Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Bulldog Basketball - Yesteryear

By Clint Cox


The 2007-08 Marianna Bulldogs have earned a berth in the FHSAA Final Four in Lakeland. A look back through the history books reveals that the Bulldogs made their first appearance in the final four in 1934. After beating Gainesville 22-20 in the semi-finals, the Bulldogs lost 25-20 in the championship game to Miami Edison. Their next appearance in the semi-finals occurred in 1951 where they lost to Seabreeze 47-33. Grey Wilson was the Head Coach for the Bulldogs at that time. Both of those appearances were at the University of Florida Gym in Gainesville.
Fast forward to 1977, which was the next time the Bulldogs made it to the Final Four and the tournament was now being held in Lakeland. After a 66-64 win over Ely, the Bulldogs fell to Leesburg in the championship game by a score of 71-51. They returned the following year and again won the semi-final with a 60-54 win over Bartow. They lost in the championship game 67-62 to Ocala Vanguard to have them finish as the state runner up two years in a row. The 1981 Bulldogs returned to Lakeland and won the semi-final by a score of 68-52 over Miami Edison. They then captured Marianna’s only state championship in boys basketball with a 67-52 win over Titusville. The last time the Bulldogs traveled to Lakeland for the Final Four was 1985 and there the boys from Marianna went down 57-51 to Jacksonville Bolles. The Head Coach for all of the appearances from 1977 – 1985 was Randy Free.

Bulldogs Bound For State

By Clint Cox


The Marianna Bulldogs continued their quest for a State Championship with a 52-45 win over Florida High last Saturday night in the Class 3A Region 1 Finals. The win advanced the Bulldogs to the FHSAA Semi-Final contest in Lakeland on Wednesday against Pine Crest (Ft. Lauderdale). The results of Wednesday’s contest were not available at press time. If the Bulldogs could pull off a win over Pine Crest they would advance to the State Championship game to be played on Friday at 2:30 pm C.S.T. They would take on the winner of Wednesday’s other semi-final contest between P.K. Yonge and Dunbar.
Saturday night’s contest was before a standing room only crowd at the Dog House. Marianna took an early 8-5 lead on the outside shooting of Tyler Wilson who hit two 3 pointer’s in the opening quarter. The second quarter belonged to Brandon Gibson as the 6’7" senior hit five straight unanswered points to push Marianna’s lead to 13-5. The first half ended with the Bulldogs leading 17-10. The Seminoles of Florida High rallied in the third quarter and pulled to within one point, 29-28. Gibson again came up with back to back buckets, including a thundering slam dunk to put the Bulldogs up by five points. C.J. Blount then got back to back buckets as Marianna’s lead swelled back to 9 points. The Bulldogs led by as many as 12 points in the final quarter but the Seminoles would not go away quietly. They kept battling and managed to cut the Bulldog lead to as few as 7 points by the time of the final horn. Blount hit two big free throws with 17 seconds left to preserve the 7 point lead for the Bulldogs.
Marianna improved to 25-3 on the season and head to Lakeland as the #2 ranked team in the state. Their opponent on Wednesday will enter that contest with an impressive record as well. Pine Crest was 27-4 after winning their Region Final by a score of 74-37 over LaSalle. Their average margin of victory in the 3 playoff games leading up to the State Semi-Finals was 23 points.

Blanton Returns to Lakeland 23 Years Later

By Clint Cox




In 1985 the Marianna Bulldogs basketball team pulled off a 1 point overtime win against the Sharks of Port St. Joe in the Sectional Finals (now called the Regional Finals). That win earned them a trip to Lakeland for the FHSAA Final Four. While that was Marianna’s fourth trip in nine years, little did folks know that it would take another 23 years before the Bulldogs headed back to Lakeland. But they have headed back this year after beating Florida High last Saturday night to earn a berth in the State Semi-Finals in Lakeland.
On that 1985 squad was a senior guard who 15 years later would take the helm as the Head Basketball Coach of the Bulldogs basketball squad. That young man was Travis Blanton and the Marianna alumni has been serving as Head Basketball Coach for 8 years now. In those 8 years his teams have made the FHSAA playoffs 6 times, including this year’s run to Lakeland.
Blanton recalled the two games in 1985 that allowed them to get to Lakeland. "Against Walton in the Regional Semi-Finals they had a guy catch an inbound pass, turn and make a shot with 1 second to send the game into overtime. John Walker hit six points for us in OT and we got the win. The next game, Sectional Finals, was the one point win in overtime against Port St. Joe at the Old Dog House. I remember the celebration after that win, everybody was hugging each other and crying we were so happy," said Blanton.
Even though the 85 squad lost the opening game in Lakeland, Blanton has fond memories of their trip. "The main thing I remember was the emotion of running out on the floor in Lakeland as a team. It had always been a goal of mine to make it to Lakeland and to realize that I had made it is something that I will always remember," Blanton said. He has tried to convey to his team to cherish the moments in Lakeland. "I’ve told them that in my life going to Lakeland was the fourth most important thing that has happened to me. The first is having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the second was getting married and the third was having kids. After those three highlights, going to Lakeland is next on the list," commented Blanton.

