clinton at Mississippi College. It has been played at Madison Central for the last eight years.
Playing from South Panola are offensive linemen South Oakes and Garret Stone and defensive end Justin Harris.
Head coach is Junior Graham of Weir.
The North/South game will be played Saturday, July 21. Plans are in the works to get it televised, according to published reports.
In other news, former South Panola and Meridian coach Ed Stanley has been the named the defensive coordinator at Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville.
|
| Big Buck Winner |
 |
James Cornelius (left) displays the Winchester rifle he won for placing first in The Panolian’s Big Buck Contest. Cornelius bagged an 11-point buck New Year’s Eve to win the competition. Congratulating the winning hunter is Kelvin Marshall of Batesville Pawn Shop, which co-sponsored the contest.
|
| Big Doe Winner |
 |
The winner of the Batesville Pawn Shop Big Doe Contest was Jimmy Mills (right). He won a Benelli 12 gauge shotgun presented by Jackie Pearson, owner. His deer was 112 pounds, field dressed.
|
| Tigers down Wildcats |
| By Myra Bean
The South Panola Tiger basketball teams will round out their regular season with a trip to Clarksdale.
The District tournament will be held in Southaven beginning Tuesday afternoon.
The No. 4 seeded Lady Tigers will play No. 1 seeded Olive Branch at 4 p.m. The winner will play the winner of the Horn Lake/Southaven game Friday at 6 p.m.
The No. 2 seeded South Panola Tigers (19-6) will play the No. 3 seeded Horn Lake at 5:30 p.m. The winner of this game will play the winner of the No. 1 seeded Olive Branch vs. No. 4 seeded Southaven game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
The Tiger boys defeated Independence 59-40 Tuesday night in Independence. Tiger Shawn Daniels was the leading scorer with 15 points, followed by teammate Joseph Hankins with 13 points.
The Tigers led throughout the game with an 18-7 first quarter lead.
The scoring through the second and third quarters was tight between the two teams. South Panola only outscored Independence 13-12 in the second quarter for a 31-19 halftime lead. Both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter to keep the same lead margin going into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers turned up the heat on the Wildcats and outscored them 15-8 in the fourth quarter.
Other Tiger scorers include Rodney Gray, seven points; Jarred Pope, six points; Justin Vaughn and Cordell Austin, five points each; Anthony Nelson, four points; Antonio Allen and Larico Treadwell, two points each.
Lady Tigers
The Lady Tigers fell to Independence 56-39. Independence came out scratching and had a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Lady Tigers were just never able to recoup that 13 point deficit even though defense picked up throughout the game.
At the half, Independence led 34-20.
The third quarter was the only quarter South Panola outscored Independence, 11-10.
No Lady Tiger scored in double figures. Shanice Williams scored nine points, followed by Skylar Barnes with eight points.
The games tonight with Clarksdale will begin at 4 p.m. Clarksdale split games with Olive Branch Tuesday night. Olive Branch won the boys game, 53-47. The Olive Branch ladies lost to Clarkdale 46-45.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| I can fly!! |
 |
She went how high? Jessica Durham (top) went up with the help of her South Panola cheerleader buddies (l to r) Brittany Taylor, Jessica Kelsay, Mary Wilson and (back) Ashley Robison.
The South Panola cheerleaders are in Orlando, Fla. for the National Cheerleading Competitions. The cheerleaders will perform tomorrow night at 8:06 p.m. Results will be available on around 8:30 p.m. as to whether they are eligible to compete in the finals Sunday.
|
| Big Buck Winner |
| |
James Cornelius (left) displays the Winchester rifle he won for placing first in The Panolian’s Big Buck Contest. Cornelius bagged an 11-point buck New Year’s Eve to win the competition. Congratulating the winning hunter is Kelvin Marshall of Batesville Pawn Shop, which co-sponsored the contest.
|
| Big Doe Winner |
| |
The winner of the Batesville Pawn Shop Big Doe Contest was Jimmy Mills (right). He won a Benelli 12 gauge shotgun presented by Jackie Pearson, owner. His deer was 112 pounds, field dressed.
|
| Como ladies end season undefeated |
| By Donna Taylor
The Como Middle School girls basketball team has something to brag about. They were undefeated the entire season.
