Basketball Program

Armorel Lady Tigers

Armorel eyes regional tournament

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

The Armorel Lady Tigers are heading into year four with head coach Wes Sanders leading the charge. And after another offseason with a focus on the weight room, the team has goals of a return to the regional tournament.

“We hit the weight room pretty hard,” Sanders said. “We actually changed our protocol and went to the weight room in the mornings, instead of during the day, so we could get more weight room sessions in. We had some good summer camps and brought in Johnny Harris from Elite Training to come work with our girls here. So we did some different things this summer that I feel have helped us prepare for the school year.”

In the previous season, Armorel lifted their win total from four to nine, and they expect to continue that up ward trend throughout this season. Sanders noted that the help of newly hired assistant coach Jamie Clayton will be a big help in accomplishing that goal. She’ll also help steer the younger generation in the right direction as the head coach of the seventh grade team. Along with Clayton as a newcomer, the Lady Tigers lineup will feature three sophomores with two being sisters of upperclassmen.

“Sophomore Emily Loyd is going to help us a lot by being able to handle the ball. She’ll also be a big asset on defense. She is the sister of [junior] Anna Loyd

Roster

No. 2

Anna Loyd Jr.

No. 3 Kyleigh Flatness Sr.

No. 10 Emily Loyd Soph.

No. 20 Savannah Slater Sr.

No. 21 Bethany Razor Soph, No. 33 Raymie Stephens Sr.

No. 34 Holly Nixon Sr. No. 40 Ryleigh Culp Jr. No. 52 Saniyah Slater Soph.

who has played for me for a while now. Sophomore Saniyah Slater is a sister to [senior] Savannah who’s been with us for a while. Saniyah had a very good year last season in Jr. High and has already began to make an impact. Saniyah and fellow sophomore Bethany Razor come off the bench and provide some good relief for our post players,” Sanders said.

“We’ve only got nine on Sr. High again so we’re low on numbers. Everybody is going to have to play and do their part. [The sophomores] are going to come in and help us no matter what. We’ve put an emphasis on that this year. We don’t have a lot so it’s going to take everybody. We don’t have just one group to rely on, and they’ve responded well to that message and put in the work.”

The upperclassmen group starts with senior Holly Nixon, the team’s most experienced player. She will carry the brunt of the team’s leadership responsibilities, while sharing time in the post with fellow senior Raymie Stephens.

“[Nixon] has played up for me on Sr. High since she was in ninth grade so she’s got the most experience. She’s a very good leader and sets a good example for the underclassmen. [Stephens] came to me last year and had never played basketball before. But she has worked hard since day one and has worked her way into meaningful playing time. She has done well and I’m excited to see how much more she will grow,” Sanders said.

[Senior] Kyleigh Flatness is small but she is one of the toughest ball handlers I know. She takes a pounding in the games, but she never complains. She just continues to work hard. And Savannah Slater is without a doubt our defensive specialist. If we need somebody slowed down, Savannah is that person for the job. And she’s also doing things with the basket ball that I’ve never seen her do before. She’s literally leaving it all out there and that’s the way it should be for seniors.”

Juniors Ryliegh Culp and Anna Loyd fill out the roster and will be replied upon heavily throughout the season according to Sanders.

“[Culp] started a little last year but has moved into a starting role now. She is going to make an impact and has a chance to fill a void that was left by my seniors last year. [Loyd] is probably going to be our best scorer. She’s very crafty and is a good ball handler. She can kind of do it all and we’re going to need her to do a lot. I think she can take the role of our leading scorer because she’s definitely capable of it. But the

same way that it’s going to take everyone on defense, it’s going to take everyone on offense as well,” Sander said.

“I’m excited to see how far this group will go. They play well together and are very cohesive. They’re all close and work hard together. I’m excited to see what we’re going to do and I feel like we’re going to be competitive in our conference.”

Increasing the win total and getting to the regional tournament are the main goals for the LadyTigers and they will be using the fuel from missing last year’s tournament as motivation to achieve.

Missing the regional tournament was a reality check for us last year. With Marked Tree being in our conference, that pushes us to five teams and nothing is guaranteed anymore. So getting out of the district tournament and getting more wins than last year are our two main goals. If we can work together all year and stay healthy, I think those are two attainable goals. I feel that we are capable of doing that.”

‘22-’23 schedule

Dec. 5 @ EPC

Dec. 6 vs. Rivercrest

Dec. 9 @ Hillcrest

Dec. 13 vs. Piggott

Dec. 16 vs. Gosnell

Jan. 3 vs. Maynard

Jan. 6 @ Mammoth Spring

Jan. 9 vs. Marked Tree

Jan. 10 @ Senath-Hornersville

Jan. 13 vs. Hillcrest

Jan. 27 @ Marked Tree

Feb. 3 @ Maynard

Feb. 10 @ Bay TBA Postseason

Armorel Tigers

Tigers battle against inexperience

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

A new era of boys basketball at Armorel will be on display this year with a host of newcomers to the senior high team. Experience will not be on the Tigers side as only one of this year’s players has seen the court in varsity action.

Junior Caleb Brown is the lone returning Tiger and will be leaned on to carry the leadership load for a youthful group. To combat the team’s lack of experi ence, Head Coach Shannon Miller has prioritized both physical and mental toughness.

“One huge point of emphasis for us was strength training. We are young and we knew coming in that building strength would be a big part of our game. When you’re younger you’re usually a little small and weaker, so strength training will be carried throughout the season for us,” Miller said.

“Maturity is also a big point for us. And that’s not just physical, it’s a mental aspect to it as well. We need to mature in all aspects of our game and we don’t have much time to do it. We have to do it in a short amount of time.”

The Tigers’ lineup will feature a total of six soph omores making the jump from junior high to senior high hoops. Miller noted that the duo of Will Jackson and Jackson Welch earned all-conference honors as freshmen, and they’ll need to replicate that produc tion at the next level. Additional sophomores include, Bradlee Vardinakis, Coy Nixon and Logan Crocker.

“We have a few guys that didn’t play much last year. Jake Byrd is a junior and he didn’t play any last year. We have Barrett Crocker and we need him to step up and help out on the inside with post offense and rebounding. Preston Vandyke is a senior and this is his first year ever playing basketball. He’s learning quickly, he’s very scrappy, aggressive and has a nose for the ball,” Miller said.

Miller stated that the importance of having small goals as they progress through the season will be criti cal. And having a dedicated focus on the paint, on both ends of the floor, is key number one.

“With them being so young, we have to have small goals in mind as we go into the season. We have some things in mind that we’d like to see individually. One of the biggest is seeing a lot of our players get more paint touches. We want to be able to get the ball in

side. And on the other end, the goal is keeping the ball out of the lane,” Miller said.

“To keep that focus we run a 3 on 3, keep it out of the paint drill. In that, the goal is to not let the offense get two feet in the paint. When they do, they get a point. We run a game like that everyday to emphasize the importance of defensively, keeping it out and of fensively, attacking the paint. It can seem like a small goal, but can end up being huge in the grand scheme of things.”

Additionally, Miller is prioritizing the mental hur dles of handling adversity. “It’s all about not letting one negative play affect the rest of the game. That’s something we’re having to work through.”

“Our goal is to finish in the top four of our confer ence. I feel like if we can do that, then we’ve really improved and it’s definitely a goal that can be realized as we improve throughout the year. The top four in conference get better placement in the district, and the top four in district go to regionals. Ultimately, getting to the regional is what we want to do. I feel like if we do those things, we can definitely say it’s been a suc cessful season,” Miller said.

No. 1 Bradlee Vardinakis Soph. No. 4 Will Jackson Soph. No. 10 Caleb Brown Jr. No. 12 Jackson Welch Soph. No. 14 Zach Moody Jr. No. 15 Barrett Crocker Jr. No. 22 Preston Vandyke Sr. No. 23 Coy Nixon Soph. No. 25 Jake Byrd Jr. No. 33 Logan Crocker Soph.

Dec.

Dec. 9

Jan. 3

Jan. 5

Jan. 6

Jan. 9

Jan. 13

Jan.

Jan.

Jan. 23

Jan. 27

Jan. 30

Blytheville Lady Chicks

Lady Chicks expect to turn the corner

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

Head coach Greg Wilson is looking to break the seal in year three and turn the Lady Chicks’ basketball program back in the right direction.

Wilson enters the season still hunting for win num ber one leading Blytheville, and he believes a summer focused on defense and strength will help get the job done.

“We went to as many team camps as we could. We did some travel ball also. We did a little bit of ev erything. We got about 30 games in where we didn’t have to worry about the wins and losses, we could just focus on getting better,” Wilson said.

“This summer, going four days a week, we put a lot of emphasis on the weight room so we can be stronger and be able to guard. We went through a lot of defen sive teaching to make sure we are getting to the right spots on the floor. There’s been a focus on guarding all summer because that has been a problem within our program. These girls have played so much zone, that they didn’t really have the concepts of guarding. I’m trying to break the seventh and eighth graders from that now also.”

Wilson and the Lady Chicks will lean on those reps throughout the summer to power them through the season. Wilson noted that in several of those contests, the game was played at a rapid pace, which can be of benefit as the school season progresses. He stated that playing in those more uptempo games provided a boost in the team’s athleticism.

“That’s going to be our advantage, our athletic abili ty,” Wilson said.

“Being able to get up and down the floor and pull up in transition. Our kids [thought] everything was a layup, getting to the rim and laying it up. But you also have to be able to stop and pop, and be comfortable with it.

He also noted the focus on shooting throughout the off-season and creating more comfort for players to take what the defense gives.

“When we’re open for three, we’ve had girls that have been hesitant to shoot because they’ve always

Roster

No. 00 Zyrihanna McNear Fr. No. 1 Ruthie Goss Fr. No. 2 Nevaeh Johnson Jr.

No. 3 Essence McClellan Sr. No. 4 Deyonce Stewart Soph. No. 5 Zyniesha Horner Fr.

No. 10 Mikayla Guess Soph.

No. 23 Anyia Davis Sr.

No. 24 Mckenzie Thomas Soph. No. 25 Kaliegh Middleton Soph. No. 31 Kaybrianna Brown Soph.

been taught not to shoot. But good teams are going to zone us up. So we have to be ready for that,” Wilson said.

“Overall, the off-season was a lot more intense and organized. We’ve got the girls that really want to buy in and they were here everyday.”

The Chicks will roll out a host of returners and new comers this season, ranging from freshmen to seniors.

[Sophomore] Mikayla Guess, she’s my scorer and she’s also a good defender now. I had to break her from not defending over the summer, but now she can do it all. [Sophomore] Mckenzie Thomas is a post player who’s long and athletic. She can run the floor and handle the ball, and she’s also a good defender and our leader on the court. [Senior] Essence McClellan is a really good, high energy defender. Her ball handling has improved tremendously. She plays her role well, she doesn’t try to do too much. She knows her job is to defend and shoot,” Wilson said.

