Football Preview

The new 2010 footballseason at Gentry HighSchool is bringing a newhead coach to the sidelinesand new hopes of improvingon last season's 4-7 record.

Despite a 15-14 loss toGreenville-Weston in theirseason opener last Fridaynight — see full game cover-age in the sports section ofthe Enterprise-Tocsin —new Head Coach JeffreyWalker is upbeat about histeam.

"We worked hard thissummer and we have peo-ple who can play with any-one if they'll play hardevery play and to their abil-ity,” he said.

Coach Walker has 61players listed on his rosterwho are at his disposal. Thefive dozen-plus players area quantity that is requiredin 5A football in order tohave the depth to compete.

As for who will be expect-ed to lead the Rams whileon the field, the obviouspick has to be senior andMississippi State commitRufus Warren, who at 6 feet3 inches, 240 pounds willhold down the tight endposition for the Rams.

At quarterback, fans canexpect to see Kemong Craw-ford directing traffic fromunder center while throw-ing to the likes of Warren.

At running back, BobbyWalker will get his share oftouches as he runs behind aGentry offensive line look-ing to gain experience eachweek.

Defensively for theRams, linebackers KenTucker and Cortez Hopereturn to hunt the footballwhile Tony Bell should alsobe a force at the defensiveend position.

As for the 2010 schedule,the Rams open with fourconsecutive non-regional

games prior to beginning aseven-game gauntlet ofRegion 1-5A contests.

The Rams will enjoy fivehome dates this season,which include a string ofthree consecutive games onthe Gentry High field begin-ning with their Sept. 3 datewith cross-county rivalRuleville Central HighSchool.

In addition to Greenville-Weston and Ruleville, theRams schedule calls fornon-regional contests

against Greenwood andHumphreys County HighSchool.

As for regional play, theRams open this all-impor-tant portion of their sched-ule on Sept. 24 by hostingthe Green Wave from WestPoint High School, thedefending 5A State Cham-pions.

Other opponents vyingwith the Rams for theRegion 1-5A crown and aberth in the playoffs areLake Cormorant, Saltillo,

Clarksdale, Hernando,Oxford, and New HopeHigh School.

The Rams do catch abreather by way of an open

date on Sept. 24, one weekafter concluding the non-regional portion of theirfootball schedule.

Thursday, August 26, 2010The Enterprise-Tocsin - Fall Sports Preview

Gentry Rams set for five home games

Gentry quarterback Karlos Warren lines up behind Edward Thomas, No. 66,and Orlando Martin, No. 60, as he takes snaps before last Friday’s game.

Wayne Parham/Enterprise-Tocsin

By PAUL PUTNAMSports Contributor

Thursday, August 26, 2010 The Enterprise-Tocsin - Fall Sports Preview

1 Karlos Warren QB2 Delexis Betties DB3 Cortez Hope LB4 Donald Moore RB5 Shaq Willis WR6 Demetrius Campbell RB7 Tequilas Corner LB8 Kendall Perryman DB9 Jeremy Green WR10 Keno Belford WR11 Ken Stevens LB14 Ken Tucker LB15 Kemong Crawford QB17 Henry Manuel LB18 Jesmond Sibley WR20 Jacque Johnson RB21 Bobby Walker RB24 Malcolm Hazlett WR25 Earnest Spiller LB30 Chris Nailor LB32 Symetric Strong LB33 Taquan Roby RB34 John Morgan Walls LB35 Dequavion Brown RB38 Pierre Nellum FB39 Antonio Bell (white jersey) DT40 Tevin Jones RB42 Antonio Bell (maroon jersey) DE44 Thomas Mays WR50 Jeremy Henry LB51 Marcus Higgins LB52 Lydell Liggins LB53 Jaquarri Lockett DE55 Damion Mont OL56 Keith Heard OL58 Justin Baker OL60 Orlando Martin Ol62 Driefus Bailey OL64 Fredrick Davis OL65 Chris Saffold OL66 Edward Thomas OL67 Anthony Briscoe OL70 Tim McCray OL71 Taveres Webb DL73 Fabian Sibley OL74 Jordan Whitfield OL75 Eric Gibson DE76 Driefus Buckner DE77 Michael Nash OL78 Jacoby Drake OL80 Charles Nash WR81 Ken Young TE82 Terry Singleton WR84 Rufus Warren TE86 Octavius Farrow WR87 Corey Tomas WR88 Anthony Hayes WR89 Armond Wyms DE90 Tristan Bullock DT95 Jerry Hines DT99 Marquavius Jackson OL

