Sports Department

Sunday, Feb. 21 and Thursday, Feb. 25 Editions

Basketball

All-District

District 23-A coaches have announced the 2009-10 all-district girls basketball selections.

Special Awards

MVP- Danielle Childs, senior, Lovelady.

Offensive Player of the Year- Jalesia Walker, sophomore, Grapeland.

Defensive Player of the Year- Chelsey McKnight, senior, Lovelady.

Newcomer of the Year- Laura Driskell, sophomore, Lovelady.

First Team

Ashley Brown, senior, Grapeland; Katherine Walker, senior, Grapeland; Santana Sylestine, junior, Big Sandy; Kendall Crum, senior, Lovelady; Lyndsey LaRue, freshman, Lovelady.

Second Team

Tiffany Richard, senior, Lovelady; Ariel Battise, senior, Big Sandy; Jessica Thacker, sophomore, Alto; Katina Sturns, junior, Alto; Ariann Kazmierczak, freshman, Latexo.

Honorable Mention

Latexo- Brittani Brown, Ciara Stewart.

Grapeland- Barekia Davis, Mandy Prasatik, Jalla Johnson.

Alto- Lindsey Smith, Kayla Simpson.

Crockett

NACOGDOCHES— Crockett Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-point lead and continued with a relentless attack as they whipped the Tatum Eagles 81-57 in the area round of the playoffs Friday, Feb. 26.

In the final 3 1/2 minutes of the opening period, the Bulldogs outscored Tatum 14-1 for a 26-6 lead. The Dogs opened up a 45-21 lead at the break and carried a 65-42 advantage into the final period.

Crockett’s lead in the third quarter ranged from 19 to 26 points. The Dogs maintained at least a 21-point lead in the final quarter. “It was an up-and-down game. I was very concerned about Tatum’s quickness. We like to play fast, but Tatum’s players were really quick,” said Bulldog head coach David Drafahl.

“We got some good looks in the first half and knocked down some big shots,” the coach added, noting key 3-pointers by Laterviunce Patton. He drained two treys during a 10-0 run in the second quarter that gave Crockett a 27-point lead with 5:00 before halftime.

Carson Earp and Koby Dickenson also nailed “huge” 3-ponters in the first quarter. The Bulldogs pulled down a season-high 58 rebounds. “That’s a lot of second shots and a lot of shots Tatum wasn’t getting,” said Drafahl. “I’ve always been fortunate to have teams at Crockett that were great rebounders, and tonight they were relentless. Tatum couldn’t keep us off the boards, and when you get three or four shots every time, that’s huge.” Drafahl said C.J. Ervin and Naquan Lee both made their presence known on the boards.

“C.J. had an incredible game the whole night,” said Drafahl. “He and Naquan (Lee) ruled the boards tonight, and that’s what we need them to do..” Ervin scored 25 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and had two steals.

Lee scored 6 points and collected 10 boards, in addition to 2 steals, 2 block and 3 assists. Tracy Ross logged 9 rebounds and 7 points. Laterviunce Patton finished with 13 points, 5 steals and 4 assists. Dominique Wheeler rounded out double figures with 10 points. Tony Chimney, who scored 4, pulled down 6 rebounds and had 2 steals. Earp also helped defensively with 2 steals, in addition to his early 3 pointer. Dickenson scored 5, A.D. Smith 4, Tevin Riley 3 and Michael McKnight 1.

The Bulldogs connected 11 of 21 at the foul line. “I told the guys before the game that they had to play the same way we did in our first playoff game against LaVega. We had to match Tatum’s intensity and get after it. We’ve done that two games in a row, and hopefully we can keep it up,” said Drafahl.

LUFKIN-- The Crockett Bulldogs appeared to be headed for an easy victory over the Hudson Hornets early in their regional quarterfinals game Monday, March 1. But after falling behind by 13 points early in the second quarter, Hudson seized the momentum and went on to slip past the Bulldogs 78-70.

“This was a game of runs. We were in control for the first quarter,” said Bulldog head coach David Drafahl, whose team led 25-18 at the end of the opening frame. The Bulldogs opened the second quarter with three unanswered buckets by C.J. Ervin for a 31-18 lead. Trailing by nine late in the half, Hudson went to the line for two tech shots and hit both. After Crockett missed two tech foul shots, the Hornets closed out the second with two free throws and a basket to cut the Bulldog lead to 41-38 at the break. “When they made the two free throws and we missed ours, we lost our composure for awhile,” said Drafahl.