“[Junior] Nevah Johnson is a good shooter, we still have to work on her defending and also being more aggressive with the ball. But she’s a good role player in knowing not to overdo things. If she’s open, she knows to shoot and she gets to the right stops on de fense. [Sophomore] Deyonce Stewart had shown a lot of development. She‘s a lot more under control with the ball in her hands, and she’s also an awesome onball defender. She’s that pest you need defensively and her IQ has improved as well. [Freshmen] Ruthie Goss

and Zyrihanna McNear are good ball handlers that can get to the rack for us, but their defense is really strong also. [Sophomore] Kaybrianna Brown is another post player, but she can step outside, too. She can run that baseline, come off those screens, inside pivot and let it fly. That’s her strong suit.”

“We’re going to be dangerous. I’m not looking at the record too much,” Wilson added.

“We didn’t win any last year, so if we can win two, [for example], that’ll be better than last year. We want to take care of the ball, compete and let people see that we are playing hard.”

Blytheville Chickasaws

Chicks seek return to Hot Springs

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

Last season, the Chickasaws had several questions entering the season. Could they meet the standard set in recent years? How would they adjust to playing inside-out rather than speeding up the tempo? And would their lack of experience hold them back?

They answered those questions with a trip to the state final, the school’s first appearance since 2006. Entering this season, there’s only one question. Will the Chicks return the trophy to the maroon and white?

For head coach McKenzie Pierce, getting the an swer the team wants to that question comes by block ing out the noise and staying dedicated to the work.

“The thing we’ve had to be careful of is everybody telling us we’re the favorites to win it. That sounds good and it may be true, but at the end of the day, if you don’t put in the work that won’t come to fruition. That’s been our main focus. Continue to come in and work hard everyday,” Pierce said. “With losing only two seniors, we’re not changing a whole lot. We were only three points shy of the title so it’s about trying to improve on the things that made us come up short..like not making shots and turning the ball over.”

To resolve those issues, the Chicks are paying extra attention to the small details in practice. Stats are kept for each practice with the goals of shooting at least 40 percent from three and ensuring the team’s as sist-to-turnover ratio is in a good position.

Returning guards Makai Handy, Jeremiah Wells and Shamar Marshall are expected to pay big dividends in those departments, along with newcomer, senior Kesean Washington.

“He’s a really good true point guard who’s been through the fire. Having him come over has kind of solved a lot of those issues,” Pierce said. “Adding him

Roster

No. 0 Kiree Carter Jr. No. 1 KeSean Washington Sr. No. 2 Makai Handy Sr. No. 3 Queterrious Coleman Sr. No. 4 Tyree Jackson Sr. No. 5 Travis Anderson Jr. No. 10 Jeremiah Wells Jr. No. 11 Shamar Marshall Sr. No. 13 Brandon Wimberly Jr.

No. 20 Billy Davis Sr No. 24 Jashawn Brown Jr. No. 25 Rashaud Marshall Sr. No. 30 Tyrin Walker Jr

x Micah Dawkins Soph. x Asharion Ford Soph. x Chris Jones Soph. x Tylis Thurman Soph.

to the group with the returners, it’s like we haven’t missed a beat. Our chemistry, passing and willingness to make the extra pass, has been unreal this summer and into the fall. Hopefully, we continue to build on those things and be elite on defense like we always are.”

The returning group also includes players such as Travis Anderson, Kiree Carter and Billy Davis, along with college prospect Tyree Jackson and Ole Miss commit Rashaud Marshall. Pierce noted that the group as a whole provides a good problem in terms of managing minutes.

“I’ve got a really good idea of my first five and I’ve got a pretty good idea of the next one or two off the bench. After that it’s a bunch of guys that are really competing to get in there. In a perfect world, we’d have the same starting five and the same subs off the bench from start to finish, but we’re also in a unique situation. If you aren’t doing what you need to do, I’ve got another guy that can come in and do it. I think iron sharpens iron and it’s a great problem to have.”

As they tip off the season, the Chicks will have no shortage of opportunities to gain that sharpness. Coach Pierce noted that in times of adversity last season, practices became more intense, focus-level was raised and the team responded on the court. To duplicate those responses, Blytheville’s non-conference sched ule will be stacked with high-level competition high lighted by the Tournament of Champions in Illinois.

“We need to put as many of those opportunities as we can in front of us. It was a big help with the AAA letting us play 30 games this year. Last year, that was

one of the things at the end [that stood out] when I was doing my reflecting. I probably could have scheduled a little bit tougher. Maybe we would’ve lost some more games early, but it may have made us better late. So now we’ve tried to stack it where at the beginning it’s super tough. Then you go into a conference and that’s not going to be easy either. Then around Christ mas break, there’s another big time event with bigger schools,” Pierce said.

“We wanted to make sure that not only did we play good teams, but we played them throughout the course of the season. We want to be battle tested early and often.”

‘‘22-23 Boys schedule

Dec. 1 vs. Har-Ber Jan. 9 vs. Wynne Dec. 2 vs. North Little Rock Jan. 14

Forrest City Dec. 5 vs. Forrest City Jan. 17 vs. Brookland Dec. 8

Brookland Jan. 20 vs. Westside Dec. 12

Jan. 2 Pocahontas Feb. 3 vs. Trumann Jan. 5

B.I.C Lady Mustangs

Matheny returns home to lead BIC

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

Win totals have increased in each of the past two seasons for the Lady Mustangs, and they’ll look to make an even bigger leap this year under head coach Trevor Matheny. Matheny is a product of the Monette community, graduating from BIC in 2008 and sticking to his roots ever since.

“The summer after graduating I started coaching little league baseball here. At about 25, I woke up and decided to go back to school to coach full time. I’ve stuck it out here starting with elementary ball and all the parts just kind of fell together for me to take over,” Matheny said.

“The support from the community has been over whelming. I just hope I can keep them on my side throughout the year. I really feel like I’ve got some thing to prove here. I’ve been here long enough and I just feel that it’s time. There’s some high expectations out there and I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

One issue that the team has faced in recent years has been lack of depth, but Mathney noted that num bers will be on the Lady Mustangs side entering this. They’ll add a host of sophomores from last year’s Jr. High squad, along with one freshman. He expects the biggest benefit from that depth to be increased pres sure on the defensive end, along with an accelerated pace.

We’ve had to play a slower game the past couple of years due to our numbers. But we’ve got a deeper bench this year and I’m hoping to play a little faster and more intense on the defensive end. Creating some easy buckets with that defense will be a key to our

success, but so will rebounding. If we don’t block out, we’re going to be in trouble throughout the year,” Matheny said.

“[Offensively] I still want us to play smart and take the right looks at the basket. I’m just looking to inten sify the pressure in the halfcourt and maybe play some hard-nosed man to man. I want to be able to get up into people and guard without having to worry about foul trouble in the first quarter.”

This season, hurdle number one will be developing chemistry on the floor after missing out on team camps throughout the summer. “I was hired Aug.1 so we

Roster

No. 0 Ashtyn Hawkins Sr.

No. 2 Kyrstyn Hawkins Sr.

No. 3 Hallee Wells Jr. No. 5 Arabella Oliver Jr.

No. 10 Kaydence Lambert Sr. No. 11 Katie Fires Soph.

No. 12 Riley Parker Soph. No. 23 Hadlie Goodson Fr. No. 25 Kendra Towell Soph. No. 42 Emily Stull Sr.

came straight into school and hit the grind. It’s been interesting to see how they react to me, knowing all of them since they were little kids,” Mathey laughed. “It’s been a trip for sure but we work our tails off and I think we’re ready for a good year.”

Returning senior point guard Kyrstyn Hawkins will be leaned on to keep the squad organized. Matheny stated that her major roles will be serving as the constant floor general and providing the needed team leadership. She’ll share those leadership responsibili ties with fellow seniors Emily Stull, Kaydence Lam bert and sister Ashtyn Hawkins.

For consistent scoring, the team will lean on juniors Arabella Oliver and Hallee Wells. “Both contributed huge last year and put the ball in the hole. They did a great job keeping us in ball games, and they’ll play a big role this year also being two returning start ers,”Matheny said.

“But we’re also going to be young, starting a soph omore [Riley Parker][ and a freshman [Hadlie Good son]. We feel that Riley is going to give us everything we need plus some. She’ll rebound and she’s really good at doing the dirty work you need from a post player inside. Hadlie will be our two-guard. As Jr. High player she had to take on being the main point guard, but now, she’ll be able to run off the ball some. She’s going to be the main focus for us on offense I feel.”

BIC is excited for the season ahead with a roster and coaching staff of Monette natives. A competitive conference waits ahead, but also includes an interest ing matchup for the entire community.

“Bill Taylor was my coach growing up and he’s at Rector now. He drove that passion in me back in Jr. High. He coached me from seventh grade all the way up to my junior year. I knew when I got to high school that I wanted to be a teacher, coach and stay in sports. That’s all I’ve ever known. It’s going to be fun getting to coach against him this year in the same confer ence,” Matheny said.

Dec. 5 @ Marmaduke

Dec. 9 vs. EPC Dec. 13 @ Earle Dec. 15 @ Rector Dec. 19 vs. Riverview Jan. 2 vs. Sloan-Hendrix Jan. 5 @ Riverside Jan. 9 @ Cross County Jan. 12 @ Bay Jan. 16 vs. Riverside Jan. 19 vs. Marmaduke Jan. 24 @ EPC Jan. 27 vs. Earle Jan. 30 vs. Rector Feb. 3 vs. Cross County Feb. 10 vs. Izard County

B.I.C Mustangs

Layne leads new era of Mustangs hoops

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

New leadership doesn’t stop with the girls’ program at BIC as Taylor Layne takes his first head coaching position with the boys’ team.

Despite being a graduate of Bay High School, Layne is no stranger to Buffalo Island. He expects having that knowledge of the Mustangs history can help him combat the hurdles of inexperience.

“This is my first gig. I’m riding on a lot of my high school career and my family tree of basketball which is huge. My uncle is the superintendent here, he won two state titles here as a coach. My dad played for my uncle and has his jersey up on the wall after winning two state championships. I won two state champion ships at Bay, my sister won one and Bill Taylor is my uncle also and he has two state championships also. With those people in my life that’s what I’m riding on without the experience,” Layne said.

“My dad’s done it. My uncles have done, so I felt like I might as well take on the family tradition as far as being a coach and being in education. It’s some thing my family knows a lot about so I took that into consideration. Obviously if I ever needed help, they could, but especially on the education side of things keeping me on the right track.”

Hired in April, Layne hit the ground running with the Mustangs. Their schedule consisted of numerous early morning practices and several team camps.

Those camps were used to develop experience on the court as well, with many returning players stepping into roles bigger than they are accustomed to.

But Layne also had a dedicated focus on the team’s development off the court as well.

“After the North Fork camp, we spent the weekend trout fishing for some team bonding. We stayed the night in a cabin and the next day we went out on the lake. It was the first time most had been out there, and it may be the only time if they don’t get to go out there

Roster

Parker Anderson Sr. Jamian Cerda Soph. Lathan Crane Sr.

Gio Echavarria Soph

Jack Edwards Sr.

Ethan Hawkins Jr. Hank Hurst Jr. Max McCord Jr.

John Qualis Soph.

