Football edition 2013

PageO Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================

PageP cllq_^ii=OMNP Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 =======================================================================================================================================================================

Bulldogs dealing with high expectations

By BILL BURRUS péçêíë=bÇáíçê

Clinton Gatewood has never been one to shy away from bold talk.

But with expectations for Greenwood High School as high as they’ve been in the last 25 years, the Bulldog head coach is choosing his words wisely this preseason.

Led by a talented senior class of 18, the Bulldogs return nine starters on offense and eight on defense from a team that many would say underachieved last season at 5-6 after a quick first-round exit from the playoffs. That group is led by a trio of sure-fire Division I prospects on offense: quarterback Kwadra Griggs and receivers Korey Robertson and Sammie Epps.

“Do I think we will be better than last year?

Heck, yeah,” Gatewood said, “but we’re not going to get caught up in all this state championship talk.

We know there are high expectations surrounding this team, but our goal is to take it one game at a time, play our very best in every game. If that happens, everything else will take care of itself.

“It’s hunting season, and we’re not the hunters. We know we’re the ones being hunted. Nobody can put more pressure on us than we put on ourselves.”

Gatewood started his GHS career with a bang in 2010, when the Bulldogs shocked many with a 10-2 campaign that included a district championship and a trip to the second round of the playoffs. But the Bulldogs have managed to win just five games in each of the last two seasons.

“Everybody is looking at us so we’ve got to make something happen. We’ve been working for this since ninth grade,” said Epps, a senior who is verbally committed to Ole Miss. “I believe this is our year.”

If Greenwood is going to advance past the second

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round of the playoffs for the first time since 1989 and make any kind of run at its first state title game appearance since 1988, it will have to find a way to win the close games (lost games last year to East Side, Yazoo County and Cleveland by a combined 10 points) and play much improved defense.

In Greenwood’s six losses in 2012, the defense was hit for an average of 27.3 points per game. That’s not even close to championship material, and Gatewood knows that.

“We’ve got a few defensive holes to fill, but we will be better defensively this year because this group believes they’ve got a lot to prove,” said the GHS coach. “They’ve got a huge chip on their shoulder. You can expect to see a hardnosed, aggressive bunch that will come right at you.”

That group will be led by a pair of three-year starters at linebacker: seniors Broderick Hodo (6-0, 215) and Quatez Harris (6-0, 215).

Hodo had 139 total tackles (73 solos), two intercep-

tions, one pass deflection and two caused fumbles as a junior from his middle linebacker post. Harris recorded 130 total stops (67 solos), five quarterback sacks, four fumble recoveries, four caused fumbles and five pass deflections from the weak side.

“Two years ago, we had shutouts in all but one district game. We’ve got to get back to that kind of defense,” Hodo said. “That means we’ve got to excel in the mental aspect, knowing our assignments and executing. The talent is there to have a strong defense.”

Senior Jalen Prince (511, 190) will round out the starting linebacking corps.

He played on the defensive line last year.

Others who will see action at linebacker are sophomore Antwoine Williams Jr. (5-11, 175) and junior Stevie Clemon (5-10, 175).

The defensive front will be anchored by three returning starters: senior tackle ZsaTrellius Moore (6-2, 245), junior tackle Montrellius McDowell (511, 280) and senior end

File photo/Andy Lo

William Robinson (6-0, interceptions.

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Junior Bennie Higgins big things from Kwadra (6-2, 220) is expected to this year,” Gatewood said. start at the other end spot, “He’s done a great job of while senior Markhale becoming a leader for this Darby (5-9, 255) will see -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------plenty of action at tackle. pÉÉ GHSI=m~ÖÉ=NN Others providing depth up front are freshman Marquiss Spencer (6-4, 230) p`ebarib and senior Timothy Bedell (6-3, 275). ^ìÖK=OP==iÉÑäçêÉ=`çìåíó Senior Artez Williams (6- ^ìÖK=PM==dêÉå~Ç~ 0, 195) started at strong pÉéíK=S===`ä~êâëÇ~äÉ safety last year but has pÉéíK=NP=~í=dêÉÉåîáääÉ=tÉëíçå moved to cornerback. In pÉéíK=OM=^ã~åÇ~=bäòó 2012, he recorded 100 total pÉéíK=OT=táäâáåëçå=`çìåíó= tackles (50 solos) and lÅíK=Q=====~í=v~òçç=`áíó deflected two passes for the lÅíK=NN===v~òçç=`çìåíó Bulldogs. Playing opposite lÅíK=NU===~í=dÉåíêó of Williams at cornerback lÅíK=OR===lmbk kçîK=N====~í=`äÉîÉä~åÇ will be junior Joshua Thur- E~ää=Ö~ãÉë=ëí~êí=~í=T=éKãKF man (5-10, 170).

Junior Jordan Freeman OMNO=oÉëìäíë (5-9, 175) will start at RJSI=PJO=áå=oÉÖáçå=PJQ^ strong safety, with Robert- dêÉÉåïççÇ=ROI=iÉÑäçêÉ=`çK=NO son and Epps expected to i~Ñ~óÉííÉ=QNI=dêÉÉåïççÇ=M dêÉÉåïççÇ=OPI=v~òçç=`áíó=NO see action at free safety.

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GHS senior aiming for bigger numbers in ’13

By BILL BURRUS péçêíë=bÇáíçê

When teammates and coaches rave about Korey Robertson’s talent, there is always a common theme.

They all talk about the Greenwood wide receiver’s threat on the deep ball and his ability to go up and get the ball.

“Korey is so dangerous. If the ball is in the air, he’s going to get it for you,” said fellow GHS receiver Sammie Epps. “He’s a great jumper with great hands.

He is a big play-maker for us.”

Bulldog senior quarterback Kwadra Griggs has the ultimate confidence in Robertson.

“We’ve been playing this game together since we were 7 years

old. I know what he’s thinking and know everything he can do, and he’s the same way with me,” Griggs said. “I know if I throw the ball up there, he’s coming down with it.”

After leading Greenwood in receptions (54), receiving yards (871) and touchdowns (11) in 2012, Robertson had the attention of college coaches. The 6-foot2, 215-pound speedster received several scholarship offers over the summer and recently gave a verbal commitment to Southern Mississippi.

Auburn and Mississippi State are recruiting Robertson as a defensive back, but he has his heart set on playing receiver at the next level.

“Playing receiver is my passion.

If I had to play defensive back to get a chance in college, I would do it,” he said. “I am excited about Southern Miss; it’s a good school and good program.

“From talking to the coaches, I feel like I will have a chance to play there early if I continue to work hard. Also, I feel like I’m a good fit in their wide-open offense.”

GHS head coach Clinton Gatewood believes Robertson has made the right choice.

“Most college scouts that watched Korey say he is ready to make an immediate impact at the next level. I hope he goes down to USM and makes all of Greenwood proud,” said the GHS coach. “Korey is a special talent.

He has good size, great hands

and has legitimate 4.4 speed in the 40.”

Robertson missed the second half of his team’s summer workouts because he had foot surgery (stress fracture) in mid-June. He was able to begin sprinting on it in early August and returned to practice a week ago.

“It was very frustrating to just be able to watch when practice started,” Robertson said, “but I am ready to go now.”

Gatewood said Robertson has added about 10 pounds of muscle since last season, tweaked his route running and, most importantly, improved his leadership skills.

“Korey stepped it up in the weight room and improved his work ethic. Our younger guys

took notice and followed right in behind him,” Gatewood said.

“Korey is a lovRobertson able, coachable kid. It’s been fun to watch him grow as a person and player these last few years.”

Robertson has set some lofty goals for himself as well as his team.

Individually, he’s gunning for 1,000 yards and 15 touchdowns.

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PageQ Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================

Mustangs ready to rebound olpqbo

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By BILL BURRUS péçêíë=bÇáíçê

The last two seasons have taken a toll on Pillow Academy’s Michael Fair.

Winning just three games in two years will do that to a coach, especially one accustomed to winning.

Fair watched injuries and sickness eat away at his already thin squad in 2012 as the Mustangs struggled to a 1-9 mark.

Fair said he reassessed everything he did as a coach after 2012 — the Mustangs’ second straight losing season.

“I’m a better coach because I’ve had to go through those times,” said Fair, who had never had a losing season as a player in high school or college or as a coach before things went south in 2011.

Now Fair has lost starting quarterback/linebacker Thomas Dillard for the season and saw two more starters quit the team during two-a-day practices in early August.

Dillard suffered a tear to the top of his small intestine on July 22 in a freak accident during a 7-on-7 passing competition. He

was forced to have emergency surgery and spent nearly a week in the hospital recovering.

It’s obviously not the way Fair wanted to start preseason camp, but he says the 28 healthy players he does have are working hard with a great attitude.

“We’re a family, and we stick together,” said the PA coach. “Our kids are determined to what it takes to turn things around.”

The Mustangs have just four seniors, but Fair loves the four he has.

“It’s a small group, but a really good group,” said the PA coach. “All have different leadership characteristics that mesh well together. These guys have gone through some tough times in football, but I am very proud of how they have responded to adversity.

“All of our guys are ready for better times, and we believe they are coming.

This is a hard-working bunch with a great attitude. I look forward to watching them grow and get better each week.”

As far as the numbers go, Fair says the senior class at Pillow has 13 boys and 38 girls.

Senior Tyler McKay is excited about being a team leader and says the small group of seniors will do what it takes to go out winners.

“The seniors are stepping up big time. We have to lead in a better way and keep everything positive and everybody working hard to get better,” said the 5-foot-10, 170-pound wide receiver/cornerback. “What this team needs is a good start for a quick boost of confidence.”

With Dillard out, senior Maury Sykes (5-11, 175) File photo/Andy Lo and junior Cooper Dunn (5máääçï= ^Å~ÇÉãó= êìååáåÖ= Ä~Åâ= _~ó= _ÉååÉíí= ÉåíÉêë= Üáë 11, 175) have been splitting àìåáçê=ëÉ~ëçå=~ë=çåÉ=çÑ=Üáë=íÉ~ãÛë=âÉó=çÑÑÉåëáîÉ=éä~óÉêëK= snaps at quarterback.

“Both guys are going to play quarterback, and both guys can do things to help us win at that position.

When they’re not at quarterback, you can bet they will be on the field somewhere.”

When the Mustangs kick off the season Friday at North Delta, they will debut their new fast-paced read-option spread attack, which operates almost exclusively out of the shotgun with four- and five------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------pÉÉ PAI=m~ÖÉ=S

Senior lineman shouldering big load

By ALDEN THORNHILL cçê=íÜÉ=`çããçïÉ~äíÜ

Conner Sewell, a 6-foot, 230-pound Pillow Academy lineman, will carry a heavy weight on his broad shoulders this season.

As one of just four seniors and a three-year starter on both sides of the ball, PA players and coaches agree Sewell will play a key role in the Mustangs’ attempt to bounce back from two miserable seasons.

Pillow has won just three games over the past two seasons, and Sewell has worked hard in preseason camp to set the tone for a winning season.

“We’re just trying to improve on our outlook on the team. We’ve already had one major injury so we just got to keep our heads up and keep working hard. I’ve been trying to encourage everybody and make them work harder,” said Sewell, one of the team’s strongest players.

Sewell understands he must be a leader on and off the field. He says he

models himself after former Mustang lineman Andersen Lucic, who was a senior during Sewell’s sophomore season.

Sewell, a quiet country boy who lives north of Schlater in the middle of nowhere, doesn’t say a lot, but when he does, his teammates listen closely.

“He (Sewell) has got great leadership skills, and it’s good to know he’s got our backs,” said senior Mustang quarterback/defensive back Maury Sykes. “He’s a Sewell big part of the line, and I’m ready to see what else he can do.”

“He’s a great young man,” PA head coach Michael Fair said. “He does all the right things. He is a hard worker, and he leads by example. Sometimes he’s not as vocal as I’d want him to be, but his actions speak louder than words. We’re expecting a big year out

of him.”

Sewell will help anchor the Mustang offensive line from his left guard spot. Great blocking technique and a wealth of experience make him the team’s most reliable blocker, Fair said.

Defensively, he plays with a relentless effort from his tackle post.

“You can pop any tape of any game he’s ever played in, and it’s clear Conner has never taken a play off. We think he will be a great run stopper this year, and he is also quick enough to get a pass rush from the inside,” Fair said.

“We’re just real excited about what Conner can do for this Pillow team this year.”

This will be Sewell’s second season as a starter at tackle. He started at middle linebacker as a sophomore.

“He had a good year at linebacker, and we felt like he was growing into a defensive lineman in a offensive lineman’s body,” the PA coach said. “He’s really athletic for his size.”

