More with Gore

Jackson – It wasn’t pretty, but the Houlka Lady Wildcats overcame 36 turnovers to pick up a 58-53 victory over the high scoring McAdams Lady Bulldogs this past Wednesday night to advance to the 1A State semifinals in front of an estimated crowd of 550 fans.

The opening seconds of the contest set the table for an exciting game as Tiffany Haynes put McAdams up 3-0 only to see  Ronniekka Steward with a three of her own at the 7:12 mark of the first quarter.

Neither team would manage a basket until Haynes connected on a three from well beyond three point range to give the Lady Bulldogs a 6-3 lead before a Courtney Woodard lay-up snapped a 3:06 minute drought for the Lady Wildcats.

McAdams (22-13) took a 12-8 lead with 1:22 left in the first quarter, but Houlka (22-11) closed the quarter on a six to two run capped off by a Candiace McIntosh lay-up to make it a 14-12 game at the end of the first quarter.

Houlka tied the game twice in the early goings of the second quarter on a pair of McIntosh lay-ups, but the Lady Bulldogs took advantage of a trio of Lady Wildcat turnovers to take a 20-16 lead at the 6:07 mark.

The Lady Bulldogs built as much as a five-point advantage on a pair Haynes of free throws with 3:23 left until halftime.

The Lady Wildcats fought their way back to a 32-30 game on a pair of free throws from Tiffany Hobson with 18.3 seconds until the break, but McAdams got an offensive put back a few seconds before the horn to take a 34-30 lead into halftime.

Houlka committed 21 turnovers in the first half that resulted in 16 points for McAdams.

The Lady Wildcats committed six turnovers in the first two minutes of the second half that allowed McAdams to jump out to a 36-30 advantage, but Houlka charged back into the contest to pull to 38-37 after back to back buckets from Woodard and a McIntosh free throw at the 3:22 mark of the third quarter.

The Lady Bulldogs closed on an eight to four run to take a 46-41 lead into the fourth quarter, but Houlka opened the final frame with a refuse to lose attitude.

Steward pulled the Lady Wildcats within four with an one of two trip from the free throw line before McIntosh knocked down back to back baskets to make it a 48-46 game in favor of McAdams with 5:35 left in the game.

A Lady Bulldog turnover resulted in a Courtney Knox three pointer to give the Lady Wildcats their first lead of the game 49-48 at the 5:04 mark, but McAdams answered back with a lay-up from LaChelle Kilbert to regain the lead 50-49 with 4:42 to go in the final frame.

Eleven seconds later Steward answered with a jumper to give Houlka a 51-50 lead.

The Lady Wildcats took care of business controlling the boards when McAdams hit the panic button throwing up wild shots from beyond the arch with McIntosh grabbing eight of her game high twelve rebounds in the fourth quarter.

Knox put Houlka up 54-50 with her second three of the night at the 2:59 mark while defense turned up the pressure to hold the Lady Bulldogs scoreless for a three minute and nine second stretch in the final frame.

McIntosh hit a lay-up and Houlka connected on a shaky two of six from the charity stripe in the final minute of the contest to take a 58-53 victory when McAdams hit a lay-up as the Lady Wildcats celebrated the hard fought win in the final seconds of the contest.

Houlka finished the game with 36 turnovers while McAdams turned the ball over 28 times.

Candiace McIntosh led the way with a game high 25 points and game high 12 rebounds. Ronniekka Steward also turned in a double-double performance with 10 points and 10 rebounds while Courtney Knox scored 10 points including going four for four from the free throw line.

Courtney Woodard scored 7 and Tiffany Hobson added 6 while LaChelle Kilbert paced the Lady Bulldogs with 17 points on the night.

The Lady Wildcats take on McDonald’s All-American April Sykes and 28-2 East Oktibbeha Titans Tuesday night in the 1A State semifinals.  A win will put the Lady Wildcats in the 1:00 p.m. State Championship game on Saturday.

