Friday, November 28, 2008

County Teams Battle In Tip-Off Tournaments

Four of the county’s five varsity boy’s basketball programs hit the floor last week in two preseason tournaments in Marianna and Sneads.

The Marianna Bulldogs played host to the Sonny’s Tip Off Classic and games played on Thursday and Saturday night also included Cottondale and Malone. As the host team the Bulldogs squared off against Maclay on Thursday night and lead throughout the first half. But the Marauders rallied in the second half and pulled out a 8 point win over the Bulldogs. Marianna led 15-8 at the end of the first quarter and 21-18 at the half. But Maclay outscored Marianna 21-12 in the third quarter to take a 39-33 lead into the final quarter. While Marianna kept battling Maclay went to post a 53-45 victory. C.J. Blount led Marianna with 13 points while Kruize Penkins followed with 10 points. On Saturday night Marianna matched up with the Tornadoes of Bay High School and faired much better in the end. But initially the Panama City squad took charge and led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter and 22-19 at the half. Penkins led Marianna in the half, scoring 17 of the Bulldog’s 19 points. In the second half however Marianna began to assert themselves, outscoring Bay 12-7 to take a 31-29 lead in the last quarter. The ‘Dogs held the Tornadoes scoreless for the first four minutes of the final quarter and went on to post a 44-38 victory. Penkins led the Bulldogs with 21 points while Blount followed with 13 points. Marianna opened up the regular season on Tuesday night with a home match against Rutherford. For results of that contest please see Sid Riley’s report on page three of the sports section.

The Cottondale Hornets found the going rough in their two outings, opening up against a very good Rutherford squad and falling 61-43. The Hornets trailed by 3 at the end of the first quarter but the Rams went on a run in the second quarter outscoring Cottondale 25-8 to lead 35-15 at the half. Rutherford maintained their double digit lead through the second half before posted the 18 point win. Marcus Humose led Cottondale with 13 points and Dominique Webb added 10. On Saturday night the Hornets faced off with a potential playoff opponent in Maclay. Cottondale took the early lead as the led 12-9 after one quarter. The still maintained a 2 point lead at the half and at the end of the third quarter. But Maclay rallied for a fourth quarter win as they posted a 48-37 victory. Trestin White led the Hornets with 11 points and Humose added 8 points. Cottondale opened up the regular season with a home contest against Wewahithcka on Tuesday and won 81-41. Humose led the way with 15 points, White and Nick Jackson followed with 11 points each.

For a complete wrap up on the Malone Tigers please see the report filed by The Times student reporter Ryan Maloney on page two of sports.

The Sneads Pirates hosted a two day tournament last Tuesday and Thursday. After falling to Franklin County on Tuesday (see last week’s Times) the Pirates bounced back with a win over West Gadsden on Thursday night. The Pirates beat their cross river rivals 59-35. Sneads lead 32-19 at the half and were led in scoring by Justin Neal with 15 points, Sherrick Williams with 14 and Jamar White with 8.

Sneads opened their regular season on Monday with a 72-56 win over Wewahitchka. The Pirates led 35-19 at the half and were led by Sherrick Williams with 17 and Justin Neel with 13. Terrance Pittman and Delvin Oliver each added 12 points. They followed that with a Tuesday night contest against Bozeman and won 58-41. Williams led the team with 18 points, Josh Rogers followed with 9 and Oliver and Neel each added 6 points.

Cats & Dogs Ousted From Playoffs

Bulldog Bradley Battles (middle) found the going rough last Friday night in Madison as he is sandwiched between two Cowboys. Photo by Mike Miller

By Clint Cox

The two Jackson County teams that made it to round one of the FHSAA playoffs both fell behind early and while one squad rallied to tie the game, both squads lost and thus were eliminated from post season play.