File photo/Andy Lo

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PageR cllq_^ii=OMNP Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 =======================================================================================================================================================================

Panthers feel good about improving

By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

Amanda Elzy head coach Eric House isn’t predicting any championships for his 2013 squad, but he believes this team will improve on the 2-8 records posted the last two seasons.

“This is a tight-knit group. They want to turn it around. For two years straight, we’ve taken a pounding, but this group of players are like brothers.

They have worked so hard together in the offseason,” said House. “Hopefully, by the end of this season, we will have earned the respect of each team we play.”

House enters his sixth campaign at Elzy with around 30 players on the roster and only two assistant coaches on his staff.

Anthony Williams, who was responsible for summer workouts, will handle the special teams. Jerome Blake will coach the offensive and defensive lines.

“Coach Williams did a tremendous job with the guys during the summer adding muscle mass. The players were very dedicated as they took it to another level,” said House.

“Coach Blake has a way of getting kids to play over their heads. He’s done a good job of pushing the kids.

“We don’t have a lot of coaches on staff, but the kids understand the situation we’re in. They have dedicated themselves to getting better. They are not happy with the outcome we’ve had the last two years.”

With so few numbers on a 4A roster, House has made a few changes on defense to take advantage of where the team is strong.

The Panthers will line up in a 3-3-5 scheme.

“We don’t have a lot of depth on the line, but we will probably still have six people in the box to stop the run. We’ve got fast physical guys in the secondary.

That’s one area that will be

a strength for us,” House added.

House pointed out players such as Dekarius Prayer, Denarius Howard, Kendarrious West, Devin Brooks, Rakeem Hunt and Tommy Wright who will play in the secondary.

Prayer and Hunt will play cornerback, while Howard and Brooks will be at free safety. West and Wright will share time at strong safety.

“This is a very athletic group that can cover the pass and can also come up and defend the run,” said House. “They don’t mind hitting someone.”

The rest of the defensive unit will have senior Christopher Gary (5-11, 270) at nose guard and senior Earl Stewart (6-1, 230) and junior Christian Williams (5-9, 235) at tackle.

Senior Tommy King (510, 215) has moved from the line to middle linebacker. He’s joined by senior outside linebackers Juwan Whitehead (6-1, 225) and Xavier Johnson (6-0, 175).

“After last season, we heard a lot of criticism about the way things have gone for this team,” said House. “I hope we are doing some things to make the Elzy nation proud. Of course, I realize that more wins will make people happier. Our goal is to be competitive in every game and have a winning season.”

The Panthers open their 2013 campaign Friday night at home against Overton High School of Memphis. The Wolverines are coached by Elzy product Willie (J.R.) Steward.

“We have motivated the kids all summer by telling them they need to represent the state and community by playing a team from out of state,” said House.

“Coach Steward played quarterback at Elzy for Coach (Henry) Fant. We’re using that also as a motivating factor.”

Ted Barrett, last year’s athletic director, arranged the game with Overton.

The Panthers remain in Region 3-4A with Greenwood, Yazoo County, Cleveland and Gentry. Yazoo City replaces Humphreys County as the sixth member of the district.

“Yazoo City makes the district schedule a little bit tougher. We played Gentry, Greenwood and Yazoo County in 7-on-7 during the summer. Our kids gained a lot of confidence.

They put in the time to get better. I think what people are going to see this season are kids who won’t take a play off,” said House, who is 20-29 in five seasons at Elzy.

“These two bad seasons have given me the knowledge to know what it takes to be successful. We had a lot of inexperienced kids the last two seasons. I know that we need depth to stay in games. We don’t have 45 to 50 kids out, so we’ve got to be willing to use each kid on this team.

We’re getting these young kids ready. They are getting in a lot of reps in practice because they need to be ready to go.”

House said even though there haven’t been many wins in recent years, he’s glad to know several former players are playing college football. Jermaine Whitehead is starting in the secondary for Auburn; Jaylon Daniels is now at Mississippi Delta Community College after a season at Mississippi Valley State; Granderson Givens is at MVSU; and Jalen Jones is at MDCC to name a few.

“I want to help get these kids prepared and ready to play on the next level,” House said.

The Panthers’ offense will be directed by Prayer, a 6-foot, 175-pound senior quarterback. Prayer has been a member of two state championships with the basketball team, and brings a great deal of athleticism to the quarterback position.

He’s joined in the backfield by seniors Howard and Brooks and freshman Deonta Watkins. Howard,

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Andy Lo

^ã~åÇ~=bäòó=ëÉåáçê=êìååáåÖ=Ä~Åâ=aÉå~êáìë=eçï~êÇ=êìåë íÜêçìÖÜ=~=ÅçåÉ=Çêáää=ÇìêáåÖ=~=êÉÅÉåí=éê~ÅíáÅÉK last season’s leading rusher with 800 yards on 102 carries and nine touchdowns, has been tabbed as one of the area’s best players by the Delta Touchdown Club.

“He’s a kid on the rise.

He’s being recruited by several schools, and he realizes how big this year is for him.

He has a lot of God-given talent and we expect him to lead this team to a winning season,” said House.

The offensive line is anchored by junior Jacoby Cockhren (5-10, 230) at center. He will be backed

up by freshman Jonathan Bradley (5-7, 165).

Stewart is penciled in to start at left tackle with freshman Carl Jones (5-10, 170) waiting in the wings.

Senior Malcolm Sanders (6-1, 330) is slated to start at left guard.

King will start at right guard and be backed up by freshman Perry Moore (58, 160). Williams will start at right tackle. Freshman Jacerious McIntyre (6-2, 235) is working behind Williams.

Whitehead and Johnson

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are working at tight end, and Hunt (6-2, 165, sr.), Quintorris Jackson (5-8, 150, so.), Brian Viser (5-10, 160, sr.) and Brooks (5-8, 170, sr.) are the wide receivers.

Brooks, a former Leflore County Tiger who had to sit out last year, is also a threat on special teams returning kicks and punts.

Senior Lonzo Cooper and sophomore Vidarius Maggitt will handle the punting and kicking for the Panthers.

Coach: Panther senior lineman a pleasure to coach

By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

Amanda Elzy head coach Eric House would probably love to have a team full of players like Tommy King.

“Tommy is one of those guys who is the first one at practice every day and just does everything that is asked of him,” said House. “He’s a good utility player.

He has played both ways for us since his freshman season. We’re making a change with him on defense. He’s such a good playmaker that we are moving him from the defensive line to middle linebacker.

“Tommy has a good knowledge of the game, and he has worked extremely hard in the weight

room since November. He’s going to be a good, physical player for us this season.”

King, a 5-10, 215-pound senior, will play linebacker and on the offensive line for the Panthers this season. Elzy opens its 2013 campaign Friday night at home against Overton High School of Memphis.

King played right guard and defensive end last season and right tackle and defensive end as a sophomore. Both seasons, Elzy finished just 2-8.

“Even though we were 2-8 last year, we had a better season than the year before. We just couldn’t close games out,” said King.

“That’s not going to happen this year. We have a big senior class that is determined to do whatev-

er it takes.

“There’s some pressure on the football team to win because Elzy fans and supporters want to see us do what the basketball team has done the last two years. There are a bunch of us who have worked hard during the summer to make King sure we have a better season.”

King is determined to make the move to linebacker pay off for him and the Panthers.

“I played on the defensive line the last two years because we had other people at linebacker. Coaches wanted me to use my quick-

ness and strength up front,” King said. “I’m working hard, and I’m going to do my best. I’m dedicated to making this work. I want people to notice at the end of a game how hard No. 74 played and how much he contributed to the team.

“I played linebacker during the spring game. I did all right, but I know I could have done better.

I’ve got to work on attacking the ball and running the field from sideline to sideline.”

King has been fortunate not to suffer any major injuries during his playing career. As a junior, he suffered a high ankle sprain in the last game of the season against Humphreys County. As a sophomore, he had a back injury but managed to play through the pain.

King said he and several other players watched a video of Overton on YouTube to get an idea of what they will be facing.

“We saw the formations they run. It should help us to prepare for them,” he said.

King carries a 4.0 grade point average in the classroom and has already scored a 19 on the ACT. He said he would like to attend college and major in engineering.

As far as the season goes, King offers this advice to Elzy’s opponents. “Teams are going to be in for a few surprises. We know we are the underdogs this season. A lot of folks see us on the schedule and expect to dominate us, but we feel like we’ve got something for people this year,” King said.

PageS Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================

New coach believes he can turn CA around olpqbo

By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

CARROLLTON — Jimmy McGregor believes he has the formula that can turn Carroll Academy’s football team into a winner.

McGregor is in his first season as head coach of the Rebels. He was brought in to replace Dan Ware, who was named head coach in February. Ware, an assistant on last year’s team, was hired to take over for Neil Turner but was released from his contract some two months later. Turner, who served as head coach the last two seasons, is now an assistant coach under McGregor.

“I trust what Neil says. He has been a great help to me in getting to know these boys,” said McGregor, who served as the boys basketball coach at Manchester Academy last year.

McGregor’s philosophy is pretty simple.

“First off, I feel like we have a chance to be competitive if the kids learn how to win, and that comes from practice and being in shape,” he said. “Winning football comes from playing every play, being in the weight room during the summer, practicing hard and playing hard. That’s how you learn how to win.

“If we are able to upset Bayou in the first game, then I’d say we’ve learned how to win. One thing I’ve said all along is that if a kid develops a good work ethic, he can learn how to be a winner.”

The Rebels open their 2013 season Friday at 7 p.m. against Bayou Academy at Robert Gordon Field.

Carroll’s schedule includes five games against single A opponents and five against Class AA foes.

McGregor knows the schedule isn’t as challenging as it was the last two years, but he says it won’t be a cakewalk.

“We open up with two quality AA opponents in Bayou and Manchester, and then we play two of our

m^

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“You know me, if I could make the perfect team I would have 270-pound linemen leading the way for a power running game, but that’s not us,” Fair said.

“When we began looking at our personnel in the offseason, I knew we had to do something to best take advantage of our speed and quickness.

“This is no magic offense or everybody would be doing it, but we do feel real good about it. When the ball is spotted and the ref gets out of the way, we want to be snapping it. We want to catch the defense not lined up correctly and make them pay for it.”

Fair says the new system is a combination of ideas put together after looking at the way several schools use the no-huddle attack.

Fair and a couple of his assistants attended spring practice to get notes from Ole Miss.

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three conference games in the first five weeks. We will have a good idea of where we’re headed after the fifth game,” said McGregor.

Following the two first contests, the Rebels take on District 2A foe Immanuel Christian, a team they are familiar with because both were in District 1-AA the last two seasons. Immanuel won 22-12 in 2012.

After playing at Benton on Sept.

13, Carroll returns home to face district foe Deer Creek on Sept. 20.

McGregor knows the Warriors pretty well as he served as the head coach from 2009-2011 in Arcola.

“I coached most of those boys while they were in the eighth, ninth and 10th grades. They are going to be tough. They are a lot like us. Just a bunch of country boys playing football together,” McGregor said.

Carroll plays its final district game on Oct. 18 at home against Greenville Christian. The Rebels

Dan Werner, the Rebels’ quarterback coach and cooffensive coordinator, set up the visit for Fair, who formerly coached at South Panola. The two established a relationship when Werner was coaching at North Delta before returning to the college ranks.

Fair describes the new offense as “fast-break basketball on grass.”

Led by Sykes, McKay (511, 170) and junior running back Bay Bennett (6-0, 185), Fair says this is the fastest team he’s McKay had in his six years at PA. “If we find a crack in the defense, we’ve got guys who can score from anywhere on the field. And then with the more plays we get off, the more cracks we think we can find,” said the Mustang coach.

Sophomore Dylan Foster (5-11, 180) will back up Bennett at running back.

Juniors Steve Pannell (62, 185) and Patrick Thomp-

beat GCS 28-0 last season in a game shortened because of a fight between players in the second half.

McGregor inherits a team that went 1-9 in 2012 and 6-6 in 2011.

The Rebels made it to the second round of the AA playoffs in Turner’s first season, losing to Marshall Academy in double overtime.

Some of the 10 seniors he has on this year’s squad were sophomores on the playoff team, but not many of them received much playing time.

One who did was senior linebacker Hunter McCorkle. The 5-7, 165-pound McCorkle has led Carroll in tackles the past two seasons with 125 (81 solos) in 2012 and 164 (102 solos) in 2011.

“I think we have the talent to have a good year. Each one of us knows we need to do our job,” said McCorkle, an All-Commonwealth selection as a linebacker the previous two seasons.

Joining the 10 seniors on this

son (5-11, 160) will start at the outside receiver spots.

