Prep softball roundup: Heritage Academy drops road contest at East Rankin Academy

McKenzie Rhett pitched a complete game for the Patriots (1-2), and Carley Martin had multiple key hits to get the team’s offense going.

Heritage Academy softball takes slugfest at Oak Hill Academy to claim first win

WEST POINT — McKenzie Rhett claimed second base as her own, running hard with long strides as she reached the bag and stood upon it.

Prep roundup: Caroline Peal scores hat trick as Heritage Academy girls soccer beats Starkville HomeSchool

The Heritage Academy girls soccer team got off to an excellent offensive start on Monday night, beating Starkville HomeSchool 7-3 at the Columbus Soccer Complex.

Cotton States Baseball League: How local players fared in New Albany summer circuit

The Hill Country Generals, whose roster features 11 area high school and college players, reached the CSBL championship game on Sunday.

After disappointing 2019 season, Pickens Academy football hopes to ‘come out a lot stronger’

CARROLLTON, Ala. — The Pickens Academy football team is ready to change its past.

Golden Triangle gang gets closer, finds new friends in New Albany summer league

NEW ALBANY — Miller Hancock was headed to Virginia.

Local students and parents preparing for transition to senior year

Last year, as a junior at the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, Clare Seo stayed up late often, working on research papers or studying for tests. Meanwhile, she remembers, the school’s seniors merely had to touch up their college applications before hanging out with friends or going to bed early.

Employees flock back to local restaurants after closures, though some say they had no choice

Before Anthony’s Good Food Market in West Point reopened in May after a closure of more than six weeks, owner Ray Hamilton had a message for his 34 employees. “If you want to come back, come back, and we’ll figure it out from there,'” he told them.

After first-ever playoff appearance, Columbus Christian Academy girls soccer is preparing for another ‘great year’

STEENS — Taylor Tipton knows how much her senior soccer season at Columbus Christian Academy means to her.

Heritage Academy girls soccer has been building to this season for years. The Pats hope they’re ready for it.

When the Heritage Academy girls soccer team finished above .500 last fall but failed to qualify for the playoffs, the Patriots were disappointed.

Chad Thrash’s patience pays off for Governor’s Cup win at The Mag

Chad Thrash had had enough of the dirty air.

Starkville native’s ‘Thrive’ group helps businesses during COVID

Business at the Book Mart & Cafe on Main Street in Starkville doesn’t look much like it did before the COVID-19 pandemic descended on the area in March.

Hoping to build on historic year, New Hope volleyball knows expectations have changed

The Trojans hadn’t reached the second round of the playoffs — let alone the state final four — before last fall. Now, they’ll have to fight to get back there knowing other teams are on high alert.

‘The smart thing’: MHSAA’s two-week delay for fall sports draws praise from coaches

Caledonia High School volleyball coach Samantha Brooks remembers the painful end to her two kids’ final high school sports seasons this spring.

MHSAA delays start of fall sports by two weeks

Football competition this fall will not be permitted to start until Sept. 4. Practice for volleyball, cross country and swimming can start Aug. 10 with the first matches set for Aug. 24.

Monday Profile: Sports vision training facility helps athletes improve hand-eye coordination, avoid concussions

In the early 2000s, when Angie Huskison’s brother underwent vision therapy at age 31, “it literally changed his life,” Huskison said.

Since then, starting her own business was always in the back of Huskison’s mind.

Large PPP loans help local-based businesses ‘weather the storm’

In the middle of storm season, 4-County Electric Power has one principal job: to keep the power on.

Consequently, Marketing and Public Relations Director Jon Turner said, “the last thing you want to do is be understaffed.”

Area businesses receive more than $123 million in PPP loans

Roughly 2,000 small businesses in Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee counties were approved for more than $123 million in federal loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, according to an analysis of SBA data released Monday.

With free football camp in Starkville, Jeffery Simmons hopes to ‘pass the crown’ to next generation

STARKVILLE — Before Jeffery Simmons was a first-round NFL draft pick, before he was a standout at Mississippi State, even before he was a phenom at Noxubee County High School, he was a water boy.

Cotton States Baseball League: Hill Country Generals pull off last-second comeback, walk off DeSoto Xplorers

NEW ALBANY — As Robby Broseus approached the plate, Hill Country Generals coach Jeffrey Cook walked up to him, ready to remind his hitter of an important detail.