Dawson Stewart Sr. Riley Whitehead Jr. Jax Whitley Jr.

again,” Layne said.

“But we had a good summer. It was rough at the start with a couple leaving us, but we have good potential and talent. The guys now have never played the roles we’ll need them to. They’re stepping into much larger roles now.”

Layne noted that about 85% of the team’s scoring from a year ago has been removed, but he believes this group can overcome that with a balanced scoring attack. “We don’t have a guy that’s probably going to get 20 to 25 a night. But we do have four to five that can get 10 to 15 a night. It’ll be more of a team attack and whoever has the hot hand is who we’ll be feed ing,” Layne said.

Two returning starters that the team will lean on are the senior backcourt duo of Dawson Stewart and Jack Edwards. Stewart will contribute as the team’s primary ball handler.

Layne noted the importance of Stewart controlling pace for the Mustangs and also being a leader on the floor. Edwards will be the lead two-guard, but will have to reintegrate himself with the team after suffer ing a broken hand just before the season-opener.

“[Edwards] has been a streaky shooter in the past, and we’ve been working to get him more consistent. His job will be to [defend] and then knock those shots down when they come to him.” Layne added.

“Junior Jax Whitley will be our three. He came off the bench last year but didn’t get very many minutes. But he’s also a guy that could be our best player at times. He’s more of an all-around guard that can attack the basket and also shoot it well. He’s a tough kid, we just want him to be able to finish around the rim a little better.”

Layne also noted that senior Parker Anderson has earned the label as the team’s hardest worker, fighting to get the Mustangs extra possessions. He added that senior Lathan Crane developed well prior to season’s start and has began to show a better understanding of his responsibility on the floor.

Despite losing size from last year with the seven foot Caden Whitehead, BIC will still have solid rim protection with his 6’8 brother, Riley.

“He’s really talented but he’s raw. His brother was the seven footer last year so he’s got big shoes to fill,” Layne said.

With an ultimate goal of returning to the state tour nament, Layne also invisions a return of the culture he witnessed from BIC while growing up.

“I know how the culture has been here in the past back when Coach Matheny played, when my dad played and when Mr. Taylor coached. And I don’t feel like that’s been here since then. On a day to day basis, Coach Matheny and I are trying to get that culture back. I think that’s the biggest thing for us outside of coaching basketball. We want to get the students, par ents and community involved more in the program.”

‘22-’23 schedule

Dec. 2 vs. Riverside Dec. 6 @ Marmaduke Dec. 13 @ Earle Dec. 16 @ Rector Dec. 19 vs. Riverview Jan. 6 vs. Ridgefield Christian Jan. 10 @ Cross County Jan. 13 @ Bay Jan. 17 @ Riverside Jan. 20 vs. Marmaduke Jan. 24 @ EPC Jan. 27 vs. Earle Jan. 31 vs. Rector Feb. 3 vs. Cross County Feb. 7 vs. Crowley’s Ridge Academy Feb. 10 Izard County

TBA Postseason

EPC Lady Warriors

Numbers a concern for Lady Warriors

By Cosmo Cossey Poinsett County Demorat Tribune

Coach Spencer Harston is in his second year at EPC and low numbers are a worry for his Lady Warriors. One player is still out after ACL surgery and one is sidelined with a high ankle sprain. Early this season, EPC had to finish a game with only five players.

“We are waiting for clearance from the doctor on the ACL and it’s day by day on the ankle sprain. We had to finish a game with five players recently,” Harston said.

With a big group on the junior high team, Harston was asked about moving up players. “Those girls have not won many games the last two years. I’m going to keep them down and let them win as many games as they can,” Harston added.

The Lady Warriors roster consists of seniors Denissia Gaines and Lauren Nooner, juniors Latavia Baker, Kelis Garrett and Xzandria Young and sophomores

Harston expects his girls to come in and work hard. “If they work hard everyday, which they have been doing, it will translate to playing hard in the games, which they have been doing as well,” Harston added.

Denissia Gaines Sr.

Lauren Nooner Sr.

Kyla Hartson, KeKe Johnson and Jalyn Constant. “We had a good off-season, the girls worked hard. We hit the weights and worked on agility. So far I’ve been happy with what I’ve seen in games this sea son. We lost to a good Manila team, beat Wynne and then lost to another good team in Corning. The girls play hard and get after it and I can’t ask for anything more,” Harston said. Harston thinks Riverside is the team to beat in the conference as they return every body from the team that went to the state quarterfi nals last year. Harston also said there are a lot of new coaches in the conference this year trying to put their stamp on their teams. “I’m not sure where everybody falls after Riverside. I think us along with BIC, Bay and Marmaduke will battle for the two through four spots,” Harston said. The goal for the team is to reach the regional tournament. “We want to finish in the top four coming out of the district tournament and make the regional tournament. I think the girls will have the opportunity to do that,” Harston said.

Latavia Baker Jr.

Kelis Garrett Jr.

Xzandria Young Jr.

Kyla Hartson Soph.

Keke Johnson Soph. Jalyn Constant Soph.

EPC Warriors

Thaxton excited to lead Warriors

By Cosmo Cossey Poinsett County Demorat Tribune

New EPC boys’ head coach JeMarcus Thaxton is excited and ready to lead the Warriors in the upcom ing basketball season. The only problem is nine of his 11 players are still playing football as the team has reached the semifinals of the state playoffs.

“It’s been really weird to only have two kids in practice. It puts us behind as some teams have already played six or seven games on the season,” Thaxton said.

Thaxton, who is in his 11th year of coaching, comes to EPC from Bartlett High School in Tennessee.

provide leadership for their teammates. Juniors Omar McCuiston, Kavan Jennings and Dennis Gaines, Jr. logged several minutes for the Warriors last season.

Thaxton said he has watched several games of his team from last season. “Reel looks like he has some experience at point guard after being moved up from junior high. It looks like we’ll have some height and we’ll have a few who can shoot the ball,” Thaxton said. “It’s hard to judge what a kid can do watching video. I can’t wait to get them all in the gym and see what I have.”

Landon Nichols Jr.

Emery Constant Sr.

Thaxton played high school ball at Ridgeway and attended Morehouse College. “I started helping coach my junior year of college. I’ve coached at First As sembly Christian School, Collier ville and Bart lett. I’ve also coached AAU since 2014,” Thaxton said.

Jamarkius Garrett Sr. Dennis Gaines Jr.

Kavan Jennings Jr. Omar McCuiston Jr. Tyrus Reel Soph. Hayden Holiman Sr. Ladainian Hillis Soph. Cameron O’donovan Soph. John Holliman Sr.

The Warriors return several who saw start ing time last year and some who saw lots of minutes. Three seniors, Ja markius Garrett, Emery Constant and Hayden Holiman, will

Dec. 2 @ Rector

Dec. 6 vs. Earle

Dec. 13 vs. Bay

Dec. 16 vs. Riverside

Jan. 10 vs. Marmaduke

Jan. 12 @ Hoxie

Jan. 13 @ Cross County

Jan. 17 vs. Rector

Jan. 20 @ Earle

Jan. 24 vs. BIC

Jan. 27 @ Bay

Jan. 31 @ Riverside

Feb. 2 @ Sloan-Hendrix

Feb. 3 @ Marmaduke

The conference should be competitive, according to Thaxton. “We’ve got some great coaches in this conference. Again, all I’ve seen is from videos I’ve watched of the teams. Rector will be good but I think every game will be a tough game,” Thaxton said. “I’m trying to teach the kids to not look at a team’s record but always respect them and come out and compete every game. I’m an everyday guy, compete today and we’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Every game will matter,” Thaxton said.

Feb. 7 @ Ridgefield Christian

Gosnell Lady Pirates

Westphal hold high expecation for GHS

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

There’s a new captain of the ship for Gosnell Lady Pirates basketball.

This season, Chaney Westphal will take the reins in his first head coaching position since graduating from the University of Arkansas.

“Coaching has been a dream of mine since the sev enth grade. I specifically remember the moment where I made my mind up about it. I went to school for it and ended up taking a couple of gap years, and then Covid hit. That’s when I went back to school to finish what I started. I spent last year at Woodland Jr. High in Fayetteville,” Westphal said.

“I just helped them out, it was nothing serious, but it was my first opportunity to coach girls. We went undefeated and won conference. That will get you ex cited to keep doing it. So that just fueled the fire even more.”

He later added, “Early on, I was just sending my application anywhere I could. Gosnell was one of the first schools to call me back and give me an opportu nity for an interview. So I took the six hour drive and let [the administration] know this wasn’t a joy ride for me. I’m here to stay and it just went really well meeting the former superintendent Mr. Mace and the current superintendent Mr. Whitehead.”

Stepping into Gosnell Pirate Nation, Westphal inherits a team lacking experience, but that does not affect his expectations for the group.

“We have a really young team. [Only] five of our 13 have played a high school game before. There’s a lot of question marks and it’s a big learning curve for a lot of these girls. But my expectations don’t change because of that. My expectation is to get to state every year,” Westphal said.

“If that’s not your goal, I think you’re wasting time. Why have a goal less than that?”

To combat the team’s overall lack of experience, he plans to speed up the tempo and alleviate some of the stress that comes with half court sets. He also noted that energy and effort will be two key points for the team to create advantages on the court.

The squad will also lean on its lone senior and cap tain Mya Britman to push the team through times of adversity.

“I’ve let her know since I’ve got here that my ex pectation for her is to be all-state. I think she’s good enough to be that and I think we need her to be that,” Westphal said. “She’s done a great job as a leader and is one of our two captains. She leads by example a lot. She’s not the most vocal, but she directs in showing what to do. Our other captain is Amanda Scissell, and she’s much more of the vocal leader on this team. The two of them do a great job as far as leadership goes.”

The Lady Pirates roster also features a total of four freshmen, including Natalee Murphy and Jha’mea Hunter.

[Murphy] is probably going to start for us quite a bit. Hunter is another freshman that will probably see a lot of minutes this year. I fully expect [Hunter] to be all-conference in a few years. I’ve told her that and I think by her junior year, she’ll be there,” Westphal said.

“We have [junior] Nakira Real who is probably our best defender. My expectation for her is to be that lockdown defender for us. We’ve got some really good players in this conference and she’s going to have to lock them up for us. Kira Smith has also transferred in and I’ve got big expectations for her too, She’s a junior so she has some experience. She’s grown up around basketball, so the IQ is there and that matters,” Westphal said.

“Everybody else has to star in their role. And that may mean to hit the floor 15 times a game. If that’s the case, star in it. That’s something we talk about a lot.”

While collecting W’s is always the goal, the steps to getting there will also hold a high priority in the Gosnell locker room.

“There’s going to be days where you aren’t hitting your shots. There’s going to be days where nothing is going in and you’re not getting the calls. That’s going to happen,” Westphal said. “You can’t control those things. What you can control is your mindset, your attitude, energy and effort. So we have to excel in those areas. That’s a big gauge for me with success. When I look out here and see a head drop or bad body language, I view that as a loss. But when it’s positive, the scoreboard becomes less relevant.”

“It’s a cliche, but we’re building women. Not all of them are going to play in college basketball or in the league. So we’re focused on how to be better people, and after that, I think the basketball thing will come.”

