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.

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.

Bulldogs Scalp Seminoles

10/30/08
By Clint Cox

MARIANNA – The Marianna Bulldogs got another stellar performance from running back Bradley Battles and upset the Seminoles of Florida High 26-19 last Friday night at Bulldog Stadium. The Seminoles had entered the contest with a 7-0 record and ranked #4 in the state. But they had no answer for Battles who rushed for 277 yards and four touchdowns. In fact Battles accounted for all 26 points scored by the Bulldogs.
On a night in which the rain and wind blew most of the evening, the Bulldogs struck first. After a 9 play drive to open the game Battles scored on a 5 yard run. The Seminoles countered with a long 11 play drive of their own and scored to tie the game at 6-6. On Marianna’s next drive Battles bolted 62 yards for a scoring run to make it a 12-6 game in the closing moments of the first quarter. After a scoreless second quarter the Bulldogs kept their 6 point lead at the half.
Florida High marched down the field on their opening drive of the second half and after 12 plays scored on a 4 yard run. After their extra point kick they took their only lead of the game at 13-12. Battles didn’t let them keep the lead long as he sprinted 75 yards for his third TD of the night. He then added a two point conversion run to make it 20-13 in favor of the Bulldogs. Once again the Seminoles fought back and scored on a 26 yard run. Their extra point kick however was blocked by Emmanuel Batson, his second blocked extra point of the night, leaving the Seminoles trailing 20-19. Battles rose to the challenge again. The Seminoles thought they had Battles knocked down in the backfield but somehow, someway, Battles kept his balance. As most of the Seminoles assumed he was going down, they pulled up. Battles made them pay by breaking away and racing 75 yards down the sidelines for a touchdown to give Marianna a 26-19 lead. The Bulldog defense then came up with several big plays in the closing moments, including a fumble recovery by Troy Clemmons, to preserve the lead and seal the victory.
Marianna improved to 6-1 and Head Coach Rob Armstrong said it was one of the biggest regular season wins in his career. "This ranks awful high on the best wins during the regular season. We wanted to keep it close and give ourselves a chance to win late in the game. Our defense played great and Battles just got stronger as the game went on," said Armstrong. The Bulldog defense was led by Laramie Dryden with 17 tackles. Clemmons followed with 17 tackles while Xavier Peterson racked up 13 tackles. Michael Holloway and Dalton Bennett each recorded 10 tackles.

Bulldogs Hammer Chipley

10/24/08
By Clint Cox

CHIPLEY – The Marianna Bulldogs scored early and scored often in a 48-7 win over arch rival Chipley last Friday night. Bradley Battles was once again the workhorse, rushing for 301 yards and five Bulldogs scores. "One of our goals was to get the ball to Bradley at least 30 times and we did that. He is one of those runners that just get stronger the longer the game goes," said Bulldog Head Coach Rob Armstrong.
The Bulldogs first score of the game came on a 36 yard pass from Dustin Larkin to R.J. Bowers with less than four minutes gone in the game. Battles added his first score of the night late in the quarter on a 3 yard run. He added the two point conversion run to give Marianna a 14-0 lead going into the second quarter. With 8:47 left in the first half Battles bolted 37 yards to score and make it 20-0. Chipley got their lone score of the night on the ole "hook and ladder" play with just under four minutes to play in the half. Marianna held a 20-7 lead going into the locker rooms for half time.
The third quarter was all Battles as he scored on a one yard run, 63 yard run and 61 yard run. He added a two point conversion and so did Fidel Montgomery to give Marianna a 42-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. Freshman running back Chris Bowers scored on a 4 yard run midway through the quarter to make the final score 48-7.
The win improved the Bulldogs to 5-1 on the season. Coming up on Friday the Bulldogs play host to the unbeaten Seminoles of Florida High. "They are probably the best team on our schedule," said Armstrong. But the Bulldogs will no doubt savor their win over the Tigers, who they had not beaten in two years and had not beaten in Chipley since 1999. "We’ll enjoy this win over Chipley for a couple of days and then go back to work and get ready for Florida High," added Armstrong.