McKay and Dunn will start at the two slot receiver spots, while junior Raines Cook (6-4, 180) and senior John Bariola (5-10, 165) will also see action at receiver.

Others working at receiver include sophomores Gabe Reifers (5-9, 160), Michael Howard (5-9, 150), Harris Fondren (5-10, 155), Michael Davis (5-10, 155) and Bailey Mangrum (510, 155).

Fair says all these guys have good hands and are capable of making plays in the passing game.

Up front, the Mustangs are led by senior Conner Sewell (6-0, 230), a thirdyear starter whom Fair considers one of the toughest players he has coached.

He will be joined by another third-year starter, junior Casey Kelly (6-2, 260), who according to his coach has unlimited potential.

Junior Brantley O’Dell (6-2, 180) started last year at tight end, a position that basically has been scrapped with the new spread offense. O’Dell has moved to center.

File photo/Andy Lo

year’s team are three juniors and seven sophomores.

“It makes practice a little different. We do a lot of 3-on-3, 5-on-5 and 8-on-8 drills. We’ll ask some of the ninth-graders to stick around and help us with 11-on-11,” said McGregor. “I’m an old coach who believes in tackling and blocking every day. We’ve got some kids who can tackle and block better than others, and a lot of times you just have to make an effort.”

McGregor said his offensive scheme will be a little different from what Turner ran.

“Neil ran a spread formation, but he had guys who could run it, especially two years ago,” he said.

“We’re going to run some two-back sets, single back and some spread formations. We’ll have multiple sets, but usually keep it to four formations. I like to keep it simple.

“The seniors are working hard on ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------pÉÉ REBELSI=m~ÖÉ=U

“It’s strange to have one of your best athletes on the offensive line, but no doubt his moving there gives us the best chance to win on Friday nights,” Fair said.

Junior Caleb Christian (6-0, 230) and sophomore Ethan Reichle (5-11, 185) will also start on the offensive line. Fair expects junior Will McMinn (5-11, 185) to see action up front.

Sophomores Matt Miller (5-11, 225), Hunter Jones (5-11, 210) and Will Hodges (5-10, 210) are also working on the offensive line.

A lot of attention is being paid to the Mustangs’ new offense because of the new excitement it will bring for fans and players, but that doesn’t mean Fair isn’t talking big about his defense.

Pillow changed from the 4-3 defense last year in favor of the 3-4 because the coaching staff felt that was the best move considering the team’s lack of depth on the defensive line. That experiment is over; it’s back to the 4-3 this season.

“We’re more comfortable with the 4-3 as a coaching staff, and we feel much better about our depth at

defensive tackle. Also, this will be a very fast defense,” Fair said.

Kelly and Sewell will start at the tackle spots.

O’Dell will be at one defensive end slot, and junior William Dent Brock (6-0, 180) at the other.

Sophomores Will Jennings (5-11, 175) and Soloman Brown (6-1, 185) are working at defensive end along with Reichle.

Bennett will start at strong side linebacker, with Bariola holding down the weak side. Sophomore Sam Henry Farmer will see plenty of action at linebacker backing up Bennett.

Sophomore Carter Kimes (5-11, 175) could start at middle linebacker, with Jennings also getting playing time there.

McKay will again start at cornerback, opposite of Dunn — who Fair describes as a physical player and a good tackler.

Cook will see action at corner also. Sykes will start at rover, and Pannell at free safety.

Pannell will handle the place-kicking duties, and Dunn will be the punter.

For the last two seasons,

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Pillow has competed in the AAA, Division I classification but this season drops to AAA, Division II. The Mustangs will compete with Heritage, Starkville, Hillcrest and Magnolia Heights for two playoff spots.

“This move allows us to compete against schools our own size for a state championship, and that’s what everybody is in this for,” said Fair, who guided PA to a State AAA, D-II crown in 2010. “It’s awful tough for a school our size to compete on a consistent basis with the bigger Jackson schools.”

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PageT cllq_^ii=OMNP Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 =======================================================================================================================================================================

Jaguars aiming for playoff spot

By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

NORTH CARROLLTON — J.Z. George second-year head coach Joey Tompkins has several goals he’d like to see accomplished this season for his young football team, but none more than a 12th game.

The Jaguars, who open their season Friday night at home against Winona Christian School, play 11 regular-season games. Tompkins’ hope is for a 12th game, which would be in the playoffs.

“My No. 1 goal for this team is to play that 12th game. If we can play a 12th game, then we have a chance to play a 13th game,” said Tompkins. “Four of the six teams in our district plan on making the playoffs, and probably not one of them is worried about J.Z. George or Riverside. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to win. Every person on this team wants to win, but not everybody has put in the time and effort to do that.”

Tompkins knows he has a tough task in front of him, but it’s one he’s met head on. J.Z. George’s football program hasn’t produced very many winning seasons or playoff berths in recent years. However, he knows the challenge.

“We are going to be competitive this year. Whether or not we win a bunch of games, I don’t know. I want us to be able to compete in the fourth quarter and have a chance to win games. If we can do that, we as coaches have to find a way to help them win in the fourth quarter,” said Tompkins. “I just want these guys to have those chances.”

In Tompkins’ first season at the

helm, the Jaguars were 3-8 in 2012 and only 1-4 in Region 2-2A competing against teams such as East Webster, Eupora, Ackerman and Hamilton.

When the MHSAA did reclassification last year, J.Z. George was moved to Region 3-2A with Hollandale Simmons, West Bolivar, Leland, Riverside and Greenville O’Bannon. It was a move that didn’t really please Tompkins and other coaches.

“We petitioned to get moved to the South. I looked at the travel and we actually could have saved on being in a district in the South,” said Tompkins. “They put S.V. Marshall in the South, and they have always been in the Delta region.

“It’s nothing against any of the teams. I knew what to expect from the Euporas and Ackermans, but this other district is going to have speed and athletes on top of athletes. Pick your poison. West Bolivar plays for a championship almost every year and they are in the state track meet with a ton of kids. We’re going to be faced with new challenges.”

The district slate gets started on Oct. 4 at home against Leland. The Jags travel the next two weeks to South Delta and Simmons on Oct. 11 and Oct. 18 and close out at home on Oct. 25 and Nov. 1 against Riverside and West Bolivar, respectively.

As far as playing Winona Christian in the opener, Tompkins said all it took was a couple of phone calls.

“After a deal with Pillow fell through, I called an assistant coach at Winona Christian to see if they

would be interested in playing.

They were all for it. It’s a two-year deal,” Tompkins added.

“I want people to see what we have going on here. We have a new fieldhouse, new gym, and the campus is nice. Our facilities are second to none.”

Tompkins said he was pleased to have most of his players get in at least 80 percent of summer workouts. He said he had a few who made it every day to weight lifting and running.

“I believe the program is headed Tompkins in the right direction. I wasn’t too sure after watching the first day of practice because we had a few kids missing, but I do like the way we’re headed,” he said. “I’m not a coach who likes excuses. Our goal is to get better each day and each week and be competitive by the time district gets started.”

Tompkins said the bulk of his starters will come from the junior and sophomore classes.

“We don’t have very many seniors, and only two or three of them are going to play,” the secondyear coach said. “Our junior class is where our size on the offensive and defensive line comes from. They are a bunch of good boys who worked very hard in the weight room. A lot of people didn’t realize how young we were last year. We had 15-year-olds competing against 18-year-olds. That’s a big difference on the field.”

Tompkins said sophomore

Randy Stallworth will likely be the starter at quarterback. He’s being challenged in practice by junior Jamie Hearn and freshman LeJarvis Jenkins.

Junior Jhamall Archie and sophomore Marcus Woods will be in the backfield. Senior Tyvon Hamer and Hearn will play tight end, and sophomore Kelvin Adams, senior Jairvion Williams, junior Toby Brown and junior Julius Cook are working at wide receiver.

The offensive line is anchored by senior Darren Bryant. Others vying for playing time are senior Joe Russell, junior Andre Williams, senior Damion Day, junior Akeem Swims, sophomore Shaquille Morris, junior Edtavias Brandon and junior Elias Dunbar.

The defensive front will include Bryant, junior Deangelo Quarles, Hamer, Swims and Morris. Working at linebacker are Woods, Russell, Andre Williams, Adams, Brown and junior Martavious Hallman. Working in the secondary are Jairvion Williams, Brown, Adams and Cook.

Tompkins has several new faces on his coaching staff this season.

Ben Burton returns to the school and will be offensive coordinator and coach the offensive line. Kris Upchurch will be defensive coordinator, Mark Austin and Demetrius Cobbins will coach defensive backs and receivers, Alex Rawls will coach running backs and linebackers, and Marshall Guest will coach the offensive and defensive lines.

Cobbins and Guest are former Jaguar players.

try kids.”

Bryant is a 6-foot-2, 185-pounder who looks more like an outside receiver, but as he says, looks can be deceiving.

“I’m kind of naturally strong. I’ve worked hard this summer lifting weights and running to be ready for this season,” said Bryant, who made the AllBryant Commonwealth team in 2012 as a defensive end.

“I felt like I did pretty well last year, but I can do better. I went both ways and was on special teams for punts. I didn’t get much of a break, but I’m used to hard

work.”

Bryant finished his junior campaign with 47 total tackles, six quarterback sacks and two fumble recoveries.

He went both ways for the Jaguars last season. He said he used his long arms to help him blocking on the offensive line, and he used his quickness and reach at defensive end.

“My job as an end is to contain and keep the play going inside. I know we are not very big up front on the offensive line, but all of us are returning and we’ve all worked hard this summer,” said Bryant.

“Coach wants me to contain and do a better job on defense this season. I want to get more tackles and play to the best of my ability. Coach

Tompkins is going to push us, and hopefully we can make the playoffs.”

J.Z. George went 3-8 overall and just 1-4 in Region 2-2A playing the likes of East Webster, Eupora and Ackerman. The Jags were moved to Region 3-2A where they will battle Leland, Simmons, West Bolivar, Riverside and South Delta.

“We all know who West Bolivar is. It’s going to be a tough district, but we’re going to go out and give our best effort each night,” said Bryant. “We don’t want to go out on a losing team. This is the year we need to make a statement.”

Bryant and the Jaguars open their 2013 season Friday night against Winona Christian School, a Class AA private school, at 7.

J.Z. George senior leads by example

By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

NORTH CARROLLTON — When J.Z. George head coach Joey Tompkins talks about Darren Bryant, he quickly admits he has no worries when it comes to his senior starter.

“Darren is one of the seniors I look to get a lot out of this season,” said Tompkins. “He’s not a loud kid but leads by example. He’s not the vocal guy on the team, but he’s a real good kid and he takes care of his business in the classroom. He never gets in trouble.

“He looks more like a wide receiver with his frame, but he plays center and defensive end for us. He’s just one of those good coun-

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Sports staff excited about what should be better year

There are a lot of words to describe last year’s prep football season for this area, but most of them can’t be printed in this space.

Brutal. Disappointing. Long.

Those are three words we can use to sum up the 2012 season.

For the first time in my 20 years of covering high school football for the Commonwealth, not one local team finished with a winning record — not one.

With a .500 record, Greenwood High School was the lone team of our six to make the postseason.

The Bulldogs finished 5-6 after a first-round playoff loss.

Leflore County also wound up

5-6, making the Tigers and the Bulldogs by far ================= the best two teams in Leflore and Carroll counties.

Pillow Academy struggled mightily in 2012, managing just one win. _áää Carroll _ìêêìë Academy did as equally as Sports Editor bad in 2012, n while J.Z. George went 38. Amanda Elzy managed just

two victories.

The combined record for our six teams was 17-46.

And I thought 2011 was a tough year to stomach after our area teams combined to go 23-44.

So enough about the past, let’s dive into the possibilities for the 2013 season, which kicks off Friday night with all six teams in action.

I am predicting much better things for area teams this year, with Greenwood having the greatest potential for a deep postseason run.

The Bulldogs have a ton of experienced players back — the majority of whom will be third-

year starters — and are led by an offensive trio that already holds Division I scholarship offers.

Wide receiver/tight end Sammie Epps (6-5, 225) is verbally committed to Ole Miss, and receiver Korey Robertson (6-2, 215) has given a pledge to Southern Mississippi.

Strong-armed quarterback Kwadra Griggs (6-4, 220) hasn’t committed, but he is reporting offers from Memphis, Arkansas State, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Monroe.

The word is Griggs worked hard in the offseason to get stronger and faster, so this trio will be fun to watch.

GHS also has at least two more players, cornerback Artez Williams and linebacker Quatez Harris, who might collect Division I offers if they have big senior seasons.

So if it’s talent and experience you like, you should be in love with this GHS squad. I look for the Bulldogs to go undefeated in district play, win nine or 10 regular-season games and push past the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1989.