The Graceville Tigers traveled to Jacksonville to take on the Warriors of Eagles View. This is the same squad that Graceville beat last year in the first round with a 58-42 shootout victory. This year’s game saw Graceville with a scoring opportunity early on but were stopped on 4th down and goal play. From there the Warriors went on to post two touchdowns and take a 16-0 lead. The Tigers rallied in the second half as Antrelll Wright found the end zone and Treyshaun White added a two point conversion run to make it a 16-8 game. In the final quarter Justin Miles scored and then added a two point run to tie the game at 16-16. The score remained tied at the end of regulation and the Warriors scored on their possession with a touchdown pass. Graceville was unable to pick up a first down or find the end zone on their possession and the Warriors claimed a 22-16 overtime win. Graceville finished the season with a record of 8-3.

The Marianna Bulldogs also had to travel as they journey to Madison County and the Stadium known as Boot Hill. The Cowboys entered the game ranked #1 in the state and several polls have them listed in the top 20 teams nationwide. They had won 22 straight games and were averaging 52 points per game. They took an early 7-0 lead but the Bulldogs came up with a defense stop late in the first quarter to gain a little momentum. But on Marianna’s first play after the defense stand the Bulldogs coughed up the ball and Madison recovered. One play later they had a touchdown and a 14-0 lead. They made it 21-0 at the half and went on to a 35-0 win. The Cowboys held Marianna’s Bradley Battles to 81 yards and 25 yards of that came on one run late in the game. Marianna finished the season with a record of 8-3.

Bulldog Head Coach Rob Armstrong said the loss should not take away from the overall season. "I’m proud of the way the kids played all year. Madison is a great team and they shut us down and we just could not move the ball. But we’ve still had a great season and this is a fine group of young men. We lose 7 really good seniors that leave this program in good shape and with a bright future," said Armstrong.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Lady Pirates Fall to Maclay

By: Clint Cox
Photo Caption:
Sneads Head Coach Shelia Roberts (center) tries to rally the Lady Pirates in action last Saturday at Maclay.
Photo by Clint Cox

TALLAHASSEE – The Sneads Lady Pirate’s dream of a trip to Lakeland for the FHSAA Volleyball Final Four fell short this past Saturday as they fell to Maclay 3-0 in the Region 1 Finals. A large crowd of Pirate fans traveled to Tallahassee and in fact outnumbered the Lady Marauder fans 2-1. But that was not enough as the Maclay squad rallied to win game one and then led throughout games two and three.


Game one saw the Lady Pirates come out and take a 15-10 lead. Meagan Smith and Allison McDaniel came up with a couple of kills but Maclay was slowly crawling back into the game. The Lady Marauders finally tied the game at 18-18. They then outscored Sneads 7-1 in the final stretch to take a 25-19 win. Maclay then jumped out to quick lead in game two and lead through the game. Sneads rallied a couple of times to pull within four points but the rallies could not be sustained. Maclay took game two by a score of 25-18. In game three Sneads again fell behind early, trailing by as much as 13-3. Smith came up with a tap over, a kill and then a couple of nice serves as the Lady Pirates narrowed the gap to 14-8. Maclay pushed ahead to a 20-11 lead before Kara Alford served up a couple of points to make it 20-14. But Maclay ripped off 5 straight points to take a 25-14 win in the game and a 3-0 win in the match.

Sneads finished the season with a 20-10 record and claimed back to back district championships. As disappointing as the loss to Maclay was, Head Coach Shelia Roberts said her squad should hold their heads high. "This squad took Sneads volleyball farther than they have ever gone before (Regional Finals). As much as it hurts right now, they can be proud of what they have done this year and for this program," said Roberts. She also talked of the hard work put in by this year’s team, both on the court and off the court. "I wish everybody could know how hard these ladies have worked for the past year. They trained all summer long and raised money in the heat and rain. They would come out early for practice and stay late. I am very proud of these girls and our seniors will be missed very much. We’ve got some got a lot of good juniors and sophomores as well so Sneads volleyball is looking good," commented Roberts.

Bring On Basketball-11/20/08

By Clint Cox

Photo Caption:
Pictured here is Marianna Sonny’s Manager Mr. Tim Parr presenting a check for the annual Sonny’s Tip Off Tournament to be held at Marianna High Gym on November 20 and November 22. Contributed Photo

Volleyball is over and with the exception of Marianna and Graceville, most of the county has hung up their football cleats and equipment for another season. For the county’s hoop fans, that means it is time to bring on the basketball season.

