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Future bright for area tourney champs

October 18, 2007

abrown

Championships have come to be expected in Eufaula.
Four region football championships in the last five years have a way of doing that.
But on Tuesday, Eufaula picked up a championship that was at least somewhat unexpected.
After all, the team doesn’t have a single senior on the roster and Victoria Crapps, Terika Davis and Jessica Holloway are the only juniors on the team.
But that didn’t stop the Eufaula volleyball team from claiming the Class 5A, Area 4 tournament crown due largely to the play of a trio of freshmen that were named to the all-tournament team.
Freshman Anjelica Richardson was a terror with her serve notching four aces in the Lady Tigers’ 3-0 win over Charles Henderson in the tournament’s best-of-five championship match.
Lindsey DeFee was just as good. She scored four kills in the win.
Not to be outdone, Allison Richardson tallied a pair of blocks, five kills and two aces.
Fellow freshman Paige Rowland also turned in a standout performance by recording three aces and two kills to help the Lady Tigers cruise past rival Charles Henderson.
The Eufaula sophomores didn’t fair so bad either.
Taylor Condrey recorded five aces en route to earning all-tournament honors, Crystal Nolin tallied three digs, Ashley Williams scored an ace and three kills and Shontia Bouyer recorded a dig.
It just goes to show that talent can make up for a lack of experience.
“We have a great deal of talent on this year’s team,” Eufaula head coach Rebecca Symons said. “We are extremely young, but we will put up a great challenge to any team.”
Holloway represented the juniors well in the tournament by tallying five aces and four kills to earn all-tournament honors.
Crapps recorded three digs and Davis notched two aces and two kills to help the Lady Tigers secure the championship.
“They really pulled together for this match,” Symons said. “They played their best match as a team.”
Now, the Lady Tigers (7-6) have turned their attention to Ozark and a showdown with Gulf Shores at the Alabama High School Athletic Association regional tournament.
“The regional tournament is always tough, but we have the talent and hopefully the will to pull though it and go on to the next round,” Symons said.
Whether or not the Lady Tigers advance past the single-elimination tournament or not, one thing is clear – the future is bright for the Lady Tigers.

Saluting a legend in volleyball

October 10, 2007

jwise

One of the great hallmarks of a good coach is the impact that he or she makes in the lives of the assistant coaches or players that work with them.

One good example is Bill Walsh of the NFL.

Ignoring the fact that he invented the West Coast Offense, he inspired others to want to be an NFL head coach and gave them the tools necessary to do that. Among his assistants that have followed him to NFL head coaching jobs are Dennis Green, Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren, Jim Fassel, George Seifert and Ray Rhodes.

In the Enterprise area, as the volleyball season approaches the playoffs next week with area and regional tournaments, one person could be called the Bill Walsh of volleyball in this area.

And that person is Amelia Rhoades of Kinston.

Rhoades brought volleyball to prominence at Kinston and probably inspired other small schools to pick up the sport.

Rhoades had incredible success in over 25 years of coaching at Kinston, capturing one state title in 1997 and finish-ing runner-up on several occasions.

If you looked at the state tournaments throughout her career, if you did not see Kinston there, it was a rarity.

Rhoades has retired from coaching, but her impact can still be felt.

At least six schools in this area are led by former Kinston players who played under Rhoades.

The list includes Shasta Arnett at Zion Chapel, Christy Spurlin at Opp, Amanda Martin at Elba, Lougener Wyrosdick at New Brockton, Janie Wiggins at Kinston and her daughters Suzanne Rhoades Elmore and Tiffany Rhoades Johnson at Samson.

Rhoades had enough of an impact on these people that they wanted to coach the sport they played. No doubt the things she taught them as players are the same things they teach their current players.

Of all of the ones that followed Rhoades in her footsteps, Wiggins has had the most success, winning her own state title last year. Kinston is 35-2 this year and returns all but one player form last year’s championship squad.

Arnett has coached Zion Chapel for seven years, the entire length of the Lady Rebels’ volleyball history. That’s right. Arnett built the Zion Chapel volleyball program.

Now, the Lady Rebels are a respectable team.

So, if you check on the volleyball results next week, check to see how these teams are doing. Remember without Rhoades, an Alabama Sports Hall of Fame member, some of this was probably not possible.

If I have missed another coach that played for Rhoades, please e-mail Jeremy Wise at .