Lady Bulldogs Beat Cottondale

10/24/08
By Clint Cox

COTTONDALE – The Marianna Lady Bulldogs volleyball squad traveled to Cottondale on Tuesday night and edged the Lady Hornets 3-1 to win the match. Game one went the way of Marianna by a score of 25-17. Game Two saw the Lady Bulldogs jump out to an early lead of 5-1. Cottondale battled back and pulled to within one point at 8-7. With Krista Griffin setting up Jana Hinson for several thundering kills, Marianna outscored the Lady Hornets 6-1 to take a 14-8 lead. Cottondale again battled back and managed to tie the game at 15-15. Randa Hickman came up with a kill for Marianna to make it a 18-16 lead for the Lady Bulldogs. From there Marianna went on to post a 25-21 win.
Game three was nip and tuck from the start. Cottondale took an early lead but Mariana battled back to lead 7-6. Jessica Heid of Cottondale served up a winner to tie the game at 10-10. Cottondale surged ahead and a Heid block gave the Lady Hornets a 17-13 lead. Heid’s block later made it a 20-15 game in the Lady Hornets favor. A kill by Jordan Sonaglia of Marianna momentarily halted the Lady Hornets but they went on to win the game 25-19. Game four was tied at 5-5 before Cottondale pulled ahead on a kill by Michelle Bassin. Marianna tied the game at 10-10 and then pulled ahead to 13-10 on the serving of Hinson. The Lady Hornets would not quit though and some fine serving by Chelsea Caudill tied the game at 19-19. With the game tied at 21-21 Sonaglia smashed a kill and then served a winner to push the Lady Bulldogs to a 23-21 lead. From there Sonaglia served out the game as Marianna posted a 25-21 win.
With the win Marianna improved to 12-3 on the year and will have their final regular season game on Thursday against Wewahitchka. The Lady Bulldogs will be the #1 seed in their upcoming district tournament in Bonifay and will play next Thursday against the Tuesday night winner of the Chipley and Holmes County contest. Cottondale will host their district tournament and as the #2 seed they will play on Tuesday night against Blountstown. Sneads will also participate in that tournament and as the #1 seed they will play on Tuesday night against the Monday night winner of Altha and Bozeman.

Lady Bulldogs Hammer Holmes County

10/16/08
By Clint Cox

MARIANNA – The Lady Bulldogs took care of business on Monday night as they downed district foe Holmes County 3-0 in varsity action. In game one Marianna jumped out to an early 6-1 lead. Holmes County battled back though and tied the game at 14-14. But Marianna took control, in part on several kills by Jana Hinson to go on to win the game 25-22. Game two was closer as Marianna held leads of 10-7, 13-8 and 16-12. The Lady Bulldogs began to pull away though and went on to post a 25-14 win. Game three was much different as Holmes County jumped out to a 6-1 lead. Marianna did not quit however and got kick started with a kill from Randa Hickman. They managed to tie the game at 8-8 and took their first lead at 12-10 on a kill from Hinson. From there they outscored Holmes County 13-4 and won the game with a score of 25-14.
With the win Marianna improved to 10-3 on the season. They were scheduled to take on Liberty County on Tuesday night. Results of that contest were not available at press time. The Lady Bulldogs will be in district tournament play later in the month and have earned the #1 seed. On October 30th they will play in the District Championship match against the winner of Chipley vs Holmes County.
In 9th grade action on Monday Marianna lost both games to the Lady Blue Devils by scores of 25-17 and 25-22. In JV action Marianna won the match, winning game one 24-14 and game two 25-6.