Most of the county’s high school girls basketball teams began regular season play this week while the boys squads are involved in several pre-season tip off tournaments. On Tuesday some of the girls action including Sneads at Malone and Marianna at Graceville. One of those tip-off tournaments for the boys taking place at Marianna High School. The "Sonny’s Tip Off Tournament" is sponsored by Sonny’s Bar-B-Que and includes three of the county’s five varsity boy’s squads. Marianna, Cottondale and Malone will be hitting the hardwoods. Non-county teams participating in the tournament include Bay High, Maclay and Rutherford. Tournament action will be on Thursday and Saturday. On Thursday Malone battles Bay at 4:30 pm, Cottondale takes on Rutherford at 6 pm and Marianna squares off against Maclay at 8 pm. On Saturday Cottondale matches up with Maclay at 4:30, Malone will play Rutherford at 6 pm and Marianna and Bay High do battle at 8 pm.


A pre-season tournament is also being played at Sneads. On Tuesday night Wewahitchka defeated Altha in the first game, Blountstown beat West Gadsden 59-39 and in the night cap Sneads fell to Franklin County 51-40. The Pirates kept the game close as they trailed 12-10 at the end of the first quarter. John Locke’s three pointer gave the Pirates a brief 1 point lead at 13-12 and then Terrance Pittman later tied the game at 15-15. Franklin County got a run at the end of the first half to take a 25-20 lead. Sneads trailed at the end of the third quarter by a score of 36-38. Pittman led the Pirates with 10 points while Locke followed with 9 and Justin Neal added 8 points. On Thursday night the action will include Franklin County taking on Wewahitchka, Blountstown playing Altha and Sneads will host West Gadsden in the final game of the evening.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Pirates Fall To Freeport-11/13/08

By Clint Cox

SNEADS – The Pirates of Sneads found the going rough in their homecoming outing against the Freeport Bulldogs. After Freeport jumped out to a 15-0 lead in the first quarter the Pirates took possession early in the second quarter after a nice punt return by Terrance Pittman gave them excellent field positon. The Pirates drove deep into the Bulldog’s territory but the drive stalled and the Pirates were forced to go for a field goal. But the Sneads could not get the ball through the uprights and Freeport took over.
Sneads managed to hold the Bulldogs on their next drive but Freeport picked off a Pirate pass later in the quarter. The Bulldogs capitalized on the turnover by tossing a touchdown pass and taking a 22-0 lead at the half. The second half was more of the same as the Bulldogs picked off another pass and then added another touchdown. They picked off their fourth Pirate pass late in the third quarter and then tacked on one more score to make it 35-0.
The Pirates lone score of the night came midway through the final quarter on a one yard run by Mark Lawson. The final score was 35-6 in favor of the Bulldogs. Pirate Head Coach Don Dowling said his squad’s performance lacked a lot. "We did not play well at all. I don’t know if it was homecoming or what but it’s was one of our poorest performances all season. But we’ll go back to work this week and try to correct some of the mistakes. South Walton has got it going right now so we’ll have to play much better to have a shot," said Dowling. It is Senior Night at Citizen’s Field as the Pirates play host to South Walton for their regular season finale.

All Four County Teams Won-11/13/08

By Clint Cox & Russell Register

On October 31, 2008 all four of the county’s varsity football programs won. Several folks inquired as to the last time that all four county teams had won on the same night. A look back in the record books revealed that last time that it occurred was in 1990. Given that it occurred 18 years ago, it is ironic that it actually occurred twice during the 1990 season. On September 14th Marianna beat Holmes County, Cottondale beat Ernest Ward, Graceville beat Baker and Sneads beat Vernon. On November 9th of the same season Marianna beat Pace, Cottondale beat Wewahitchka, Graceville beat Pensacola Catholic and Sneads beat Apalachicola.
It should also be noted that there have been several times in the last 18 years in which three of the county teams won and the fourth had the night off (so technically no county teams lost on these nights). This occurred on 10/7/05, 10/8/04, 11/10/00, 10/16/92 and 11/22/91.
Thanks to Russell Register of Deep South Sports Broadcasting for compiling the above information (See Simply Put)