After halftime, Hudson reeled off six unanswered points to take the lead 44-41 early in the third. The lead changed hands several times, but Hudson closed out the third with a 7-2 run for a 57-55 lead heading into the final quarter.

Two unanswered buckets by Tracy Ross put Crockett back in front 59-57, but Hudson countered with six straight points to regain the lead, 63-59. The Dogs tied the game with 3:30 left on a put-back by Dominique Wheeler and two free throws by Ervin. After a go-ahead Hudson bucket, Crockett tied the game again at 65-all on a basket by Laterviunce Patton. A 6-1 run put Hudson back in front 71-66 with 1:20 left, but Crockett narrowed the gap on a three-pointer by Carson Earp. Two free throws gave the Hornets a 73-69 lead with 1:12 left. A Crockett free throw by Ross made it a three-point game, but Hudson nailed five free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.

Free throw shooting and rebounding were key factors in the loss, said Drafahl. The Bulldogs hit only 10 of 24 free throws for 41 percent while Hudson connected 28 of 39 for 71 percent. On the boards, the Dogs collected just 30 rebounds after recording a season-high 58 in their previous game. On the plus side, the Bulldogs only had 13 turnovers. “The second half played out exactly the way Hudson wanted with the pace of the game,” the coach said. “We were trying to play full court; we could never get anything going off our press in the second half. Obviously, the whistle was blowing every 10 seconds and Hudson was going to the free throw line. I’ve said many times before that you never want to get in a free throw contest with Hudson.”

Ervin paced the Dogs with 25 points, including one trey. “His outside shot wasn’t there tonight. He was playing hard but he got into foul trouble,” said Drafahl. Ross finished the night with 14 points. “Tracy played a great game. He missed a couple shots early, but he was playing hard,” the coach said.

Also scoring were Naquan Lee 8, Earp with 7 (1 trey), and Wheeler and Patton with 6 apiece. Karlton Runner led the Hornets with 24 points, Ja’Lexius Davis had 23 and Damion Williams 22. Hudson (24-10) advances to the regional tournament at Huntsville and will take on Silsbee in the semifinals.

Lovelady

RUSK—The Lovelady Lions matched up with Tenaha in the first half, but couldn’t overcome a third-quarter spurt by the highly ranked Tigers.

Tenaha outscored the Lions 19 to 7 in the third quarter and went on to win the area playoff game 67-50 Thursday, Feb. 25. The upset-minded Lions dominated the first quarter and grabbed a 15-8 lead. They opened the second quarter with two unanswered buckets for a 19-8 lead.

Tenaha mounted a 12-2 run to cut Lovelady’s lead to 21-20 midway through the second. The lead changed hands twice in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the first half, but the Lions hit a pair of free throws right before halftime to knot the score at 31-31.

Tenaha started the third quarter with a 10-1 run that included a pair of treys to take a 43-32 lead with 4:00 on the clock. Lovelady got within nine points, but the Tigers drained a trey at the buzzer to carry a 50-38 lead into the final period. A 9-3 run early in the fourth gave Tenaha its biggest lead of 18 points. The Lions narrowed the gap to 12, only to see Tenaha pull away again.

Christian Harris scored 10 points in the first half but was held to just two in the second half for a 12-point total. Taylor Therwhanger and Matt Stenstadvold, each canned 7 apiece. Stenstadvold buried two treys in the fourth quarter and Therwhanger drained one in the first quarter.

Jordan Driskell scored 6, followed by Tre Sherman, Trent Sulewski and Jalin Boutte with 4 apiece. Justin Driskell scored 3, Stephen Solomon 2 and Paul Stenstadvold 1.

Tenaha’s scoring was led by Jamon Moore with 17 (3 treys), followed by Victor Johnson with 16 and Reginald Davis with 10.

FRANKLIN— Lovelady Lady Lions earned their fourth straight trip to the UIL Region III basketball tournament with a 50-46 win over Hubbard on Wednesday, Feb. 24 Franklin.

The Lady Lions only led 14-13 after a quarter but gained some breathing room at the break when they led 29-24. Lovelady maintained a five-point edge at the end of the third, 40-35. Hubbard outscored the Lady Lions by a point in the final period, but was unable to overtake them down the stretch.

