High School Sports
Columbus, Starkville meet with playoff spot on line  11/6/2009 9:19:00 AM
Bubba Davis and Bill Lee have playoffs on their minds. Unfortunately, only one man’s team could get to realize those dreams. That will be the storyline at 7 tonight when Davis’ Columbus High football team plays host to Lee’s Starkville Yellow Jackets. Starkville and Columbus enter the game at 3-7, but the Yellow Jackets are 3-3 in Class 6A, Region 1, District 2 and the Falcons are 2-4. All Starkville has to do is win and it’s in the playoffs.

West Point bids for unbeaten district record  11/6/2009 9:16:00 AM
WEST POINT — Tommy Keys and his defensive linemates don’t need an elaborate answer to explain their success. Like their counterparts on the offensive line, Keys and the rest of the West Point High School defensive linemen have a one-track mind and they explode from there. “You’ve got to want to first,” Keys said. “Everybody else relies on us because if we get blown back everybody else is going to get blown back.”

Aberdeen ready to make run in playoffs  11/6/2009 9:14:00 AM
ABERDEEN — Fred Ward and Channing Ward don’t want people to forget about the Aberdeen High School football team. At the beginning of the season, the Bulldogs were the talk of the area and the state. Many people thought they were going to run the table and secure an easy road to the Class 3A state title game in Jackson. An injury to starting quarterback Aaron Andrews played a role in an opening-season loss to Class 6A Columbus and a loss to Class 4A Pontotoc in week three, but the Bulldogs have regrouped and are ready to make their playoff run.

Caledonia soccer team begins rebuilding process  11/6/2009 9:09:00 AM
CALEDONIA — Everything came together last season for Morgan Mansfield and the Caledonia High School boys soccer team. The first-year coach needed time to mold a senior-laden team into form, but things took off when the pieces solidified. This season, the Confederates will have to find a way to replace six seniors who played key roles in a 14-5 school-best season and a trip to the Class 4A North Half State title game. Even though Caledonia won’t be as experienced as it was last season, Mansfield is excited about what his team can accomplish this season.

Heritage Academy coach Allsup likes mix on his team  11/6/2009 9:05:00 AM
Bruce Allsup likes his mix of players. Sometimes coaches have the luxury of dealing with senior-laden teams that can adjust to nearly every situation. Other years, coaches have to take a step back and start fresh with inexperienced squads. This season, Allsup figures to have a mix of both with his Heritage Academy girls basketball team. Seniors Madison Ford, Morgan Lott, and Carolina Borland will lead a 12-player team that features four juniors and five sophomores.

Central Academy's Eaves has game to remember  11/5/2009 10:30:00 AM
Everything came together Friday night for Trevor Eaves. It was motivation enough that Eaves and the Central Academy football team had to face archrival Kemper Academy on Senior Night in their regular-season finale. The game carried added motivation because Kemper Academy knocked Central Academy out of the playoffs last season. To make matters even bigger, the Vikings needed a victory to help force a tie atop the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools eight-man District I standings.

Victory Christian one win from repeat  11/5/2009 10:24:00 AM
A variety of weapons has helped the Victory Christian football team overcome an assortment of obstacles this season. Like many of the other teams in the state of Mississippi, the Eagles have dealt with enough rain to last five seasons. The rain has left Victory Christian’s home field — as well as many of its opponents’ fields — a soggy mess.

Lamar County isn't satisfied with perfect regular-season record  11/5/2009 10:22:00 AM
Lamar County High School football coach Ken Adams thinks it’s an accomplishment that his team made it through the regular season with an undefeated record. But Adams and the Bulldogs want more.

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College Sports
EMCC's Hines eager to play in title game  11/6/2009 9:23:00 AM
Anthony Hines can’t wait to play in his first championship game. The former Starkville High School product is thankful he will have full use of both of his hands to make the most of the opportunity. The sophomore defensive back will lead the No. 7 East Mississippi Community College football team against two-time defending state champion and No. 3 Mississippi Gulf Coast (9-1) in the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges (MACJC) state championship at 2 p.m. Saturday at EMCC’s Sullivan-Windham Field.

Ole Miss women focused on finishing this season  11/5/2009 10:23:00 AM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Renee Ladner wants to make sure her players finish what they start this season. A year ago, the University of Mississippi women’s basketball team lost eight games by nine points or less. Six of those games, including a one-point loss to perennial power Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., came against Southeastern Conference opponents.

MSU's Richard may miss season again  11/4/2009 8:19:00 AM
The Mississippi State women’s basketball team is back in a familiar place. Unfortunately, it’s a situation Marneshia Richard would have liked to have avoided. But on Oct. 22 the senior point guard, who missed all of last season recovering from a knee injury, suffered what could be another season-ending knee injury.

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Columns
Better late than never for champs  10/20/2009 11:18:00 AM
There’s only one thing better than winning a North State championship. The Hamilton and New Hope High School slow-pitch softball teams experienced that feeling Saturday at the V.A. Fields in Jackson when they won the Class 2A and Class 5A championships, respectively.

Fishing in Mississippi is as good as anywhere  8/31/2009 10:41:00 AM
Mississippi has some of the best fishing waters anywhere in the South. If you ask most weekend anglers, they stick with the water areas close to home. The fact is an angler can plan a day trip and fish most any body of water Mississippi offers.

SEC Media Days get to the filet mignon of its meetings  7/24/2009 8:55:00 AM
If day one of the Southeastern Conference Media Days was an appetizer, the filet mignon served Thursday was a treat. Four of the SEC’s heavy hitters — Georgia’s Mark Richt, Alabama’s Nick Saban, Ole Miss’ Houston Nutt, and Florida’s Urban Meyer — were on hand to give their appraisals of the upcoming 2009 season. Each coach had a hot topic item to address, and the four programs should be the most interesting ones this season in the rough and tumble SEC.

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Local Sports
Pounders lands record 'river monster'  11/5/2009 10:26:00 AM
Joey Pounders usually is prepared for anything when he is out on the water. But Pounders was lounging Monday with his feet propped up on his 20-foot pontoon boat enjoying a relaxing afternoon. A tug on the line of his seven-foot pole changed that.

Local athletes compete in New York City Marathon  11/3/2009 3:53:00 PM
The Golden Triangle was well represented Sunday at the 40th edition of the New York City Marathon. Six local athletes competed and finished the 26.2-mile event that featured a field of nearly 44,000 competitors that ran through New York’s five boroughs — Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan. Columbus’ Brad Atkins and his wife, Melissa, posted the best finishes of any local runners. Brad finished 807th with a time of 2 hours, 58.01 seconds, while Melissa had a personal-best time of 3:56.15.

Bassmaster event hits Columbus this weekend  10/13/2009 10:43:00 AM
Practice for the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Weekend Series Southeast Regional Championship in Columbus started Monday to prepare the anglers for the two-day tournament, which begins Friday.

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