Box Score

Houlka          12 18 11 17        58
McAdams     14 20 11  7        53

Enhanced Stats

Houlka

Field Goals Made 20
Field Goals Attempted 34
Field Goal Percentage 59%
Three Pointers Made 3
Three Pointers Attempted 4
Three Pointer Percentage 75%
Total Shots Made 23
Total Shots Attempted 38
Total Shooting Percentage 61%
Free Throws Made 10
Free Throws Attempted 28
Free Throw Percentage 36%
Total Rebounds 38
Offensive 10
Defensive 28

Fast Break Points 0
Points Off Turnovers 13
Points in the Paint 34
Second Chance Points 9
Bench Points 6

McAdams

Field Goals Made 19
Field Goals Attempted 51
Field Goal Percentage 37%
Three Pointers Made 5
Three Pointers Attempted 27
Three Pointer Percentage 19%
Total Shots Made 24
Total Shots Attempted 78
Total Shooting Percentage 31%
Free Throws Made 10
Free Throws Attempted 17
Free Throw Percentage 59%
Total Rebounds 21
Offensive 8
Defensive 13

Fast Break Points 0
Points Off Turnovers 20
Points in the Paint 26
Second Chance Points 6
Bench Points 10

Calhoun City – Exodus 20:15 reads: “Thou shall not steal.”

Calhoun City catcher Nathan Hood reminded the East Webster Wolverines of the 8^th Commandment passed down to Moses from the Lord as he gunned down two East Webster Wolverines base runners dead to rights in the Wildcats’ 1-0 win this past Monday night.

Blake Goodson got a quick three up three down top of the first inning by striking out one and recording a putout to end the inning, but Calhoun City came up empty after loading the bases in the bottom of the first with one out.

Once again Goodson rolled through the Wolverine lineup striking out Clint Hollis on three straight pitches to close the door on the top of the second.

Mitchell Edwards reached on a one out throwing error by the shortstop and advanced over to third after a stolen base and passed ball. Tyler Gray reached on a six pitch two-out walk and stole second after Edwards got a healthy lead off third to force the pitcher to hold the ball and give Gray the free pass to second.

Calhoun City came up empty with runners in scoring position when Kramer Gary went down swinging after an eleven pitch at bat allowing East Webster to escape undamaged for the second inning in a row.

East Webster looked to get things going in the top of the fourth, but Nathan Hood thought otherwise as he caught Jordan Mixon attempting to steal second to end the inning erasing the only hit Goodson allowed in the contest.

Dante Jennings drew a one-out walk followed by a Jordan Moore a single ripped down the line pass a diving third baseman to put the Cats back in business in the bottom of the fifth.

Another East Webster passed ball allowed Jennings and Moore to advance on the bases and the Wolverine rolled the dice as they intentionally walked Blake Goodson to load the bases giving them the option of having the force out at home or in hopes to roll up a double play to get out of the inning.

Instead, East Webster pitcher Chris Gordon struck out back to back Wildcat batters to keep the game scoreless.

Edwards sparked the Cats in the bottom of the sixth when he squeaked a single by a diving shortstop. Jarvis Rounds was inserted into the lineup to bunt Edwards over to second, but a throwing error by the pitcher along with great hustle down the line resulted in Rounds reaching safely after a head first dive into the base.

Gary took one for the team as he was hit by a pitch to load the bases with one-out when Jennings delivered a deep fly ball to center field allowing Edwards to tag up from third and plate the games lone run.

Calhoun City held their breath on the first pitch of the top of the seventh when Bart Stewart drove a deep fly ball to left, but the ball was not flying on the night as the Cats camped under the ball to get the put out.

Goodson got the second out of the game on a five to three putout, but hit the next batter.

East Webster rolled the dice a second time on the night, but Hood once again closed the door on the Wolverines with a snap throw to second to hose down the runner more than three feet away from the base.

Goodson picked up the win for the Wildcats giving up one hit, walking two, hitting two batters, and striking out seven batters on 93 pitches. Gordon was hung with the loss for East Webster despite striking out 10 batters on the night.

Calhoun City left twelve runners on the bases with nine of those twelve in scoring position.