Danielle Childs and Shelby Gunnels led Lovelady’s scoring with 10 points apiece. Childs was also credited with 2 assists and 6 steals.

Laura Driskell drained three treys in the first half and finished with 9. She also booked three assists and 2 steals. Chelsey McKnight also canned 9, including a trey and a perfect 4-of-4 at the foul line in the fourth quarter.

Kendall Crum tossed in 8 points, while Kendra Johnson and Lyndsey LaRue chipped in 2 each. McKnight and Gunnels each logged a steal to help defensively.

Lovelady out-shot Martin’s Mill from the field, but the Lady Lions couldn’t overcome a lopsided foul ratio in the regional finals Saturday, Feb. 27 in Nacogdoches. Martin’s Mill hit 25 of 27 free throws before the Lady Lions made their first trip to foul line with less than a minute left in the game. When the final buzzer sounded, Martin’s Mill was on top 53-32 to knock Lovelady out of the playoffs for the third time in the last four years.

Martin’s Mill jumped out to an 18-9 first quarter lead and outscored Lovelady 12 to 4 in the second for a 30-13 halftime lead. In the third, the Lady Mustangs only outscored Lovelady by a point and carried a 39-21 lead into the final period. Martin’s Mill picked up all of their points in the final period at the foul line, hitting 14 of 16. “They had shot 27 before we ever went to the foul line,” said Lady Lion head coach Gary Grahn. “That was the game right there. We had 14 field goals and they had 13. They’re a very good team and for us to beat them everything had to go according to plan,” said Grahn. “When you have to watch your opponent shoot 27 field goals and you’ve shot none, you have no chance of winning.

“I don’t mean that whiningly. Objectively, had someone told me before the game they’re going to shoot 27 free throws and you’re shooting none—it’s game over, you have no chance,” said Grahn. The coach added he had never witnessed a game in which a team recorded such a high percentage of free throws, “That’s incredible, plus the fact they had shot so many and we hadn’t even been to the line once.” All of Lovelady’s scorers were held to single digits. Danielle Childs led with 8, followed by Kendall Crum, Laura Driskell and Lyndsey LaRue with 6 apiece.

For Martin’s Mill, E. Williams was a perfect 10-of-10 at the line and finished with 22 points. J. Daniel hit 10 of 11 free throws and totaled 18. The Lady Lions will lose five senior players— Childs, Crum, Tiffany Richard, Shelby Gunnels and Chelsey McKnight. “We’re certainly pleased with the year we had. We won our district and won 26 games. We would have liked to win 30, but we’ll take 26,” Grahn said.

The Lady Lions went undefeated in district to capture the championship for the fifth straight year. “We were pleased to advance to the playoffs, get back to the regional tournament and reach the regional final,” Grahn added. “We’re certainly not ashamed of anything and we’re also happy about how things went this year. We’re just disappointed that we didn’t advance on to Austin.”

But Grahn said the Lady Lions can find solace in the fact that they were eliminated by a tough opponent at regional. “Martin’s Mill is a very good team, so it’s not like we lost to someone weak. We’re just getting tired of watching them cut the nets down at the end of the regional tournament,” said Grahn.

The Lady Lions edged Waskom 63-55 in the semi-finals of the regional tournament Friday, Feb. 26.

The Lady Lions led Waskom 15-12 after a quarter and 32-26 at intermission. They carried a 47-38 lead into the final period.

Childs led Lovelady’s scoring with 17 points and Gunnels scored 15. Crum was next with 9, followed by McKnight and Lyndsey LaRue with 7 apiece. Driskell tossed in 6.

Latexo

Grapeland

Top-ranked Cayuga dominated Grapeland in the second quarter 26-12 and went on to defeat the Sandies 76-56 in the regional quarterfinals Monday, March 1.

Playing at Fairfield High School, the Sandies kept the Wildcats within reach during the first quarter as Devin Charles drained a trey at the buzzer to hold Cayuga to a 12-9 lead.

Cayuga began to pull away, outscoring the Sandies by 14 in the second frame to build a 38-21 halftime lead. The Wildcats stretched their lead to 57-35 at the end of three quarters.

Aaron Hatton and Reshawd Shepherd paced the Sandies’ scoring with 15 apiece. They were followed by Demilous Simpson with 8, Devan Mayfield 7, Brandon Walker 5, Ta’coyus Walker 3 and Charles 3.

