More with Gore

ICC/Will Kollmeyer

Itawamba Community College officially wrapped up its golf season this (Friday) afternoon when Justin Spratlin finished fourth with final round 77 at the NJCAA National Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona.

Spratlin started the event with a solid, even par 72 (37-35) on the first day to find himself in the top 15 in the nation. But the sophomore from Vardaman, who finished in second place in the MACJC/Region 23 Golf Tourney in Forest, Miss. earlier this month, struggled a bit the next three rounds and wound up with a 317 score after his 77 today (Friday).

“Hey, this was a great experience to wrap up my two years at ICC,” said Spratlin, who also qualified for last year’s national tournament in Scottsboro, Ala. “The first round, I had kept my momentum from the state tourney and felt good about my position. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t keep it up the rest of the week.”

ICC head coach David Rather was proud of Spratlin and saw his team battle through some “big-time adversity” this spring and was satisfied of the way the Indians recently finished 4th in the entire state. Rather is expecting to sign several key recruits this summer and is hopeful to finish even higher next year at the state-wide event and keep his streak going on qualifying players to compete at the national tourney.

NECC/Matt Wyatt

Northeast Mississippi Community College softball star Shanika Randle (Houston) has signed to continue her college career with Mississippi Valley State University, a Division-I school that competes in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).

MVSU, under head fastpitch softball coach Lee Smith, went 25-25 overall, 11-2 in conference play in 2008 and captured their fifth straight SWAC title dating back to 2004.

“I’m used to winning,” said Randle. “I was able to play for winning teams at Houston (High School), at Northeast the past two years, and now I’m excited that I’m going to play for another winning softball program at Valley under Coach Smith.”

As a sophomore, Randle led the Northeast Tigers to the 2008 MACJC North Division title, the Tigers’ 7^th in the last eight years. Batting in the lead-off spot, the former Houston Lady Hilltopper led Northeast with a .405 batting average that included 70 hits in 173 at-bats, 12 doubles, five triples, and 23 RBI. Randle was 15-of-18 in stolen base attempts in ’08.

“When we signed Shanika out of Houston (High School) we knew she could hit,” said NEMCC head softball coach Jody Long, “and we knew she was a great student. What has been a pleasant surprise the last two years has been her leadership ability. She has been the take-charge person on our team and she’s going to be that type player for Coach Smith at Valley as well.”

Randle was voted 1^st Team All-Region 23, 1^st Team All-State, and 1^st Team All-North Division following her sophomore campaign. After batting .353 with six homeruns and 30 RBI as a freshman, Randle was named a preseason NJCAA All-American heading into the 2008 season.

Northeast’s star outfielder and leadoff hitter was a star in the classroom as well during her two years at NEMCC. Randle finished the 2008 spring semester with a 3.67 GPA in Math Education.

She was one of eight NEMCC sophomores on Long’s ’08 squad, all of which carried 3.0 grade point averages or better. As a freshman in ’07, Randle scored a perfect 4.0 GPA helping NEMCC softball earn the 12^th best team grade point average nationally according to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

Tony Finch and Matt Wyatt/NECC

Northeast Mississippi Community College head football coach Andy Greening has announced the dates for several football camps to be offered by the Tigers’ staff this summer.

A three-day football skills camp for rising 4^th through 9^th graders is set for June 11-13. A month later on July 8-9, a quarterback camp will be offered by NEMCC offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach David Wilkerson, followed by an offensive line clinic on July 10 with Northeast offensive line coach Ricky Smither.

“Our June camp is for fundamentals and fun,” said Greening. “I really look forward to those three days. David (Wilkerson) does an excellent job with quarterbacks and he’ll have Matt Wyatt, former quarterback at Mississippi State, helping as an instructor on July 8^th and 9^th. The next day is our offensive line camp, which is something we started last year with Ricky (Smither) and we expect a big turnout that day as well.”

NEMCC’s football skills camp on June 11-13 is available to 4^th through 9^th graders at a cost of $75 for the entire session. Campers will participate in football drills and games from 9 a.m. until 12 noon each day. For more information, contact Andy Greening at 662.720.7351.

