KFDM COOP

Kountze sets eyes on championship KOUNTZE - This morning, when the bus pulls out and roars past red and black decorations on the chain link fence in front of the high school, it carries with it the hope and pride of the whole town. Advertisement Don't think the team doesn't know it, either. Last year, after being defeated by Arp in the Class 2A regional finals, team members were in shock. "It wasn't expected," team member Trey Irvine said. "That's why it hit us so hard." They, like everyone else in Kountze, simply expected the Lions would go to state, particularly since they were coming off two straight state championships. So this year the team fought hard to redeem themselves. And they did. In this small Southeast Texas town, the Friday night lights shine brightest for basketball, which is the talk of the town during the season. News about the team's latest or upcoming game can be heard at the feed store, Dairy Queen or Mama Jack's restaurant. Kountze High School Principal Patti Carraway said people come up to her in the grocery store to ask about the team. "We have great community support," Carraway said. "It really makes a big difference." In a tradition going back more than 30 years, Kountze High School's basketball program has been the showcase for the town's best athletic talent. "Kountze is kind of a basketball powerhouse," said Fred Johnson, a retired resident. The players themselves are acutely aware of the pride their hometown takes in them and they don't take it lightly. They acknowledged that the pressure can be extreme. "You just gotta take it how it is and just play," team member Freddie Haynes, an 18-year-old senior, said. They play to win because they love to play. Their drive to win is honed sharp by the expectations residents have of a Kountze basketball player. Because of them, Kountze students can hold their heads up when talk turns to the athletics programs. Through the week, until school lets out Friday, the excitement will build. "It's wild and crazy around here this week," longtime government and economics teacher Dee Turner said. Monday, calls from Kountze residents looking for tickets for the state championship already were flooding the high school administration office, secretary Billie Jean Tate said. "The excitement is tremendous," said Tate, the wife of Ted Tate, the coach who nurtured the school's basketball prowess for 24 years. Basketball coach Duane Joubert said some fans plan their vacation time around the team's schedule. Victor Cash and his wife Tina are two such fans. Before each game, Tina Cash walks the parking lot looking for a penny - head's up, for luck - to give to Joubert. Joubert and others feel the team spirit is part of the glue that holds the community together. Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles follow their young athletes' progress with pride - not just in high school basketball, but in all sports at every level. "They let you know if you mess up," Joubert said. "Not just on the court but off - where it really counts."

Pitchers of the week Jeff Stringer, Bridge City...No Hitter and 11 K's against Nederland. Jonathon Smith, Vidor......No Hitter in a Tournment last week. Honorbale Mention Ryan Ellis from Jasper. Complete game vs. Kelly, 11 innings (yes, 11 innings), 4 hits, 1 walk, 12 k's, 0 ER, won 2-1. High Island chance sievers pitched 14 innings 1 earned run 18k's (1-1 record) went 6-10 at the plate 2 walks and a go ahead homerun tuesday in the 8th inning tuesday against evadale Player of the week Mark Serna, West Brook....1 HR, 14 RBI's and 13 hits last week alone.

Very impressive times.

This topic has been moved to HS Golf Talk. [iurl][Hidden Content]]

This topic has been moved to HS Golf Talk. [iurl][Hidden Content]]

This topic has been moved to HS Golf Talk. [iurl][Hidden Content]]

This topic has been moved to HS Golf Talk. [iurl][Hidden Content]]

This topic has been moved to HS Golf Talk. [iurl][Hidden Content]]

I may put it up today.

LM coaching finalists face public By Joshua Buckley The Daily News Published March 7, 2007 LA MARQUE — About 150 La Marque fans filed into the high school’s auditorium Tuesday, hoping to have their say in who will be the Cougars’ next athletic director and head football coach. The two finalists — Lamar Consolidated’s Lydell Wilson and Refugio’s Chris Jones — gave short presentations and answered questions from the hiring committee and the crowd about what they hoped to accomplish as the next La Marque athletic director and football coach. La Marque interim athletic director Larry Walker was a third finalist for the position, but informed Superintendent Ecomet Burley earlier Tuesday that he was taking his name out of the running. “I’m not at liberty to talk about Larry Walker,†Burley said. “He gave me the reasons he withdrew, but they were personal, so I am going to decline comment on them.†Walker’s decision caught many of the members of the crowd off guard. “I was really surprised that Larry backed out,†said Robert Nelson, a youth football coach for the Mainland Express. “I talked to him at about 10 o’clock today and he didn’t mention anything about it. I’m curious to find out why he took his name out of the running.â€

08:31 PM in High School Football Big news out of the La Marque public forum By Joshua Buckley | Permalink | Comments (2) The search for La Marque's next athletic director/head football coach took another twist Tuesday night, when Larry Walker took himself out of the running for the position. Walker, a former La Marque head coach and current interim AD, told La Marque Superintendent Ecomet Burley that he was withdrawing his name from consideration for the job. Burley said Walker's reasons were personal, and he didn't want to disclose them to the public. The two remaining finalists, Lamar Consolidated's Lydell Wilson and Refugio's Chris Jones, made short presentations and answered questions from the hiring committee and the community during Tuesday's forum. Nearly 150 people attended the event and asked the finalists some very interesting questions. Burley said he thought the forum was a success and intends to do again for future principal or coach searches. He also said, "I have a very tough decision to make." Burley said he will present his final choice to the La Marque school board on Thursday.