Bulldogs Fall To Crusaders

10/16/08
By Clint Cox

MARIANNA – The Pensacola Catholic Crusaders rode into Bulldog Stadium last Friday night and put on an impressive offensive display en route to a 37-12 win over Marianna. The loss was tough on Marianna for several reasons. It was their first loss of the season and was a district matchup. It was also costly for the Bulldog’s bench looked like a M.A.S.H. unit by the end of the game as four players went down with injuries during the game. Most if not all of those four players, Brandon Hughes, Michael Holloway, Quan Boykin and Tre’ Long will not see action this Friday night.
The evening started well for Marianna as Long took the second offensive play for Marianna and bolted 65 yards for a score. After a missed extra point Marianna led 6-0 with less than a minute gone in the game. But the Crusaders came right back and scored on their second offensive play. A 51 yard touchdown pass tied the game at 6-6. A 13 yard field goal moments later made it 9-6 in the Crusader’s favor. The Crusaders then exploded for three touchdowns in the second quarter, two through the air and one on the ground. At the half Marianna trailed 30-6.
The third quarter was scoreless until late when Bradley Battles scored on a 1 yard run for the Bulldogs. Pensacola Catholic scored midway through the fourth quarter to make the final 37-12. The Crusaders quarterback, Shaun White, threw for 210 yards and 3 TDs while their running back rushed for 177 yards. The bad news is that both are just sophomores. Even so, Marianna had their chance, especially early on when they drove deep into Crusader territory. "We had too many missed opportunities," said Bulldog Head Coach Rob Armstrong. "We could have made it 12-9 but just could not get it done," commented Armstrong.
Battles rushed for 124 yards and a TD while Fidel Montgomery led the defense with 11 tackles. Laramie Dryden and Tommy Stephens followed with 9 tackles each. Marianna fell to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in district play. They will hit the road this week to take on arch rival Chipley.

Marianna Junior Varsity Ends Season With Loss To Walton 26 - 6

10/16/08
By Sid Riley
Coach Adam Gray’s JV Squad Ends With A 2-3 Season

The Marianna JV Junior Bulldog squad fell before a well balanced offensive attack from the same Walton team they defeated 10-0 in mid-September at Walton. The Walton offensive passing attack found weaknesses in the Marianna pass defense that repeatedly generated long gains and scores for them. Meanwhile, the Marianna offense was not able to generate any meaningful drives into the Walton end zone.
Walton had 236 total yards of offense, while Marianna mustered only 155 yards with two turnovers.
The JV offense was missing the strength added by Chris Bowers and Elliot Batson who had both been pulled up onto the varsity squad. Their presence might have changed the outcome of the game, but this can not diminish the fact that the Walton team was powerful, well balanced, and much improved over the earlier contest.

Bullpups Close Out Regular Season

10/16/08
By Clint Cox

The Marianna Bullpups traveled to Havana last Thursday night and closed out the regular season with a 32-8 win over the Bears. Quayshaan Johnson had the big night for the Bullpups, scoring three touchdowns to lead the Bullpups. Johnson scored in the first quarter on a 9 yard run and Micha Reed added the two point conversion run to make it 8-0. Havana countered early in the second quarter to make it a 8-6 game. The Bullpups responded though with a 26 yard scoring run from Johnson and Reed added another two point conversion run to give Marianna a 16-6 lead at the half.
In the second half the Bullpups fumbled in the end zone and the Bears recovered to narrow the lead to 16-8. Shaundre McAroy then scored in fourth quarter on a 14 yard run and Bradley Middleton hit Kyle Tanner on a pass to convert the two point play. Marianna’s lead increased to 24-8 early in the fourth quarter. Johnson added his final score of the night on a 30 yard run and then converted the two point play to make the final score 32-8.
On Tuesday night the Bullpups traveled to Wakulla and pulled off a 20-0 victory. Johnson had two touchdown runs and Middleton threw a 24 yard touchdown pass to Reed. Middleton, Reed and Anthony Speights all recorded interceptions for the Bullpup defense. The Bullpup’s record now stands at 6-1 and they will next play in a conference post season bowl on October 30th. That game will be played at Wakulla High School and their opponent will be the winner of Thursday night’s contest between Taylor County and North Florida Christian. The bowl game will be broadcast locally on 94.1 FM WTYS.