Anything short of that, and the Bulldogs won’t live up to their potential.

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Undersized McCorkle plays with plenty of heart for CA

PageU Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================

By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

CARROLLTON — If ever a player needed to be measured by how big his heart is, Carroll Academy’s Hunter McCorkle would be just that player.

McCorkle, a 5-foot-7, 165-pound senior, has been the heart and soul of the Carroll defense for the past two seasons. He’s led the Rebels in tackles as a sophomore and junior, and in all likelihood, will do the same again this season McCorkle from his middle linebacker position.

Just as he did last season, McCorkle will go both ways for Carroll. After he plays defense, he’ll jump to the other side of the ball and play offensive guard.

“I play both sides of the ball. I’ve always played both ways. It doesn’t bother me. I’ll be in shape when the season starts and be ready to go,” said McCorkle, who has made the All-Commonwealth team the past two seasons as a linebacker.

Last season, the Rebels only went 1-9, but McCorkle was one of the few bright spots. Despite playing with a broken right wrist he sustained in the seventh game of the season against Immanuel Christian, he finished with a team-high 81 solo stops and 44 assists. He made the All-District 1-AA team.

During Carroll’s 6-6 campaign in

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“You won’t find another kid with the type of work ethic and attitude Hunter has. He’s a quiet leader, but the type of kid who will do anything for you on the field. ’’ CA coach Jimmy McGregor JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ

2011, McCorkle recorded 102 solo tackles and assisted on 62 other stops in garnering all-district honors.

McCorkle and his teammates are adjusting to a new head coach this season. Jimmy McGregor is in his first season at the helm of the CA program. Last year’s head coach, Neil Turner, is still on staff as an assistant coach and serves as the school’s athletic director.

“It’s been a big adjustment. Coach McGregor is a good coach, but I learned a lot of things from Coach Turner the last two years,” said McCorkle.

“I was hoping to have the same coach for my senior season, but I think we’re going to make it all work out. Coach McGregor believes in conditioning. We’ve done a lot more running this summer. He believes that if we are in better shape than the other team that we’ll still be standing in the third and fourth quarters.”

McGregor has yet to see McCorkle play in a game, but he’s picked up quickly on the type of young man he has on his team.

“You won’t find another kid with the type of work ethic and attitude Hunter has. He’s a quiet leader, but the type of kid who will do anything for you on the field,” said McGregor.

“He missed one weight-lifting session during the summer, but he came in early the next day and made up for it.

“He’s just one of those kids we all want to coach. He has a good attitude and a great desire for the game. He’s not a big kid by any means, but he’s so strong in his upper and lower body. Hunter’s leg strength makes him a good offensive lineman.”

McCorkle, of course, prefers defense.

“I guess I’ve been in the right place at the right time to make those tackles. If I see a big offensive lineman coming at me, I try to go through him and not around him,” the senior said. “I get that mentality from my daddy (Keith McCorkle).

He’s always had to work, and I get that work ethic from him. I don’t believe in giving up. When I broke my wrist against Immanuel, I never came out of the game. I had to get a cast the next day, but I didn’t miss practice or the next game.

“I think if you can play through the pain, you should go on. I think the seniors on this team want to win and won’t quit this season. We’re working better as a team. I really feel like this is going to be a good year for this team.”

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`çåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=m~ÖÉ=S -------------------------------------------------------------every play, and I think it’s rubbing off on the younger kids. The coaches are all working hard with their positions, but I’m also a very hands-on coach. I’ll call the plays on offense, and Neil is going to assist me with the offense.”

McGregor said Turner will work with the wide receivers and defensive backs and be the offensive coordinator.

Jason Kelly, a first-year coach, will handle the offensive line, and Henry Dunn will coach the defensive line. McGregor will coach the linebackers, running backs and quarterbacks.

McGregor has a seasoned quarterback to work with in senior Jake Streater. As a junior, Streater completed 51of-117 passes for 787 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ran for 169 yards and two scores on 66 carries. Streater played strong safety as well, racking up 23 solo stops and 19 assists. He was named AllCommonwealth in the secondary.

“Jake has really impressed me. He has been trained well.

I hope he has learned from the mistakes he made last year. He’s a very good athlete, and he’s very polite and respectful. That caught my attention as well,” McGregor said.

Expected to join Streater in the backfield are senior running backs Tristan Tackett,

Justin Farris and Clark Sanders. Tackett is a transfer from Indianola Academy, and Sanders and Farris played in the backfield last season.

Junior Dustin McGehee is also working at running back.

Working at wide receiver are seniors Reed Fox, Tyler Henson and Austin Brewer, and junior Tristan Wiggins.

The offensive line is anchored by junior center Austin Jennings (6-2, 260).

Senior Jordan Bell (5-10, 175) and McCorkle will play guard, and senior Sean Sheppard (6-4, 290) and sophomore Bailey Howard (5-10, 240) will play tackle.

Others who will provide depth on the offensive line are sophomores Jake Liddell (6-0, 200), Connor Stephenson (62, 210), Parker Jennings (5-7, 220), Peyton Weems (6-1, 280) and Mason Greenlee (6-1, 270).

On the defensive side of the ball, Liddell will likely be at nose guard, Sanders and Tackett at defensive end and Bell and Jennings at tackle.

McCorkle is joined at linebacker by Wiggins and Farris.

Playing in the secondary are Streater, Fox, Henson and Brewer. Sophomore Reed Jones could also see some playing time in the secondary.

“I think we should be a better ball club than we were last year. The seniors have the experience, and the few juniors we have are learning the system,” McGregor said.

“Any time you only have 20 players on a team, you know that some young kids are going to have to play. Injuries happen in this game. They will need to be ready to go.”

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PageV cllq_^ii=OMNP Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 =======================================================================================================================================================================

Tigers going full speed ahead

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By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

If you are a fan of the Leflore County football team, don’t blink or you may miss a play.

Third-year head coach Sherrod Gideon decided after the 2012 season that it was time for a change.

Instead of running the spread formation he installed when he joined the staff as an assistant coach in 2009, he went to work looking for a new offense to fit his personnel.

Enter the Oregon Ducks.

Gideon watched film of Oregon’s fast-paced offense for nearly three months, breaking down ways he could use it with his team. The installation took place during the spring and the Tigers put their new look on display during a jamboree at East Side High School against West Bolivar.

The result that day was a 24-0 shellacking of West Bolivar in two 18-minute halves of football.

“I feel real good about this team.

We have a lot of young guys who got to play last year and gained a great deal of experience,” said Gideon, who is 12-11 overall in his first two seasons at Leflore.

“This group has a good attitude and a great work ethic. We had a good many of them lifting weights and running during the summer.

That’s good for us because we’ve never had a good summer program since I’ve been here.”

Why the change on offense?

“A lot of teams started doing the spread formation a few years ago,

and I felt like we needed to take it to the next level with a high-tech offense,” said Gideon. “We have a lot of track guys on this team and we needed a way to get the ball to these guys in open space. By adopting the Oregon-style offense, we want to run a play every 20 seconds.

“I was surprised at how quickly they picked up on everything. We

had just a few days in the spring to implement everything because of all the rain. It took me three months to learn the system and translate it in a way these guys could learn it. Everything we do is done by hand signals. Oregon uses the posters and flash cards, but I decided to keep it simple.”

If all goes according to plan, Gideon will send in the package to

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the players on the field. The quarterback will then relay the blocking assignments to the offensive line, and Gideon will send in the play to the quarterback, who will quickly bark out the orders.

“I’m a student of the game. I’ve played and coached this game for a number of years, and I like to think -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------pÉÉ LEFLOREI=m~ÖÉ=NP

Military background molds Leflore senior

By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

Darius Coleman learned at an early age the proper way to do things. His father made sure of that.

Coleman’s father, Terry Coleman, was a former player at Leflore County High School and also spent some time in the military.

In fact, Darius said he was born on a military base in Meridian.

“My father played cornerback and running back when he was at Leflore, and those are the two positions I will play this season.

I’m glad to be able to fill his shoes and carry on the family name,” said Coleman, who is entering his senior campaign for the Tigers.

“One thing I learned from my dad was to always be on time. I get up early to make it somewhere, and I prefer to arrive earlier than

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`çåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=m~ÖÉ=T ---------------------------------------------------------Leflore is loaded with talent and experience also.

The Tigers return eight starters on defense and nine on offense and will have speed all over the field.

Head coach Sherrod

later,” added Coleman.

“Growing up with someone who served in the military has taught me how to do things the right way. I pay attention to detail. I’ve been taught there is a time for playing and there is a time for being serious. When I’m in the classroom or on the field, I know it’s time to get serious and down to business.”

Coleman, who carries a 3.5 grade Coleman point average, has his plans ironed out after high school. He would like to attend Mississippi Valley State, run track, and major in accounting. He said after he does his four years at Valley, he wants to then attend Mississippi Delta Community College and

become a welder.

Coleman and the Tigers open their 2013 season Friday at Greenwood High School. Game time is 7 p.m.

“When we get ready to play Greenwood, one of the things we do during the week is visit Coach (Cedric) McSwine’s gravesite,” said Coleman of Leflore’s former coach who died in February 2011. “When we lost the game and the trophy to them last year, that was hard on the players. We want the trophy back where it belongs.

“All we hear is how good Greenwood is going to be and what they are going to do to us. We’ve got a surprise for them. We’re much quicker in the secondary than we were last year. Our defensive backs and our whole defense have worked very hard for this season.”

Coleman (5-6, 155) started the 2012 season playing outside linebacker. After

some changes were made to the defense during the course of the season, he was moved to cornerback and was Leflore’s top returner on kickoff returns.

“I had a pretty good season, but there are always things you want to do better. I need to improve with my tackling and breaking on the ball,” Coleman said.

“I’ll be more involved with the offense this year. I’ll play corner and still return kicks, but coach is going to use me at running back and receiver.”

Leflore County thirdyear head coach Sherrod Gideon said it’s vital to get someone with Coleman’s speed involved with the offense. “He had the fastest time in the 100 at North State last year. He runs the 40-yard dash in under 4.4 seconds. He scored two touchdowns against West Bolivar in the spring game.

He’s a good kid and he

knows what to do when he’s on the field. I’m expecting a big season from him,” said Gideon.

Coleman is a member of Leflore’s track team as well.

He competes in the 100and 200-meter dashes as well as the 4x100 and 4x200 relays.

“We wanted to come out during the spring game against West Bolivar and show people we are for real,” said Coleman as he helped lead the Tigers to a 24-0 win. “We watched film from an Oregon game of their no-huddle offense.

We’ve been practicing that way since the spring. Coach sends in the signal and we run the play in less than 20 seconds. We go up and down the field doing this during practice.

“We’ve got around 20 seniors on this team. We’re not just satisfied with making the playoffs. We want to bring a state title home.”

Gideon has moved to a fastpaced, no-huddle spread attack. The Tigers looked explosive in a spring jamboree with the new offense and should be a ton of fun to watch.

If the team chemistry is there and the Tigers can make a few plays on defense, they could make it past the second round of the playoffs for the first time in school history.

After two dreadful sea-

sons, I expect Pillow to piece things back together even with a small class of just four seniors.

These poor seniors have won just three games in their varsity careers so far.

That’s hard to fathom, but things have been just that bad the last two years for the Mustangs, who have been doomed by bad team chemistry, injuries, tough schedules and a lack of play-makers.

It’s hard to believe PA is just three years removed from a state championship.

PA coach Michael Fair believes he has by far the fastest, most talented group of skill players he has had in his six years with the Mustangs.

He’ll need them because the team has lots of questions along the offensive front.

The biggest boost for Pillow this season is its drop in

classification to AAA, Division II, where it will not have to compete with powerhouse Jackson Academy and Madison-Ridgeland Academy for North AAA playoff spots.

Instead, the Mustangs will go head-to-head with schools of similar size for a postseason berth — Heritage, Magnolia Heights, Starkville and Hillcrest.

Carroll will also benefit from a classification drop,

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going from AA to A. This will give the Rebels a great shot at making the playoffs after a one-win season last year.

Only time will tell, but 2013 should be a fun season no matter what team you pull for.

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Marshall coach facing big challenge

Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 PageNM cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================

2013 PRESEASON ALL-COMMONWEALTH TEAM

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A big, strongarmed QB who is garnering attention from many Division I schools. Already has offers from Memphis and Ark. State. Completed 176-of-329 passes for 2,578 yds and 23 TDs last year. abs^kqb=`olt pêKI=toI=RJNMI=NSM iÉÑäçêÉ=`çìåíó

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Despite missing time with a shoulder injury, Howard was still the leading rusher in the area. The 190pounder finished with 800 yards on 102 carries, scoring nine touchdowns. p^jjfb=bmmp pêKI=toI=SJRI=OOR dêÉÉåïççÇ

Played four different positions last year. As a receiver, Crow had 30 catches for 628 yards, eight touchdowns and one 2-pointer. Also ran for three TDs and two 2-pointers in Wildcat formation.

