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Things to like for Charles Henderson and Pike County

August 23, 2008

krogers

Saw the annual Pike County-Charles Henderson game Friday night. It’s unlike any preseason game or jamboree I’ve ever seen.
It’s the real thing, folks.
Henderson broke a three-year losing streak to the Bulldogs, winning 35-20 and capitalizing on a tremendous first half.
Pike County, in its debut under new head coach Brad Waggoner, was horribly outplayed through the first two quarters.
Denzell Patterson fumbled the opening kickoff and Henderson’s Billy Neal recovered. Four plays later, junior quarterback K.D. Edenfield connected with junior Jawara White on a 20-yard touchdown reception on fourth-and-2.
On the ensuing possession, Pike County quarterback Josh Parker threw an out route for Quay Bailey on third-and-9. The Trojans’ Laquavious Bryant stepped in front of it and raced 60 yards for another score. Henderson led 14-0 just 3:16 into the game.
The lead grew later in the quarter when Edenfield threw a strike to Jabari Brown over the Bulldogs’ Tevin Andrews and Jarrod Wilson.
Henderson had the game all but won by tacking on two more scores inthe final two minutes of the first half. Edenfield scored on a 4-yard keeper, capping an eight-play, 55-yard drive with 1:23 left in the second period.
Gestavious Barnes got the ball back for Troy, making an interception with 46 seconds left in the half. Edenfield took advantage with a 21-yard strike on a slant route to Corey Dennis in the end zone. 35-0 at halftime.
They nearly added an exclamation point. The Trojans took the opening kickoff of the second half and kept the ball more than six minutes. However, Wilson intercepted Edenfield’s pass in the end zone. It seemed to give the Bulldogs a huge lift.
In fact, they played with more emotion from that point and controlled things for most of the second half as CHHS coach Hugh Fountain played a number of younger players.
That doesn’t take anything away from Pike County. Parker settled down and used his feet to make plays. A couple fine runs set up Chris Griffin’s 2-yard touchdown run that made it 35-7 with 19 seconds left in the third quarter.
Parker hit Patterson on a 39-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 35-14.
Fullback Josue Rodriguez scored on a 1-yard run with 37.6 seconds left for the game’s final score.
There were parts that both coaches had to like. Fountain had to like seeing the Trojans establish control in the game’s opening moments. Despite the 15-point final margin, it was over by halftime. Still, enough went wrong as they unsuccessfully tried to run the clock that there are things the Trojans will work on before their season opener against Greenville.
Waggoner had to be proud of his team’s pride. The Bulldogs’ better play kept it from being a blowout. They’ll benefit by this warmup week as they prepare for Friday night’s opener against Carroll in Ozark.

Players, coaches, fans have emotional week in Troy

February 23, 2008

krogers

They don’t give out tickets to Birmingham and the high school basketball state tournament. You have to earn the trip.
That’s what is so difficult, and uplifting, about the week of the South Regional tournament in Troy.
It’s a proving ground to the four boys and girls teams in each classification. Are you good enough? Are you worthy?
Only sometimes the scoreboard is cruel. Let me tell you: Ashford’s boys were good enough. Ashford’s boys were worthy of a Final Four appearance next week.
The Jackets’ deep freeze in the second half of Saturday’s game — 4-for-17 in the half, 0-for-7 in the final 5:30 — was a fluke. They’ll be back.
Less mind-boggling was Geneva’s convincing girls victory Saturday morning. The Panthers are headed to Birmingham for the third time in the past four years.
Rich Bixby noted after his game that his father coached the Geneva boys for years — and some of Rich’s players are daughters of guys who played for his dad.
Kind of a neat story, I think.
So is the angst this week takes on a person’s psyche — coaches, players, parents, fans. It’s not easy to face elimination in any team sport. Every team comes to Troy knowing it is two wins away from the state tournament — and one loss away from going home. Most seniors who lost this week have played their last game of organized basketball.
The lasting image I’ve got for the week came in a game that didn’t involve a Wiregrass team. J.F. Shields and McIntosh were in the final seconds of a tense 1A final. There were 13 seconds left on the clock and both teams were in their huddle for the final time.
Fans on both sides were screaming and the pressure was sky high. A J.F. Shields cheerleader stood on a bench with her back to the court — holding her head in her hands. She couldn’t watch. She didn’t turn around after play resumed. The moment was too much.
That’s what we love about high school basketball. The highs are soaring and the lows are devastating.

Ashford’s Herbert pulls double duty at Troy Regional

February 21, 2008

krogers

Win or lose, coaches almost always tell their teams to forget the last game and move on.
Ashford coach Bill Herbert had to do the same on Thursday.
There was no time to dwell on the Ashford girls’ 52-48 loss — as heart-pounding and as heartbreaking as it was. For as his team was leaving the court, the Ashford boys were coming out of the dressing room to warm up.
Herbert is the only coach to lead both the boys and girls teams to the South Regional in Troy this year.
It’s his second year with the boys team and his first with the girls. That he took both to the Class 4A regionals was impressive enough. The girls finished 21-7. The boys are 24-10 — and will play for a trip to Birmingham on Saturday.
As part of his responsibilities as head coach, Herbert had to meet with the media after each game, including the girls’ loss. Ashford cut a 13-point deficit to one point before falling to T.R. Miller.
“Just coaching the games wasn’t so bad,” he said. “Not being able to be with the girls after a heartbreaking loss was tough. Fortunately, I asked a couple Ashford coaches to check on them.”
As for the boys, Herbert said it was gratifying to see a program he took over playing ninth-graders two years ago get to this level.
“Last year we got beat in overtime in the sub-regional in overtime,” the coach recalled. “Since then, the kids have been focusing on getting here and winning. That’s what they talked about all season.”
He is justifiably proud of the progress made in both programs.
And he’s proud of his players. Asked if he was Tim James’ barber — James sported a freshly shaved mohawk haircut for the game — Herbert smiled, shook his head and said, “I’m his daddy. I’m all of them’s daddy.”
The girls don’t have a senior on their roster; the boys start one senior, Jeremy White, and bring another senior, Kendrick Russaw, off the bench.
Both teams learned key lessons for the future Thursday. The girls fell behind 14-4 after the first quarter. The boys were leading 15-5 after the opening period.
There is another game to prepare for Saturday. But just one.
“It won’t be weird,” he said, noting the area tournament games were on staggered dates. “I’ve done it both ways.”
And he’s done it pretty well.

Tuesday regionals update

February 19, 2008

dchamplin

In Class 6A boys, Dothan’s season came to an end against No. 1 LeFlore.

Florala boys, Providence Christian boys and girls are slated to play today.

Providence Christian girls make Sweet 16

February 14, 2008

krogers

Providence Christian’s girls basketball program took another big step Thursday night.
The Eagles’ 62-43 victory over Florala sends Providence to the Southeast Regional in Troy next week. Providence is one of Class 1A’s Sweet 16, which is ironic since most of the Eagles are barely 16 or younger.
The team starts one senior, Kelsay Layer, two sophomores—Andrea Charlton and Katie Dowd—and two freshmen—Madison Longchamp and Mackenzie Stewart. Most of the reserves are either underclassmen or in junior high. One of the biggest ovations of the night came when the junior high squad, called the Eaglets, went to the scorer’s bench to check into the game with two minutes remaining.
This week is going to be exciting for the school. It’s going to be an education, too. Top-ranked McIntosh awaits Providence in Troy on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Providence has nothing to lose—and a great learning experience to gain. They are quick, smart and eager to take the next step as an AHSAA basketball program. That makes the young Eagles a dangerous opponent for a team with state championship expectations. It should be fun to watch.