David Wilkerson’s annual quarterback camp on July 8-9 is available to all quarterbacks entering the 7^th through the 12^th grades. Cost is $25 per day and campers should bring the football of their choice. Quarterback camp will be conducted from 1 – 3 p.m. each day. For more information contact David Wilkerson at 662.720.7587.

Offensive lineman, grades 6 through 12, are encouraged to attend Coach Ricky Smither’s offensive lineman clinic on July 10. Special guest instructors will include Jones County Junior College offensive line coach Ron Brewer, and NEMCC sophomore offensive tackle Heath Blount.

Cost is $25 per person and camp will be conducted in two sessions. The morning session is set for 9 – 11 a.m. with a break for lunch included, while the afternoon session will last from 1:30 p.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m.

For more information contact Ricky Smither at 662.720.7890.

Vogel inks with Belhaven
Will Kollmeyer/ICC

Kriton Vogel of Itawamba Community College has signed a soccer scholarship to play next year at Belhaven College.

The all-state goalkeeper from Pontotoc High School was third in the MACJC last year in goals scored per game (1.80). Vogel, who was the MVP of last season’s ICC squad that finished 14-3, allowed just 20 goals in 995 minutes in the nets this year.

“I really liked the program there at Belhaven,” said Vogel, who started 16 of the 17 games last fall for Itawamba. “Plus, it’s not a real big university. It reminds me of ICC because the instructors will know my name.”
Itawamba head coach Mike Sullivan knows the Blazers signed a good goal keeper. “I’m happy everything worked out well for Kriton. There’s no way we would have broken all the records we did last year if we didn’t have Kriton in goal for us. We will miss him.”
Sullivan added he will be announcing several signees for next year’s men’s and women’s squads at ICC in the next two weeks.

State Champs Host Upcoming Camp
Will Kollmeyer/ICC

Registration is under way for the 2008 Lady Indian basketball camp at the Itawamba Community College Fulton campus.

The camp, which is June 1-4, is designed for girls entering fourth through twelfth grades who are interested in developing and strengthening their individual basketball skills. They will be grouped according to age and skill level. Skills will be taught in practice session format based on the skills needed for each age group.

Cost of the camp is $125 for boarders or $100 for day campers.

ICC Lady Indian basketball coach Nanci Gray will serve as camp director. Gray led the Lady Indians to the 2008 MACJC state championship and a North Division title and as a result was named MACJC Coach of the Year. The staff will include ICC assistant coach Brian Alexander, area high school coaches and members of the Lady Indian basketball team.

For more information or an application, call 862-8420. Applications may also be downloaded at ICC’s Web site, www.iccms.edu.

Trio of ICC products headed to the Bluegrass State
Will Kollmeyer/ICC

Kevin Baldwin, Amore Winters and Kareem Carr of Itawamba Community College are all headed to play football next year at Kentucky Wesleyan. All three played on the defensive side of the ball for Indians head coach Jeff Terrill the last two seasons.

Baldwin (6’0, 208), of Columbus, is a linebacker who started five of the 10 games he played in last fall and totaled 35 tackles, 25 of those were solos. Winters (6’0, 185), of Kosciusko, started seven of the nine games he played at defensive back, and had an interception returned for a touchdown to go along with his 12 tackles, one of those was for a loss.

Carr (6’0, 202), who played high school football at South Panola, also played nine games at linebacker last year for the nationally-ranked Indians, and finished with seven tackles and two quarterback pressures.
“I think it’s neat that all three of us are going to be playing together on defense for two more years,” said Baldwin, who came to ICC as a defensive back. “All three of us learned a lot under Coach Terrill about working hard in class and on the field. We’re going to do the same up in Kentucky.”

The trio now makes 14 ICC players from the 2007 squad that have signed scholarships to play next year at a four-year school.

It was emotional night at the conclusion of the Vardaman athletic banquet this past Friday night at the Multi-Purpose Building in Pittsboro as former and current athletes said goodbye to long time head football coach Mark Bray.

There were tears and laughter as former players reminisced only the struggles of where Vardaman football was to the proud program Bray has made synonymous with Ram football.

“We lost our first game and it only got worse from there,” former player Porter Casey joked before talking about how Bray effected his life both as a player to his days of coaching a highly successful Shannon Red Raider football program.