Bulldogs Blast Blue Devils

10/9/08
By Clint Cox

MARIANNA – On homecoming night, six different Bulldogs crossed the goal line to score as Marianna posted a 40-6 win over Holmes County. That hopefully will pay dividends down the road for the Bulldogs according to Head Coach Rob Armstrong. "We were able to mix it up a good bit and get a good number of guys into the end zone. That will give our opponents something extra to work on," said Armstrong.
One Bulldog opponents are very familiar with is Bradley Battles. He continued his fine performance this season with 95 yards of rushing. But while many folks were making their way to their seats with their popcorn, Battles took the opening kickoff and returned it 87 yards for a score. Troy Clemmons added the point after kick to make it 7-0. R.J. Bowers got the second Bulldog score of the night with a 2 yard run later in the first quarter. The Bulldogs Fidel Montgomery then raced 62 yards for a touchdown to close out the first quarter and give Marianna a 19-0 lead. In the second quarter Quan Boykin capped off a 9 play 74 yard drive with a 2 yard scoring run. Clemmons point after kick made it 26-0 and that score stood until halftime.
The Bulldog scoring parade continued in the third quarter when freshman Emmanuel Batson blocked a Blue Devil punt. Batson then scooped up the ball and returned it for a touchdown. Moments later Tre’ Long bolted 11 yards for a score. Clemmons added a point after kick on both scores and the Bulldogs led 40-0 as the third quarter ended. Holmes County managed a scoring pass on the last play of the game to get on the scoreboard.
With the win Marianna improved to 4-0 overall and have their first district game of the 2008 season this Friday night when they host Pensacola Catholic. The four opening wins have hopefully prepared the Bulldogs for that big upcoming district game against Pensacola Catholic. "We’ve tried to keep getting better to get ready for our district games. We’ll try to have a good week and be ready for Catholic," commented Armstrong. The Crusaders enter the contest with an unbeaten record as well, having beaten Gulf Breeze last Friday 17-10 to improve to 5-0 on the season.

Marianna JV Continues Steady Improvement In 20-0 Win Over Bonifay

10/2/08
By: Sid Riley

Strong offensive line play, an impenetrable defense, and great running backs were too much for the Bonifay JV squad to contend with, as Adam Gray’s squad of Bulldog yearlings enjoyed their second win in a row. Their season record now stands at 2 – 2.
Offensively, the Batson brothers put on a show. With Akeem Holmes playing quarterback, the Batson brothers took their pitch outs and hand-offs and romped run after run of significant yardage. Elliott Batson scored two touchdowns and his brother Emanuel scored the other.
The aggressive Marianna defense held the Bonifay JV team to only 84 offensive yards from the line of scrimmage, with a total offense of 101 yards. Meanwhile, Marianna racked up 234 total yards, with 206 from scrimmage. Marianna was still plagued with five penalties totaling 65 yards, and three fumbles, while Bonifay had two penalties for a loss of ten yards, and two fumbles.

Bulldogs Win Thriller

10/2/08
By: Clint Cox

Marianna’s Bradley Battles bulled his way into the end zone with a minute to play to convert a two point play and give the Bulldogs a 22-21 victory Episcopal last Friday night. Marianna took possession of the ball with 8 minutes to play and trailing 21-14. After eating up 7 minutes off the clock on 11 plays, Dustin Larkin hit Tre’ Long on a 28 yard scoring strike to set up the game winning plunge by Battles. Bulldog Head Coach Rob Armstrong did not hesitate to call for the two point attempt as opposed to kicking the extra point to tie the game. "Everybody knew we were going to go for two. We’ve been working on a power and the fellow we gave it to (Battles) ran hard," Armstrong said after the game.
After the long ride to Jacksonville the Bulldogs found themselves trailing 7-0 in the first quarter. R.J. Bowers got the Bulldogs on the board with a 15 yard run late in the first quarter. Troy Clemmons booted the extra point to tie the game at 7-7. But the Eagles took the ensuing kickoff back 85 yards for a score and quickly reclaimed the lead at 14-7. With just over 8 minutes to play in the second quarter Battles bolted 56 yards on the first play from scrimmage on that possession to score. Clemmons tied the game up at 14-14 with the extra point kick. But Episcopal came right back to post a score and take a 21-14 lead into the locker rooms at the half.
The running of Eagle quarterback Clark Bledsoe had caused the Bulldogs problems in the first half. During half time the Bulldog coaching staff made some adjustments to counter the running QB. "We made some adjustments to allow Troy (Clemmons) to key on the quarterback more and he responded with a big second half," said Armstrong. The Bulldog offense came out in the second half and played ball control. They had one possession in the third quarter and it ate up 8 minutes off the clock on 14 plays. Unfortunately a fumble deep in Eagle territory killed the drive. The Bulldog defense came up with a stop in the fourth quarter and forced a punt. The punt was downed on the Bulldogs 5 yard line with just over 8 minutes to play in the game. Marianna methodically drove down the field and then finished off the game winning drive with Larkin’s TD pass to Long.
Battles finished the night with 224 yards on 31 carries. Clemmons led the defense with 15 tackles, including a sack. Tommy Stephens was right behind Clemmons with 10 tackles. The Bulldogs improved to 3-0 on the season and will play host to Holmes County this Friday for Homecoming.