2010GentryHigh

School Football

Aug. 28, 10 a.m. Practice Meet at M.V.S.USept. 11, 10 a.m. Delta State at ClevelandSept. 25, 9 a.m. Cleveland High at ClevelandOct. 2, 9 a.m. Greenville High at GreenvilleOct. 9, 9 a.m. Mississippi College at ClintonOct. 23, 9 a.m. District Meet at RosedaleNov. 6, 8 a.m. State Meet at Clinton

2010Gentry Cross

CountrySchedule

Aug. 20 Greenville*Aug. 27 Greenwood*Sept. 3 Ruleville* Sept. 10 Humphreys Co.*Sept. 24 West Point*Oct. 1 Lake CormorantOct. 8 SaltilloOct. 15 Clarksdale Oct. 22 Hernando

(Homecoming)Oct. 29 OxfordNov. 5 New HopeHome games in bold. *7:30p.m. games, all others at 7 p.m.

2010GentryHigh

FootballSchedule

Aug. 26 DrewSept. 2 RulevilleSept. 9 Ray BrooksSept. 16 D. M. SmithSept. 23 GreenwoodSept. 30 ShelbyOct. 7 Amanda ElzyOct. 14 JF KennedyGames at 5:30 p.m.

Merritt Middle Jr. High 7th & 8th2010 Football Schedule

Aug. 30 GreenwoodSept. 6 ClevelandSept. 13 GreenvilleSept. 20 Yazoo CitySept. 27 ClevelandOct. 4 GreenvilleOct. 11 GreenwoodGames at 5:30 p.m.

Merritt Middle Jr. High-9th2010 Football Schedule

Sept. 2 Jones JC 6 p.m.Sept. 9 Gulf Coast CC 7 p.m.Sept. 16 Northeast CC* 7 p.m.Sept. 23 Hinds CC 7 p.m.Sept. 30 Itawamba CC* 6 p.m.Oct. 7 Holmes CC* 6 p.m.Oct. 16 Northwest CC* 2 p.m.Oct. 21 East Miss CC * 6 p.m.Oct. 30 Coahoma* 2 p.m.Nov. 6 State Championship PlayoffsNov. 13 State ChampionshipHome games in bold. *North Division Games

2010 Trojan FootballSchedule

The Gentry High School band, under the leadership of Band Director Natasha Ford, is ready for half-time performances as the new football season gets underway.


The Gentry defense approaches the line of scrimmage ready to dig in andmake a stand against Greenville Weston during last Friday’s opener.

It is commonly stated,and often proven, thatdefense wins footballgames.

And on paper at least,defense promises to be amajor part of any success tobe earned this season by theIndianola AcademyColonels football team.

Encouragingly thus far,that promise of strongdefense has held true forthe Colonels. For this pastFriday night in Clarksdale,the Colonels earned a veryphysical, 28-14 win over theLee Academy Colts to openthis new football season. Afull game report can befound in the sports sectionof this week's paper.

The pre-season optimismfor this 2010 IA team isfueled by the fact that theColonels return eightstarters from the defensiveunit which helped pace lastyear's 7-5 playoff squad.

However, as much poten-tial as there may be on thedefensive side of the footballfor the Colonels, the overalloptimism about the upcom-ing season can be somewhattempered by the fact thatonly four starters arereturning for IA on theoffensive side of the football.

As for this season's IAfootball team, there will be26 Colonels on the 2010squad, and 14 of those inpads are members of thisyear's senior class. Addi-tionally, there are six jun-iors and six sophomoreswho will complete the IAroster.

"We feel our senior lead-ership will be a strengthwith these 14 seniors", saidCoach Nester, who is enter-ing his fifth year at thehelm of the IA football pro-gram. "Summer workoutshave gone well. The kidsworked hard three days aweek in the weight roomand running, plus wegained valuable experiencethis summer playing in 7 on7 competitions. Caleb Dod-son, Cody Maxey, AlexSykes, and Dalton Bills willbe counted on heavily fortheir leadership,” coachNester added.