Coach Kenneth Bell’s squad posted a 16-0 record for 2005-06. This is not out of character for Coach Bell, who has a winning record at Como Middle School that spans back years.
Bell nurtured and groomed Portia Tucker, who formerly played at North Panola, but has since transferred to Senatobia, and helped condition her into the superstar that she is today, eve though some of it was genetics.
The CMS Lady Cougars defeated the Tunica Lady Lions, 41-20, on Saturday at the Como Invitational Tournament. Audrey Taylor led all scorers with 19 points, followed by Catonya Newsom with 12 and Brittany Patton added 10.
In the second round of action, the Lady Cougars defeated Coldwater, 49-14, to garner first place honors. They also won the Batesville Middle School Round Robin a few weeks ago. They are averaging 40.8 points per game and outscoring opponents in double figures, with a 24.2 win margin per game.
"It feels good to be on an undefeated team," said seventh grader Erin Conrad of Como. "We worked hard this year to stay undefeated," she added.
Taylor and Newsom, each scored 13 points each in the landslide win against Coldwater, Patton kicked in 10; Shavetta Gordon, nine, Jenesha "Shaq" Jackson and Smantha Patterson each scored two. Other team members include Victoria Jackson and Shanketta Arnold.
Bell is very proud of his team’s accomplishments.
"They played well all season long," he said.
CMS Boys
The boys of Como Middle School were not as fortunate as their female counterparts. They posted a 7-9 season, just a few points below a .500 season.
They defeated the Coldwater Cougars, 53-37, but lost in a close contest to Tunica, 49-52, for second place in the Como Invitational Tournament, held Saturday, February 4. They are coached by Charles Cummings.
Ricky Hunt led all scorers with 15, as Cortez Hibbler contributed 13, Darius Loveberry, seven, Curtis Arnold, six, Fred Robinson Jr., four, Marque Phillips, Arthur Webb, E.J. Miller, scored two points each.
"It’s all about the kids," Coach Cummings said. They may not have the bragging rights of the girls, but "the recognition in the paper does them a world of good."
Other team members include Randy House, Kiwanis "Li’l Joe" Bobo, Terrance Turman, Brandon Bagwell, LaSteven Black and Vernon Lewis.
Cummings said his team will be back next year "More prepared and focused."
|
| Jefferson scores 38-points |
| By Myra Bean
Roderick Jefferson scored a career high 38 points while leading the North Panola Cougars to a 82-47 district win over Water Valley Tuesday night.
"He would have scored 60 if I hadn’t pulled him," said Cougar head coach Jamone Edwards. "He scored 18 points in the second quarter."
Jefferson took the bench for the duration of the game with only one and a half minutes gone in the third quarter.
Jefferson did his scoring the old-fashioned way, in the paint in the low post position.
"He hit a couple of short jump shots and hit four of nine free throws," Edwards said. "But most of his points were in the paint."
At the end of the first quarter, North Panola led 18-10. With Jefferson getting fired up in the second quarter, the Cougars had a whopping 48-18 halftime lead.
At the end of the third quarter, the Cougars had increased their lead margin, 66-37.
Other scorers for the Cougars include Bruce Wilbourn, 10 points; Marico Young, eight points; Nicholas Black, Jeremy Johnson and Ramone Robinson, six points each; Jaqualin Dean, Mario Finley, Vanarderick Reed and Justin Burnette, two points each.
Lady Cougars
The Lady Cougars ended the regular season with only one win which occurred at the beginning of the season.
They lost to Water Valley 72-38 Tuesday night.
Dynyel Presley led the Lady Cougars with 16 points.
The Lady Cougars really never got anything going against the Lady Blue Devils (25-3).
Water Valley led 17-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Cougars played really tough during the second quarter and were only down by four at halftime, 22-18.
Water Valley came out of halftime and did not seem to miss a shot as they outscored the Lady Cougars 24-5 to put the game out of reach.
The regular season is over for the Cougars as tonight is open. They will begin district play in Byhalia next week.
The Cougars will play Monday at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Cougars will play at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. |
| |
|