Marianna JV Defeats Walton 10-0 for First Win

9/25/08
By: Sid Riley

Team spirit soared this week for the Marianna JV squad as coach Adam Gray’s squad posted their first victory over Walton in a game played in DeFuniak Springs on Thursday evening. The defense again played a strong game, holding Walton to only 91 yards of total offense, with 71 of those from the line of scrimmage. The defense scored the first two points of the game when they backed the Walton team up to the goal line and then a fumble recovery in the end zone by Walton resulted in a safety.
The offense struggled through the first half, never putting together a meaningful drive, even though the team was augmented by some freshmen players added from the varsity which was idle this week. This included the added threat of running back Chris Bowers. In total, the offensive effort produced 215 yards, with 169 of those from the line of scrimmage.
The offense was much improved in their execution, as was demonstrated by only four penalties being incurred for a loss of only 20 yards. Play selection was still limited, and no passes were thrown during the game by the Bulldog yearlings. Walton had six penalties for 40 yards.
Marianna broke the game open early in the fourth quarter when quarterback Ryan Riley scampered 50 yards on a quarterback bootleg, down to the Walton 15. Two plays later Chris Bowers scored on a 11 yard run. Riley ran the extra point making the score 10-0.
Walton desperately attempted to muster a final drive, but fell short around mid field as the game ended. Marianna JV’s had their first victory of the season.

Bullpups Keep On Winning

9/18/08
By Clint Cox

MARIANNA – The Marianna Middle School Bullpups remained unbeaten for the 2008 season with a 16-0 win over the visiting Tigers from Jefferson County on Tuesday night. Shaundre McAroy got the ‘Pups on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a 55 yard scoring run. A two point conversion made it an 8-0 game. As the game moved into the second quarter Micha Reed fielded a punt for the Bullpups and returned it 75 yards for a touchdown. Reed added the two point conversion run to make it a 16-0 game. The Bullpup defense, led by Dontavious Pittman, held the Tigers in check for the remainder of the half to allow Marianna to keep a 16-0 lead at the half.
After a scoreless third quarter the Bullpups got a big 39 yard run from Quayshaan Johnson to advance to the Tiger’s 11 yard line. But the drive stalled and the Bullpups were unable to add any more points to the scoreboard.
Bullpup Head Coach Hunter Nolan said he was glad to get the win but his squad wasn’t as sharp as they needed to be. "I thought Jefferson County came out ready to play more than us. We’ve got to do a better job of getting our guys ready to play. But we got the win so I won’t complain about that. I wish we could have punched that last drive in for a score so that I could get some of the backups into the game," said Nolan. After going 7-0 in 2006 and 6-0 in 2007, Nolan knew it would be tough to repeat given the youth and inexperience of 2008 Bullpups. He only had four players return from last year’s team but had a tremendous turnover for fall practice. " I think our success this season is due to our program going in the right direction. We had 90 kids come out and I had to cut 30. We have about 50 kids out right now and everyone has bought into what we are trying to accomplish," Nolan commented.
The Bullpups are now 3-0 and will travel to Cottondale on Tuesday for a contest against the Hornets.