East Webster   0 0 0 0 0 0 0      0 1 3
Calhoun City    0 0 0 0 0 1 X      1 4 0

Hits – (CC) Jordan Moore, Blake Goodson, Nathan Hood, Mitchell Edwards, (EW) Jordan Mixon
Runs – (CC) Edwards
WP – Blake Goodson (CC) LP – Chris Gordon (EW)

While teams like Okolona, Calhoun City, Shaw, Ingomar, Shelby Broad Street, Benoit Brooks, and Ashland prepare for baseball season the entire community of Hickory Flat is gearing up for a trip to Jackson on Thursday to take on East Webster in the opening round of the 1A State Tournament.

This past week during the 1A North State Tournament the Hickory Flat Rebels reminded us what exactly high school basketball was meant to be – fun!

After their 66-61 victory over Shaw in the 1A North consolation game you would have thought the Rebels had just won the state championship as the fans rushed rails and players stood on the chairs to giving their fans high fives as they celebrated the victory.

To steal a quote from one of my favorite TV shows Lost (which I have not been able to watch this season thanks to the playoffs) “Live together, Die alone” was the rally cry for Coach Matt Thompson this week. 

The Rebels were written off against Okolona, but Coach Thompson used comments about the anticipated match-up between Okolona and the winner between Calhoun City and Myrtle as bulletin board material to motivate his group of guys to overcome the tall task of defeating 6’7 Jeremy Newsome and the Chieftains by playing team basketball – win together, lose alone.

Result:  Hickory Flat 60  Okolona 53

Hickory Flat fell victim to eventually tournament champion Myrtle 71-46 after the emotional victory over Okolona, but still had a shot at making the state tournament with a win over Shaw.

As the Rebels walked into the locker room their was a picture of the “Big House” on the door once again inspiring the underdogs to pull off the unthinkable defeating Shaw 66-61 to advance to Jackson for the first time in a long time once again behind team play instead of the play of one – win together, lose alone.

While it will be easy to find yourself pulling for Hickory Flat come Thursday we all know the ultimate slap of reality is waiting for the Rebels around the corner, but just a note for Coach Thompson – I will bring the tape measure if you want to show the guys the rims in Jackson are the same height as the rims in Hickory Flat.

Go get’em Rebels!

The Mississippi/Alabama All-Star Game has been moved up to March 23 and will still be played at Pelham, Alabama.

If I had the luxury or the headache of putting a team of the top 12 seniors in the state together here would be my teams:

Girls

April Sykes – East Oktibbeha

Di’Amber Johnson – Pontotoc

Veronica Walker – Gentry

LaShonda Barrett – Murrah

Ashley Daniels – Coldwater

Sasha Goodlett – Clinton

Chantel Hilliard – St. Martin

Marika Ivy – SE Lauderdale

Lucy Ruffin – SE Lauderdale

Nacorean Byrd – Brookhaven

Kayla Robinson – Raymond

Ka’Neshia Smith – Pisgah

Boys 

Jonathan Phelps – Vicksburg

Scottie Haralson – Provine
 
Rashanti Harris – New Hope

Romero Osby – NE Lauderdale

Latavious Williams – Starkville

Dale Huges - New Hope

Justin Gillard – Oxford

Jacoby Pittman – Madison Central

Dante Jennings – Calhoun City

Travis Raco – Moss Point

Sylvester Collins – Madison Central

Brandon Fortenberry- Picayune
 

Sports fan get your nominations in ASAP for our all-area basketball team.

Here are the list of schools we cover:

Aberdeen, Amory, Baldwyn, Booneville, Bruce, Calhoun Academy, Calhoun City, Coffeeville, Hatley, Houlka, Houston, Lafayette County, Nettleton, New Site, North Pontotoc, Oxford, Pontotoc, Shannon, Smithville, South Pontotoc, Thrasher, Tishomingo County, Vardaman, Water Valley, and Wheeler

There could be teams I missed – I’m feeling a bit under the weather so please bring it to my attention – VistaIIIMedia Ch 98 – not in Marshall, Union, or Benton counties sadly

Greenville-Weston and Aberdeen fans can make their plans to head towards Jackson as both their girls and boys have advanced to the State Tournament next week with wins on Friday night.  In bold are my predictions for state champions. 