Indians Capture 5TH Straight Conference Title

MARIANNA—It’s only fitting that the trophy named for long time Chipola head coach and NJCAA legend Milton H. Johnson is staying at Chipola for the fifth year in a row. An 87-77 win over GulfCoast on homecoming gives the Indians a fifth straight Panhandle Conference championship, and a school record 29-1 final regular season record.
"I’m really proud of what these guys have done thus far," said Chipola head coach Greg Heiar. "A lot of hard work has allowed us to be in this position heading into the state tournament."
On a night when sophomore walk-ons Antwon Hall, Eddie King, and Decoya White earned their first career starts while honoring their sophomore class, it was sophomore Mario Little who led the way. Little scored a game high 21 points on 9 of 16 shooting and grabbed 6 rebounds, helping Chipola finish with an 11-1 conference record. The 11 conference wins ties a Chipola school record.
"This portion of the season is now over," said Heiar. "We’ll take a day or two to regroup before turning our attention to the tournament. I think our guys will look back many years from now and realize what we’ve done, but nobody here is satisfied just yet. We still have higher aspirations."
When a 13 point advantage midway through the second half was trimmed to just two with 7:23 to play, the Indians turned to a group of freshman for a spark. Torye Pelham, Gary Flowers, and Jon Kreft each punched home thunderous dunks down the stretch on Chipola fast-breaks, while Casey Mitchell nailed a three-pointer on a 4 on 3 break to help propel Chipola to the win.
"We had a group guys that came in and gave us energy when we needed it," said Heiar. "But we put ourselves into that position by not getting stops on the other end. Thankfully we dug in down the stretch and changed momentum in our favor."
Kreft, along with freshman Vernon Teel, added 12 and 10 points for the Indians. Mitchell and sophomore Malik Alvin both chipped in 8 points as Chipola finished the regular season undefeated at 14-0 in front of the home crowd.
Chipola now advances to the state tournament on March 5-8, where the defending state champions will play at 8:00 pm on Wednesday, March 5, representing the Panhandle Conference as the #1 seed. The Indians play the Mid-Florida Conference Runner-Up, which will be the winner of Central Florida and Seminole to be played Feb. 25.
Through an agreement between Chipola and Panhandle Area Educational Consortium, semi-final games on Friday, March 7, and Men’s and Women’s Championship games on Saturday, March 8, will be available to millions of DISH Network 61.5 subscribers on Channel #9418 and on PAEC’s Florida Education Channel on local cable systems. Visit www.dishnetwork.com or www.paec.org for more information.
Jackson County Comcast subscribers also will be able to view all evening session games—Wednesday through Saturday—on Chipola College Television.
Fans with Internet access, can watch a live video web-cast of all 14 tournament games on www.chipola.edu

Sunday, February 24, 2008

State JUCO State Tourney Brings Thousand$ to Marianna



Photo Caption:
TICKETS ON SALE FOR STATE TOURNEY AT CHIPOLA— Key supporters of Chipola athletics are selling advance tickets for the Florida Junior College Men’s and Women’s State Basketball Tournament set for March 5-8 at Chipola College. Tournament passes—$25 for adults and $15 for students—will get fans into all 14 exciting tournament games. Pictured from left, are: Tournament Administrator Ronnie Myers, retired Chipola coach Milton H. Johnson; Chipola Appreciation Club president Robert Trammell and Chipola men’s basketball coach Greg Heiar. For ticket information, call 718-2220, or visit the official tourney web site at: http://www.chipola.edu/