Marianna Junior Varsity Loses Again

9/18/08
By Sid Riley

Florida High defeats struggling Marianna Junior Varsity Team 28-18
On Thursday the Marianna Junior Varsity squad traveled to Florida High in Tallahassee hoping to atone for their first loss to Chipley the preceding week. It was not to happen.
The team, which is coached by Adam Gray, showed some improvement over the preceding contest, but lack of basic execution development for the offensive unit made the difference in the game. There were moments where the raw athletic abilities of running backs Elliot Batson and Emanuel Batson enabled them to break loose for long runs to score Marianna’s three TD’s, but the team was never able to put together a sustained offensive drive to the goal line. As in the previous game, every possession was halted by a penalty, fumble, or other execution failure.
Once again, the defensive unit performed well. During the third quarter it appeared that Marianna was establishing some momentum as they scored their third touch down and moved to within four points of Florida High. However, they again repeated the basic error that caused the loss to Chipley, by allowing the ensuing kick off to be returned 65 yards for a hope killing touchdown by Florida High.
The truth of the tale is in the statistics. The offensive squad accumulated 442 yards, with 401 of those being from the line of scrimmage. That should be enough to win most games. However, at the same time they endured an astounding 18 penalties with 125 penalty yards. They also had five turnovers. Off Sides, procedure penalties, motion penalties, and delay of the game penalties stopped almost every drive.
Again, the number of plays in the team playbook seemed to be very limited, as the same plays were run repeatedly. The offense still looked unpracticed. However, Emanuel Batson had a great game with two touchdowns, and Elliot Batson had one touchdown. Edward Perry also made several powerful runs. All three extra point attempts failed.
Florida High had only 175 offensive yards from scrimmage, and 260 total yards. They had 6 penalties for 45 yards, and three turnovers.
The final score was …Florida High 28, Marianna 18

‘Dogs Nip Tigers

9/18/08
By: Clint Cox

On a night of many strange twist and turns, the Marianna Bulldogs jumped out to a big lead early and then held on for a 36-28 over county rival Graceville. Marianna cashed in on several early turnovers by Graceville and jumped out to a 21-0 lead. It all started as Tre Long bolted 48 yards for a quick score on Marianna’s first possession. Graceville was moving the ball downfield on the ensuing possession but coughed up the ball and Laramie Dryden recovered for the Bulldogs. Battles took the first handoff and raced 68 yards for another Bulldog score. Again Graceville moved the ball and again they fumbled, this time it was recovered by Fidel Montgomery. Both teams traded punts and with less than two minutes to play in the first quarter Dustin Larkin hit Long on a 53 yard scoring pass.
Up 21-0 going into the second quarter Marianna realized that the Tigers were not going to quit. Graceville went on a 10 play drive behind the running of Leron Hoover and passing of Justin Miles. Early in the second quarter Graceville scored on a 4 yard run by Antrell Wright to cap a 10 play drive that covered 71 yards. The two point conversion run by Miles was good to make it a 21-8 lead for Marianna. In the waning moments of the first half Marianna defensive end Tommy Stephens picked off a Tiger pass and rambled 63 yards for another Bulldog score. Marianna led 29-8 at the half.
Once again the Tigers proved they would not roll over as they took the opening possession of the second half and drove 53 yards and scored on a one yard plunge by Hoover. The two point conversion failed and Graceville trailed 29-14. Marianna responded by putting together a scoring drive of their own when Battles scored his second TD of the night on a 1 yard run. Troy Clemmons point after kick made it 36-14 in the Bulldogs favor. Graceville fired right back after a big kick off return by Hoover to the Bulldog 32 yard line. Miles scored 5 plays later on a 14 yard run and Treyshaun White added a two point conversion run to narrow the gap to 36-22 with just under three minutes to play in the third quarter.
As the game moved into the fourth quarter Marianna appeared to be salting the game away with a long drive that ate up almost five minutes off the clock. But Battles had the ball stripped away from him by Chris Works of Graceville. Works then raced 80 yards down the field untouched for a Tiger score. After a failed two point play the Tigers trailed 36-28 with six minutes to play. The Bulldogs once again put together a long drive and with less than two minutes to play appeared to have a long touchdown run from R.J. Bowers to all but secure the win. But Bowers quickly set the ball down when he thought he had crossed the goal line. But he actually put the ball down before he entered the end zone and Graceville fell on the ball. The Tigers had no timeouts and 99 yards to go to try to tie the game up. But the Bulldog defense held and Marianna hung on for the 36-28 victory.
Battles led the Bulldogs with 126 yards and 2 scores. Tre Long followed with 101 yards of total offense and 2 TDs. Graceville was led by Hoover with 151 yards on 30 carries. White followed with 116 yards of rushing as well. Marianna improved to 2-0 on the season and will be off this week. They will next be in action on September 26th when they travel to Jacksonville to take on Episcopal. Graceville fell to 1-1 on the year and will play host to Holmes County on Friday at 7 pm.