Will play tight end and receiver. He was second on team with 33 catches for 401 yards and three touchdowns last season. He is verbally committed to Ole Miss.

Battled sickness last year but is primed for a breakout year.

Has dropped some weight and is stronger and faster.

He is the quarterback of the Bulldogs’ offensive line from his center position.

Tough blocker with good footwork.

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Fast, strong runner for the Mustangs who is expected to have a breakout season if he can stay healthy.

Bennett will also be a key cog in the Pillow defense as an outside linebacker. qljjv=hfkd pêKI=liI=RJNNI=OMM ^ã~åÇ~=bäòó

Going to play right tackle and middle linebacker for the Panthers this season. Very strong player who has worked hard in offseason to improve his game.

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Brings a ton of experience to the GHS defensive front as a four-year starter up front for the Bulldogs.

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McCorkle, a 5foot-7, 165pound tackling machine, led the Rebels with 81 solo stops and 44 assists in 2012. He was a member of the 2011 team as he accumulated 164 total tackles as a sophomore. Also played some on the offensive line last year. abh^ofrp=mo^vbo pêKI=a_I=RJNNI=NSR ^ã~åÇ~=bäòó

One of the best athletes on the field for the Panthers. Will play in the secondary on defense, and quar terback, receiver and running back on offense.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound Bryant was the lone bright spot for the Jags last season. He had 47 tackles, six q u a r t e r b a ck sacks and two fumble recoveries as a junior. j^rov=pvhbp pêKI=a_I=RJNNI=NTR máääçï=^Å~ÇÉãó

A talented athlete who can cover and support the run. Will also be a play maker at QB. PA coach Michael Fair calls Sykes “maybe the most talented athlete as far as raw skill” he’s had in his six years at the school.

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Williams played well at strong safety last year but has moved to cornerback this season. In 2012, he had 100 total tackles (50 solos) and deflected two passes for the Bulldogs.

The big left guard is known as a tough run blocker, and also played some on the defensive line.

He’s a tackling machine from his middle linebacker post. He finished with 139 total tackles (73 solos), two interceptions, one pass deflection and two caused fumbles last year after 143 tackles as a sophomore. a^ofrp=`libj^k pêKI=a_I=RJSI=NRR iÉÑäçêÉ=`çìåíó

A speed burner for the Tigers. May be the fastest player on the team.

Will play cornerback, running back and receiver. Scored two TDs in spring game against West Bolivar.

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A super explosive play maker as a receiver, running back, kick returner and even quarterback.

He showed off his elusive running skills in the spring from the QB position while starter Kwadra Griggs was out with an injury.

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He led GHS in 2012 with 54 catches for 871 yards (16.1 average) and team-high 11 touchdowns.

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Started to come into his own as a second-year starter in 2012.

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He makes plays all over the field.

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Streater was the most consistent for Carroll in the secondary in 2012 as a strong safety.

He finished with 23 solos and 19 assists. As the starting quarterback, he completed 51-of-117 passes for 787 yards and five touchdowns. Ran for 169 yards and two TDs. aljfkfnrb=`olt pêKI=^ääJ~êçìåÇI=RJNNI=NSR iÉÑäçêÉ=`çìåíó

He played receiver, outside linebacker and returned kicks last season. He had 37 receptions for 829 yards, nine touchdowns and three 2-point receptions. Ran for two scores and returned one fumble and one interception each for TDs.

By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

TCHULA — Rogrick Wardell has a monumental task standing in front of him. He must build the S.V. Marshall High School program brick by brick.

Wardell, a former player at Greenwood High School and current resident of Greenwood, is teaching and coaching at the Tchulabased school that is known more for its boys basketball teams than anything else.

Wardell took over as head coach of the football team after the second game of the 2012 season when Charlie Stiles had to step down for health reasons. The Tigers went 0-11 with a team that only had six seniors on an 18-player roster.

“We had a lot of guys who were playing who had never played football before. We had to play an eighth-grader because of our lack of depth,” said Wardell. “We’re up to almost 30 on the team this year. We basically recruited guys out of the middle school for this year’s team.”

Wardell graduated from GHS in 2003 and played on the defensive line. He attended Alcorn State University and just a few years ago ran for mayor of Greenwood and for state senator. After those two endeavors failed, Wardell decided to seek a job in physical education and coaching. He landed at Marshall last year.

Wardell, who is assisted by Dewayne Profit, said they plan on running the Marshall program from the seventh-grade level on up.

“We feel it is necessary for us to develop guys that age.

We need to teach them what we are doing on the high school level,” said Wardell.

Wardell “We know we are starting from scratch. We’re still a young team with only four seniors. It’s going to be an uphill battle, but the guys are buying into what we are doing. It’s beginning to pay off. We’re seeing more interest in the program.

“The area is loaded with athletes, and with the right amount of coaching, teaching and discipline, I believe we can turn this thing around. I know this school is known for its basketball, but we have athletes and good skill players.”

Wardell said one negative about having so many new players is a lack of equipment.

“We had to reinventory all of our equipment, and it’s even more limited this year with the budget cuts. We’ve had to ask players to dip into their own pockets to buy things such as mouth pieces,” Wardell said.

The Tigers will compete in Region 6-2A with Puckett, Pisgah, Madison St. Joe, Leake County and Williams-Sullivan. Marshall has normally been in the Delta-area district but was moved to the South half with reclassification.

“One of our goals is to win district. I know two of the teams, Pisgah and Williams-Sullivan, only had two wins each last year. Madison St. Joe had nine wins, and the other teams weren’t very strong. Our guys are confident.

They are starting to believe. They like the changes we’ve made, and they are having fun,” Wardell added.

Wardell will depend on junior Okevis Alexander (6-3, 210) to lead his team. Alexander will call the signals on offense and play strong safety on defense.

Working at tailback are junior Gecorius Wilson and sophomore Willie Hall. At tight end are freshman Kendrick Blue and sophomore Tearle Clay. Working at receiver are senior Aarin Seargent, juniors Demetrius Clay and Stanley Montgomery, and sophomore Michael Finley.

Seniors Kendarius Wilkes and Jerrel Michaels are working at guard, and senior Frank Epps is at center. Junior Danny Neal is at tackle, and freshmen Kaleb Robinson, DeJarvis Harris and Deshun Head are in the mix for playing time on the line.

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Delta State coach likes team chemistry

PageNN cllq_^ii=OMNP Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 =======================================================================================================================================================================

By ANDY COLLIER _çäáî~ê=`çããÉêÅá~ä

CLEVELAND — The 2012 season didn’t go the usual way it had been going for Delta State.

The Statesmen ended the year with a four-game losing streak and a final record of 3-7, which marked the first time since 2002 the team finished with a losing record. It was also the team’s worst record since 1997, when the Statesmen finished 3-7 that year.

Delta State enters this season with a rejuvenated mindset as first-year head coach Todd Cooley, who took over the program after previous coach Jamey Chadwell left to be the head coach at Charleston Southern University, has brought new energy and focus to a program that is looking to get back on top.

Cooley said the players and the coaching staff are working well together.

“We’ve got a bunch of good guys,” Cooley said. “We’re making mistakes on the practice field, but I think our chemistry is really good. We’ve done some things to try to promote that chemistry. At the end of the day, what has helped us is every man came back here a week-and-a-half early on his own money to go through voluntary work outs to get to know the rest of the team.

“They had to pay for their own meals and work with our strength coaches, and that was the only contact we could have with them. We’re hoping it will pay dividends down the line.”

Delta State’s showing last year was a big reason the team was picked to finish fourth in the Gulf South Conference in the league’s coaches poll.

Even with last year’s poor showing, DSU has a rich tradition. From 1998-2011, the Statesmen went to the Division II playoffs seven times with six Gulf South Conference titles and a Division II National

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Cooley, who played quarterback at Arkansas Tech in 1996 and 1997 and has been an assistant coach at Ouachita Baptist, Arkansas Tech and Central Arkansas, is familiar with the GSC and the tradition of Delta State.

One player returning to DSU who is looking to make an impact is senior linebacker Ixavier Triplett (6-1, 225). Triplett has recorded 233 total tackles in his career at DSU. Last year was a down year for him as he recorded just 51 tackles in seven games and sat out the last part of the year due to a suspension.

Cooley said whatever happened last year with Triplett is in the past.

“I wasn’t here when all that happened,” Cooley said. “When I came in here, he and I talked and had a great discussion. That’s where I left it. Since I’ve been here, he’s done everything that I’ve asked him to do.

We’ve had zero problems.”

DSU’s defense last year gave up 31.2 points per game, which was last in the conference.

One aspect of DSU’s defense that will be strong is the defensive line.

Some changes on local airwaves

By BILL BURRUS péçêíë=bÇáíçê

Greenwood High School football games will be found on a new spot on the radio dial this season, while Pillow Academy will still be found on WYMX 99.1 FM. Pillow, however, will have a new radio crew after the death of longtime Mustang play-by-play announcer Bobo Champion in December 2012.

Harold Young will serve as the voice of the Mustangs, with Jason Wuestenhoefer providing color commentary and Kirk Kimes helping out with stats and commentary.

“We hope to have fun with it and make it interesting for the fans,” Young said. “We’re all new to this so we know it will be a challenge at first.”

Greenwood games have moved

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`çåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=m~ÖÉ=P ----------------------------------------------------------------------football team in the offseason, working with the young guys and putting in some incredible work in the weight room.

“He has all the talent in the world. He has worked hard in the film room, too, on reading defenses and studying our offense.”

Griggs Griggs understands this is his team.

“It all starts with me, and I’m

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to WAGR 102.5 out of Lexington.

Those broadcasts will no longer be done by longtime voice of the Bulldogs Lee Hall because he was let go from the school district last month when the school board voted to contract broadcasting of the games with WAGR during a specially-called meeting.

Hall had been the voice of the GHS Bulldogs for the last 19 years.

According to Dr. Montrell Greene, superintendent of the school district, the change Hall allows the district to cut out the middle man. Previously, the district paid Hall, and Hall bought airtime from the local station. This way, Greene explained

during the meeting, the district is negotiating directly with the station.

The package will cost the district $5,000 and includes 10 30second commercials per week that the district can use for promotion or sell to other interested parties.

The school hadn’t named a new announcer as of late last week.

Hall will still be a big part of local high school football on the radio. He will do Leflore County games on WGNL 104.3 FM, and he says he is working to find a play-by-play guy for Amanda Elzy games on WGNG 106.3 FM. Hall has also develped a website (www.gwoodlive.com) where games will be streamed live on Friday nights.

There will also be plenty of college football action on the local airwaves.

Ole Miss will again be on 99.1 FM and Mississippi State on WTCD 96.9 FM. One thing new will be USM games on WBZL 103.3.

And as always, Mississippi Valley State fans can listen to all the Delta Devil contests on WVSD 91.7 FM. There will also be a web cast available on a listen live link

at www.mvsu.edu.

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geared up to handle that,” said Griggs, who has scholarship offers from Memphis, Louisiana Tech, Arkansas State and Louisiana Monroe.

And when it comes to receivers, Griggs has arguably the most talented one-two punch in all of Mississippi in Robertson and Epps.

Robertson, who has verbally committed to Southern Miss, has a scary combination of size (6-2, 215) and speed (4.4-second 40yard dash). He led the Bulldogs in receiving last season with 54 catches for 871 yards (16.1 average) and a team-high 11 touchdowns.

Robertson missed the start of practice while recovering from summer foot surgery. He returned to practice a week ago and expects to be close to 100 percent for Friday’s season opener

vs. Leflore County.

Epps, a 6-5, 225-pounder with 4.6 speed in the 40, played tight end and receiver in 2012 and was second on the team in receiving with 33 catches for 401 yards and three touchdowns.

Epps But Gatewood says the Bulldogs have plenty more talented pass-catchers.

“It’s not just a one-two punch for us. It’s more like one, two, three, four and five for us. This is by far our most talented and deep group on the team,” said the GHS coach.

Griggs agrees.

“If we go five-wide, there’s no way a defense can cover all the

guys we’ve got,” he said.

Senior Tyrone Weaver (5-11, 160) and junior Booker T. Chambers (5-8, 150) are both returning starters at receiver in the Bulldogs’ wide-open spread attack.

Sophomores Tyler Glass (6-1, 165), Javion Jones (6-1, 175) and Danny Nevels (5-9, 165) and senior Marcquellis Sanders (5-10, 185) will also see playing time at receiver.