Lady Pirates Advance to Regional Finals-11/13/08

By Clint Cox

SNEADS – They didn’t do it the easy way but the Sneads Lady Pirates volleyball squad captured the FHSAA Class 2A Regional One Semi-Final on Tuesday night with a 3-2 win over Baker. Sneads won the first two games but then dropped the next two games. That sent the match to a fifth and final game. The Lady Pirates hung on to win and now advance to the Regional Finals to be played Saturday at 1 pm CST at Maclay (Tallahassee).
Game one was back and forth with both teams leading by as many as 3 points during the game. But neither team could pull away and Baker rallied to tie the game at 20-20. Mattie Collins, the FACA District 2 Player of the Year, closed out the game with back to back kills to give Sneads a 27-25 win. Game two was just as close through the contest. Baker got up by as many as five points but Sneads rallied to tie the game at 19. The game was again tied at 23-23 before the Lady Pirates notched two straight points for a 25-23 victory. Baker had no intention of rolling over and rallied to win the next two games by scores of 25-17 and 25-23.
Game five was nip and tuck as neither team led by more than 2 points. Collins and Meagan Smith recorded kills to keep the Lady Pirates close. The hero of the game proved to be Tiffany Guerra as she closed out the game with three straight aces and Sneads prevailed 15-13.
Lady Pirate Head Coach Shelia Roberts gave all the credit to a higher power. "That’s the God factor. The girls worked hard but we didn’t play well the last couple of games. We committed too many errors. But they kept battling and Tiffany came up with some great serves when we needed them the most," said Roberts. She also noted that Baker and Pensacola Christian (last Tuesday’s quarter final opponent) gave the Lady Pirates fits. "They play a different style than we are accustomed to, they do a lot of tap overs. We play better when we match up with teams that play more of a power game because we have such good blockers," commented Roberts. Her Lady Pirates improved to 20-9 on the season and face off against a Maclay squad that beat Liberty County 3-1.

Tigers & Bulldogs Clinch Playoff Berths-11/13/08

By: Clint Cox

The Graceville Tigers and Marianna Bulldogs both went on the road this past Friday night and clinch their respective district runner up slots and notched a berth in the upcoming FHSAA football playoffs.
The Graceville Tigers traveled to Cottondale to take on their western county rival in the Hornets. It was all Graceville as the Tigers racked up a 50-14 win. Antrell Wright had a big night, rushing for 196 yards and 5 scores to pace the Tigers. He helped the Tigers jump out to 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Cottondale narrowed the margin to 14-8 after a touchdown run by Dominique Webb and two point pass play from Jesse Freeman to Nick Jackson. But Graceville came right back with another score from Wright to make it a 20-8 game. Justin Miles then hit Florian Litim on a 38 yard scoring strike late in the first half to make it 28-8. Wright added two more touchdown runs in the third quarter to salt the game away at 44-8. Webb led Cottondale with 110 yards on 12 carries. With the loss Cottondale fell to 4-5 and travel to Vernon for their last game of the season. Graceville improved to 7-2 and will host Chipley for their final regular season game. On November 21st Graceville will travel to Jacksonville to take on Eagles View in the first round of the playoffs.
The Marianna Bulldogs also pulled out a win to make the playoffs but it was much harder than Graceville’s win. The Bulldogs trailed 21-14 at the half to Walton County and had their star running back on the sideline with an ankle injury. But the ‘Dogs rallied in the second half and pulled off a "gut check" 34-21 district win. Walton scored on their first two offensive plays of the game while Marianna got a quick score from Bradley Battles. With less than 5 minutes gone in the game Walton led Marianna 14-7. The Bulldogs tied the game at 14-14 with a 1 yard run by R.J. Bowers late in the first quarter. But on the first offensive play in the second quarter for Marianna Battles went down with an injured ankle. While the trainers worked on Battles on the sidelines, Walton reclaimed the lead at 21-14.
Battles made a brief reappearance but was unable to go in the second half. But the Bulldogs did not let that discourage them and Fidel Montgomery scored on a 3 yard run in the third quarter. Troy Clemmons tied the game at 21-21 with his third extra point kick of the night. After a Walton punt Marianna put together what is arguably the longest drive in Bulldog history. They got the ball at their own 3 yard with just under 5 minutes to play in the third quarter. They methodically plowed their way down the field on an 18 play drive. Bowers scored with 5:41 left in the game on a 1 yard run. The drive ate up 11:02 off the game clock and put Marianna up 28-21. Walton fumbled the ensuing kickoff and Marianna’s Demetrious Straker recovered for the Bulldogs. They took another four minutes off the clock and scored with just under two minutes on a 25 yard pass from Dustin Larkin to Fidel Montgomery. Another Clemmons kick put Marianna up 34-21.
Head Coach Rob Armstrong was obviously proud of how his squad didn’t fold when Battles went out. "The way everything went against us early on our kids could have quit. But they didn’t bat an eye. There is no "quit" in this team and I’m extremely proud of them," Armstrong commented. Marianna improved to 7-2 and now travels to Port St. Joe for their last regular season game. The Bulldogs will then travel to Madison to take on the Cowboys on November 21st in round one of the playoffs.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Friday Night Preview