MARIANNA—More than 2,000 visitors are expected to converge on Marianna for the Florida Junior College Men’s and Women’s State Basketball Tournament set for March 5-8 at Chipola College. Advance tickets are now on sale for the four-day event.
Some 400 basketball players from 16 teams, along with coaches, cheerleaders and fans will fill nearly 200 hotel rooms during the tourney. Numerous Division I College coaches and recruiters also are expected to scout the talent in the competition. Tournament officials estimate that more than $250,000 will flow into the area during the tournament from food, lodging, recreation and incidental expenses.
Tournament administrator Ronnie Myers, a former Chipola player, said, "The tournament is a huge undertaking which requires many volunteers and tremendous financial support. We could not host this event without the generous support of our fans, sponsors and advertisers."
Waste Management is official host sponsor for the event. Other sponsors include: the Florida Lottery, Florida Credit Union League, Community South Credit Union, Envision Credit Union, Jackson County Teachers Credit Union, Tyndall Federal Credit Union and United Solutions.
The Jackson County Tourist Development Council awarded a $10,000 grant to the Chipola Appreciation Club to help promote and operate the tournament.
Robert Trammell, Chipola Appreciation Club president, said, "Chipola has one of the finest junior college athletic programs in the country and our people put on one of the best tournaments anywhere. The great traditions established here by coaching legend Milton Johnson are evident today in the quality of this tournament."
Key supporters of Chipola athletics are selling advance tickets. Tournament passes—$25 for adults and $15 for students—will get fans into all 14 exciting tournament games. Single session tickets—two games—are $10 each.
The men’s tournament begins Wednesday, March 5, with the women’s tournament set to tip off Thursday, March 6. Games times are 1, 3, 6 and 8, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The men’s championship is Saturday at 5 p.m., with the women’s championship at 7:30 p.m.
For ticket information, call 718-2220, or visit the official tourney web site at: www.chipola.edu

WHAT A NIGHT!

I just wanted to send along my congratulations for the special night Chipola created for Coach Johnson at the OWC-Chipola game. In my 40 years of involvement in athletics, I cannot recall a more special night. The amount of former players who returned to honor Coach was compelling in the amount of love and influence he had in their lives. When I first recruited at Chipola in the ‘70’s, I heard and later found how special he was, and over the years, I have always referred to him as the John Wooten of JUCO basketball. He was and still remains a gentleman and I just wanted to let you know how honored I was to attend this special tribute to Milt Johnson. Chipola College is Milton Johnson and Milton Johnson is Chipola College. Once again, thank you for honoring him and I hope future Chipola administrations continue his legacy.



Mickey Englett
Dean of Student Services/Director of Athletics
FCCAA Women’s Commissioner for Athletics
NJCAA Region VIII Director-Women

Marianna Cheerleaders Class 3A State Champs



Special to the Times


Photo Caption:
The 2007-08 Marianna Cheerleaders are front row (left to right) Holly Holland, Nicole Barfield, Carrie Basford, Kaitlyn Burch. Second Row – Desteni Barnes, Jenny Jones, Josh Johnson, Jade Wimberly, Kamisha Massaline. Back row – Amber Harrington, Ashton Williams, Chelsea Blanton, Kelsey Barfield, Lauren Pettis, Jordan Excum and Coach Christi Shelfer. Photo by Clint Cox/Times



The Marianna Varsity Cheerleading squad ended their 2007-08 season with great success. The squad attended "The State" Championships in Jacksonville and were the Class 3A winners. Also, they recently attended the Chipola College Cheerleading Extravaganza where they won the Co-ed division, Spirit Award, and first ever Grand Champion Title. This year’s award winning cheerleading squad is coach by Christi Shelfer and led by five outstanding seniors: Josh Johnson, Nicole Barfield, Kaitlyn Burch, Carrie Basford and Holly Holland. Josh and Kaitlyn have recently been hired by the National Cheerleaders Association to become NCA instructors this summer. Even though this great year is coming to an end, preparations are already under way for next year’s squad. The informational parent meeting for the upcoming school year will be held February 21st at Marianna High School’s media center beginning at 5:30 pm. This meeting is for all prospective cheer parents for the Varsity and Junior Varsity level. For further information contact Christi Shelfer at 482-9605 ext 307.