But the real key to the Bulldogs’ offensive production will be the play of the big boys up front.

Last year, that group struggled against the better teams with four new starters in the lineup.

Juniors Timeetric McCray (6-1, 235), Howard Lowe (5-9, 245), Daberion Harris (6-3, 240), Edward Howard (6-1, 260) and Moore will start on the offensive line.

Sophomore Kryroslum Clark (6-1, 235) will also be a key player up front.

Sophomore JohnDerrick Smith (5-9, 165) returns at tailback after being forced into action last year as a freshman because of injuries.

When the Dogs use a fullback, it will be senior Demarcus Williams (5-10, 215).

Even though the team will again favor the pass, Gatewood said the plan is to be more balanced than it was last season.

“We will mix in the run more to help us control the clock and take the pressure of our passing game.

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PageNO Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================

New coach hoping to bring change

PageNP cllq_^ii=OMNP Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 =======================================================================================================================================================================

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`çåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=m~ÖÉ=V ---------------------------------------------------------two or three plays ahead.

We have plays for different formations, and I keep it all in my head. This is the way we practice. We go fast pace the entire practice on offense and defense. It’s important the players are focused and in shape.

There will be no time for slouching and walking to the line. We need our linemen getting to the line and ready for the next play,” said Gideon.

The Tigers will get to showcase their new attack for real Friday night when they visit cross-county rival Greenwood High School.

Kickoff is set for 7 at Bulldog Stadium.

Greenwood pounded Leflore 52-12 last season to take control of the Cedric McSwine Trophy. McSwine is the former coach of Leflore County who died in February 2011. “Our plan for Greenwood is to think about Coach McSwine. We lost the trophy to them last year, but we plan on getting it back where it belongs,” said senior cornerback Darius Coleman.

Leflore stays on the road for its second game as it visits Amanda Elzy, a team it only beat 34-30 in 2012.

The Tigers play four other non-district games before entering Region 33A play. Leflore will compete against East Side, Humphreys County, J.J. McClain, O’Bannon and Ruleville in league play.

The only team the Tigers did not play of those five last year was O’Bannon.

They beat Humphreys and McClain.

“We know we’ve got to beat East Side to win the district, and we open district play against them on Oct. 4. Each team we play always gets fired up for us,” said Gideon. “One of the keys for us is to stay away from injuries and trouble at school.”

While the offense gets its fair share of publicity, it’s been Leflore’s defense that has been slow to progress.

“Last year, we did a better job of stopping the run, but we couldn’t stop the pass. It was the total opposite the year before. I look at the kids we have this year on defense and I feel they can step up and make the plays. I want to see us create turnovers,” Gideon added. “We’re hoping that nobody on offense, especially on the line, will have to go both ways. We’re very deep on the defensive line.

We’ve got good athletes and some good-looking kids at linebacker.”

The defense will be led by a quick secondary. Coleman and senior Marcus Ramsey, along with junior Cordarius Cobbins, will be at cornerback. Junior Temerius Spivey and senior Devante Crow, who is around 90 percent after offseason knee surgery from a torn ACL, will be at safety.

Working at linebacker are sophomore Markovic Dixon, sophomore Kevayon Williams, senior Kevante

House and senior Dominique Crow.

The defensive line is led by sophomore Venarius Bowman, senior Casey Ingram, sophomore Jarvis Ross, sophomore Cedric Cross and senior LaDarius Jones.

Calling the plays for the Tigers will be sophomore Demarius Ray. He got in some playing time last season when starter Grant Simms went down with a shoulder injury, and he also directed the Tigers during the spring game.

Gideon said he’s got all the confidence in the world in Ray. Ray will be surrounded by plenty of weapons on offense. Senior Jonavon Caldwell, senior Jamerius Peoples and Coleman are working at tailback. Caldwell was a starter in the backfield last season, and Coleman is one of the fastest players on the team.

The wide receivers include the Crow twins, Spivey, Kevayon Williams and sophomore Frazier McCline. Coleman will also see time at receiver.

The offensive line is spearheaded by senior Tyhlan Dotson at center, senior Jermaine Jones at right tackle, senior Akarus McNeil at right guard, and sophomore Timothy Spivey at left guard. With senior D’Jarius Journey still recovering from left shoulder surgery in May, Gideon is working senior Nicolas Saffold and sophomore Kariff Stanley at left tackle.

Journey may be out until the fifth game.

By BILL BURRUS péçêíë=bÇáíçê

MOORHEAD — For the second time in as many years, Mississippi Delta Community College will be under the direction of a new head coach.

Jeff Tatum, who served as the head football coach at Garden City CC last year, is no stranger to MDCC. He served as an assistant coach at MDCC under then-head coach James “Wooky” Gray from 1987-98. In 1993, the Trojans won the NJCAA National Championship.

Tatum will try to turn around a program that has suffered eight straight losing seasons and is 2-25 over the last three years. Last season, MDCC went 1-8.

Tatum said getting the program on track will take time.

“Everybody asked me about wins, and all I told them is that all I’m worried about is getting that first win,” Tatum said. “You can’t get number two without winning the first one.

The second thing is any time that you try to turn a program around, you’ve got to have good people and kids that work hard. That was one thing I do remember about the Delta the last time I was here. The kids were good kids, and they worked hard. That part has not changed.

“The big thing I’ve got to do is convince these guys that they can win.

Most of them don’t know they can win because we haven’t had the success here since I don’t know when. The kids don’t remember back when Mississippi Delta was really good in the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s.”

Tatum went 9-11 in two seasons at Garden City, rebounding from 2-7 the first year to a 7-4 record in 2012, capped by a bowl win last December against Copiah-Lincoln. He was

named KJCCC coach of the year for that turnaround season, and in his two years had a KJCCC offensive player of the year in quarterback Nick Marshall (2012), and defensive player of the year in defensive end Chaz Nelson (2011).

The MDCC head coach says his new players have a positive attitude.

“These guys are hungry to be winners,” Tatum said. “Most of them come from the Delta schools, and they’ve been in winning programs.

They want to continue to win.”

On offense for MDCC, former Greenwood High School players Raheem Sanders and Kameron Carter have looked good at receiver so far, according to Tatum.

Also former Ray Brooks standout and quarterback Martavis Moore, former Cleveland High standout Eddie McCadney and running back Eddie McCadney are leading the way for the offense.

Center Sammie Pruitt will anchor the Trojans’ offensive line.

On defense, end C.J. Welch and tackle LaDonn Bolden have stood out for the Trojans thus far.

Tatum has a good track record since leaving MDCC in 1998. He spent one year at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Ga., as the wide receivers coach and then spent 1999 at Garden City Community College as the defensive backs coach. That year the Broncbusters won the Kansas state championship.

He returned to Georgia Military College in 2000 as an assistant head coach and offensive coordinator and remained there until 2010. The Bulldogs won a national championship in 2001 and were national runners-up in 2002 and 2005.

Tatum’s offenses were ranked in the top 10 nationally every year, and the Bulldogs played in eight bowl

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games. He returned to Garden City in 2010. mêÉëÉ~ëçå=o~åâáåÖë In a preseason poll of MACJC coaches, the coaches picked East Mississippi and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College as the favorites to win the MACJC North and South Divisions and meet up in the MACJC state championship game.

Gulf Coast enters this season as the nation’s preseason No. 1 team in the JCGridiron Dirty Thirty. D’haquille Williams could be the nation’s top junior college wide receiver after catching 67 passes for 1,295 yards and 17 TD’s last year.

East Mississippi enters the season ranked No. 6 in the nation in the JCGridiron Dirty Thirty.

Head coach Buddy Stephens led his team to an 8-2 season a year ago after winning the junior college national championship in 2011. Defensive tackle Jarran Reed signed with Florida last season but returned for his final year at East Miss. Former Southaven standout Avery Gennesy is one of the nation’s top juc o offensive tackles. n `çåí~Åí=_áää=_ìêêìë=~í=RUNJTOPT çê= ÄÄìêêìë]ÖïÅçããçåïÉ~äíÜKÅçãK cçääçï=çå=qïáííÉêW]_áää|_ìêêìëK

Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 PageNQ cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================

Intriguing early non-conference games

PageNR cllq_^ii=OMNP Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 =======================================================================================================================================================================

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There are positive signs that a widespread upgrade in nonconference scheduling is coming to college football.

With an emphasis on strength of schedule in the coming College Football Playoff, plus the need to fill TV time slots with games fans want to watch, good nonconference games could become more plentiful in the coming years.

For now, we’ll take what we can get. As always, there are a handful of nonconference games in the first couple weeks that are worth circling on the schedule.

Note: For the purpose of this exercise, we’ve eliminated games being played by independents Notre Dame and BYU. The Fighting Irish and Cougars could practically fill up this list on their own.

NK= dÉçêÖá~= ~í= `äÉãëçåI= ^ìÖK PN=Ô Week 1’s main event. Both teams are likely to be ranked in the top 10 or so. Two of the best quarterbacks in the country in Georgia’s Aaron Murray and

Clemson’s Tajh Boyd will get a chance for a quick start in the Heisman Trophy chase. And it’s being played in Death Valley.

Those neutral site games have obvious appeal, but nothing beats a big game at one of the best sites in college football. Also, it’s a chance for the Tigers to make it two straight over the SEC after beating LSU in a bowl.

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A coach defending his conference is pretty much business as usual, though taking even the slightest shot at the SEC always causes a stir. Well, Oklahoma State is favored to win the Big 12 this season, and Mississippi State is pegged for the bottom of the SEC West.

Let’s see if Stoops is on to something.

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Here’s a look at where former Greenwood-area high school football players are now playing in college:

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Jeremy Collins Granderson Givens Kevin Haymore Le’Trey Jones Terrance Hudson D’Ondre Jackson Grant Simms

QB OL DB DB WR DL QB

Junior Junior Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Freshman

Greenwood Amanda Elzy Greenwood Greenwood Greenwood Greenwood Leflore County

Raheem Sanders Jalen Jones MacJavoris Tims Pasarrio Collins John Leflore Jaylon Daniels Silvester Freeman Dwight Griggs Alex Johnson Kameron Carter

WR DB OL WR RB QB OL DE LB WR

Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Sophomore Freshman Freshman Freshman Freshman

Greenwood Amanda Elzy Greenwood Leflore County Greenwood Amanda Elzy Greenwood Greenwood Greenwood Greenwood

D’Montrise Swinney

WR

Sophomore

Leflore County

Justin Sandifer

OL

Freshman

Leflore County

Roosevelt Harris

WR

Freshman

Amanda Elzy

Kevin Phillips

P

Freshman

Pillow Academy

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Jermaine Whitehead

DB

Junior

Amanda Elzy

Trey Williams

DB

Senior

Leflore County

Sophomore

Leflore County

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DeBrandon Sanders

SB

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PK= ipr= îëK= q`r= ~í= `çïÄçóë pí~Çáìã=áå=^êäáåÖíçåI=qÉñ~ëI=^ìÖ PN=Ô Another SEC-Big 12 showdown on the opening Saturday of the season, though this one shapes up to be more good-ongood as both the Tigers and Horned Frogs figure to be ranked.

TCU coach Gary Patterson’s comments about how LSU’s Les Miles disciplined running back Jeremy Hill, who was arrested in the offseason, adds a little spice to an already interesting matchup.

Hill hasn’t been suspended for the game, but Miles hasn’t ruled it out.

QK=_çáëÉ=pí~íÉ=~í=t~ëÜáåÖíçåI ^ìÖK=PN=Ô The return match for the Broncos and Huskies after they finished last season playing in the MAACO Bowl in Las Vegas. Boise State rallied late to win that one 28-26. Round 2 also marks the re-opening of Husky Stadium. The running track around the field is gone and the stands are closer to the field. It should be plenty loud as the Broncos try to silence yet another team from the BCS automatic qualifying conferences.

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pÉéíK=NQ=Ô The Sun Devils and Badgers have similar expectations coming into this season. Not quite conference favorites, but talented teams that could certainly challenge for a spot in the BCS. The winner likely gets a nice bounce in the rankings. Plus, it’ll be a matchup of the Badgers’ power and the Sun Devils’ speed.

SK= r`i^= ~í= kÉÄê~ëâ~I= pÉéíK NQ=Ô The Bruins made a statement early last season in Los Angeles by beating the Cornhuskers 36-30. Quarterback Brett Hundley and the Bruins’ put up 653 yards against Nebraska. Now the Bruins come to Lincoln with the Huskers looking for payback and with one of the most versatile and dynamic offenses in the country, led by quarterback Taylor Martinez. Expect another high-scoring game. buqo^=mlfkq Other notable early season nonconference games: North Carolina at South Carolina, Aug. 29; Rutgers at Fresno State, Aug. 29; Alabama vs. Virginia Tech at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Aug. 31; Tennessee at Oregon, Sept.