Graceville (6-2) at Cottondale (4-4) 7 pm
It’s another huge game for these two ole Jackson County rivals. Never mind that bragging rights for the western half of the county are on the line, this game has huge playoff implications. Simply Put, the winner heads to the playoffs as the district runner up while the loser will pack up their equipment after next week’s season finale. After struggling early in the season the Hornets have now won 3 in a row, including last week’s exciting 20-18 win over Maclay. Graceville has mowed down most of their opponents, losing only to Marianna (7-1) and FAMU (6-3). The Tigers are averaging 37.7 points per game this season. And the Tigers have won the last five meetings between these long time rivals. The last win for Cottondale came in 2002. Look for another classic showdown that goes right down to the final horn.
Marianna (7-1) at Walton (5-3) 7 pm
Like the Graceville vs. Cottondale game, the implications for this game are simple. The winner heads to the playoffs as the district runner up while the loser will pack up their equipment after next week’s season finale. Marianna hammered Northview last week to pick up their 7th win of the season. Walton started 5-1 but has since lost back to back games, falling 31-0 to Pensacola Catholic and then losing 38-12 last week to West Florida. These two teams started playing each other in 1925 and since 1940 have played in all but 5 seasons (80, 81,82,95 & 96). In their last 64 meetings the Bulldogs own a 39-24 advantage over the Braves.
Sneads ( 3-5) host Freeport (4-4) 7 pm
The Pirates picked up a big 18-12 win over the Bulldogs of Liberty County last week. They’ve got another pack of ‘Dogs coming in this week as they host Freeport for Homecoming. The Pirates got a 243 yard rushing performance from Mark Lawson last week. Lawson has now rushed for over 1,100 yards on the season. The Bulldogs started 4-1 on the season but have since lost three in a row. But those three loses came to tough squads like Jay, West Gadsden and last week’s 31-20 loss to Port St. Joe.

Sneads & Marianna Win Districts

By Clint Cox
Two Jackson County varsity volleyball squads claimed their respective district championships last week and in doing so advanced to the first round of the FHSAA Playoffs.

The Sneads Lady Pirates captured their second straight Class 2A District Two Championship with a 3-1 win over the Lady Tigers of Blountstown. The match was played in Cottondale last Thursday night and the Lady Pirates got out of the gates quickly winning game one 25-23 and game two 25-10. Game three went the way of Blountstown by a score of 25-18. The deciding game however went to Sneads as they posted a 25-20 victory.