Indians Take Raiders; Lady Indians Fall


By Clint Cox


Photo Caption:
Clevin Hannah (left) lofts a shot over a Commodore in action earlier this season. File Photo by Clint Cox/Times



On a night in which former Coach Milton H. Johnson was honored by over 100 of his former players in attendance, the Chipola Indians rallied for a 90-81 win over the visiting Raiders from Okaloosa Walton College. Chipola trailed 35-34 at the half but outscored the Raiders 56-46 in the second half to get the big win. While both teams had already clinched a berth in the state tournament, the win puts the Indians in the driver’s seat to represent the Panhandle Conference as the champions rather than the runner up. To do so though, they must win out their remaining two conference games. Mario Little led the way with 23 points and 7 rebounds as he went 5-9 from beyond the three point line. Gary Flowers followed with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Vernon Teel was the third Indian to get into double figures with 13 points.
In women’s action the Chipola Lady Indians fell to the Lady Raiders 60-54. Ashely McCray led the squad with 12 points. The loss dropped the Lady Indians to 6-7 in conference play and eliminated them from any chance of making the state tournament. Gulf Coast and Tallahassee have both clinch the conference’s two state tournament spots.

Boy’s Basketball Playoffs Move Forward


By Clint Cox


Photo Caption:
Derrian Bell, #3, of Marianna drives to the basket in action earlier this season. File Photo by Clint Cox /Times


The FHSAA boy’s basketball playoffs continued this past week with all five of the county’s teams taking part in round one of the playoffs. Round on, played last Thursday night, claimed two county teams as victims while three of the teams advanced to round two. Those three teams hit the floor this past Tuesday night for their respective Regional Semi-Finals. When the dust had settled on round two the county had 1 team remaining in the playoffs
In Class 1A action both Graceville and Malone advanced to round one of the playoffs with Graceville advancing as the district champion. As such Graceville played host to Laurel Hill and came away with a come from behind 55-51 win over the Hobos. Graceville rallied from being down by 21 points and were led by J. J. Laster and Keon Snell with 14 points each. Malone found the going rougher as the district runner up, forcing them to travel to Paxton to take on the Bobcats. In that contest Malone fell 77-56 and were eliminated from the playoffs. They finished the season with a 12-15 record. That set up a Tuesday night semi-final contest of Graceville at Paxton. In that contest the Graceville fell to the Bobcats by a score of 45-40. Graceville finishes the season with a record of 13-13.
In class 2A the county’s two teams advanced as Sneads was the district champ and Cottondale was the runner up. The Pirates played host to the Gators from Baker and posted a 62-48 victory. Dontavious Walker led the Pirates with 17 points and freshman Terrence Pittman followed with 15 points, all from beyond the 3 point line. Cottondale traveled to Pensacola to take on Pensacola Christian. Cottondale led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter but were tied 25-25 at the half. From there Pensacola went on to notch a 57-52 win. Cottondale’s season came to a close with a record of 10-15. The Pirates of Sneads then were forced to sail to Pensacola on Tuesday to take on that same Pensacola Christian squad. Pensacola Christian prevailed in that contest with a 59-46 win over the Pirates. Sneads wrapped up their season with a record of 17-9.
The Marianna Bulldogs were the county’s Class 3A representative and as district champs they played host to Walton County last Thursday. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-1 lead and never looked back, going on to rack up a 59-35 win. T.J. Spencer led with 15 points while Derrien Bell and C.J. Blount followed with 11 points each. That advanced the Bulldogs to round two and a trip to Pensacola to take on Pensacola Catholic. In a low scoring contest Marianna led 7-4 at the end of the first quarter but trailed 16-15 at the half. Going into the final quarter Marianna trailed 29-23 but they then turned up the defensive intensity and came back to take a 30-29 lead. From there the Bulldogs held on for a thrilling 38-35 win as the Crusaders missed a three point shot as time expired. T.J. Spencer and Brandon Gibson led the Bulldogs with 12 points each. Marianna, ranked #2 in the state, improved to 25-3 on the season and will host Florida High on Saturday night in the Region 1 Finals. The winner advances to Lakeland the following week for the Final Four.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Laster Becomes a Dolphin


By Clint Cox


J.J. Laster will trade his black and orange Tiger gear for the green Dolphin gear of Jacksonville University as on last Wednesday the star running back from Graceville signed a letter of intent to play football at JU. The Dolphin’s newly revived football program is headed up by former Gator QB Kerwin Bell and Laster should be a great fit for the up and coming program. The Graceville gymnasium was packed with Tiger supporters on Wednesday to watch their beloved Tiger running back take that next step toward playing college football. Those supporters included his mother Darlene Holland and father Jesse Laster.
Laster’s accomplishments at Graceville were such that his name will long be remembered by Tiger fans. He is the school’s all time leading rusher with over 6,000 yards to his credit. He was twice named the state’s Class 1B Player of the Year. The first time that occurred was in his sophomore season and the second was after his senior year. He led his Tiger’s football team to the playoffs three straight years, making it to the Championship game during that sophomore season.