In his show of appreciation for Bray’s involvement in his life both during and after high school Phillip Pratt presented his former coach with his game jersey from his playing days at Mississippi Valley State.

Coach Bray addressed the crowd occasionally chocked up by fought back tears.

“When you look behind you at all the wins you know that’s only a small part of the success… No matter what coach is here you are always going to be successful at Vardaman because of the community and the support you have for the kids and that is never going to change…”

“I appreciate the opportunity to coach a lot of your kids and everything you have done for us… If I could do it all over again I would,” Bray concluded his emotional speech as everyone came to there feet and cheered their coach for one final time.

Bray was presented with a poem by the Poet deVine that best sums up his twenty-three seasons with the Rams:

The Coach

The crowd is gone, the cheers have stopped,

and the equipment is stored away.
The team is still standing on the field

because the coach is leaving today.

He led them through the hardest times,
and was proud the times they won.
But now the season’s over and
his time as coach is done.

The team will go on without him,
will perform at the usual pace.
But though another coach comes in,
there’ll be a void in this place.

Today when the field is emptied
and the team has met the test,
The coach can feel certain that
he will be remembered as simply the best.

Don Hardin summed up the night best when he said, “he might be wearing red next year, but we know he will always be blue at heart.”

Bray has taken over the South Pontotoc football program after Jack Clark took the Nettleton head coaching job after only one year with the Cougars.

“I’m sick of the fact that I never do anything, and having just enough money to do nothing.”

That was my quote that has spawned a questionable idea encouraged by my friend Brittney along with my love for the TV show Lost that many of you will find amusing: it’s not set in stone, but I think I am going backpacking – just me verses nature for like a week…

I am sure many of you know that the extent of my outdoor life is calling sporting events, playing the occasional round of golf, and walking to my car to drive to random places – so it brings up a few questions:

Question One: Where would be a good place to go?

I would like to go somewhere with various topographies: woods, water, plant life, animal life, and etc…

It would have to be remotely close to civilization because I am chicken shit, but at the same time I want it to be far enough away to feel isolated from people bothering me…

Question Two: What in the hell do I take backpacking?

I’m not planning on living off the land because as I mentioned before I am not a sportsman or is that defeating the purpose?

I may have to borrow a lot of the crap it would take to “survive” in the wilderness… lol

I want to take a good book to read because I don’t read anymore…

Question Three: Do I go alone or do I take someone with me?

I don’t know many people that I could put up with for a week and the same goes for someone putting up with me for that same amount of time…

Anything else I need to consider whilst making the plans?

According to various sources the last conference between the Mississippi High School Activities Association and Superintendents of Education was solely based on discussing the 2009-2010 reclassification where MHSAA will move from their five classifications to six, but towards the end of the meeting the discussion quickly turned towards the rise in gas cost and the use of buses for athletic events.

The conversation went from the cost of gas to quickly evolving to cutting next seasons regular season games down by 10% in all sports excluding football and non-football schools. The move comes after most schools, if not all schools, have already finished their basketball and slow pitch softball schedules.

The only thing I can see behind this thought process would be saving schools money with the cost of driving to various games, but there is another side of the coin the MHSAA and certain Superintendents failed to look at – keep in mind no coaches or athletic directors were at the recent meeting.

How much money do the schools stand to lose by not having these games?

If School A doesn’t travel to School B they save anywhere from 120 to 150 dollars in gas money, but School B loses nearly 1500 to 2000 dollars in gate money. Break this down over for the three games they are cutting from next season you are looking at savings of 450 dollars with loses of 6000 dollars.

Call me crazy?

Ask Coach Mike Ray of Calhoun City or Coach James Ray of Bruce how much money you can lose by not playing a game. It has been estimated both football programs have lost upwards of 20,000 to 30,000 dollars from their budget since the two schools have not played during the regular season.

While smaller schools may not suffer from the new ruling successful basketball, baseball, and softball programs prove to suffer the most as Oxford basketball coach Drew Tyler said that in a matter of a day his 29 game schedule has shrunk to 19 games as school scramble to reschedule their upcoming basketball season.

“They say they wanted an even playing field, but schools like Lanier, Callaway, Provine, and Oxford are being punished for being successful… Right now I would pay somebody 120 dollars in gas money just to get our 2,000 dollars in gate money and be able to play our full amount of games next season,” Tyler.