The Sandies won the District 23-A championship with an 8-0 record and finished the year with a 21-5 record. Cayuga, 18-2 overall, advances to the regional tournament at Nacogdoches.

Grapeland Sandies dominated New Summerfield 74-45 in an area round playoff Friday, Feb. 26 at Rusk.

Grapeland jumped on top of New Summerfield 26-13 in the first quarter and outscored them 21 to 6 in the second quarter for a 47-19 lead. The Sandies were in front 61-39 going into the final frame.

Demilous Simpson and Aaron Hatton paced the Sandies with 17 points each, and Devin Charles scored 12, all in the first half. Rounding out the scoring were Devan Mayfield with 8, Ta’coyus Walker 7, Reshawd Shepherd 5 add Justin Fletcher 2.

Kennard

The Kennard Tigers were impressive in their first post-season action as they raced past Union Hill 73-55 Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Gary.

Union Hill kept the Tigers within reach in the first half as Kennard led 12-8 after a quarter and 27-21 at the break. Kennard came out smoking in the third quarter and outscored the Bulldogs 25 to 9. The Tigers were in charge 52-30 heading into the final period.

Tyrell Patton paced the Tigers with 24 points, followed by Xavier Woods with 15 and Adam Turrbiartes with 12.

Other scorers were Dan Davis with 8, Trent Simon 6, Dre Coleman 4 and Cody Collinsworth with 2 Kennard faced Miller Grove, the District 22-A champion, in the area round.

NACOGDOCHES- In a rematch with district rival Neches, the Kennard Lady Tigers fell 47-38 in the regional final Saturday, Feb. 27. Neches led by four going into the fourth quarter, but extended their lead to 39-30 with a 7-2 run.

Kennard got within five points with 2:00 left, but Neches finished with another 7-2 run to earn a berth in the state tournament. In the regional semifinal Friday, Feb. 26, the Lady Tigers battled Slidell into overtime and then outscored the Lady Hounds 3 to 1 to escape with a 51-49 victory.

Slidell jumped out to an 11-4 lead, but Kennard closed the gap to 13-11 at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Tigers outscored Slidell 16 to 5 in the second with Statia Pope nailing a trey at the buzzer for a 27-18 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Slidell topped Kennard 18 to 14 to cut the lead to 41-36. After trailing the entire second half, Slidell took a 46-43 lead after hitting back-to-back treys and a pair of 2-pointers. Kennard picked up a point at the foul line and then scored a bucket to tie the game at 46-all with a minute left in the fourth quarter.

Kennard took a 48-46 lead when Khloe McCloud sank a pair of free throws with :34 left. Slidell matched Kennard at the foul line, however, and the final buzzer sounded with the score tied 48-all. Neither team made a basket in overtime. Statia Pope hit a free throw early in overtime and then hit two more with :57 left for a 51-48 lead.

Slidell went to the foul for two shots with :40 left, but only connected one. McCloud was held to just two points in the first half, but erupted for 14 in the second for a total of 16 points. Statia Pope followed with 15 points. Also scoring were Taylor Adair with 8, Porsha Pope with 4, Telissa Merritt with 4 and Kayla Shankle with 2.

The Tigers advanced to the regional tournament with a 51-36 victory over Fannindel in the regional quarterfinals Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Mildred.

The Lady Tigers led 13-7 at the end of the first quarter and 29-20 at halftime. They opened up a 40-27 lead heading into the fourth and then outscored Fannindel by two to seal the victory.

Statia Pope and Khloe McCloud led Kennard’s scoring with 14 apiece. Pope accounted for 10 of Kennard’s 13 points in the first quarter.

Taylor Adair scored 11, followed by Telissa Merritt with 8 and Porsha Pope with 4.

Baseball

Crockett Bulldogs baseball team competed against a tough field in Fredericksburg tournament, Feb. 25-27. The Dogs posted one victory and three losses, two of which were by one-run margins. Bulldog Zach Dowell earned all-tournament recognition ffor his performance.

Tourney host Frederickburg nipped the Bulldogs 6-5 in their opener Thursday. Zack Stone, pitching 5 2/3 innings, gave up no earned runs, six hits and struck out three. Leading Crockett at the plate were Ty Salmon, 2-for-3, with 2 RBI and walk; and Zach Dowell, 1-for-2, was hit by pitch and scored a run.