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Williams adapts to changes MOSCOW, Idaho — Trey Williams will be the first to admit that everything hasn’t gone as planned in his time at the University of Idaho.

Williams, a former Leflore County High School standout, will be playing his senior season for the Vandals, who dropped out of the Western Athletic Conference after last season and now have Independent status.

Williams (6-2, 206) was the Commonwealth’s Player of the Year following the 2008 season.

The speedy tailback rushed for 1,687 yards on 194 carries (8.7 yards per carry) and scored 19 rushing touchdowns.

With those numbers, Williams assumed he would see time in the backfield for Idaho.

However, when he arrived on campus as a freshman in 2009, he was moved to the defensive secondary.

“I was told I would be playing in the secondary by my position coach at the time,” said Williams. “I played defense some when I was at Leflore but not that much. I knew I would have a lot to learn.

“I was behind other players on defense, so I was redshirted my first year. I got to play some as a redshirt freshman, and my playing time has picked up the last two years. I really expect to be a leader on defense this season. I’ve worked very hard in

the offseason to learn the new system being installed.”

The Vandals are under the direction of head coach Paul Petrino, who served as a wide receivers coach last season for Arkansas. Petrino brought in Ronnie Lee to run the defense.

“He’s very smart with defensive planning. We watch a lot of film together as a position group. Coach Lee believes in getting as many mental reps as he does physical reps,” Williams said.

The Vandals haven’t exactly been very successful in the win column in Williams’ last three years.

They were just 1-11 in 2012, 210 in 2011 and 6-7 in 2010.

“Things could have been betWilliams ter the last few years.

We haven’t gotten many wins and a lot of that has to do with us playing those money games. We’ve been playing teams that have bigger numbers, but there is a lot of team unity and people who believe we can turn this thing around,” added Williams.

The Vandals will play teams such as North Texas State, Wyoming, Northern Illinois, Temple, Texas State, Old Dominion and New Mexico State. They also will travel to Mississippi to play Ole Miss on Oct. 26.

Coming out of Leflore, Williams really wanted to attend Mississippi State, but that call never came. Idaho called and brought him in for a visit.

He said that Mississippi Valley State, “the school right across the street from me,” didn’t start recruiting him until the last two weeks of the recruiting process.

“I could have easily went to Mississippi Delta and started the whole thing over after two seasons there, but Idaho offered me a scholarship, and I jumped on it,” said Williams. “I don’t regret my decision one bit. I got a chance to go to college and play football. I’ve also seen a lot of the country.”

In 11 games he played in last season, Williams made 22 solo tackles and assisted on six other stops. He also broke up two passes. As a sophomore in 2011, he had 27 total tackles (16 solos) and recovered one fumble. As a redshirt freshman in 2010, he finished with eight tackles and forced one fumble.

Williams, who is majoring in architecture, will play strong safety and in nickel packages for the Vandals.

“We are playing teams we can compete against this season.

We’ve got some winnable games on the schedule. I want to have a good senior season and see what happens after that. I’d love to get a chance to play in the NFL or the CFL,” he said.

Auburn junior Jermaine Whitehead changed positions last year, and he admits there were issues.

He primarily played at strong safety in 2012 after lining up at cornerback as a freshman, where he also lined up at Amanda Elzy High School. He’ll stick at safety this season in Ellis Johnson’s 4-2-5 defense, where he will be allowed to roam the wide side of the field as a free safety in several packages.

“I think the game is starting

to make a whole lot more sense after the move to safety,” said Whitehead. “I’ve got a year under my belt, I’m feeling better, feeling more comfortable every day. It’s a new day and things are starting to turn around for me.”

Results were mixed in 2013, but the 11-game starter improved after he was caught flat-footed on some deep throws early in the season. He gave up a couple of deep passes in the 28-10 loss at Mississippi State

in Week 2 but finished with a career-high 12 tackles.

“Oh, man. Every game had its mistakes,” Whitehead said.

“With the season last year, the Georgia game I missed that pick in the end zone. In the ‘Bama game I came down from safety and hit the wrong guy. There are a lot of plays that stick out to me that I can’t wait to (correct) myself this year.”

Still, Whitehead was the team’s third-leading tackler with 86 stops.

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Auburn’s Whitehead set for junior year

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Ole Miss coping with high expectations

PageNS Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================

By BILL BURRUS péçêíë=bÇáíçê

This is a difficult position for Ole Miss, but a much different kind of difficult than it faced the last several years.

Coming off a surprise 7-6 season in 2012 and adding a highlyranked recruiting class in February, expectations are high heading into Year 2 of coach Hugh Freeze’s tenure.

The Rebels were one of the biggest surprises in the Southeastern Conference last season.

They snapped a nearly 2-year-old 16-game SEC losing streak when they beat Auburn 41-20 last October and then finished on a strong note with an Egg Bowl victory over rival Mississippi State and a dominating win in the BBVA Compass Bowl over Pittsburgh.

Now comes the hard part: Living up to the outsized expectations fans and media alike have heaped upon them for the coming season.

“The expectations that are coming now with our program, I’m very careful,” Freeze said. “I told every group that I went to this spring, I tell our team quite often, that unrealistic expectations, they always produce frustration. I don’t care in what area of life that you’re in, if you have an unreal expectation and it does not come to pass, you get very frustrated.”

The fact that the Rebels return 19 starters and replace Georgia, the preseason pick to win the SEC East, with Missouri is fanning those flames.

Just imagine the hype if Ole Miss had pulled out even one of the three games it gave up fourthquarter leads in: Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and LSU. And to have the kind of success Ole Miss attained in Freeze’s first season, it always helps to have

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luck on your side. The Rebels had it in abundance, as they had the same five players on the offensive line start every game last season.

Freeze knows how fortunate his team was to avoid major injuries in 2012, and he had that point hammered home this spring.

“We had some injuries this spring,” he said, “and it reminded me we’re not quite where we need to be depth chart-wise for this league.”

The biggest injury was to starting quarterback Bo Wallace. The junior signal-caller underwent surgery on his shoulder in January and was in the middle of his rehab during spring practice and was finally cleared to throw in June. Wallace used the down time to study up on the Rebels’ fast-paced spread attack.

Watching lots of tape helped him work out some of the things he noticed were wrong with his throwing motion, but he admitted that not being able to go fullspeed for months was tough.

“The first two months, I wasn’t able to do anything. Those first two months, there were some depressing days,” he said. “When I had to go in for rehab, I couldn’t really do much because of my

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One lesson Wallace learned through the experience was when to rein himself in when it came to tucking and running with the ball.

“I just have to pick my spots,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t want to go through another injury like this, so I think I can help my team out more being out there and healthy than trying to get one or two more yards and getting

Bad finish haunts Bulldogs

By BILL BURRUS péçêíë=bÇáíçê

Fueled by a 7-0 start, Mississippi State’s 2012 season had great hope until the Bulldogs ran smack dab into Alabama.

The Bulldogs never really recovered from a 38-7 shellacking at the hands of the Crimson Tide.

After that, the Bulldogs lost to Texas A&M by 25 points, LSU by 20 points, Ole Miss by 17 and then looked like they couldn’t care less in the Gator Bowl, where Northwestern hammered State, 34-20.

So with only 10 seniors on the roster and some key losses on defense, coupled with a tougher schedule than last year, not much is expected of the Bulldogs when it comes to preseason polls and predictions. Many feel the Dogs will have to claw and scratch their way to a six-win season and a chance at four straight bowls under fifth-year head coach Dan Mullen.

With the schedule again much tougher on the back end, it’s important for State to get off to a quick start. But that won’t be easy as they trade last year’s opening foe Jackson State for Oklahoma State, which is picked to win the Big 12. After opening November with back-to-back road games against South Carolina and Texas A&M, State hosts Alabama, plays at Arkansas and then closes out against Ole Miss.

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Offensively, the Bulldogs have a chance to be solid with eight starters back, including secondyear starting quarterback Tyler Russell. But State will only go as far as its ground game will carry it.

In 2012, MSU was 0-4 when it failed to run for 100 yards and went 8-1, Northwestern the exception, when going over. Matter of fact, MSU is 0 for its last 15 in games it didn’t hit 100 yards rushing.

With four starters back up front, including preseason AllSEC selection Gabe Jackson, and Greenville’s LaDarius Perkins leading a good group of solid running backs, the running game should be improved. It will need to be to take some pressure off Russell, who lost his top three receivers from last season.

Chad Bumphis, the program’s all-time leader in receiving yards and touchdowns, headed up a trio of receivers who accounted for 2,043 yards last season before graduating.

Russell came to MSU as one of the best pure passing prospects the school has ever brought in, and last year he started to show his potential with 2,897 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 picks, completing 59 percent of his passes. The 6-5, 220-pounder was on fire over the first half of the season, but when the schedule got tougher the stats started to falter a bit.

In Mississippi State’s eight wins last season, Russell threw for 19 touchdowns compared to a single interception. In the five losses in the final six games, he completed five passes for scores with nine interceptions.

Russell takes the blame for MSU’s struggles in the second half of last season. He called a team meeting after the season to tell them.

“I told these guys, look, that’s on me. I take that blame,” Russell said. “I should’ve been better prepared, I should’ve studied harder, and I should’ve made some throws that I made earlier in the year that I didn’t make in those last two games.

“For me it’s just getting back to the basics, just knowing what I’m capable of doing, and I’ve never worked this hard in my life, and

banged up.”

If he can play up to that potential, Ole Miss might just meet the lofty goals people have for this season — and possibly even surpass them. And those aspirations have permeated through the entire city of Oxford. Senior linebacker Mike Marry said he can’t go anywhere around town without people stopping him to talk about the team.

“Everybody is slowing you down and wanting to talk to you, wanting you to sign things,” he said. “They’re just excited about

the season. I think the people around us are more excited about the season than the team.”

A year ago Freeze was trying to convince his team to believe. Now, he has to convince them not to believe everything.

“I haven’t gotten that feeling from any of the players,” Marry said. “I still feel like everybody is trying to work, because we’re not satisfied with what we did last year. We can do better.” n `çåí~Åí=_áää=_ìêêìë=~í=RUNJ TOPT= çê= ÄÄìêêìë]ÖïÅçããçåJ ïÉ~äíÜKÅçãK=

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I’m passionate about it.”

Russell said the Alabama loss defined the rest of MSU’s season.

“We were unable to come back from that one loss,” he said. “I’m doing my best to change that, to let guys know, hey, listen, it doesn’t matter if we lose one game.

That’s not the end of the season.”

The final game of last season is what really eats at Russell, who was intercepted four times by Northwestern. He said he learned a valuable lesson that day in Jacksonville.

“I watched film, but I didn’t spend as much time as I needed to watch. I’ll never let that happen again,” he said. “It doesn’t

matter who we play, I’m going to do my best to help us get that win.”

Defensively, MSU lost three seniors in the secondary, a pair of second-round NFL draft picks in Darius Slay and Johnthan Banks.

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PageNT cllq_^ii=OMNP Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 =======================================================================================================================================================================

Devils hoping to continue to show progress

By BILL BURRUS péçêíë=bÇáíçê

After a brutal first season without a win, Mississippi Valley State has taken steps forward the last two years.

The Delta Devils biggest jump came in 2012, when they went from 1-10 in 2011 to a 5-6 season that included a seven-point overtime loss to Jackson State and a one-point defeat to Concordia College.

“That first season was tough on everybody, but the coaches and players just kept grinding away,” said fourth-year MVSU head coach Karl Morgan. “We are pleased with the progress we made last year with a 5-4 conference record. We were a play or two away from having a winning season.”

After a pair of close losses to JSU (14-7) and eventual-SWAC champion Arkansas-Pine Bluff (10-0), Valley won its final three games, setting the tone for a positive offseason and giving the Delta Devils some much-needed momentum heading into Morgan’s fourth season in Itta Bena.

“That finish really helped give us a greater self-confidence and made us feel like we can really turn this thing around,” Morgan said. “We’ve always said that we could because you can’t say anything else, but we say it like we mean it now.

“Last year is gone. It won’t have an impact on the field this year, but we do feel good about the potential for this team.”

Morgan’s two biggest concerns heading into the season are finding a quarterback and replacing seven starters from a defensive unit that ranked first in the SWAC overall and second in points allowed.

Morgan, who serves as his own defensive coordinator, must fill seven starting spots due to graduation. But he will be able to count on two first-team All-SWAC players to build around in senior defensive tackle Robert Simpson (6-4, 270) and senior defensive back Kevin Eugene (5-11, 175).