Congrats Raiders!

MONT BELVIEU – Junior Drew Barnett had run-scoring singles in the third and sixth inning and Port Neches-Groves downed Barbers Hill, a newly minted Class 4A team, 2-1 Tuesday night on the Eagles’ home diamond. Junior Eric Harrington twirled a complete game three-hitter as PN-G improved to 5-5 for the season. The Indians play next in the Lufkin tournament, which begins Thursday. Barbers Hill, 7-3, scored its run in the first inning after Harrington hit the first Eagle hitter with a pitch. He moved to second on a bunt single, then to third on a double play, and scored on a two-out basehit. Harrington allowed only one more hit and no runs in the final six innings. He finished with eight strikeouts and only one walk allowed. PN-G tied the game 1-1 in the top of the third when Payton Faseler got a basehit and stole second base before Barnett knocked him in. In the sixth, Harrington led off with a hit, was bunted to second by Faseler and scored on Barnett’s hit. Harrington and Faseler joined Barnett in the two-hit club for PN-G.

Memorial powerlifters set for state The Port Arthur News HOUSTON -- It's becoming a bit of a Lady Titans powerlifting tradition at Memorial High School. Five members of coach Jule Joffrion's powerlifting squad have qualified for the state championship powerlifting meet Mar. 16-17 at Killeen. Memorial state qualifiers have included Kristien Artola (in the 220-pound weight class), Cecelia Hamilton (in the 220-and-over class), April Jones (in the 148-pound class), Jaleesa McClain (132s) and Aprile Portley (114s). One of those five finished as a qualifier last weekend at the Region IV powerlifting championships at Houston Westside high school. That was Artola, who placed third with a composite of 830 pounds. Texas High School Womens Powerlifting Association rules permit girls to qualify for state in any of three ways. An athlete can finish in the top three at regionals. She can lift a predetermined qualifying total or she can be rated the top 5A lifter in her weight classification. Artola and Portley were the lone point-producers for Memorial at regionals with third- and fifth-place respective finishes. Portley reached a composite of 580 in the 114-pound weight class. Vidor was the Division I girls team champion (Classes 5A-4A) followed by Brazosport and Beaumont West Brook. Palacios won Division 2 (Class 3A) followed by Shepherd and Needville. Ganado won Division 3 (Classes 2A-1A) followed by Edna and Louise. Only the top two regional finishers get to advance in the boys competition, which is held Mar. 24 in Aldine's Campbell Center. Only the Division I regionals boys competition has been completed. The Division 2 (3A schools) and Division 3 (2A-1A schools) regional competition will be held this weekend in Kirbyville. Little Cypress-Mauriceville was the Division I boys team champion followed by Beaumont West Brook and Katy Mayde Creek. Port Neches-Groves placed 11th in the competition with eight points, while Nederland placed 24th with three. Memorial did not record any points. Chris Fenton led the PN-G point parade with a third-place regional finish in the 165-pound weight class. Fenton and 165-pound teammate Mikey Poirier were third and fourth respectively with composites of 1,215 and 1,210 pounds. Nederland's third-place finisher was Brandon Gary in the 148-pound class (1,150 pounds). Coach David Crommett's NHS team also sported a third-place finisher in the bench press total for boys between 114 and 165 pounds. Devon Brack had a composite of 208.1. Three other members of coach Richard Bethea's PN-G group placed fifth in their categories last Saturday. Tyler Gizzi had a composite of 705 in the 114s, Jon Morein had a 945 in the 132s and Josh Cortez a 1,425 in the 220s. Three Memorial boys were top 10 finishers in their classifications but were not regional point-producers. They were Jonathon Vernon (7th in the 275s), Marcus Abbott (8th in the superheavyweights) and Ronald DeJohn (10th in the superheavyweights).