Gosnell Pirates

Clark leads the ship for the Pirates

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

The Gosnell Pirates will enter this with their third head coach in as many seasons as Corbin Clark captains the ship.

Clark comes to the Pirates after spending two seasons steering the Kennett basketball program, and previously holding the head coaching position for five seasons at Senath-Hornersville. Now, he inherits a Pi rate squad ripe with talent, but short on time together on the court.

“Part of the thing that you deal with being at a football school is getting your guys later. You share them and they come late, but sometimes that can be a good thing. There’s a lot of schools that have guys and single-sport athletes year-round, and in my experience, you see those teams peak around Christmas time or January,” Clark said.

“My goal for us is to be playing our best basketball in February when it counts the most. As long as we’re continuing to make strides game after game, on the stat sheet, the scoreboard, and what we see on film, I think we’ll be fine.”

The group was able to get a few reps in over the summer with team camps at Williams Baptist College, Manila and Valley View before the majority of the group left officially for football. Getting them back just before the season’s opening will come with a stiff transition period, but it’s one that Clark believes the group can overcome.

“Since they’ve come over, we’ve just been trying to get up and down the floor a whole lot and get our legs under us. I think once we get into basketball shape, we have a chance to be real competitive. It’s just about getting back in the flow of being on the floor, getting up and down, and having a ball in our hands all the time.”

While most of the team was on the field, Clark kept the remaining guys focused on adding muscle to prepare for the physical conference season ahead. He noted that players were in the weight room three to four days a week in order to get ahead of the physical curve.

“I think that can be a game-changer for us. Because in the conference we play, it’s key to get your body ready for the pounding it’s going to take from a dura bility perspective,” Clark said.

The Pirates roster will see a nice blend of sopho mores, juniors and seniors, with the bulk of their depth coming in the backcourt.

“We’re not overly big in the post. Taderian Partee will be a key guy for us around the basket. He’ll be our guy that will play the five a lot, defend the post and clean the glass a whole lot. Charles Kennemore is another guy who will see a lot of time around the basket. Outside of those two though, we don’t have a lot of true post size,” Clark noted.

“We do have some depth in the backcourt though that can fill a couple of different niches. We have both the Williams brothers who can both sit down and guard. They can be defensive anchors for us and they also can finish in the open floor. We also have guys like Rylan Jenkins and Parker Wells who got their feet wet last year as sophomores, and I think they can make a big jump because of their ability to stretch the floor and shoot the basketball. Jenkins is a guy that’s a big athlete for us in [several] sports, he just didn’t play last year. But he’s back now and we think he’s going to fit into our backcourt really well. We have Reid Shelton back on the team also and I think he’ll add toughness and edge that will bring a lot to the table for us.” He also added,“Then we have Elijah Donnerson and he’s a dynamic kid off the bounce and he can also shoot the ball. He can really score at all three levels and that will be key for us. Devan Spicer is another that will see some time at the one. So we’ve got some options, especially at the guard positions.”

“Figuring out how to mix and match those pieces will be the key for us.”

Boys schedule

Dec. 1 @ Bay

Dec. 2 vs. Marked Tree

Dec. 13 @ Rivercrest

Dec. 16 vs. Corning

Dec. 20 vs. Osceola Dec. 22 @ Paragould

Jan. 6 @ Harrisburg

Jan. 10 @ Manila

Jan. 13 vs. Piggott

Jan. 20 vs. Rivercrest

Jan. 24 @ Corning

Jan. 27 @ Osceola

Jan. 28 vs. Crowley’s Ridge Academy

Jan. 31 vs. Harrisburg Feb. 3 vs. Manila Feb. 6 @ Piggott

Boys Roster

Cameron Williams Jr. Parker Wells Jr. Floyd Williams Sr. Rylan Jenkins Jr. Devan Spicer Sr. Taderian Partee Sr. Charles Kennemore Sr.

Jamarion Swanigan Jr. Reid Shelton Sr. Christopher Reed Sr. Percy Wright Soph. Lamon Aldridge Jr. Soph.

Christian Jackson Soph. Brandon Razor Soph. Braylen Cox Soph.

Elijah Donnerson Jr. Daniel Smith Soph.

Girls schedule

Dec. 1 @ Osceola

Dec. 12 vs. Rivercrest

Dec. 15 @ Corning

Dec. 16 @ Armorel Dec. 19 vs. Osceola

Jan. 2 @ Rivercrest Jan. 3 vs. Southland Jan. 5 vs. Harrisburg Jan. 10 @ Hillcrest Jan. 12 vs. Piggott Jan. 23 vs. Corning Jan. 30 @ Harrisburg Feb. 6 @ Piggott Feb. 7 @ Walnut Ridge

TBA Postseason GIRLS

Girls Roster

No. 2 Nicoline Hemmsen Soph. No. 3 Jha’mea Hunter Fr. No. 4 Kira Smith Jr. No. 10 Abie Beltran Soph. No. 11 Natalee Murphy Fr. No. 12 Lonna Jones Soph. No. 14 Amanda Scissell Jr. No. 22 Mya Britman Sr. No. 23 Nykira Real Jr. No. 24 Laniyah Lincoln Jr. No. 30 Sierra Simmons Soph. No. 34 Imari Johnson Soph. No. 35 Laya Meacham Soph.

Gosnell Pirates

Gosnell Lady Pirates

Harrisburg Lady Hornets Lady Hornets under new leadership

By Cosmo Cossey Poinsett County Democrat Tribune

The Harrisburg Lady Hornets will have a new coach this season as Coach Tyler Riddle returns to his alma mater to take over the girls’ program.

Riddle comes to Harrisburg after four years at Wyn ne and two years at West Memphis. “It’s special to come back and coach where you grew up and played in high school. I think this is every coach’s dream,” Riddle said.

Riddle inherits a team consisting of 11 players that has two seniors, three juniors and six sophomores from a successful junior high team last season. “It’s a pretty balanced group of girls,” Riddle said.

Seniors Lilly Betts and Addi Williams are both guards who look to provide leadership for the team this season. Junior Carly Casebier is a 6-foot post player who will help on both ends of the court. “Car ly runs the floor well. I’m working with her to help stretch the floor,” Riddle said. Sophomores Liz Green and Hannah Mross round out the starting five. Com ing off the bench to give help will be juniors Kaylynn Bruce and sophomores Emma Massengill, Kaylor Cronin and Ashlee Pemberton.

“We are going to play as fast as we can with a lot of full motion,” Riddle said. “I know it takes time to get things going with a new coach, but I think it’s going to be a fun season.”

The Lady Hornets started 2-3 early in the season beating Cross County and Palestine-Wheatley, before losing the last three to Bay, BIC and Lonoke. “I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far. They want to get out and go and that works with my coaching style. We

Roster

Lilly Betts Soph. No. 2 Kaylor Cronin Soph. No. 4 Ashlee Pemberton Jr. No. 5 Hannah Mross Jr. No. 11 Elizabeth Green Jr. No. 12 Kaylynn Bruce Jr. No. 14 Carly Casebier Jr. No. 15 Emma Massengill Soph. No. 20 Chesney Henderson Soph. No. 21 Addi Williams Sr. No. 22 Macey Briley Soph.

No. 1

pressed a lot last year and got out in transition at Wynne and I want to do the same here,” Riddle said.

Riddle said the conference will be a little different as Hoxie and Walnut Ridge have moved to a new confer ence, but it’ll be a battle with the six remaining teams. Corning returns five seniors who all started last year and won more than 20 games. Manila always has a solid program and Rivercrest is improved. Osceola and Gosnell have athletic teams and Piggott is always tough.

“I think we can fight for the four or five spot. We have to figure out what offense we need to run to beat the best teams in our conference. If we are battling for the four or five spots, we have to find a way to beat who we need to for one of those spots,” Riddle said about conference play.

Riddle said they don’t set many team goals. “Just trust the process. Show up and work hard and help set the foundation for the future teams,” Riddle said. “I want them to come out and compete hard and play together. Do the work needed to get where we want to be.”

The Lady Hornets went 4-18 overall last year and 2-14 in conference play. Their season ended with an open ing round loss to Walnut Ridge in the conference tournament.

Girls schedule

Dec. 2 vs. Bald Knob Jan. 12 @ Corning

Dec. 5 vs. Corning Jan. 16 @ Rivercrest

Dec. 8 vs. Rivercrest Jan. 19 vs. Manila

Dec. 12 @ Manila Jan. 23 @ Osceola

Dec. 15 vs. Osceola Jan. 26 @ Piggott

Jan. 2 vs. Piggott Jan. 30 vs. Gosnell

Jan. 5 @ Gosnell Feb. 2 vs. Cave City

Jan. 10 vs. Cross County TBA Postseason

Rooting for All Area Teams!

Harrisburg Hornets

Harrisburg welcomes new head coach

By Cosmo Cossey Poinsett County Democrat Tribune

After winning only four games last year, second year Harrisburg head coach John Geniesse’s team is poised to surpass that mark this season. With seven seniors this year, Geniesse will lean on them to carry the team.

“Our expectations this year are far different from what they were last year,” Geniesse said.

“We’ll have good depth off the bench. Our lineup will be fluid as it will ebb and flow as to who we are playing and who is playing well.”

Seniors Michael Deckelman, Brylan Honeycutt and Grant Henry, the team’s three leading scorers last year, all return to start again this year.

Seniors Corbin Grayson, Jason Thomas and Will Cronin all saw lots of minutes last season. Caiden Greer will play his first season with the Hornets.

Juniors JP Rowton, Untarius Tate and William Graves will provide help with another year of experi ence under Geniesse. Sophomores Eastin Gray, Max Tracy, Axel Heeb, Coby Ansley, Parker Dale and Andrew England will get their first taste of varsity action. “The kids who moved up from junior high will help. We will have a fast team with decent size. Where the kids are now with a year’s experience will help a lot,” Geniesse said.

“I had a ton of kids in the offseason and it really

helped a lot. It was so different this year with ev erything not being new and [having to] learn a new system. We’ve changed the culture here and the kids are sticking to it,” Geniesse said.

“Sticking points have carried over from last year. Far less teaching and the transition has been easier.”

Geniesse said the conference is deep. Manila is the front runner with what they have coming back, along with their new additions. Osceola always fields a good team. Gosnell is always athletic and it seems Rivercrest reloads every year. He also added that Piggott always plays the Hornets hard.

“We’ll need to be prepared to play every night. There will be no off nights,” Geniesse said.

“I think we can finish in the top four and challenge those top tier teams this season.”

Harrisburg opened the season with three straight wins over Palestine-Wheatley, Trumann and North East Arkansas Christian Home Educators.

The Hornets will play 16 games before Christmas break this season.

The Hornets were 4-20 overall last year and 1-15 in conference play. Harrisburg’s season ended with a loss to Piggott in the conference tournament.

Roster

No. 1 Grant Henry Sr.

No. 2 Willis Cronin Sr.

No. 3 Brylan Honeycutt Sr. No. 4 Jason Thomas Sr.

No. 5 Axel Heeb Soph.