Other coaches I have talked to have yet to feel the full burnt of the recent ruling, but all expect major changes to start Monday as most coaches have time to look over what options they will have available for the upcoming season.

The one common thread they share is extreme distaste in the recent moves by the MHSAA as most coaches have been displeased with the MHSAA handling of the situation with one coach saying, “we have deadlines (the MHSAA) expect us to meet, but then when we do they all the sudden change things without our input.”

If you are a coach, athletic director, superintendent, or MHSAA official and would like to voice your opinion on this topic, but also would like to remain anonymous to the public feel free to contact me via adamcgore@gmail.com or you can reach me via the W07BN offices at 662-983-2801 – ask for my cell phone number if I am not in.

Equal voice will be alloted to both sides of the issue.

Plenty more to come as I have more time to sort through this soon to be big mess. Look for a possible additional blog section dedicated to this topic alone.

It’s expected to be officially announced on Friday that starting in the 2009-2010 athletic season the state will shift from its current 5 classification format to 6 classifications to help even the number of schools in all classifications.

The change has been met with mix reviews throughout the state, but until the final blue print is presented to the public it’s a wait and see game on who the change will help and who the change will hurt in the long run.

Gene Phelps of the Northeast MS Daily Journal touched on the topic:  MHSAA will create sixth class

With the numbers from the last reclassification this is how I see the six classifications breaking down:

6A – Harrison Central, Tupelo, Madison Central, Horn Lake, Greenville-Weston, Ocean Springs, Gulfport, Southaven, Meridian, Olive Branch, Clinton, Biloxi, NW Rankin, Columbus, Murrah, Grenada, Olive Branch, Jim Hill, Brandon, Warren Central, DeSoto Central, South Panola, Hattiesburg, Starkville, Natchez, Provine, Pascagoula, Wingfield, Terry, Petal, George County,

6A/5A Grey Zone: Hancock

5A – Vicksburg, Forest Hill, Wayne County, Picayune, Hernando, Moss Point, West Point, Pearl, Callaway, St Martin, Canton, D’Iberville, Gentry, New Hope, Oxford, Long Beach, Gautier, Pearl River Central, West Jones, Brookhaven, Lanier, Neshoba Central, Ridgeland, Greenwood, McComb, East Central, Clarksdale, Saltillo, Stone, Mendenhal, South Jones, Vancleave

5A/4A Grey Zone: Laurel

(in bold teams moving up from 3A)

4A – Yazoo City, Itawamba AHS, Quitman, Tishomingo County, Lafayette County, Center Hill, Noxubee County, Lawrence, Poplarville, Shannon, NE Lauderdale, Florence, Pontotoc, NE Jones, West Lauderdale, St Stanislaus, Kosciusko, New Albany, Forrest County AHS, Port Gibson, Bay, Cleveland, Caledonia, Yazoo County, Amory, Lewisburg, Louisville, Greene County, North Pike, Byhalia, Raymond, Rosa Fort, South Pike, Columbia, Purvis, Senatobia, Bailey, Newton, MSMS, Magee, Collins, Choctaw Central, Houston, Richland, Tylertown, Hazelhurst, Holly Springs, Corinth, Humphreys

4A/3A Grey Zone: Alcorn Central

(in bold teams moving up from 2A)

3A – McClain, Pass Christian, Crystal Springs, Ripley, Independence, Amanda Elzy, Cleveland East Side, North Panola, Aberdeen, North Pontotoc, South Pontotoc, Morton, Jefferson County, MS Palmer, Cathage, Kossuth, Raleigh, Franklin County, Mooreville, Booneville, Charleston, SE Lauderdale, Sumrall, Winona, Amite County, Heidelberg, Perry Central, Wilkinson County, Nettleton, West Marion, Velma Jackson, Water Valley, St Patrick, Ruleville, Kemper County, McLaurin, South Delta, Forest, Riverside, West Tallahatchie, Our Lady Academy, Prentiss, St Andrews, West Bolivar, Coahoma County, Clarkdale, Marshall, Leflore County

3A/2A Grey Zone: Hatley

(in bold teams moving up from 1A)

