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MHSAA state title action in Jackson
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| By: TOM GOETZ, DAILY LEADER Sports Editor |
December 06, 2005 |
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JACKSON -- Lights! Camera! Action!
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The stage is set for a glorious weekend of high school football state championship action. The Mississippi High School Activities Association will showcase five championship games at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, starting Friday afternoon and running through Saturday night.
Seven of the 10 teams entered are undefeated, including the Hazlehurst Indians (12-0) who face Charleston's Tigers (13-1) for the Class 3A state championship. Kickoff is 11 a.m., Saturday, the opener of a tripleheader.
"It should be a great weekend," said MHSAA executive secretary Dr. Ennis Proctor. This is the 100th season of high school football in the Magnolia State and players have worn commemorative decals on their helmets during the campaign.
For the unknowing reader, Yazoo City defeated Winona 5-0 back in 1905 in what is considered the first-ever high school football game in Mississippi. Touchdowns counted 5 points, way back when.
Certainly, this has been an unusual football season. After the Aug. 26 season openers, Hurricane Katrina played havoc with the schedule, smashing the Magnolia State on Monday, Aug. 26. Games were canceled or postponed for two weeks, pushing the playoffs back 1 week. St. Stanislaus was forced to cancel its season, due to the loss of facilities on the Gulf Coast.
Proctor said the $12 ticket price for admission to the state title games would also benefit the athletic programs on the Coast. One dollar of every ticket sold would go to the disaster victims to help purchase equipment and other items.
Pregame ticket sales are important to each school. Hazlehurst was allotted 2,500 tickets. Hazlehurst superintendent of education Henry Dorsey said tickets would be on sale at Copiah Bank, the Hazlehurst high school office and the superintendent's office.
This year the South state champion in each classification will serve as the home team. The home side is the press box or south side of the stadium.
Hazlehurst athletic director Gary Tabor said pregame tickets would cost $10 each. The school would receive $5 for each ticket sold in advance. This would benefit the entire athletic program.
Hazlehurst principal Marvin Davis was wearing a proud smile, a dark blue suit and a polka-dot bow tie yesterday as the players and coaches met the media at the Mississippi Sports Museum on Lakeland Drive.
"I'm most impressed with our team," said Davis, a 1995 Hazlehurst graduate. "Their achievements on the field and in the classroom are impressive. They deserve to be here as student/athletes."
Davis said Hazlehurst head coach Willie Brown and his staff have done an outstanding job leading the team. "The team is well-organized and they have a sense of belonging. The workmanship of the entire coaching staff is commendable."
Davis also said he anticipates a large turnout for Saturday's game. "We have strong support from the community and the parents."
The Indians, making their first-ever appearance in the state title game, are among four newcomers to the championship weekend. They join Charleston, Benoit Ray Brooks in 1A and Hollandale Simmons in 2A for the coming out, debutante party.
Brown, in his sixth year at the helm, is a New Orleans native who once coached defense at Alcorn State under former head coach Cardell Jones. He brought running back Courtney Hall and linebacker/receiver Johnny Sanders to the media conference.
Brown and his coaching staff watched Charleston on game film during the weekend. He was impressed.
"Charleston is fast and strong," said Brown. "They play good defense and run to the ball well. It should be an outstanding game."
Brown's Indians are cut from a similar mold. They are fast and strong. On defense, they swarm the football.
Sanders, the team's leading defender with 170 tackles, also has 12 quarterback sacks and 4 interceptions to his credit. Asked about his role on defense, Sanders grinned and said, "I like to hit people."
Over 5,000 folks watched Hazlehurst hit the South Pike Eagles with a shocking 22-19 victory last Friday night in Hazlehurst. Many more will watch them Saturday in Jackson.
Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O. BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mail sports@dailyleader.com
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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