5A Girls

Brandon 52    Gulfport 30
Hancock 42    Hattiesburg 40

Greenville-Weston 61   South Panola 57
Murrah 49   Tupelo 29

5A Boys

Brandon 70   Biloxi 66
Wingfield 69   Petal 54

Greenville-Weston 64   Horn Lake 59
Provine 64   Starkville 49

4A Girls

Forest Hill 43   Northeast Jones 37
Brookhaven 54   Stone 40

Gentry 39  Pontotoc 36
Yazoo County 64   Noxubee County 50

4A Boys

Picayune 61   Port Gibson 49
St Stanislaus 42   Moss Point 41

New Hope 51   Callaway 43
Vicksburg 56   Ridgeland 42

3A Girls

Franklin County 68   Crystal Springs 66
SE Lauderdale 75   Raymond 65

Aberdeen 65   North Panola 52
Alcorn Central 60   Senatobia 49

3A Boys

Columbia 67   Morton 61
Pass Christian 58   Jefferson County 48

Aberdeen 70   Ripley 69 (OT)
Humphreys County 54   Rosa Fort 32

2A Girls

Kemper County 57   Newton County 50
Philadelphia 69   Lake 51

HW Byers 54   Water Valley 41
Belmont 51   Leland 36

2A Boys

Newton 79   Hinds AHS 70
Scott Central 75   Taylorsville 65

Simmons 68   West Bolivar 40
Tchula Marshall 52   Ruleville 50

1A Girls

Pisgah 72   Thomastown 58
East Oktibbeha 61   McAdams 51

Coldwater 51   Biggersville 43
Houlka 58   Pine Grove 47

1A Boys (don’t know why I left this one off)

East Webster 57   West Lowndes 47
Durant 71   Puckett 67

Myrtle 71   Hickory Flat 46
Coldwater 84   Shaw 74

Nothing has been set in stone, but South Panola could take the national spotlight on Saturday, September 18 or 20 when they play host to 6A Apopka, Florida if ESPN elects to pick up the game.

South Panola has won 75 consecutive games and 89 of their last 90 games played collecting 5 state championships along the way. 

Apopka is the largest school in Florida and have become a mainstay amongst the top rankings in all of high school football in the state.

The game is currently scheduled for Friday, September 19 but if ESPN elects to pick the game up look for the game to be pushed back to a Saturday kickoff with time to be announced at a later date.

Last season the Blue Darters finished the season with a record of 12-2 overall and 7-1 in Metero Conference play.

Apopka is the home of New England Patriot Brandon Meriweather, Oakland Raider Warren Sap, Philadelphia Phillie Michael Taylor, and Kansas City Royal Zack Greinke.  Former former pro athletes also call Apopka home in Rod Brewer (St Louis Cardinals 1990-1993) and Glenn “Fireball” Roberts (NASCAR driver).

The Blue Darters won the schools first state championship in 2001 and lost the 2007 semi-finals.

How they made the tournament:

Calhoun City 103  Wheeler 60   
Myrtle 82 Broad Street 68 

Okolona 75  Pine Grove 34
Hickory Flat 63  Ray Brooks 62

Coldwater 71  Greenville St Joseph 55
Thrasher 68  Houlka 51

Shaw 72  Ashland 69
Ingomar 85  Biggersville 66

Game by game break down:

Calhoun City vs Myrtle – 4:00 p.m.

The game being played at Hickory Flat was a break in itself for the Wildcats as many coaches have left the Myrtle Gym with a bitter taste in their mouths along with a loss.  The two teams are mirror images of each other as both can play a high pace game while shifting gears to a control style.  Dante Jennings (City) and Grant Goolsby (Myrtle) will be the center of attention, but the match up between James Pierce (City) and Jimel Judon (Myrtle) could steal the show before the night is done.  Brandon Lawrence (City) or Justin Jordan (Myrtle) will end up being the “X-Factor” in which team will advance to Friday play.

Winner: too close to call

Okolona vs Hickory Flat – 5:30 p.m.

Hickory Flat is coming up with a game plan to do something very few teams have done in the past few weeks – stopping Jeremy Newsome.  The problem with focusing on Newsome has been the play of Deon Shotwell and Devin Gardner as they combined for seven straight three pointers against Ingomar in the region tournament championship last Friday.  The bonus for Hickory Flat they are at home and will have a great crowd behind them in the early game, but that may not be enough to get the upset over the red hot Chieftains.  Hickory Flat has four players that have the ability to put up double digit points on any given night, but the game is going to rest on the shoulders of Tyler Reed.