There will also be a sea-soned staff directing theColonels on the sidelinesthis year. While CoachNester adds to his headcoaching duties by oversee-ing the quarterbacks anddefensive linemen, RayBridges once again bringshis vast coaching experi-ence in the college ranks tothe field. The veterancoach's focus will be cen-tered on the defensive backsand wide receivers.

Serving as defensivecoordinator, while also guid-ing the running backs, willbe Clete Putnam. Moldingthe offensive line will beShan Wright, who will alsodirect the linebackers ondefense.

In regard to respectiveunits, Coach Nester notedthat offensively "We do haveconcerns at offensive lineand depth at running back.”

Those concerns are justi-fied as center Cameron

Richardson (6 feet, 225pounds) and tackle AlexSykes (6 feet, 200 pounds)are the only two linemenreturning to move opposingdefenses off the line ofscrimmage.

Other returnees onoffense include quarterbackCaleb Dodson and fullbackCody Maxey.

Dodson (5 feet 11 inches,165 pounds) is entering histhird year as the Colonels'starting quarterback andpossesses 4.5 speed.According to Coach Nester,this gift of speed enables thesenior signal caller to be "agood runner with the abilityto make the big plays.” Dod-son, who earned All-Districthonors at this position lastseason, has also shown he

can effectively throw thefootball after having com-pleted 54 percent of hispasses last fall.

Meanwhile, Maxey (5feet 10 inches, 175 pounds)has displayed a knack formoving the pile from thefullback position and hisrunning and blocking expe-rience will be counted onheavily this fall.

On defense, the mostobvious strength could be atthe linebacker positions asall three of this head-hunt-ing corps return to stuffholes and chase down ball-carriers.

A pair of 2009 All-Dis-trict picks, Maxey andSykes, will join forces withWalt Grant (5 feet 11 inch-es, 160 pounds, 4.7 speed) to

help lead a defensive unitthat gave up an average of13.6 points per game duringregular season play lastseason.

On the line of scrim-mage, defensive end DaltonBills (6 feet, 175 pounds)and nose-guard CodyReynolds (5 feet 10 inches,180 pounds) bring experi-ence to the task of shuttingdown plays at the line ofscrimmage for IA's defen-sive unit.

As for the secondary, cor-nerbacks Zach Whitfield (5feet 9 inches, 155 pounds)and Robert Wright (5 feet 7inches, 155 pounds) willreturn to the field, alongwith Dodson at his freesafety position, to patrol themore open spaces of thefield.

In District 1-AA competi-tion this year, Coach Nesterpicks defending districtchamp Marshall Academyof Holly Springs to onceagain be strong, but expectsNorth Delta of Batesville tobe a contender again. KirkAcademy of Grenada can beexpected to improve ontheir 4-7 record earned lastseason while West Mem-phis Christian School ofWest Memphis, Ark. willalso be a part of districtplay.

IA's district play does notcommence until the fourthweek of the season when onSept. 10, rival North Deltawill visit Legion Field.

The Colonels' 2010 com-plete 10-game scheduleincludes one defendingstate champion and threeother teams which madethe playoffs in 2009. Thenon-district portion of IA'scompetition includes: Man-chester Academy of YazooCity, Oak Hill Academy ofWest Point, WashingtonSchool of Greenville, Can-

ton Academy, and CarrollAcademy.

In addition to ClarksdaleLee, Washington School isthe other AAA team theColonels will meet on thefootball field this season.Washington School's Gener-als claimed the Division 2-AAA state championshiplast year.


Colonels squad led by 14 senior players

1 Luke Hargett WR/DB3 Rex Allen Morgan WR/DB4 Robert Wright QB/DB7 Zach Whitfield WR/DB9 Taylor Marlow RB/LB10 Hunt Steele WR/DB11 Walt Grant TE/LB12 Austin Yates WR/LB14 Trey Roberson WR/LB15 Austin Bearden WR/LB17 Caleb Dodson QB/DB20 Dustin Roncali RB/LB23 Cody Maxey RB/LB24 Dalton Bills RB/DE34 Matthew Shamoun TE/LB50 Alex Sykes T/LB53 Joshua Evans C/NG54 Matt Young G/DE55 Cameron Richardson C/NG56 Cody Reynolds G/DE58 Ty Smith G/LB60 Jon Smith G/NG65 Wesley Weeks T/NG67 Dustin Vance G/DE72 Samuel Rose T/DE77 Matt McGregor T/DE78 Brandon Spealman G/DE

2010IndianolaAcademy

High SchoolFootball

Special Photo

Special Photo

Caleb Dodson, a senior, returns as quarterbackthis year for the Indianola Academy Colonels.