No. 10 William Graves Jr. No. 14 Coby Ansley Soph. No. 15 Max Tracey Soph. No. 20 Eastin Gray Soph. No. 21 Andrew England Soph. No. 22 Parker Dale Soph. No. 23 Untarius Tate Jr. No. 24 Jp Rowton Jr. No. 25 Corbin Grayson Sr. No. 30 Michael Deckelman Sr. No. 31 Caiden Greer Sr.

‘22-’23 schedule

Dec. 2 vs. Bald Knob

Dec. 3 @ Cross County

Dec. 6 @ Hillcrest Dec. 9 vs. Corning

Dec. 10 @ Palestine-Wheatley Dec. 13 vs. Manila Dec. 16 @ Osceola Dec. 20 @ Piggott

Jan. 3 @ Valley View Jan. 6 vs. Gosnell Jan. 7 vs. Cross County Jan. 13 @ Corning Jan. 16 @ Walnut Ridge Jan. 17 vs. Rivercrest Jan. 20 @ Manila Jan. 24 vs. Osceola Jan. 27 vs. Piggott Jan. 31 @ Gosnell Feb. 2 vs. Cave City Feb. 10 @ Rivercrest

911 W. Drew Monette, AR 72447 870-486-2266

300 W. Matthews Ave Jonesboro, AR 72401 870-935-5566

510 S. Illinois Harrisburg, AR 72432 870-578-9500

Manila

Lady Lions

Lady Lions seek conference crown

By Steve Knox Osceola Times

Manila’s girls program is looking to have a strong 2022-23 campaign but as has been the case the last three seasons, it will be under a new leader.

Former Batesville High School boys coach Chad Larose takes over for the departed Cody Edgar who left the program after a very successful 2021-22 sea son.

Larose, who led the Pioneers boys program, brings a fresh set of eyes to a roster which has six seniors, a sophomore and four freshmen.

“I expect us to play hard. We will have a pretty young team, at least from the experience standpoint,” said Larose. “(Madison) Hitchcock, (Taylor) Perkins and (Kinley) Shelton played some last season. Oth erwise, we are not as experienced at the high school level.

“The freshmen have played up since seventh grade. They are talented, but have some growing to do. I just want us to be better each game and when the final month of the season rolls around, to be ready for the postseason,” said the coach.

In addition to the other thee players, seniors Kallie Costner, Ariel Haynes and Shanna Wilson, will be joined by sophomore Jenna Larose and freshmen Chloe Helms, Madison Deeds, Hadley Cohn and Kay

lynn Harvey.

“I expect the girls to do a good job. That starts with practice,” said Larose. “They need to do the little things. I expect the young ones to push the others for minutes.”

The Lady Lions schedule includes non-conference games against Armorel, East Poinsett County, Bay, Jonesboro-Westside and Mammoth Springs. Manila will also take part in the NEA Tournament at Arkansas State University, the Kell Classic and the Lyon Col lege Tournament in Batesville. “The Lyon tournament has a strong field, should help us down the road,” said Larose.

The 3-3A Conference also has changed its make up going from a nine team league to seven members for this cycle. “Losing Hoxie and Walnut Ridge, to me, created a nightmare for scheduling. Losing four conference games makes scheduling tough,” said the coach.

As for the team, Larose expects them to get better with time. “We have already played a game or two. We have been very vanilla in what we have been doing regarding defense and our offense so far. I will put more things in our game plan as we go along,” said Larose. “I expect us to find out who we are as the season progresses,” said the coach.

The new head coach, who also coached at Bay High School, prior to going to Batesville, has reasonable

expectations for his team.

“I want us to win the conference and get that number one seed in the regionals,” said Larose. “There will be no nights off in this conference. We want to be ready for the regionals. We need to give ourselves a chance, so we really need that number one seed. Our regional is going to be very tough with Hoxie, Walnut Ridge, Mountain View, Tuckerman... it is going to be difficult.

“We want to be in that first round game in the re gionals, playing in the fourth quarter, knowing we are playing for next week and a berth in the state tourna ment.”

Until then, Larose expects his team to keep learn ing, to keep working hard.

“I know this is all new to them. I just want them to keep pushing and to make this season memorable; one they will always want to remember,” said Larose.

‘22-’23 schedule

Dec. 1 vs. Brookland

Dec. 6 vs. Mammoth Spring

Dec. 12 vs. Harrisburg

Dec. 15 @ Piggott

Dec. 19 @ Rivercrest Dec. 28 @ Harrison Jan. 5 vs. Corning Jan. 16 @ Osceola Jan. 19 @ Harrisburg Jan. 23 vs. Piggott Jan. 26 vs. Rivercrest Jan. 30 @ Corning

Feb. 10 @ Osceola

TBA Postseason

Roster

No. 1 Jenna LaRose Soph.

No. 2 Kaylynn Harvey Fr. No. 4 Kallie Costner Sr. No. 5 Chloe Helms Fr. No. 10 Shanna Wilson Sr. No. 12 Madison Hitchcock Sr. No. 14 Madison Deeds Fr. No. 21 Hadley Cohn Fr. No. 22 Taylor Perkins Sr. No. 23 Ariel Haynes Sr. No. 24 Kinley Shelton Sr.

Manila Lions

Deep, talented Lions ready for the season

By Steve Knox Osceola Times

Lions head coach Lee Wimberley will have one of the deepest and most talented teams of his 11-year tenure at the west Mississippi County school. Despite the loss of senior Bri Neal to injury, Wimberley has some tough returning players and a few who were not with the team last season.

“(Brayden) Nunnally, a four year starter, is 6-5, 195 pounds. He is put together the right way,” said Wim berley. “(Luke) Beach and (Costner) Smith returning is big. Smith is 6-3, 185 pounds. He is a great athlete, very vocal and will be captain for us. (Luke) Kirk averaged almost 10 points per game last season. (Rex) Farmer, at 6-6 (the tallest Lion) averaged 8.5 points per game as a freshman last season.”

Add in the return of senior Jaron Burrow who averaged nearly 21 ppg in an All-State campaign at Buffalo Island Central last season and sophomore guard Tan nyn Palmer, who has not played in the program before.

“He can be physical. He could give Costner rest. He gets excited. Sometimes he plays too hard. He needs to develop his game. Getting minutes will help,” said Wimberley.

The return of senior guard CJ Carruth could be huge as well. “Carruth is an athletic point guard. He is very strong and a difference maker if he buys in to what we are doing,” said the coach.

Also part of the team are senior guard Kendan

Roster

CJ Carruth Sr. No. 2 Coltan Burns Soph. No. 3 Brian Neal II Sr. No. 4 Kohner Gann Soph. No. 5 Rex Farmer Soph.

No. 1

No. 10 Luke Kirk Jr. No. 11 Tannyn Palmer Soph.

No. 12 Kendan Crane Sr.

No. 14 Luke Beach Jr. No. 15 Brayden Nunnaly Sr. No. 20 Jaron Burrow Sr. No. 21 Koltan Kisner Sr.

No. 24 Costner Smith Sr.

Crane, senior forward Koltan Kisner and sophomore guard Coltan Burns.

“We are a senior led team. We return a lot of min utes. We have lots of size and are very athletic. They are good, smart kids and fun to be around. We have all of the pieces to be very good, we just need to play games,” said Wimberley.

With the Arkansas Activities Association allowing teams to play 30 regular season games this season, teams have the opportunity to schedule more games.

“Quality preseason games can be hard to find some times,” said Wimberley.

“I prefer to over schedule a little bit. It gets us ready for the conference. We are playing Paragould, Tuckerman, Valley View, Batesville and El Dorado in the Blytheville Tournament. We are playing in the Flippin Tournament again against Bergman. We are also playing in the Highland Tournament (Bad Boy Mowers) in the lower division. It is a winnable tourna ment. The kids look forward to it. It prepares us for the postseason with it being back-to-back-to-back games. Playing three days in a row, the kids love it. I think it gets us prepared for what is coming down the road,” said Wimberley.

As for the 3-3A Conference, despite losing Hoxie and Walnut Ridge, Wimberley expects it to be much improved.

“Gosnell will be better. Corning will be tough.

Harrisburg will be better. Piggott should be as well. Rivercrest will be young and Osceola should be good. It is a very competitive conference.

“As I have said before, there are no nights off in this conference,” said Wimberley.

“Our goal is, as always, to win the conference and advance to the regional tournament. Win a game there and go to state.”

Wimberley continued, “We have had some tough luck the last few years in the regional first round. Tough matchups and us just not playing well at times.

“We need to be determined to get further. None of these players were in high school when we last played in the state tournament. Confidence is the key,” con cluded Wimberley.

“We have to believe we can win.”

‘22-’23 schedule

Dec. 1 @ El Dorado

Dec. 2 @ Monticello

Dec. 3 @ Paragould

Dec. 5 vs. Newport

Dec. 6 vs. Mammoth Spring Dec. 9 vs. Piggott

Dec. 13 @ Harrisburg Dec. 16 vs. Forrest City Dec. 17 @ Bergman Dec. 20 vs. Rivercrest

Jan. 6 @ Corning

Jan. 10 vs. Gosnell

Jan. 17 @ Osceola

Jan. 20 vs. Harrisburg Jan. 24 @ Piggott

Jan. 27 @ Rivercrest

Jan. 31 vs. Corning

Feb. 3 @ Gosnell

Feb.7 @ Rector

Feb. 10 vs. Osceola

Marked Tree Lady Indians

Lady Indians low numbers, big on talent

By Cosmo Cossey Poinsett County Democrat Tribune

Marked Tree girls coach Colten Frazier only had five girls on his team during the 2021-22 regular season. Those girls played hard but lost every game. The ninth-graders had just finished winning their third straight district title and were moved up to the senior high team. Frazier got his first win of the season in the opening game of the tournament. He knew then he might have something special for this season.

“Numbers are still low but it’s better than we had last year. We’ll be very athletic. This group has a chance to something special,” Frazier said.

Seniors Kiasia Burns and Maleah Robinson are both back for their last season.

“Burns is a rebounder on both ends the court for us. Maleah decided to come back out after the tough season last year and words hard to get minutes each game,” Frazier said. “The sophomores on this team have a chance to be special before they are done,” Frazier added.

Zyonna Anderson runs the teams and has tons of energy. She shoots the ball well and isn’t afraid to go inside. Journi Versie blocks out well and rebounds well on both ends. Shayla Gibbs and Kimyhe Jones both play good defense and will contribute points on offense.

Frazier moved up his only ninth grader, Tink Brown. Brown is a smooth shooting left-hander and plays well on both ends of the court.

The Lady Indians are 4-1 on the young season and Frazier likes what he has seen so far.

“The girls are playing hard and getting after folks. We led Marmaduke by two at the half and then got in foul trouble in the second half and our low numbers hurt us,” commented Frazier. “We have a little stuff we need to work on for our defense but I think this is going to be a fun season,” Frazier added.

Frazier thinks Mammoth Spring is the team to beat in conference play.

“I think we can play with them and if we catch them on a bad night we might can get them,” Frazier said. “I think we can compete for the conference champion ship this season,” Frazier added.

