Caledonia positioned to earn playoff berth

CALEDONIA — Daily improvement has been a key for Andy Crotwell ever since he took over as head coach of the Caledonia High School football team.

Leadership will be key for MSU women

A year older and wiser with all of its pieces back is an enviable position to be in.

Debbie Antonelli doesn’t need nearly 30 years experience as a college basketball television analyst and commentator to know experience and depth have pushed the 2016-17 Mississippi State women’s basketball team into the top 15 of all of the preseason rankings.

Noxubee County isn’t looking past Caledonia

MACON — The march is nearly complete.

But Noxubee County High School football coach Tyrone Shorter doesn’t want his team to look ahead to what is coming down the road. Instead of losing focus and jumping ahead a week to a showdown against Houston, the No. 2 team in the state’s Class 4A rankings, or the start of the playoffs and a quest for a third-straight state championship, Shorter wants his players’ attention solely on Caledonia.

Neshoba Central beats New Hope to earn state title date

PHILADELPHIA — Cheering from the dugout is a constant in softball.

Some teams take pride in devising catchy new phrases, while others stick with familiar sayings to motivate their hitters.

The Neshoba Central High School slow-pitch softball team doesn’t need words to provide a spark, but it showed Tuesday it is just as skilled delivering a timely phrase as it is peppering a softball.

Teamwork, chemistry fuel Caledonia volleyball team’s success

CALEDONIA — It’s safe to say Samantha Brooks was curious in the preseason when asked how the Caledonia High School volleyball team was going to fare in 2016.

On paper, Brooks knew her Lady Confederates didn’t have a lot of size, which meant they weren’t going to be a dominating blocking team. With a total of five freshmen and sophomores on the 12-player varsity roster, Brooks also wasn’t sure how Caledonia’s youth would blend with its experience, especially seniors Kaylee Jernigan, Gracie McCleskey, Jensen Reed, and Cheyenne Ruth.

Passons’ goal helps Starkville Academy realize title dreams

STARKVILLE — Sydney Passons has seen enough movies to wonder if time really slows down in real life like it does on the big screen.

Last Monday, the Starkville Academy senior forward experienced just how quickly events appear to come to a stand still. Passons doesn’t remember the things her teammates yelled to her after she collected a loose ball in overtime because she didn’t hear them.

New Hope’s James working juggling act with sports

Megan James will play softball this weekend.

The only problem is the New Hope High School junior doesn’t know if she will be in Ridgeland or Tupelo, or if she will be playing slow- or fast-pitch softball.

Okorie aims to be more consistent finisher

STARKVILLE — Chinwe Okorie looked like a machine.

It was less than an hour into the Mississippi State women’s basketball team’s first practice of the 2016-17 and the 6-foot-5 senior center was moving well and keeping up with the Bulldogs’ guards and forwards in a drill designed to have the players finish at the rim off fast breaks.

McCowan will try to slow down, be patient

STARKVILLE — “Slow down.”

Teaira McCowan isn’t sure how many times she heard those words in her first season with the Mississippi State women’s basketball time. If she had to guess, she probably would say she heard them more from MSU coach Vic Schaefer, associate head coach Johnnie Harris, who coaches the post players, and the rest of the coaching staff more than any other Bulldog.

“Last year, I was really nervous about messing up and not doing well,” McCowan said.

Hernandez ready for challenge at The W

Challenges don’t scare Roxanne Hernandez.

Ever since she can remember, Hernandez has welcomed the feeling of having to perform at the highest level when faced with a deadline.

Like most people, Hernandez acknowledges she has the worries, butterflies, and doubts she will be able to complete her work. When those thoughts bounce around in her head, all she has to do is come back to the words of her mother, Linda, and she is fine.

Columbus High basketball teams preparing for Purple Madness

Gary Griffin wants to keep a good thing going.

As a longtime assistant coach to Sammy Smith, Griffin saw the positive effects of the Columbus High School boys basketball team’s work in the community. He also saw how fans in the community came out and supported the Falcons when they played at home.

Last season, Griffin saw that support and excitement increase behind a team many believed could win the program’s first state championship.

Heritage Academy faces undefeated Indianola Academy

Sean Harrison feels the Heritage Academy football team has accomplished plenty through eight games, so he doesn’t need any measuring sticks to help him determine how much progress his players have made since the beginning of the season.

But it’s natural to want to test yourself against the best teams, which is why Harrison is eager to find out how his team reacts at 7 tonight when it takes on Indianola Academy.

Pickle hopes New Hope can re-focus for Oxford

Kris Pickle isn’t sure how his team will react tonight.

Ordinarily, any New Hope High School team would be sky high and eagerly anticipating a game against Oxford, which is one of its biggest rivals.

At 7 tonight, though, Pickle doesn’t know how the New Hope High football team will respond for its Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A, Region 1 matchup against Oxford.

Hernandez will lead The W’s volleyball program

Kevin Deslauriers knows how to relate to volleyball players.

After coaching them for 25 years at a variety of levels, including in college and in a club setting, Deslauriers understands the balance it takes to get boys and girls of all ages to grasp concepts and to buy into a team mentality.

Deslauriers also knows having a presence helps a coach connect with players. Twenty-five years of experience tells Deslauriers that Roxanne Hernandez has that intangible.

Noxubee County, Louisville will meet in Class 4A, Region 4 showdown

MACON — Tyrone Shorter doesn’t know why M.C. Miller started using a toothpick when he coached football games.

Nineteen years ago, when Miller hired Shorter to be an assistant coach with the Noxubee County High School football team, Miller already had developed a reputation for his ability to keep the toothpick in his mouth while he was getting on his players

Shorter still isn’t sure how Miller manages to get on his players and not lose the toothpick, but he admits he never considered emulating his longtime boss, who is now the head coach of the Louisville High football team.

New Hope softball eliminates Columbus in playoffs

Stay Strong was more than a phrase written in black ink on a fluorescent green-yellow piece of poster board for Lanoria Abrams, Alex Melton, and the rest of the New Hope High School slow-pitch softball team on Tuesday night.

Starkville Academy soccer plays for state championship today

STARKVILLE — Togetherness is a familiar concept for Lauren Lyle.

New Hope can’t capitalize on chances

The chances were there.

New Hope High School football coach Kris Pickle didn’t have any problem listing them Friday night following his team’s 49-34 loss to Lake Cormorant.

The problem was Pickle had far too many — a fumble on a punt in the fourth quarter, ill-timed penalties, a fumble that wiped out a promising drive, and miscommunication on several pass plays — to turn the tide for his squad in an important game in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A, Region 1 race.

Starkville Academy girls one win from state title

STARKVILLE — A good left can be so much more dangerous with an equally effective right.

No, Starkville Academy Matt Sykes girls soccer coach hasn’t been giving his players boxing lessons. Instead, the first-year mentor has been encouraging the Lady Volunteers to use their collective experience to help them make history.

Harrison, Patriots want fast start in key district game

Sean Harrison doesn’t want his Heritage Academy football team to be known as the “comeback kids.”

Instead, the school’s first-year head coach would prefer the Patriots to start games faster so he and they can rest a little easier in the fourth quarter.

Harrison hopes Heritage Academy uses what it learned last week against West Lowndes to use at 7 tonight when it takes on Winston Academy in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, Division 2 game in Louisville.