‘Dogs Pound The Tigers

9/11/08
By Clint Cox

MARIANNA – The Bulldogs racked up over 350 yards of rushing en route to a 34-7 win over Blountstown last Friday night. Bradley Battles led the way with 179 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. Head Coach Rob Armstrong was pleased to get the season opener win. "Playing these early season games with as many young players that we have is always a challenge. We had a lot of kids seeing varsity action for the first time. I thought they played real well tonight," said Armstrong.
Marianna jumped out to lead late in the first quarter when Battles scored on a 5 yard run. Troy Clemmons added the point after kick to make it 7-0. Midway through the second quarter Tre’ Long rambled 31 yards for a score and the Clemmons point after kick made it 14-0 at the half. Blountstown narrowed the margin with four minutes to play in the third quarter when Malcolm Ivory scored from 3 yards out. On the ensuing kickoff the Tigers pinned the Bulldogs down on the four yard line. The Tigers appeared to have seized the momentum of the game and were poised to get great field position if they could force a punt. But Marianna put together a 10 play drive that covered 96 yards. It culminated with an 11 yard run for a score by Fidel Montgomery early in the fourth quarter. The kick after by Clemmons made it a 21-7 game and gave the momentum back to the Bulldogs. "When it got to 14-7 I was a little be scared but I’m proud of how we came right back and reclaimed that momentum," Armstrong commented.
Marianna added two more score in the final quarter as Battles raced 38 yards for a score and Quan Boykin scrambled 21 yards to find the end zone. With a 34-7 win and 356 yards of rushing offense Armstrong was proud of his team, especially his young offensive line. "We’ve got to be able to move the ball to be successful. Those guys on the line did a great job tonight," said Armstrong. Long finished with 91 yards rushing while Boykin added 71 yards. Clemmons led the defense with 9 tackles and a sack while Laramie Dryden recorded 7 tackles for the game. Battles recorded an interception as well.
Marianna prepares for the upcoming match with Graceville this Friday at Bulldog Stadium at 7 pm. (See Friday Night Preview)

Lady Tigers and Lady Bulldogs Split in JV Volleyball

9/11/08
By Clint Cox

The Graceville Lady Tigers JV volleyball squads came to Marianna on Monday night and left with a split. The Lady Tigers 9th grade squad posted a 25-10 win in game one while posting a 25-18 win in game two. In other JV action the Lady Tigers forced Marianna to three games but the Lady Bulldogs hung on to claim a victory for the match.
In game one Marianna won by a score of 25-17. The second game saw the two squads battle back and forth. Graceville began to pull away when they went up 13-10. The Lady Tigers maintained a led throughout the remainder of the game and finished with a 6 point victory, 25-19. In the tie breaker it was Marianna jumping out to an early lead and then going on to win 15-9.
The wins for Graceville were their first wins since 1982, which was the last year in which the school fielded a volleyball team.

Marianna “Does It Right” for Dixie Youth Tournament Opening Ceremonies

7/24/08
The opening ceremonies for the Dixie Youth State Tournament were held Friday evening at the New Marianna High School facility. Over five hundred players, coaches, and supporters were in attendance, coming from locations throughout the state. With our own Royce Reagan as Master of Ceremonies, the players were given presentations from several local officials and sports figures, to kick off the five day tournament.
Representing the City of Marianna, City Manager Jim Dean welcomed all of the visitors to our area, and expressed his wishes for a great event. The highlight of the program came when Chipola Head Baseball Coach Jeff Johnson gave an inspiring "pep" talk to the youngsters.
The Marianna Optimist Club was in its usual level of dedicated service as they fed the crowd of over 500 a delicious fish dinner. William Long, club president, stated that over fourteen club members worked to cook and serve the attendees. It took over 200 pounds of fish (thirteen cases), and four hours of cooking to provide the community service. The meal cost the club over $1000, and was paid for from proceeds realized this year from the MERE concession operations. This wonderful, working civic organization is doing a wonderful job in its mission of supporting youth athletic programs in our community.
After the meal, the crowd moved over to the MERE complex for some "fun and games". All of the teams, totaling nineteen teams (ten in the 13 year old division and nine in the 14 year old division), bordered the infield for the opening ceremony, singing of the national anthem, and photo opportunities.
Next they dispersed into three groups for the individual competitions. On one field the "home run derby" was held, where selected sluggers from each team had five pitches thrown for long ball scoring. On another field a target was set up at home plate, and selected players were given three throws from center field to hit the target and score points. On yet another field the speed demons raced for the best time in a sixty yard dash.
It all meshed together into an inspiring, well organized, and entertaining opening ceremony. All of the participants left with heightened spirits, looking forward to the beginning of competition on Saturday.