Tatom Still Going Strong


By Clint Cox
Photo Caption:
Charles Tatom, 79, took in a day of festivities and baseball at Chipola on Saturday. Photo by Clint Cox
The many fans that turned out this past weekend, especially Saturday, were thrilled to get a autograph or photo of current major league ball players that are Chipola alumni (see article on page B3 and photos on page B4). But also sitting in the stands on Saturday was a member of the Indian’s first baseball team back in 1949. Charles Tatom, 79, shows no signs of slowing down and can be sited frequently at Chipola basketball and baseball games. Tatom was a catcher on the 1949 Indian’s baseball squad, the first Indian team to take to the diamond.
"I came to Chipola in 1948 on a football scholarship and lettered in all three sports (football, basketball and baseball)," Tatom proudly said on Saturday. He had moved to Greenwood at an early age from Dothan but then returned to Alabama for his senior year of high school. "I went to Pike County to live with my grandparents who needed help. But I also wanted to play football and could at Pike County (Greenwood had no football team)," explained Tatom as how he came to Chipola. And while today’s athletes are to be admired for their great athletic abilities and skills, Tatom said the athletes of yesteryear weren’t too bad either. "We had some tremendous athletes back then. A lot of them went on to play at major colleges and the professional leagues as well," said Tatom.
So if you are taking in a Chipola basketball or baseball game and see Tatom, sit spell with him and let him take you back to yesteryear in Chipola athletics. Take my word you’ll enjoy the trip.

High School Basketball Playoffs Continue


By Clint Cox


Photo Caption:
Lady Tiger LeTeshia Sims, #23, scores 2 of her 13 points against Central in FHSAA playoff action last Thursday night in Malone. Photo by Clint Cox


The FHSAA basketball playoffs continued this past week with numerous county teams still heavily involved in their pursuit of a trip to Lakeland for the Final Four and a state championship. The Girl’s playoffs have moved through the quarter and semi-finals with the county having one squad still in the running for a trip to Lakeland.
The Cottondale Lady Hornets captured the Class 2A Regional 1 Quarter Finals with a 59-33 home court win over the Baker Lady Gators. Shaunte Forward led the squad with 18 points and Brianna Gray added 15. That advanced the Lady Hornets to a semi-finals matchup against Ponce De Leon on Tuesday night. Cottondale came away from that road trip with a 42-37 win and now will host North Florida Christian on Saturday night in the Region 1 Finals. The winner advances to the final four in Lakeland next week. The Malone Lady Tigers also captured a quarter final win and they did so against Central High School (Milton). After leading 12-11 at the end of the first quarter Malone exploded in the second quarter by outscoring Central 22-4. They went on to post a 43-29 victory and were led by LaTeshia Sims with 13 and Cassandra Brown with 11. That advanced the Lady Tigers to a Tuesday night road game against Paxton in the Class 1A Region 1 semi-finals. Malone put up a good fight but fell 47-43 to the Lady Bobcats and thus were eliminated from the playoffs. Graceville and Marianna were both eliminated from the playoffs last Thursday as Class 1A Graceville fell to Paxton by a score of 55-42. The Class 3A Lady Bulldogs gave a valiant effort but were edged 47-43 by Pensacola Catholic.
In Boy’s basketball all five county teams played in their respective district championships. The end result for the county was three district champions and two district runner ups. The Marianna Bulldogs pulled away from Chipley in the second quarter to post a 69-39 win and were led by Brandon Gibson with 24 points. That set the Bulldogs, 24-3 and ranked #4 in the state, up to host the Class 3A Regional Quarter Finals on Thursday against Walton County. In Class 2A action Sneads and Cottondale advanced to the championship game in District 2 with wins on Friday night. Sneads downed Bozeman 58-41 and were led by Robbie Glawson with 19 points. Cottondale stung Altha with a 53-41 win and were led by Dezmond Gray with 18 points. The Pirates and Hornets squared off on Saturday night in Blountstown for the title and the Pirates pulled off a come from behind 46-44 victory. Sneads will host Baker in the Region 1 Quarter finals on Thursday while Cottondale will travel to Pensacola Christian.
The county’s remaining two boys teams, Malone and Graceville, also picked up wins on Friday night to advance to the Class 1A District 2 Championship game. Malone put down Poplar Springs while Graceville eliminated host school Bethlehem. That set up a Tiger match on Saturday night on a neutral court. Both teams had won their home games against each other during the regular season. Saturday night’s rubber match went to Graceville by a score of 53-45. With the loss Malone will travel to Paxton on Thursday for round one of the playoffs. Graceville will host Laurel Hill on Thursday.