Prep Football scene

October 09, 2007

jjohnson

The Wicksburg-Houston Academy game was as good as advertised. The Panthers certainly proved they’re for real, and Blake Wallace is one of the top field generals in the area. Give the young Raiders credit for hanging in there, but the more experienced Panthers were primed for this big one.
Cottonwood continues to roll in the region, and hosts HA on Friday. I believe the Bears will take this one, setting up a huge Wicksburg-Cottonwood battle coming up next week.
How about those Enterprise Wildcats? Big, big Class 6A region win over Auburn on Friday. Parker Stinnett is doing a little bit of it all on offense - catching passes, kicking field goals and punting the ball. His 48-yard field goal in the first half was the longest of his career.
Northview has won two straight, and have an excellent opportunity to make it three in a row when it hosts Smiths Station on Friday. Finally, the Cougars are back at Rip Hewes Stadium after four straights weeks on the road. I believe Northview has an excellent chance to win its remaining four games.
Great job by Jonas Randolph in running for 253 yards and four touchdowns in leading Daleville to a win over St. James. He’s having an outstanding year for the Warhawks.
Jermaine Williams had quite a night himself for Slocomb, rushing for 250 yards and four touchdowns in the Red Tops’ win over Straughn.
Providence Christian stands at an impressive 5-1 after whipping Zion Chapel, the lone loss coming on the last play of the game against Florala. Things get really tough this week, however, as No. 6 ranked Brantley comes to town. Don’t look for the Eagles to back down, however. This is a gritty bunch.

Big week of region games

October 03, 2007

jjohnson

Some huge games coming up this Friday night in region play.
The Houston Academy at Wicksburg game should be a war. Give the Panthers the edge on offense, the Raiders the edge on defense.
I’ve been impressed with the progress of a very young HA team which has battled numerous injuries. I’m equally impressed with Wicksburg, which won a big one last Friday night at Florala.
I’ve got to give the edge in this one to Wicksburg, led by the experience of quarterback Blake Wallace. The Panthers being at home helps their cause as well.
The Enterprise-Auburn matchup at Bates Memorial should be interesting. Enterprise lost for the first time last week against a solid Bainbridge team, and I believe the experience of playing that type of team on the road will actually benefit them as Auburn comes to town.
Here’s believing the Wildcats will find a way to win against a talented Auburn team.
Another game of major interest in Eufaula at Charles Henderson. The Tigers have had the Trojans number in recent years, but I believe this year it’s pretty much a toss up. Still, I look for Eufaula to pull out this victory.
How about Cottonwood still rolling along in Class 2A undefeated after a big win at Ariton? Cottonwood will be heavily favored this week at Samson, then will host Houston Academy before traveling to Wicksburg in two weeks. The race in that region will become much more clear in the next couple of weeks.

Tigers, Trojans set for region battle

October 02, 2007

abrown

It wasn’t quite as simple as option left, option right and Shyrone Parker up the middle, but it was pretty darn close.
Last season when the Tigers welcomed region-rival Charles Henderson to the Bluff City, then-Eufaula quarterback Jerrel Jernigan rushed for two touchdowns both of the 54-yard variety while leading a Tiger rushing attack that rolled up 299 yards on 29 attempts – an average of 10.3 yards per carry.
Chris Wilson scored on a 41-yard reverse and Chris Williams added a 5-yard touchdown for the Tigers en route to a 42-6 thumping of the Trojans.
The Eufaula defense was just as good, holding the Trojans to just 37 yards rushing on 29 carries and intercepting Charles Henderson quarterback Brent Poole twice.
Following the game, Charles Henderson head coach Hugh Fountain offered a simple explanation.
“They whipped us in all areas of the game,” he said. “They basically did whatever they wanted with us. Football is a pretty simple in that if you can’t block and tackle you can’t win. We didn’t do a good job of tackling and it showed up on the scoreboard.”
By that logic, one could deduce that these days the Trojans aren’t having too much trouble tackling their opponents. Through the first five games of the season, Charles Henderson owns a perfect record with wins over Wilcox-Central, Carroll, Tallassee, Valley and Class 6A Dothan.
The Trojans have yielded 72 points this season and have won their games by an average of 19 points.
That’s a stark contrast from last season when the Trojans entered their showdown with the then-No. 3 Tigers coming off back-to-back losses to Valley and Dothan. A loss to the Tigers made it three in a row.
No doubt Charles Henderson is looking for a little revenge following last season’s embarrassing loss at the hands of the Tigers, who went on to claim their fourth region title in five years and finish as the Class 5A state runner-up.
And while the Trojans certainly look the part of a contender for the region title, something Eufaula head coach Dan Klages predicted prior to the start of the season, they haven’t played a team the caliber of Eufaula yet this season.
As good as Charles Henderson’s defense has been the Eufaula defense has been even better.
The Tigers have yielded just 12 points in the last four games, and just 26 points on the season (Central-Phenix City scored a defensive touchdown and returned a punt for a touchdown in its 28-14 season-opening win over the Tigers).
I’ve heard some talk that maybe the undefeated Trojans should be favored. It’s not a crazy thought.
They’ve had some impressive wins this season. They always have talent and they’re at home.
But it’s hard to pick against the defending champion, especially when the defending champ’s lone loss is to a Class 6A school in the season opener which was also the first test for a host of Tigers, including first-year quarterback Zack Brown.
So, while the argument for Charles Henderson to be the favorite in Friday’s showdown is a good one, even compelling, I still lean toward the Tigers.
After all, Eufaula is still the region champ until someone knocks them off.