Marianna All Stars Battle Hard In State Tournament

7/24/08
While they put up a valiant effort, both of the Marianna Dixie Youth All Star teams were eliminated Monday from the State Tournament being held at the MERE Complex. The Dixie Junior Boys won their opening round game on Saturday but then took losses on Sunday and Monday. The Dixie Boys squad dropped their opening round game but came back to pick up a win in game two on Monday morning. They fell however in their second game of the day played on Monday night.
The Dixie Jr. Boys (13 yr. olds) opened up with a 11-1 win in six innings over Okeechobee on Saturday. J.T. Meadows was the hero of the day as he went 4-4 with 4 RBI. Bradley Middleton went the distance on the mound for Marianna and picked up the win. Middleton also had two hits and an RBI to help his own cause and Mason Melvin went 2-3 on the day with 2 RBI. Marianna jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and then led 7-1 after two innings. They added four more runs over the next four innings to post the 10 run win.
On Sunday the Jr. Boys squared off against Poinciana (Kissimmee) and although Marianna posted 8 runs on offense, Poinciana countered with 18 runs to win by the 10 run rule in the sixth inning. After falling behind early 1-0 Marianna rallied to take a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Middleton’s sacrifice fly scored Seth Singletary, Taylor Strauss scored on a past ball and Meadows scored on a RBI single by Melvin. Poinciana countered though in the top of the second with 7 runs to take a 7-3 lead. Singletary scored for Marianna in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch and Strauss and Meadows scored on a 2 RBI double by Melvin. Adam DeWitt singled to score Melvin and Marianna had tied the game at 7-7. From there though it was all Poinciana, as they outscored Marianna 11-1 over the last four innings.
Monday’s contest proved to be a heartbreaker as Marianna fell 10-9 to Hiland Park. Middleton singled to score Meadows early on to put Marianna up 1-0 but Hiland Park responded with 7 runs in the bottom of the inning. They plated another run in the third and fourth inning to make it a 9-1 game. In the fifth inning Marianna’s bats heated up as they got back in the game. They managed to come back and tie the game at 9-9 in the sixth inning when Meadows scored on a wild pitch. But Hiland Park managed to get the winning run on an error in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Dixie Boys (14 yr. olds) opened up on Saturday with a tough 6-0 loss to West Volusia. The game was scoreless through three innings but West Volusia took advantage of an error to plate 3 runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Marianna had opportunities to score throughout the game but could not muster any runs across the plate and West Volusia added three more runs of the final two innings for the victory.
Marianna bounced back from that loss with a 11-6 win over Vernon on Monday morning. In a game that began in the noonday heat on Monday, it was a back and forth battle for the lead, with Vernon initially taking a 3-1 lead. Marianna tied the game in the third, went ahead in the fifth 6-3, to only have Vernon come charging back with a three run homer that tied the game 6-6. Finally, Marianna took a commanding lead 11-6 behind the relief pitching of Jae Elliot to finally capture the win.
That earned Marianna a chance for a second game on Monday, this one being against Okeechobee. Things started well as Marianna took advantage of several walks and timely hits to jump out to a 6-0 lead. Chris Godwin had a 2 RBI single and Jae Elliott had a RBI single to spark the inning. But Okeechobee caught fire as they plated 3 runs in the first, 2 in the second, 4 in the third and four in the fourth. Marianna managed a run in the fourth as a RBI single from Godwin scored Zac Davis to make it a 13-7 game after four innings. In the fifth inning Okeechobee plated 4 more runs to make the final 17-7.