“Five unearned runs and some blown calls contributed to the loss,” said Bulldog head coach Bill Miller. In their second game, Llano slipped past the Bulldogs 2-1. Julius McPherson pitched 4 1/3 innings and struck out 6 while allowing 5 hits and 2 runs. Joseph Smoldas, working 1 2/3 innings, stuck out two and gave up one hit and no runs.

Top hitters were Trevor Marsh, 1-for-1, walked once and was hit by pitch. Zach Dowell was 1-for-2 with as double, RBI and walk. Seth Maxwell batted 1-for-3 with two stolen bases and a walk. Cole Pemberton, 1-for-3, had a double. “Llano had a wind-aided pop-up that ended up being a two-run homer, We played well with no errors and both teams had six hits,” said Miller.

The Bulldogs recorded a 13-6 win over Seminole in their third game as the offense came to life. Joseph Smoldas (1-0) worked four innings to record the pitching win, He struck out seven while giving up seven hits and five runs.

Cade McDonald, Zach Dowell and Ty Salmon all batted 2-for-3. McDonald hit a double and two RBI; Dowell collected a RBI, 2 runs and a walk; Salmon had a RBI and scored twice.

Zach Stone was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. Seth Maxwell, 1-for-2, finished with a RBI, two walks, a stolen base and a run. Smoldas, 1-for-2, walked, was hit by pitch and scored two runs.

“We needed a break-out game offensively,” said Miller. Facing off with Burnet in their final game, the Dogs lost 14-1 in a four-inning game under the 10-run rule. Hitting 1-for-2 were Zack Stone (RBI), Seth Maxwell (double) and Julius McPherson.

The varsity Bulldogs will compete in the Woodville Tournament today through Saturday. Crockett will play Woodville at 7 p.m. today and return Friday at 4 p.m. to play Coldspring at 4 o’clock . The Dogs will play two games Saturday, facing Quitman at 10 a.m. and Groveton at 4 p.m.

Groveton scored two runs in the top of the seventh to edge the Grapeland Sandies 8-6 in their season opener Feb. 22. The Indians erupted for five runs in the sixth for a 6-3 lead, but Grapeland answered with three runs in the bottom half to tie the game.

Grapeland committed three errors while the Indians were error-free. Cornelus Weaver was 3-for-4 with 1 run and 2 RBI. Heath Smith was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

Devan Mayfield was 1-for-3 with a double. Ryan Jordan was 1-for-4 with 1 run and 1 RBI and Cameron Boyd was also 1-for- 4. Weaver started on the mound and worked three innings. He gave up 3 hits, no runs, 1 walk and struck out two. Heath Smith pitched two innings, gave up 1 run, 1 hit, and 2 walks. He struck out 3.

Houston Padgett pitched one inning and gave up 6 runs on 2 hits, 2 walks, and hit one batter. Jordan Bobbitt, losing pitcher, worked one inning and gave up 2 runs on 1 hit. He struck out one and hit a batter.

The Lovelady Lions opened baseball season as they traveled to Teague for tournament play, winning two of three games for a third-place finish.

The Lions beat the Centerville Tigers 6-1 in their first game, lost to Wortham 10-1 in the second, then squared off against North Zulch for a 16-0 win. Several players returned to play in the third game after missing the previous one.

On defense, Case Gunnels and Luke Stone turned in good performances on the mound. Gunnels picked up the win against Centerville recording eight strikeouts, giving up one walk, two hits and no runs. Stone pitched a shutout against North Zulch in a four-inning game, recording 10 strikeouts, giving up one walk and two hits. Others working the mound were Zach Duke recording three strikeouts, giving up one walk, four hits and four runs (two unearned). Will Yeager recorded five strikeouts, gave up three walks, one hit and one run. Dakota Enos had two strikeouts, gave up five hits, one walk and six runs (three unearned).

Gunnels led the team on offense with six hits, collected three RBI and scored five runs. Duke had two hits with three RBI and three runs. Enos also scored three runs and three RBI. Dillion Shupak picked up one run, collected three hits and five RBI. Coach Darryl Joyner said the team had some good plays along with several mistakes in their first games of the season. The Lions start district play Tuesday at home against Slocum starting at 6:30 p.m.

Softball

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