2A – East Marion, Mantachie, Loyd Star, Bruce, Eupora, St Joseph – Madison, Belmont, Coahoma AHS, Ackerman, Bay Springs, Philadelphia, Enterprise 5, JZ George, Scott Central, Wesson, Leland, O’Bannon, Seminary, Taylorsville, North Forrest, Simmons, Lake, New Site, Bassfield, Newton, Baldwyn, Lumberton, Union, Richton, Enterprise 7, Mize, Piney Woods, HW Byers, Hinds AHS, Walnut, Williams-Sullivan, East Union, Hamilton, Calhoun City, Drew, Coldwater, West Lowndes, Okolona, Pelahatchie, Ashland, Shelby Broad Street, East Webster, Mound Bayou JFK

2A/1A Grey Zone: Potts Camp

1A – Shaw, Myrtle, Puckett, West Lincoln, Pisgah, Sebastopol, South Leake, West Oktibbeha, McAdams, Pine Grove, Falkner, Hickory Flat, Smithville, Vardaman, Cathedral, St Aloysius, French Camp, Stringer, Biggersville, Strayhorn, Wheeler, Coffeeville, Bouge Chitto, Durant, Ethel, St Joseph-Greenville, Weir, Ingomar, Nanih Waiya, West Union, Noxapater, Salem, Mount Olive, Houlka, Tremont, Edinburg, Montgomery County, Thrasher, Thomastown, Jumpertown, Ressurrection, Ray Brooks, East Oktibbeha, Dexter, Blue Mountain 

5^th Ranked Indians Ink Area Standouts
ICC/Will Kollmeyer

Itawamba Community College begins its possible run to the NJCAA World Series on Wednesday afternoon at the Region 23 Tournament in Poplarville.

Monday, the fifth ranked Indians signed a couple guys that will help their cause the next two years. Ben Ruscoe of Oxford and Saltillo’s Austin Burns, who both will be playing in the NEMCABB All-Star Game on May 31, inked national letters of intent with ICC head coach Rick Collier and his tradition-rich program.

Ruscoe hit .348, had a .513 on-base percentage, drove in 24 runs and stole 12 bases for the 24-8 Chargers. When you combine his nine doubles, one home run and one triple, the middle infielder had a .468 slugging percentage. At second base, Ruscoe had a .923 fielding percentage, while at shortstop, he sported a .960 percentage mark in the field.

Burns, went 5-1 on the hill for the Tigers and showcased a 2.23 earned run average. His strikeouts (71) to innings pitched (54) ratio also caught the eye of Collier.

“We’re really excited to get both these guys signed,” said Collier, whose current squad is 36-13 heading into Wednesday’s showdown at the regional against number two ranked LSU-Eunice (45-10). “Ben provides us with a middle infielder that has a pop in his bat, while Austin can get it done on the mound.”

You can listen to Wednesday’s matchup at the regional beginning at 12:45 on fm95 (95.7) and also on the school’s web site at www.iccms.edu and fm95radio.com.

Four Indians Honored
ICC/Will Kollmeyer

Chris Hilliard of Itawamba Community College was a unanamous choice by the coaches to the first team All-Region 23 baseball squad. Three of his Indian teammates, Jason Howell, Davis Potter and Cody Trotter all made first team all-state.

Hilliard, a left-handed pitcher from Ecru, currently sports a 10-2 mark in 16 appearances so far this spring, with six complete games in 12 starts and a 4.50 earned run average. The former North Pontotoc star has also recorded 78 strikeouts in 74 innings pitched heading into the regional.

Howell is another southpaw starter, who is 8-4 in 16 appearances with a 5.04 ERA heading into his start Wednesday against number two LSU-Eunice at the Region 23 Tournament in Poplarville. The Mooreville High School product has five complete games and two shutouts in his 12 starts.

The former Tupelo High standout Potter has started every game this year for the fifth-ranked Indians at first base and is hitting .375 with six home runs, 41 runs batted in, an on-base percentage of .540 and a slugging percentage of .740.

Trotter, of Fulton, has thrown out 13 of the 26 runners from his catcher position that have attempted to steal on him this year and is hitting .295 with three home runs and 24 runs batted in.