Hillcrest, Armorel, Ridgefield Christian, KIPP Blytheville, Crowley’s Ridge Academy and Maynard round out the 3-1A conference.

Frazier said the team goals are to make the state tournament.

“We made regionals last year and we want to go further this year. It’s been a few years since a girls team has made the state tournament. I’m excited to see where they take us,” Frazier said.

The Lady Indians finished with an overall record of 1-15 and 0-13 in conference play.

They beat Armorel, 47-39, in the opening game of the district tournament before losing to Mammoth Spring, 61-41.

The Lady Indians lost to Norfork, 61-42, in the opening round of the regional tournament.

Marked Tree Indians

MT seeks another big year on the court

By Cosmo Cossey Poinsett County Democrat Tribune

Marked Tree lost its season opener last year to Tru mann on a Monday night following the end of football season the previous Friday.

The Indians went on to reel off 28 straight wins before losing to Guy-Perkins in quarterfinals of the 1A State Tournament. This season the Indians started with a win over Trumann following the end of football season Friday and the Indians hope they can match last year and go a couple games further in the state tournament.

Gone to graduation are BJ Marshall and Itavious Nesbitt, two big pieces to the team’s success last sea son. Two big parts of this year’s team are also missing as senior Willie Marshall and junior Cameron Mar shall are both sidelined due to disciplinary reasons and it’s uncertain if they will return during the season.

Head coach Barbara Wilburn has 15 boys on her team this season and thinks she has one of the big ger-sized teams in the conference. Sophomore Jonah Walker stands at 6-5 and will be a true post player for the Indians.

Walker scored 18 points and pulled down multiple rebounds on each end of the floor. Ladarrius Brown and Donny Childs also scored in double digits in the opener. Wilburn couldn’t name a starting five but had a solid five on the floor with Walker, Childs, Brown, Kenyon Carter and Martavious Davis. Braylon Kenne

dy, Landon Lewis, Isaiah Malone and Jeremy Bell, Jr. gave Wilburn points and minutes off the bench against the Wildcats. Wilburn said that talented group of sophomores will press for playing time as the season moves along.

Wilburn said the last few years they have been late in starting due to the success of the football team. “It kind of puts us behind the eight-ball with the non-foot ball schools having played six to eight games already. But we hope the success our football team has will carry over when those guys join the team, Wilburn said.

Wilburn thinks the conference will be about the same as some new coaches have came into the confer ence.

“We hope to be right in the thick of things again this season. It’ll take a few games before the football boys have their basketball legs, but I think we’ll be okay until then,” Wilburn said.

Talking about goals and expectations, Wilburn said the goal is usually the same every year.

“Winning a state title is the ultimate goal every year. To do that we just have to lace them up every night and play them one at a time to do this,” Wilburn said. The coach said her expectations for the team is to just play hard and win.

Marked Tree finished with an overall record of 28-2 last year and finished 14-0 in 3-1A conference play. The Indians were district and regional champions last season.

Boy’s Roster Lady Indians Roster

No. 1 Zakaria Brown Fr.

No. 2 Shayla Gibbs Soph.

No. 3 Kiasia Burns Sr. No. 4 Kimyhe Jones Soph.

No. 10 Zyonna Anderson Soph.

No. 15 Journi Versie Soph. No. 20 Brenly Halk Soph. No. 25 Jessica Paynes Sr. No. 40 Maleah Robinsin Sr.

‘22-’23 schedule

Dec. 1 vs. Batesville

Dec. 3 @ Searcy Dec. 9 @ Mammoth Spring Dec. 13 @Clarendon Dec. 15 @ Sloan-Hendrix

Jan. 3 @ Hillcrest Jan. 6 @ Maynard Jan. 9 @ Armorel

Jan. 10 vs. EPC Jan. 17 vs. Hillcrest

Jan. 20 vs. Mammonth Spring

Jan. 24 vs. Piggott

Jan. 27 vs. Armorel

Feb. 2 vs. Maynard

Feb. 3 vs. Guy-Perkins

Feb. 10 vs. Clarendon

TBA Postseason

Jayvion Tribble Soph. Phoenix Morgan Donny Childs Willie Marshall

Martavius Davis IDK Bryce Smith Ken Carter Jonah Walker Josh Rand Bryan Kennedy Jeremy Bell La’Darrius Brown Isaiah Malone Landon Lewis

‘22-’23 schedule

Dec. 2 @ Gosnell

Dec. 6 vs. Crowley’s Ridge Academy Dec. 9 @ Mammoth Spring Dec. 13 @Clarendon Dec. 15 @ Osceola Dec. 16 vs. Kipp Blytheville

Jan. 3 @ Hillcrest Jan. 6 @ Maynard Jan. 9 @ Armorel Jan. 17 vs. Hillcrest Jan. 20 vs. Mammoth Spring Jan. 24 Ridgefield Christian Jan. 27 vs. Armorel

Jan. 31 @ Crowley’s Ridge Academy Feb. 2 vs. Maynard

Feb. 3 vs. Guy-Perkins

Feb. 7 @ Marmaduke Feb. 10 vs. Clarendon

GO BIG!

WWW .BI GRI VER STEEL .CO M

Big River Steel wishes all the teams good luck this season.

Osceola Lady Seminoles

Osceola look to compete for 3-3A title

By Steve Knox Osceola Times

Second year head coach Amber Clay believes her team can make a run at the conference 3-3A title this season. Her senior led team certainly has the look of a squad hungry to win a championship.

Going from a team with no seniors last season, her 2022-2023 team is senior dominated. Guards Kayla Newson, Alyssa Summerville and Neveaen Jones, along with forwards Jaidyn Dandridge and Ziara Rob inson, are all experienced. Newson is one of the pre mier guards in the conference, while Summerville and Jones can both contribute at a guard spot. Dandridge is a solid player in the paint, who rebounds well and can score the basketball. Robinson is a good defender and rebounder. Those five players are the nucleus of a solid basketball team.

The other five members of the 10 on the roster are all sophomores. Amarah Thomas is a tough, physical post player who can rebound well, score inside and on occasion step out and shoot a three-pointer effectively. Thomas has improved greatly after starting as a fresh man last season. Courtney Douglas, Zakari Huggins and Shakari Black are all guards who will earn their minutes. Black has already contributed early on in the

season. Forward Arionna Dolton will also work into the rotation going forward.

Osceola surprised people with a solid third place finish in the conference last season. With Hoxie and

Roster

No. 2 Neveaen Jones Sr. No. 3 Kayla Newsom Sr. No. 4 Alyssa Summerville Sr. No. 5 Courtney Douglas Soph. No. 10 Jaidyn Dandridge Sr.

No. 12 Zakari Huggins Soph.

No. 14 Arionna Dolton Soph.

No. 23 Amarah Thomas Soph. No. 24 Shakari Black Soph. No. 30 Ziara Robinson Sr.

Walnut Ridge having switched conferences, the Lady Seminoles path to the top has been shortened but is by no means guaranteed.

Corning returns almost everybody and Harrisburg, which struggled last season, has shown improvement. Piggott is better than last season. Rivercrest, while inexperienced at spots, returns its leading scorer from 2020-2021 and will be much improved. Manila is senior led but also has a talented group of freshmen who have moved up to the high school ranks. Gosnell should also be improved this season.

“The conference is not one where you can take a night off,” said Clay. “You have to be ready to go ev ery time you hit the court.”

The Lady Seminoles non-conference schedule is competitive with games against Buffalo Island Central, Armorel, Brookland, Blytheville and Earle. Osceola also played in Mississippi against Meridian and War ren Central over the Thanksgiving break.

Also dotting the non-conference portion of the schedule are games against Forrest City, Valley View, Greene County Tech, East Poinsett County and a holi day tournament Dec. 21 and 22 in Cordova, Tennessee at St. Benedict at Auburndale.

Osceola opens conference play December 19 at Gosnell and will host Corning January 3. Osceola meets Piggott on January 9 and February 3; Rivercrest on January 12 and February 7; Harrisburg on January 23 and February 2; and Manila on January 16 and the home finale on February 10.

Osceola will also host the 3-3A Conference Tourna ment in February so the Lady Seminoles are excited about the possibilities that having a home court advan tage might bring about in the postseason.

“We have worked hard on defense and our consis tency,” said Clay about their off season improvement. The coach also is proud of their improvement with the

ADD Program. “Academics, Discipline and Defense is a key part of the improvement in our program. Our goal is to get to the state tournament. We have to go there one game at a time, one possession at a time,” said Clay. “ We are going to work to always get better everyday. We have a goal we want to achieve. You get there through hard work,” said Clay.

Osceola Seminoles

New leadership for defending 3A champs

By Steve Knox Osceola Times

Despite being the defending Class 3A State Cham pions, the Osceola boys basketball program will have a new leader this season.

Following the resignation of Coach Vernon Wil son, the Osceola School District focused on and hired Coach Bryanth Basemore to take over the program.

Basemore, as did Wilson, takes over the entire boys program from grades seven through 12. Basemore will also have a new coaching staff as Henry Kimbrough, Michael Banks and Tracy Allen will be the assistant coaches overseeing the younger squads.

For his part, the new head coach has no precon ceived notions about the players returning from the 2021-2022 championship team.

Basemore welcomes back a talented group of players who played key roles in the Seminoles march to the state title last season. A solid senior class, paced by 3A State Title game Most Valuable Player Jerry Long, returns to try to make it two titles in a row.

Tony McNeal, Terrance Nimmers and TJ Bell all played significant minutes last season. Nimmers, last seasons sixth man of the year for the Seminoles, can do it all on the basketball court.

Bell is a solid player who can make things happen in a hurry with his offense and defense. Bell is an ex cellent rebounder and played tough inside last season. McNeal worked his way into a starting role and his consistent play was a real key in the state title run.

Junior wing Richard High came up big for the Seminoles early on last season and had some crazy

numbers on offense displaying a deft touch from the outside. Fellow junior Keenan Jackson is also back.

Roster

Damarion Beare Jr. Moses Black Sr. Michael Cassidy Jr. Lewis Heggins Jr. Richard High Jr. Keenan Jackson Jr. Donovan Littleton Soph. Jeiyan Long Soph. Jerry Long Sr. Anthony McDay Jr. Tony McNeal Sr. Logan Slayton Sr. Zaryan Spears Sr. Skyler Young Sr.

Jackson is a solid talent who can be a difference maker on either end of the floor.

Four other seniors, Skyler Young, Moses Black, Logan Slayton and Zaryan Spears are also playing this season. Young and Spears have not played in high school. Slayton missed last season due to injury and Black was ineligible last season. All will compete for playing time.

Also trying for playing time will be juniors Michael Cassidy, Lewis Heggins, Damarion Beare and An thony McDay. Cassidy and McDay lend some size at forward, while Heggins, who did not play last season, will compete at guard. Beare will also be playing for the first time in high school.

Rounding things out are sophomores Donovan Littleton and Jeiyan Long. Both are big and athletic. Basemore believes Long has the ability to really grow his game and become a real contributor if he works at it and puts what he learns into play.

“He doesn’t know just how good he can be,” said the coach.