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Bulldog JV 20-2 By Clint Cox

Kneeling – Tre Long; Front Row (left to right) Head Coach Rico Williams, Tommy Stephens, Matthew Wooden, Fidel Montgomery, Kendell Leaks, Ashton Stevens, Cortez Little, Asst. Coach DaShaun Olds. Back Row – R.J. Bowers, Jarodo Rhynes, Kenny Guliford, Skylar Gause, Nene Gilbert, Jacorian Borders, Jaron Johnson, Marcus Leonard. Not picture are Asst. Coach Lee Florence, Manager Kadarius Bell, Carl Jones Jr., Devorius Robinson, Javante Speights and Troy Holmes. Photo by Clint Cox

By Clint Cox
Many a high school basketball team sets a goal of 20 wins in a season. Few actually accomplish that goal but the Marianna Bulldog JV squad did just that with their season finale win over Cottondale last Thursday night. First year Head Coach Rico Williams credits their success to team work. "Everyone came together for the good of the team. There is not selfishness on this squad. It’s the old saying of ‘One for all and all for one’," Williams commented. It was a season of tough contest, beginning with a thrilling come from behind victory over Rutherford after being down by 16 points. It included a last second win over rival Chipley in which Matthew Wooden slammed home a game winning dunk just before the horn sounded.
Williams, a 1993 graduate of Marianna and former Bulldog basketball standout, also gives credit to his former high school coach. "Most of what we do on the court is what I learned from Neil Keene when he was my coach," said Williams. When asked about the season’s highlight, Williams showed that it is much more than just about basketball. "We had a player that was in need at Christmas time. Every single player chipped in to make sure that player and his family had a good Christmas. To me that was the highlight of the season."

It’s Playoff Time


By Clint Cox


Photo Caption:
Dontavious Walker #12 of Sneads lays a shot up and in during action earlier this season. Walker will lead the Pirates into their district tournament in Blountstown starting Friday night. Photo by Clint Cox/Times

It’s college basketball’s version of March Madness. Call it February Fun Time if you will, as the Florida High School Athletic Association’s basketball playoffs have gone into a full court press.
In the girl’s district tournament action from this past weekend, the county produced two district champions and one runner up. All three of those squads will be in action on Thursday night at 7 pm in round one of the playoffs. The Cottondale Lady Hornets defeated Blountstown 64-35 to claim the district championship and improve to 27-2 on the season. Cottondale will be hosting Baker. The Lady Tigers of Malone defeated the Graceville Lady Tigers by a score of 62-38 to win their district title. Malone will host Central High (Milton) while Graceville will travel to Paxton. The Marianna Lady Bulldogs beat Holmes County on Friday night to advance to the championship game against Chipley on Saturday night. The Lady Tigers however got the best of the Lady Bulldogs in the title game so Marianna will travel to Pensacola to take on the Lady Crusaders of Pensacola Catholic. The Sneads Lady Pirates were eliminated last Friday in a loss to Blountstown.
The boys will crank up their district tournaments this weekend. The Marianna Bulldogs will be the #1 seed in their district and will play in the district championship game on Saturday night. They will take on the winner of Friday night’s contest between Chipley and Holmes County. That tournament is being held at Marianna High School. The Sneads Pirates also earned the #1 seed in their district. They will play on Friday night against Tuesday night’s winner of the Blountstown verses Bozeman game. The Cottondale Hornets will be in that same district tournament and they will also play on Friday night against Altha. The Championship game for that tournament, being held in Blountstown, will be on Saturday night. The Malone Tigers and Graceville Tigers will be in Bethlehem for their district tournament and both will play on Friday night. Malone takes on Poplar Springs at 6 pm while Graceville squares off against Bethlehem at 7:30 pm. A Saturday night championship game will pit the two Friday night winners against each other.