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Eugene was second in the league last season with four interceptions and recorded 38 tackles, while Simpson ranked second in FCS in tackles for loss with 22.5 and fourth in the SWAC in sacks with seven. He also recorded 59 tackles (29 solo) and two fumble recoveries.

“Those two guys will be counted on heavily to make plays and provide leadership,” Morgan said.

Senior Rico Shaw (6-2, 320) is back on the line. Junior Jeremy Johnson (5-9, 170) returns at cornerback. Morgan says Johnson is “pound-for-pound the toughest player” on the team.

Under Morgan, the Delta Devil defense has made great strides.

The unit ranked last in the SWAC in his first year, sixth in 2011 and first in 2012.

Offensively, the Delta Devils have struggled during Morgan’s first three years in Itta Bena, but the unit made some significant strides in the second half of last season after making a move at coordinator. Alex Jackson took over the offense on an interim basis in mid-season and had the interim label removed in the offseason.

Valley averaged 29.6 points a contest as it ended the 2012 campaign with a three-game win streak. For the season, MVSU averaged 17 points, which ranked seventh in the SWAC. The Delta Devils have shown steady offensive progress under Morgan, going from 10.3 points a game in 2010 to 13.6 in 2011 to 17 last year. To keep their offensive

File photo/Andy Lo

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Gone is two-year starter Garrick Jones at quarterback and the running back duo of Trey Bateaste and Brandon Stansell that combined for 1,214 yards and seven touchdowns.

Junior Cortez Frizell (5-10, 195) is one of several guys who will get a chance to pick up the slack at running back.

The Delta Devils started camp with five quarterbacks, two of whom are local kids —

Simpson glad he stuck it out

By BILL BURRUS péçêíë=bÇáíçê

There were times Karl Morgan thought he might lose Robert Simpson.

In the spring of 2010, Simpson, a Biloxi High School product, was one of the first players to sign with the new Mississippi Valley State coach. On the field, things quickly started well for Simpson, but off the field he was struggling.

“I am from a city where I am used to casinos, condos, malls and beach life. But it’s more of a country life at Valley. There’s not much to do on the weekends, and I was far away from my family,” Simpson said. “Plus, the school had lot of issues, a lot of negative publicity.

“There is a big difference between the Gulf Coast and the Delta. I’ll be honest. There were times I thought I made a mistake coming up here.”

Morgan, now in his fourth season at the helm in Itta Bena, is certainly glad Simpson stuck it out. The defensive tackle had a breakout season last year as a

junior, earning first-team AllSWAC honors after finishing fourth in the conference in sacks with seven. He also had two fumble recoveries and 59 tackles. He could be on track for even bigger things in 2013.

“I’ve always said Valley is an acquired taste, and I think (Simpson) has finally acquired it,” Morgan said. “Obviously, we’re happy with that as a coaching staff. I think his staying with us is a move that paid off for us and him.”

Simpson is garnering plenty of national attention coming into this season. He has been named to Phil Steele's Preseason FCS All-America fourth team and is on The Sports Network FCS Preseason All-America second team.

“I am certainly working to have an even better season and to live up to the hype,” Simpson said.

“I’ve been working hard to get bigger and stronger and to improve my football IQ. I want to be a football genius out on the field.”

Simpson has added about 20 pounds, jumping from 250 last

season to 270 this year, a change that he thinks will help him in the trenches.

“I’ve tried hard to gain good weight, but size isn’t the biggest thing for me. I rely heavily on my speed and quickness to get in the backfield and disrupt things,” said Simpson, who last season finished atop the SWAC and second in FCS in tackles for loss with 22.5.

Valley ended last season with three straight wins to finish 5-6.

Simpson hopes the Delta Devils can use that momentum gained late in 2012 to lead to the school’s first winning season since 2006.

“I am hoping I can be a part of the team that puts Valley back on the winning track,” Simpson said, “and then I’m hoping for a legitimate shot at the NFL.” Simpson, who has a 3.0 overall GPA, will have a degree in business administration to fall back on if things at the next level don’t pan out.

But for now, he’s focused on the team’s Sept. 1 opener against Florida A&M in the SWAC/MEAC Challenge in

Greenwood High School product Jeremy Collins, a 6-0, 215-pound junior, and Leflore County product Grant Simms, a 6-2, 175pound freshman.

Collins and junior Carl Davis Jr. are expected to battle newcomer Patrick Ivie (6-3, 200), a juco transfer from College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Ill. Morgan believes Ivie has a chance to break into the starting lineup.

“He’s athletic and rangy. He has good mobility and a good arm,” the Valley coach said of Ivie.

Whoever wins the QB battle

will have a talented group of receivers to throw to, led by junior Julian Stafford. The 5-9, 185pound speedster came out of nowhere last season to become the team’s top receiver with 52 catches for 800 yards and four touchdowns — an impressive feat considering he had just 57 yards receiving as a freshman.

The Memphis native also had two kickoff returns for TDs last year, averaging nearly 30 yards per return. He has been named to ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------pÉÉ MVSUI=m~ÖÉ=NU

Collins’ long journey ends in Itta Bena

By CALVIN STEVENS péçêíë=têáíÉê

File photo/Andy Lo

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Former Greenwood High School quarterback Jeremy Collins went from one part of the state to another to finally wind up in the county he grew up in last season at Mississippi Valley State.

Collins, a 2010 graduate of Greenwood High, signed on the dotted line with Alcorn State University to continue his playing career as a quarterback.

Collins was redshirted his freshman season in Lorman, and following the first semester, transferred to East Mississippi Community College in Scooba. He spent the semester at EMCC but was cut during the spring from the football team.

“After all of that happened, it really woke me up. I realized that

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------pÉÉ QBI=m~ÖÉ=NU

’Bama embracing championship expectations PageNU Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Expectations are soaring at Alabama, where a 10-win season is practically considered a debacle and national championship contention is a minimum standard not a hope-we-can ambition.

Settle for a non-BCS bowl game? How embarrassing.

“It’s the Alabama standard,” All-America linebacker C.J. Mosley said. “It’s the tradition that we live by. We’re here to win championships. That’s why everybody said they want coach (Nick) Saban here, and that’s why the fans love us because they expect the same thing out of us every year. So why have anything less than a championship?

“Why would you want to go 103? Why would you want to just settle for the Capital One Bowl?

Why not be great every time you can?”

The Crimson Tide is considered a front-runner for a third straight national championship and fourth in five years. The offense could lead the way this time.

Quarterback AJ McCarron has led Alabama to the past two national titles and directs an

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offense loaded with playmakers — albeit minus three All-America linemen. The defense has been annually among the nation’s best, even if coordinator Kirby Smart insists 2012 was a down year despite yielding the nation’s fewest yards and points.

Mosley and safety HaHa Clinton-Dix return but gone are two defensive line starters, All-America cornerback Dee Milliner and team leader linebacker Nico Johnson.

The SEC schedule is kinder than it could be once again. The Tide won’t face SEC East powers South Carolina, Georgia or Florida in the regular season. Then again, the first two games are against Virginia Tech in Atlanta and a trip to Texas A&M — after an open date to switch defensive gears for the Aggies’ hurry-up, nohuddle attack.

Saban, who acknowledges his title celebrations only last for a night, is trying to keep his players from dwelling in past successes.

The coach borrows from Michael Jordan’s take on game-winning shots. “The only one that matters is the next one,” Saban said.

`çåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=m~ÖÉ=NT ---------------------------------------------------------I had to get to work if I wanted to continue to play college football,” said Collins, a 6-foot, 215-pound redshirt junior.

Collins then left Scooba and landed at Mississippi Delta Community College in Moorhead to play for former Trojan head coach Jay Miller in 2011. He was primarily used as the throwing quarterback in a twoquarterback system under Miller.

Collins graduated from MDCC in the winter of 2011 and signed on with MVSU for the spring semester in 2012. He went through spring drills with the Delta Devils and was a part of the team during the 2012 season.

Valley went 5-6 overall and 5-4 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference last season.

Collins and the entire team come into this season

with high expectations.

The Delta Devils won their final three SWAC games of the season in 2012 to finish with a winning record in league play.

“When you start winning you get hungry for more.

There has been a lot more offseason workouts this season. We all want to have a winning season, and we are working hard to make it happen,” said Collins.

Collins is one of five quarterbacks on Valley’s roster for the upcoming season.

Carl Davis, a junior, and Patrick Ivie, a junior college transfer from Illinois, join Collins as the front-runners for the job. Also on the team are former Leflore County standout Grant Simms, a freshman, and Rashad Jones, who played at Clinton High School last season.

Former Amanda Elzy signal-caller Jaylon Daniels transferred just a few weeks ago to Mississippi Delta Community College.

“I’ve worked hard on being more of a vocal leader by reminding guys to do the

`çåíáåìÉÇ=Ñêçã=m~ÖÉ=NT ---------------------------------------------------------the CFPA Watch List as a returner.

Kenneth Dabney (5-7, 170) and Richard Drake (62, 200) will also be key cogs in the Delta Devils’ receiving corps.

The MVSU offensive line is led by senior Antonio Griggs (6-1, 280), a secondteam preseason All-SWAC selection.

Up front, the Delta Devils have experience with senior Justin Barner (6-2, 315), junior Timothy Johnson (6-4, 360) and sophomores Eddie Wright (6-3, 315) and Trevin Wallace (66, 315).

Valley will be without kicker Kevin Monzon, who died April 25 in a one-car

accident on U.S. 82 between Itta Bena and Greenwood.

The team will honor Monzon with a memorial decal on their helmets and will also honor linebacker Marcus Thompson, who was Monzon seriously hurt in the wreck and is paralyzed from the waist down after a spinal cord injury.

“We’re going to leave Marcus’ locker untouched and keep his things in there to remember him,” Morgan said. n `çåí~Åí=_áää=_ìêêìë=~í RUNJTOPT= çê ÄÄìêêìë]ÖïÅçããçåJ ïÉ~äíÜKÅçãK= cçääçï= çå qïáííÉêW]_áää|_ìêêìëK=

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A few things to watch during Alabama’s upcoming season: n e^kaifkd= qeb= evmbW Saban has said the 2010 Bama team that, incidentally, finished 10-3 and went to the Capital One Bowl, was as talented as his three national champions at Alabama, if not moreso. Talent alone won’t likely carry the Tide past Virginia Tech and SEC West rivals Texas A&M and LSU — the only two teams to beat ‘Bama the past two seasons. The offseason started out rough with four players arrested and dismissed and, Saban said, some others skipping classes. He said the attitude improved. n lccbkpfsb= ifkbW Chance Warmack, D.J. Fluker and Barrett Jones have moved on to the NFL from one of the more dominant college offensive lines.

How their replacements fare is the biggest question facing the offense. Left tackle Cyrus Kouandjio and guard Anthony Steen are potential early-round draft picks, while Ryan Kelly appears entrenched at Jones’ center spot. n orkkfkd= arlW T.J. Yel-

right things. I feel like I’m coming into this season with something to prove to myself,” s a i d Collins, who saw very little playing time in Collins 2012.

“I believe the guys will play for me, but I’m out to

AP

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don is the headliner among Alabama’s tailbacks, but the Tide has thrived with two-back tandems of Trent Richardson/Mark Ingram, Richardson/Eddie Lacy and Lacy/Yeldon. Yeldon was a 1,000yard rusher as a freshman who had two of his best performances

prove to myself that the results can be different with me as the starting quarterback. I feel I can get the job done. I bring a desire to win and to be a leader.”

The teams Collins has served as the starting quarterback haven’t been very successful. As a junior at GHS, the Bulldogs went just 2-7. He completed 73-of -120 passes for 1,058 yards with nine interceptions and

in the SEC and national championship games. Fellow sophomore Kenyan Drake was effective as a reserve last season while Jalston Fowler and Dee Hart are returning from knee injuries. Derrick Henry, who broke Ken Hall’s 51year-old rushing mark, leads four highly rated freshman backs.

five touchdowns.

His senior campaign was filled with injuries. The team went just 3-8 and in limited action, he completed only 22-of-64 passes for 248 yards with two scores and five interceptions.

“After the way things went at Greenwood, I feel really blessed to still be playing football,” said Collins.

“We lost a lot of games in high school. I’ve had the

support of my family the entire way. My dad encourages me a lot with scripture. He sent me one the other day from Psalm 37:45 that told me the Lord will give you the desires of your heart and we should commit our ways to Him. I’m trusting and believing in that.”

Collins’ father is the Rev. Calvin Collins, pastor of New Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

PageNV cllq_^ii=OMNP Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 =======================================================================================================================================================================

PageOM Greenwood Commonwealth / Wednesday, August 21, 2013 cllq_^ii=OMNP =======================================================================================================================================================================