The Seminoles open the season in the Hurricane Classic at Jonesboro with a game against Fayetteville. Also on the schedule are the Marianna-Lee Trojans and former Seminole head coach Vernon Wilson and a game against 4A power and North County rival Bly theville.

Being new to the area, Basemore has learned what he can from watching games from last year and talking

to coaches around the area. “I know Manila is highly regarded. I hear Corning is pretty good. Harrisburg should be improved. I have been told Gosnell will be better. Of course, there is Rivercrest,” said Basemore.

Basemore is also not necessarily just concerned about wins and losses.

“Of course, I want to win, but I am not just focusing on winning. I want to win championships, but I want these young men who play for me to understand the goal is not just to win on the court but to win in get ting them to the next level. How many of them will be sitting beside me at a table on national signing day,” asked Basemore? “I know what these college coaches are looking for. I have been there and I think I know how to get my young men there if they buy in and do what is asked.”

‘22-’23 schedule

Dec. 12 @ Corning

Dec. 15 vs. Marked Tree

Dec. 16 vs Harrisburg

Dec. 20 @ Gosnell

Dec. 22 @ Blytheville

Jan. 3 vs. Corning

Jan. 10 @ Piggott

Jan. 13 vs. Rivercrest

Jan. 17 vs. Manila Jan. 24 @ Harrisburg Jan. 27 vs. Gosnell

Jan. 30 vs. Lee Feb. 3 vs. Piggott Feb. 7 @ Rivercrest Feb. 10 @ Manila

TBA Postseason

THISIS COLT COUNTRY!

Preparingstudents to succeed on and offthe court.

Rivercrest Lady Colts

Lady Colts expected to be much improved

By Steve Knox Osceola Times

Second-year head coach Ronnie Dye expects to see a lot of improvement in his 2022-23 squad despite the fact his team has only three returning players.

“Senior Lacaja Dority, and juniors Mercuriah Vance and Zakiyah Brownlee are the only three who played a lot of minutes for me last season,” Dye explained as several girls decided not to play this season.

Despite the apparent lack of experience, Dye thinks his team will be much better. The reason for his optimism is the return of senior Brineka Taylor, from Marion High School, and a strong sophomore class which includes sharpshooting guard Destiny Burks, guard Jalexia Speed, guard Abbigail Kemp and for wards Madilyn Strop and Adrianna Grant.

Dye also moved up freshman forward Lakiya Speed and also welcomes newcomer senior center Jermya Seals.

“We are going to be guard heavy,” said Dye. “Our sophomore class is going to be solid.”

Dye is also impressed with the progress made by Dority and Young. “Lulu (Dority) and Young both had great summers. Lulu is the best player I’ve seen improvement in since I got here.”

Dye is also excited about picking up Kemp, “She was wearing people out in pickup games at school.” Also, Taylor, who averaged 13.5 points per game for the Lady Colts in 2020.

The Lady Colts will also have some size with the 6-5 Brownlee and 6-2 Vance. “Brownlee, when she stands straight up and extends her arms, her reach

is almost nine feet,” said Dye. “That should present problems for opponents in the paint.”

Dye also expects big things from Young who is nearly 100 percent after surgery following last season. Burks and Speed will contribute as well.

“Destiny average 16.5 points per game for our junior high last season. She also scored 10 in a game when we moved her up at the end of last season,” said Dye. “Speed is solid. She will most likely be my first

Roster

No. 1

Abbigail Kemp Soph.

No. 2 Lacaja Dority Sr.

No. 3 Destiny Burks Soph.

No. 4 Madilyn Strop Soph.

No. 5 Lakiya Speed Fr.

No. 11 Jalexia Young Soph.

No. 12 Adriana Grant Soph.

No. 13 Jermya Seals Sr.

No. 14 Mercuriah Vance Jr. No. 23 Brineka Taylor Sr. No. 33 Zakiyah Brownlee Jr.

player off the bench.”

The 3-3A Conference is also now a seven-team league with Walnut Ridge and Hoxie switching to the 2-3A Conference. In addition to Rivercrest, the other members are Osceola, Gosnell, Corning, Piggott, Ma nila and Harrisburg.

The schedule also includes the second Judy Watson Classic, which has a new format, the NEA Tourna ment, the Kell Classic and the Carlisle Tournament. The Lady Colts will also go to Brookland in Decem ber. “You can now schedule 30 games, which gives you more flexibility,” said Dye.

The coach expects the conference to be tough. “Corning lost one player. Osceola lost Wilkins. Manila lost some really talented girls but still has Hitchcock and some other solid players. Piggott will be young but much better and Harrisburg has a new coach and good players returning.”

“Our goal is to finish in the top four. It has been eight years since we made it to the regionals and state tournament. We would love to get back there,” said Dye. “The conference we are paired with is tough. Sa lem, Melbourne, Tuckerman, Mountain View, Walnut Ridge and Hoxie. That is one tough conference and we have to be on our game to compete with them.”

As for the season Dye said he and his team are ex cited to get things going.

“We had a great summer. They know the system, they know me,” the head coach concluded. “The girls have had a full year with me. Let’s get things started.”

- Steph Curry

One of Arkansas’ largest providers of school based mental health services.

Jan.

Jan.

Feb.

RIVERCREST BO ETBALL TEAM Rivercrest Colts

Rivercrest will be young, but talented

By Steve Knox Osceola Times

Rivercrest returns only one player who spent sig nificant time on the court last season, that being junior point guard Koby Turner.

“Koby had a great summer. His game really pro gressed. He is a tough defender and I am depending on him to be a leader for us this season,” said Colts head coach Hunter Robinson.

Robinson expects a total of 11 football players, including Turner, to transition to basketball whenever the Colts season ends.

Among those are Michael Rainer, Marcus Slayton, Tyshaun Love, Cavonta Washington, Jakavion Wil liams and Nolan Williams, “Rainer did play last year. He is a very good ath letic defender,” said Robinson. “Marcus is a strong post player,” said Robinson. “He surprised me. He can score down low. He sees the floor well. He has really good foot work and good hands. He missed last year due to injury. He will help us.”

Love will be the Colts only senior. “He has grown

and is 6-3 or 6-4 now. He has a good summer with us,” said Robinson. Also moving over will be junior Bernard Clark who had a good summer as well.

The group of sophomores which includes the two Williams and Washington are part of a solid class.

“Those guys were 24-1 in junior high last year,” said Robinson. “Washington averaged about 20 points per game last year in junior high. “We need him to step up for us. “Jakavion is an excellent defender, No lan has a high basketball IQ. He took 61 charges for us last year in junior high.”

Also competing for time are five young men who did not play football. Hayden Walker, DeAndre Johnson, Nate Coleman, Kobe Short and move-in Miguel Sorrento have been practicing all season.

“Those five young men have been working hard. They deserve the opportunity to play. Kobe, I expect improvement from him. He played a lot of minutes for the junior high team last year,” said Robinson.

“The high school game is faster than the junior high game,” said Robinson. “Our younger kids will have to adjust to the speed and the strength of the high school game. Their adjusting is a real key for us. We will be

super athletic, good defenders and overall just a good group of young men.”

While Robinson knows there will be a learning curve for his squad, he knows he can depend on Turn er as a leader. “He is our guy right now,” said Robin son. Until the team gets acclimated to the high school game Robinson will lean on his team’s strengths.

“We will have to stress what we are good at. We will have to play with great energy and effort. We will need to box out and rebound. We don’t have much size. We will have to pressure the ball,” said the coach. “If these guys want to earn minutes, they know they will have to get after it in practice.

The Colts schedule is fairly demanding with games against Dumas, Blytheville, Marianna-Lee, Wynne, Paragould, Green County Tech (Billy Frye Tourna ment at Flippin), Earle and Walnut Ridge on tap. The Colts will also play in the Kell Classic and the NEA Tournament at Arkansas State.

“That will help us get ready for the conference,” said Robinson. “We want to be ready when we play Gosnell in December. It is my job to get us there.”

As for the season, Robinson doesn’t have a lot of expectations.

“We need to get after it and get better as we go along. This conference is competitive. Anyone can win from the top to the bottom. There are exceptional coaches and teams in our league. We need to win ev ery conference game we can and see what happens.”

Bernard Clark Jr.

Nate Coleman Jr. DeAndre Johnson Jr. Tyshaun Love Sr. Michael Rainer Jr. Kobe Short Soph. Marcus Slayton Jr. Miguel Sorrento Soph.

Koby Turner Jr. Hayden Walker Jr. Cavonta Washington Jr. Jakavion Williams Soph. Nolan Williams Soph.

Boys’ schedule

Dec. 2 vs. Walnut Ridge

Dec. 3 @ Dumas

Dec. 8 vs. Earle

Dec. 13 vs. Gosnell

Dec. 16 @ Greene County Tech

Dec. 17 vs. Flippin

Dec. 20 @ Manila

Jan. 6 vs. Piggott

Jan. 10 vs. Corning

Jan. 13 @ Osceola

Jan. 17 @ Harrisburg

Jan. 20 @ Gosnell

Jan. 27 vs. Manila

Jan. 31 @ Piggott

Feb. 2 @ Corning

Feb. 7 vs. Osceola

Feb. 10 vs. Harrisburg

Riverside Lady Rebels

Lady Rebels return with depth, shooting

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

The Lady Rebels and head coach Tyler Timms made a deep run in the postseason last year, and they are poised to continue that trend this season.

“We have an experienced team. We didn’t have any seniors on that team and still ended up having a solid year, finishing in the final eight. So we feel like we have a chance to really make a run this year. The big gest thing for us will be our kids buying into playing hard every possession with our halfcourt defense. We feel like this is the most depth we’ve had,” Timms said.

“We’ve got eight solid players. We’ve got one com ing off the bench that was all-conference last year, so we don’t mind turning to our bench a little bit. We feel like if we play really hard, our abilities will give us just a chance to win.”

One of those key abilities that have been on display early this season is their shooting. Being able to space the floor at multiple positions allows for a more balanced offensive attack.

“We’ve got a lot of girls that can really shoot it. Brooklyn Berry comes off the bench and is a really good scorer. She was one of the leading scores last year for Jr. High and has done a really good job so far. The jump from Jr. to Sr. High really hasn’t been that big of a step for her. Between her, Ali Towels, Lexi Moyer and Mackenzie Thomas, we’ve got four girls that can really knock it down,” Timms said. “We like to be balanced also, and make sure we’re getting it down to Amber Courtney as well.”

Throughout the Riverside campus, the phrase “#RaiseTheBar” can be seen multiple times. Although the motto originated academically, Riverside is look ing to apply that mindset on the basketball court as well.

“We just take a lot of pride in our school. I think the parents and the kids do too. Last year our Jr. High girls went 26-2 and our boys went 29-1. So we feel like both the girls and boys are always punching each other in a healthy way. I tell them all the time, we want kids that love Riverside. I’m excited to be here and our kids are too,” Timms said.

Setting markers for success has been a constant for the Lady Rebels entering each season, but this year, a singular goal has been placed in their minds.