With that win over Blountstown the Lady Pirates, played host to Pensacola Christian on Tuesday night in round one of the playoffs. Game one went to Sneads in relatively easy fashion as the Lady Pirates jumped out to a 9-2 lead. With Meagan Smith, Kara Alford and Mattie Collins racking up kills Sneads went on to a 25-17 win. Game two was not so easy as the Lady Warriors jumped out to 12-3 lead. Sneads did not quit though and with Ashley Smith recording 9 straight service points the Lady Pirates rallied to tie the game at 13-13. From there the game went back and forth with neither team able to pull ahead by more than two points. With the game tied at 22-22 Ashley Smith served up two service points and Collins finished the game off with a kill to give the Lady Pirates a 25-23 win. Game three saw the Lady Warriors again jump out to a lead and once again Sneads rallied to tie the game at 16-16. Sneads surgred ahead to a 22-17 lead but could not hold the lead. Pensacola Christian rallied and eventually won the game 27-25. The fourth game was another slow start for Sneads but this time they rallied quicker to tie the game at 5-5. The lead changed back and forth before the Lady Warriors went up 15-12. With Meagan Smith serving Sneads went up 17-15. The Lady Warriors went back up and led 21-18 before Sneads rallied one more time to get back in the running. The Lady Pirates battled their way to 27-25 win with Meagan Smith serving up an ace to get the game and match winning point. The Lady Pirates are now 19-9 on the season and will next be in action on Tuesday when they host Baker. The Lady Gators beat Blountstown 3-0 to improve to 14-3.

The Marianna Lady Bulldogs laid claim to the Class 3A District Two Championship with a 3-0 win over Chipley last Thursday in Bonifay. Game one went to Marianna by a score of 25-17 while game two and three were much closer. Both games went to a final score of 25-22 in Marianna’s favor. Randa Hickman led the way with 16 service points and nine kills. Jordan Sonaglia racked up 25 spikes and 8 kills. Marianna improved to 19-7 on the season and were scheduled to play host to Walton County on Wednesday night in round one of the FHSAA playoffs. Results of that contest were not available at press time. Should the Lady Bulldogs beat Walton they would play again on Tuesday in the Regional Semi-Finals as they would host the winner of Pensacola Catholic and Chipley.

Pirates Seize Victory Over Bulldogs

By Clint Cox

SNEADS – The Sneads Pirates rallied for a come from behind 18-12 victory over the visiting Bulldogs of Liberty County last Friday night. After falling behind 12-0 the Pirates stormed back with 18 unanswered points for the win. Head Coach Don Dowling was pleased with the come back effort. "I told our coaches when it was 12-0 that this could get ugly. But the kids showed a lot of heart. It was gut check time for them and I’m proud of how they fought back," said Dowling.

Down 12-0 at the half the Pirates made their first crack on the scoreboard in the third quarter with a touchdown run from Mark Lawson. Billy Knight added the point after kick to make it a 12-7 game. Knight added a field goal later in the quarter to make it 12-10 going into the final quarter of play. Jeff Davis scored the go ahead touchdown for the Pirates in that fourth quarter. The point after kick failed but the Pirates now had a 16-12 lead with 7 minutes to play in the game. Liberty County kept battling but a Pirate tripped up the Bulldog quarterback in the end zone for a safety. That gave the Pirates their 18-12 lead and that score held until the final horn.

Sneads improved to 3-5 on the season with the win. Mark Lawson led the way with 243 yards of rushing and 1 touchdown. Sherrick Williams led the Pirate defense with 11 tackles while Jamar White followed with 9 tackles. Delvin Oliver and Michael Kinard each recorded 8 tackles. The Pirates will be back in this Friday when they play host to Freeport for homecoming.

Marianna Basketball Squad Is Sellng Subscriptions To Jackson County Times as Fund Raiser

Help the Basketball Program and Enjoy A Subscription
In order to raise the funds necessary to equip and cover travel expenses for the Marianna Basketball Program, Coach Blanton and his squad are currently busy selling subscriptions to the Jackson County Times. If you subscribe and wish to help the team, just have the subscription entry form designate the team as the selling agency.

As part of this program the newspaper is offering a chance to all subscribers to win either $5000 (annual subscribers) or $2500 (6 month subscribers). When 2000 new subscriptions have been sold, all subscribers will become eligible for the drawing for this prize.