Winner: Okolona

Coldwater vs Thrasher – 7:00 p.m.

Unfortunately for Thrasher, size matters.  If any team has the size to wear down Newsome it would be the Cougars with their trio of trees they can throw at you during a game.  Kourtney Adams and Jerry Johnson (Coldwater) have been play really well here of late as it seems the Cougars have started hitting their stride at the right time of the season.  While Myrtle, Calhoun City, and Okolona beat up on each other in the top half of the bracket look for Coldwater to roll to the championship game.  The only hope for the guard heavy Rebels will be an better than outstanding night shooting and a possible stall style offense.

Winner: Coldwater (this one could get ugly)

Shaw vs Ingomar – 8:30 p.m.

When it comes to post season play you never count Norris Ashley out of any game as Ingomar takes their game to a whole new level when it comes to the road to Jackson - this season will be no different.  One thing I have learned in covering high school sports over the years is a delta team equals a dangerous team.  Kelvin Miller (Shaw) will have to have a big night, but also get some major help from Khiry Glenn (Shaw) to get what I expect to be an hard fought game in the night cap.

Winner:  Ingomar (possible overtime)

Non-region games this season: 

Coldwater played Calhoun City during the regular season in the Coach C Classic at Lafayette County and Coldwater got a narrow victory in the early game after both teams played a game the night before.

Myrtle beat Ingomar twice this season while Ingomar picked up one win.

Thursday Night  (in bold are the teams I picking to go to Jackson)

5A Girls

Tupelo vs Murrah @ Tupelo – 6:00
South Panola vs Greenville Weston @ Tupelo – 7:30

5A Boys

Horn Lake vs Greenville Weston @ Starkville – 6:00
Starkville vs Provine @ Starkville – 7:30

4A Girls

Pontotoc vs Callaway @ Gentry – 4:00
Gentry vs Canton @ Gentry – 5:30
Shannon vs Yazoo County @ Gentry – 7:00
Noxubee County vs Itawamba AHS – 8:30

4A Boys

Vicksburg vs Pontotoc @ Oxford – 4:00
Ridgeland vs Hernando @ Oxford – 5:30
Callaway vs Shannon @ Oxford – 7:00
New Hope vs Oxford @ Oxford – 8:30

3A Girls

Alcorn Central vs Rosa Fort @ Alcorn Central – 4:00
South Pontotoc vs Senatobia @ Alcorn Central – 5:30
North Panola vs Houston @ Alcorn Central – 7:00
Charleston vs Aberdeen @ Alcorn Central – 8:30

3A Boys

Ripley vs Independence @ Booneville – 4:00
Aberdeen vs Cleveland East Side @ Booneville – 5:30
Rosa Fort vs Booneville @ Booneville – 7:00
Humphreys County vs Nettleton @ Booneville – 8:30

2A Girls

H.W. Byers vs Tchula Marshall @ H.W. Byers – 4:00
Water Valley vs South Delta @ H.W. Byers – 5:30
Hollandale-Simmons vs Belmont @ H.W. Byers – 7:00
Leland vs Eupora @ H.W. Byers – 8:30

2A Boys (this is really up for grabs)

H.W. Byers vs Ruleville @ Baldwyn – 4:00
Bruce vs Tchula Marshall @ Baldwyn – 5:30
West Bolivar vs New Site @ Baldwyn – 7:00
Hollandale Simmons vs Baldwyn @ Baldwyn – 8:30

1A Girls

Pine Grove vs Shelby Broad Street @ Coldwater – 4:00
Houlka vs Drew @ Coldwater – 5:30
Coldwater vs Falkner @ Coldwater – 7:00
Shaw vs Biggersville @ Coldwater – 8:30

1A Boys

Calhoun City vs Myrtle @ Hickory Flat – 4:00
Okolona vs Hickory Flat @ Hickory Flat – 5:30
Coldwater vs Thrasher @ Hickory Flat – 7:00
Shaw vs Ingomar @ Hickory Flat – 8:30