“We usually set goals, striving to achieve X, Y and Z. But we didn’t do that this year. We just said ‘Hey,

if we come to play every game we’re going to be in every single game’ That’s our thing, just playing hard and being tough. We think we have a chance to win the conference and region, but the main thing we want to do as the season progresses is get closer. We have a lot of younger and older ones so we want to build that chemistry,” Timms said.

Schedule

Dec. 5 vs. Bay Dec. 8 vs Rector Dec. 12 vs. Cross County Dec. 15 @ EPC Jan. 5 vs. BIC Jan. 9 vs. Earle Jan. 12 @Marmaduke Jan. 16 @ BIC Jan. 19 @ Bay Jan. 23 @ Rector Jan. 26 @ Cross County Jan. 30 vs. EPC Feb. 3 @ Earle Feb. 7 @ Hillcrest Feb. 10 vs. Crowley’s Ridge Academy

Roster

No. 1 Kalli Blocker Jr. No. 3 Klaire Womack Soph. No. 10 Lexi Meyer r. No. 12 Brooklyn Berry Soph. No. 21 Annalee Qualls Soph. No. 30 Mckenzie Thomas Sr. No. 31 Gracie Washington Jr. No. 32 Ali Towles Jr. No. 40 Amber Courtney Jr.

Riverside Rebels

Rebels enter season with youthful group

By Marcus McClain NEA Town Courier

Long-time head coach Buster Campbell is prepared to enter another season leading the Rebels. He returns this year with a roster full of youth that found great success on the Jr. High level.

“We’re a lot better than we’ve been. We’re young, but we’ll improve a bunch as the season goes along. We’re starting two sophomores, two juniors and a se nior, plus our first guy off the bench is a sophomore,” Campbell said. “We’re a little green coming in, but I’d say around the last of January and February, we’ll be in the mix.”

Campbell noted being thankful for the return of summer camps as covid held the Rebels from compet ing as one unit for the past two years. He stated that the team was able to iron out some early wrinkles, but still have key points to focus on throughout the year.

“You don’t realize how much those summer camps do for you until you can’t have them. At those camps, you can see stuff that it would take you five or six games to adjust to during the season. You can identify the stuff you need to work on and be better prepared,” Campbell said.

“We still need to be better defensively and get to where we can block out better. We’re not very deep but we have decent size with a couple of 6’3 guys and a 6’2 player. Dennis Williams is our post player and Cash Gillis is the other. Those two, plus Harri son McAnally are long, athletic and can run the floor well.”

T”his sophomore bunch went 29-1 in Jr. High so we’re probably not going to sneak up on anybody. But hopefully we can just continue to get better as it progresses.”

Speaking to the culture of Riverside and their “#RaiseTheBar” mindset, Campbell noted the impor tance of also appreciating the moments within each season and experience.

“We’re proud of this place, we still think of this as the new school. We were good in the Lake City and Caraway gyms, but we love where we are now and our surroundings. I tell these kids all the time, they are fortunate. They don’t realize that in a lot of places, you don’t get to play in games that we get to play in and in front of crowds that have. Basketball is a big deal in Northeast Arkansas. We’ve been fortunate to have a lot of good players here, and we’ve also went through

three or four tough seasons here [recently]/ We’re ready to get back, get into full swing and in the middle of things,” Campbell said.

Schedule

Dec. 2 @ BIC Dec. 6 vs. Bay Dec. 9 vs. Rector Dec. 12 vs. Cross County Dec. 16 @ EPC Jan. 10 vs. Earle Jan. 13 @ Marmaduke Jan. 17 vs. BIC Jan. 20 @ Bay Jan. 24 @ Rector Jan. 27 @ Cross County Jan. 31 vs. EPC Feb. 3 @ Earle Feb. 7 @ Hillcrest Feb. 10 vs. Crowley’s Ridge Academy

Roster

Elijah Barroso Sr. No. 5 Brayeson Timms Soph. No. 12 Jackosn Davis Soph. No. 15 Grayson Taylor Soph. No. 22 Logan Ridge Sr. No. 23 Kade Laird Soph. No. 24 Thatcher Durham Soph. No. 30 Elijah Guntharp Jr. No. 32 Dennis Williams Sr. No. 33 Harrison McAnally Jr. No. 40 Seth Couch Jr. No. 44 Cash Gillis Soph. No. 50 Jacob Tipton Jr. No. 52 Brandon Tucker Soph.

No. 1

Trumann Lady Wildcats

Lady Wildcats will rely on Sr. leadership

By Cosmo Cossey Poinsett County Democrat Tribune

Trumann head coach Aaron Ballew enters his ninth year at the helm of the Lady Wildcats basketball pro gram and will rely on his five seniors to lead the way this year.

“Leadership is the biggest thing we look for when replacing seniors who have graduated. Our five seniors have been around some good teams the last couple years so they know what it’s like to be a leader. I think they’ll lead by committee this year,” Ballew said.

One of those seniors, two time all-state player Kayde Jones, will be a vocal leader as she will miss the season with a torn ACL. The remaining four se niors, Rylee Bailey, Sonia Barnes, Tonia Barnes and Deja Jones all return with starts from last season. “The girls have rallied around Kayde and have taken on knowing they will have to step up and they may be in different roles,” Ballew added.

The Lady Wildcats will have 12 girls on his roster this season.

Ballew said he can’t name a starting five at this time as kids are still battling. “Three spots may be taken but [I’m] not sure about the last two. We’ve got kids battling for those last two spots,” Ballew said.

With a solid rotation of seven players, Ballew said that could go to eight or nine by season’s end. “Those juniors and sophomores are going to be pushing for minutes all season,” Ballew added.

The Barnes twins give everything they have every game with their scrappy play. Deja Jones is a good shooter who will be asked to add more of an attacking game this year, Bailey shoots the ball well and will be needed to nail down that shooting spot for the team. Hadley Fagan is a shooter back from last year, and

Ballew is expecting a big year from Chelsy Jones. “Chelsy has always attacked the basket but she’s shot the ball really well all summer,” Ballew said.

Rayahna Pirtle, Jenna Hall, Johncee Calhoun, Topanga Elliott and Ellisabeth Holladay will give the team minutes off the bench. “I’ve told these five to come to practice everyday and work hard toward get ting into the rotation,” Ballew said.

“I think the conference will be competitive and if you go into a game thinking you have a win, you may leave being disappointed,” Ballew said.

The Lady Wildcats were 12-13 overall last year and 8-6 in conference play. They took second place in the conference tournament before losing to Lonoke in the first round of the East Region tournament.

Roster

Hadley Fagen Soph. No. 1 Rayahna Pirtle Soph. No.

No. 0

Kaydence Jones Sr. No.

Sonia Barnes Sr. No.

Tonia Barnes Sr. No.

Jenna Hall Jr. No. 10 Dajanique Jones Sr.

No. 23 Johnece Calhoun Soph.

No. 24 Topanga Elliott Soph. No. 25 Rylee Bailey Sr. No. 30 Chelsey Jones Soph. No. 32 Elisabeth Holladay Jr.

Girls Schedule Boys Schedule

Dec. 1 vs. Blytheville

Dec. 6 @ Westside

Dec. 13 @ Southside

Dec. 16 @ Pocahontas

Dec. 19 @ Highland

Jan. 3 vs. Wynne

Jan. 10 @ Forrest City

Jan. 12 vs. Brookland

Jan. 14 vs. Westside

Jan. 16 vs. Highland

Jan. 19 vs. Southside

Jan. 23 vs. Pocahontas

Jan. 28 @ Highland

Jan. 30 @ Wynne

Feb. 2 vs. Blytheville

Feb. 7 vs. Forrets City

Feb. 10 @ Brookland

Dec. 5 @ Westside

Dec. 12 vs. Southside

Dec. 15 vs. Pocahontas

Jan. 2 @ Wynne

Jan. 5 vs. Blytheville

Jan. 9 @ Forrets City

Jan. 13 vs. Brookland Jan. 14 vs. Westside Jan. 17 vs. Highland Jan. 20 @ Southside

Jan. 24 @ Pocahontas Jan. 31 vs. Wynne Feb. 3 @ Blytheville Feb. 7 vs. Forrest City Feb. 10 @ Brookland

Trumann Wildcats

By Cosmo Cossey Poinsett County Democrat Tribune

Wildcats will be young this season

Billy Phelan only has two seniors on his team as he enters his fifth year as the head boys coach at Tru mann. “The last few years we’ve had multiple seniors on the team. With only two seniors this season, we’ll be young and inexperienced and will need some underclassmen to step up and contribute to the team,” Phelan said.

Early in the season, Phelan said he has liked what he’s seen so far.

“We played a good game against Marked Tree. We looked better on each end of the court despite only having practiced with our full team for a week,” Phelan added. The Wildcats will have 13 players on their roster this season. Seniors Kristian Harris and Leevi Martin will both be in the starting lineup this season. Phelan says Harris does all the little things and is a leader on and off the court.

“He’s so unselfish and is a player a coach wishes he has a lot of,” Phelan said.

Martin is a 6-5 post player who has great jumping ability. “With the big men he’ll face in the conference, Leevi will need to learn how to get his body in the right position to defend them,” Phelan said.

Junior Gavin Greenwell saw some starting time last year for the Wildcats. A smooth shooting lefty, Phelan likes the game Greenwell plays.

“He’s a good guard who is smart from a basketball family. He knows a lot about the game. He’s aggres sive, gets to the rim and shoots the ball well,” Phelan added.

Junior Tristin Battles is a big bodied guard who has played the post the last couple years.

Phelan said Battles is being developed as a guard this season but will be used at both positions. “Tristin is strong and is a good athlete who is still learning the game,” Phelan said.

Cobey Riddle is a junior who saw spot starts for Phelan last year. Riddle is a sharpshooter who will also attack inside the paint if he has an opening. “Co

bey is a good shooter and plays good on the defensive end, too. Another smart and savvy player who is a winner and a leader for this team. He’s a great kid, too,” Phelan added.

Two players Phelan has already missed this year with football injuries are junior Coda Cameron and sophomore Rico Hunt. However, both will be rejoin ing the team. “Coda saw minutes off the bench last season and Hunt saw minutes after moving up after the junior high season. They will give much needed minutes for the team and will allow us to do a few different things with them in the game,” Phelan said.

Juniors Luke Bishop and Kaigen Popejoy have both already seen time off the bench this season for Trumann. Bishop gives good quality minutes and can knock the three-ball if left open. Popejoy has been a surprise for Phelan after not playing last year.

“He’s gained weight and confidence. He’s lanky at 6-4 and has been very smart on the court. I’m excited about his future,” Phelan said.

No. 0 Luke Bishop Soph. No. 1 Kristian Harris Sr. No. 2 Fernando Ramirez Soph. No. 3 Coda Cameron Jr. No. 4 Azari Thigpen Soph. No. 11 Rico Hunt Soph. No. 12 Gavin Greenwell Jr. No. 15 Leevi Martin Sr. No. 20 Tristian Battles Jr. No. 21 Cobey Riddle Jr. No. 23 Elijah Johnson Soph. No. 24 Kaigen Popejoy Jr. No. 25 Jordan Miles Soph. No. 35 Joshua Philyaw Soph.