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Coogs thump Cardinal nine HOUSTON - Moments after Lamar University's 7-1 loss to the University of Houston Tuesday night, coach Jim Gilligan hinted that a shakeup may be in the Cardinals' near future. "We've had two miserable offensive performances in a row," said Gilligan, who watched along with the Cougar Field crowd of 991 as the Cardinals' losing streak reached three games. "We have a couple of days to get things straightened out before we have to play Northern Colorado (on Friday night in Vincent-Beck Stadium). "We'll find it. It's out there. We're going to find it by players changing or by changing players." Without mentioning names, Gilligan added, "The same guys are continuing to make the same mistakes. We may have to start giving other players the chances to do better." The Cardinals' one run and five hits were both season lows. Their only real offensive highlight came in the fifth inning when Erik Kanaby singled off starting pitcher Donnie Joseph's left leg to move within one game of Chad Bunting's school record by hitting safely in his 20th-consecutive game dating back to last season. "They (the 8-9 Cougars) played, and we just showed up," said Gilligan, whose Cardinals dropped to 9-6. "It's time to make some adjustments. There may be a couple of different guys in the lineup by Friday night. "We were very bland tonight. Our lack of hitting in the past two games (the Cardinals lost a 14-3 decision to St. John's on Sunday afternoon) is a point of concern." Designated hitter Michael Ambort reached base on an error to lead off the fourth inning then came around to score the Cardinals' only run on a balk, a passed ball and a groundout by Dan Hernandez. Right fielder Bryan Tully led Houston's offense by going 4-for-5, and shortstop Dustin Kingsbury drove in two runs. The Cougars also received a 2-for-4 performance from centerfielder Zak Presley. Kingsbury drove in the Cougars' first run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning, and he plated their second with a groundout in the third. Ambort's run cut the Cardinal deficit to 2-1, but the Cougars tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the fourth on a double and stolen base by Tully, an RBI single by Bryan Pounds and an RBI double by Ryan Lormand. The Cougars made it 6-1 in the seventh inning on an RBI single by Tully and a wild pitch. The Cougars' final run crossed in the eighth on a single and stolen base by Presley, a sacrifice bunt by Lormand and an error in left field by Kanaby.

Central stays unbeaten in soccer NEDERLAND - The Central boys soccer team just refuses to lose. The will of the Jaguars was tested on Tuesday in a District 20-4A contest against Nederland, but in a game that was scoreless for the first 51 minutes, Central grinded out a 2-1 victory. The Jaguars extend their undefeated run - the longest in school history - to 14-0, and with Tuesday's win at Bulldog Stadium, Central has clinched a playoff spot with four games remaining. "We're playing one game at a time and that's what their (the players) goal is-to win district and go undefeated in district," said Central coach Tony Cox, whose team is 13-0 in district play. Central's Alejandro Jiminez kicked in the game's first score from left of the net with 28:21 on the clock in the second half. Jose Ruiz then scored on a header 17 minutes later to push the Jaguars' lead to 2-0. The Bulldogs' lone goal of the night came on a slicing kick by Hector Garcia with 5:34 remaining in the contest. Both teams fought aggressively the rest of the way, but the Central defense - anchored by goalie Luis Cerron - kept Nederland from converting another goal. "We're playing well right now," Cox said. "I knew Nederland was going to play well, and that's the big thing. We're in the playoffs now, and now we can worry about winning district." Nederland, which drops to 8-5-1 in district, entered Tuesday's contest with the fourth-best record in 20-4A. The Bulldogs will play host to Ozen on Friday and play at Vidor next Tuesday. The Jaguars, who also beat Nederland on Feb. 1, will play host to Vidor at Babe Zaharias Stadium on Friday. "Vidor is a good team," Cox said. "They're going to come out and play hard against us. We're on top so they want to knock us off. It will be a good game."

Three Mustangs ink to play college ball Van Wade The Orange Leader WEST ORANGE — To say that the West Orange-Stark senior football class had a tremendous amount of talent would be an understatement. On Tuesday, that became even more clearer as three more Mustangs inked on the dotted line to play collegiate football, pushing the total of WO-S signings to seven this year. Three all-district players signed Tuesday, all three of them all-district picks. Center Darrin Gipson signed to play at Texas Lutheran in Seguin while linebackers Dustin Locks, who was the District 21-3A Defensive Player of the Year, and Justin Alexander will both hone their skills at McMurray Junior College in Abilene. “All three of those guys were tremendous contributors to our football program,†said long-time Mustang head coach Dan Hooks. “Each one of them have started at least two years and Locks has started three. They each worked so hard to improve and they all had such terrific senior seasons.†In the last two seasons the three standouts helped the Mustangs to a 23-2 mark and two straight district titles. Gipson was a solid leader in the offensive trenches for an offense that piled up 373.8 yards a game in a very balanced attack that featured a 2,000-yard passer in Andre Bevil, a running back in DePauldrick Garrett who zipped for 1,389 yards and two receivers in Earl Thomas and Jacoby Franks that combined for 1,580 yards receiving. Defensively, the Mustangs posted their best numbers since they went to the Class 4A Division II state championship game in 2000 and Locks and Alexander were certainly key cogs. The Mustangs allowed just 177.8 yards per outing and outscored opponents 458-104 as WO-S allowed just 8.7 points per game. Locks was in on a team-high 139 tackles and led the way as well in unassisted tackles with 78 and also had 16 tackles for losses. Alexander wasn’t far behind with 133 tackles and led the squad with 83 assisted tackles and had six tackles for losses.†The other four Mustang standouts signed back on National Signing Day as Thomas inked with the University of Texas, Franks signed with Texas Tech University, Bevil inked with Navarro Junior College and defensive lineman Adrian Mims signed with Blinn Junior College. “This was such a tremendous senior class,†said Hooks. “Not many schools around the state can say that they had seven kids sign, especially at the 3A level. It’s rare that you have this much talent in one class and they all deserve it because they’re all really good kids.â€

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NM

They'll answer you.

Colmesneil Big Sandy West Hardin Anahuac

Congrats Bears!

Heck of a pitchers game.