IA’s Luke Hargett looks for running room after reel-ing in a reception in the recent jamboree.



Matthew Shamoun, No. 34, and Walt Grant, No.11, close in on a ball carrier during a jamboree.

Indianola Academycheerleaders are(first row, from left)Mary Holland,Morgan Maloney,Megan KayeDonahoe, MaryNelson Robertson,Caroline McDaniel,(second row) CamilleTyner, Tyler Domino,Elizabeth Daniels,Katelyn Kovarcik,Mary Beth Morgan,Georgeana Dowell,and Jessica Holmes.

Aug. 20 Lee Academy Aug. 27 ManchesterSept. 3 Oak HillSept. 10 N. DeltaSept. 17 Washington School Sept. 24 West Memphis Christian Oct. 1 Kirk AcademyOct. 8 Canton Academy Oct. 15 Marshall Academy Oct. 23 OPEN Oct. 29 Carroll AcademyNOV. 1st RD. PLAYOFFS TBANOV. 2nd RD. PLAYOFFS TBANOV. NORTH TBANOV. STATE TBA

Home games in bold. Games at 7:30 p.m.

2010IndianolaAcademy Football

Schedule

Aug. 19 JAMBOREE Aug. 26 Manchester Sept. 2 KirkSept. 9 North DeltaSept. 16 Carroll Sept. 23 West Memphis Christian

Sept. 30 OPEN Oct. 7 MarshallOct. Oak Hill Academy Games at 6 p.m.-7th and 8th grades

2010 IndianolaAcademy Jr. HighFootball

Schedule


Special Photo

Lamb Photography/Special Photo


The members of Indianola Academy’s LadyColonels Softball program are (first row, from left)Ali Pyles, Crosby Stevens, Anna Peyton Montesi,Shelby Taylor, Mary Cecil Kimbrell, MaKennaMorgan, (second row) Payeton Stevens, Mari-MaxWilson, Angelique DuBois, Daylen Bills, Sierra

Roberson, Julie Boone, (third row) Ashton Castle,Jessica Holmes, Tyler Domino, Swayze Carithers,Anna Morgan Russell, Taylor Kisner, GeorgeanaDowell, Hannah Moore, Carlie Stevens, and KatVetrano.

The Indianola Academyfast-pitch softball programis currently in the midst ofits' season and youth is thedominant feature of this2010 squad.

With Head Coach StacyWilson and assistant DebraDomino directing the 24-player squad, the LadyColonels have accumulateda 4-5 record.

Fans of this fast-growingsport can see the IA squadon their home field nextMonday when the LadyColonels battle Kirk Acade-my of Grenada. First pitchis scheduled to be thrown at4 p.m.

This year's squad is

returning six players fromthe 2009 team which fin-ished second in the districtand third in North AA Statelast fall.

Fifth-year Head CoachWilson notes that the"offense is a strength thisyear due to having moreplayers that are a threatwhen batting and base run-ning.”

However, in fast-pitchsoftball, pitching is kingand Coach Wilson observedthat "our pitching is not asexperienced as I wouldlike." However, the positionis effectively filled and thefuture appears bright forthis position as "We do haveabout seven young girlsworking and learning topitch,” he continued.

As for this season, the

Lady Colonels are depend-ing on the capable pitchingof junior right hander KatVetrano to fill the all-impor-tant position in the circle.

In addition to Vetrano,returning position playersfrom last year's squadinclude juniors SwayzeCarithers (third base), TylerDomino (shortstop), andCarlie Stevens (outfield). Apair of freshmen completesthe list of returning startersas catcher Taylor Kisnerand outfielder/pitcher Sier-ra Roberson have returnedto claim their positions.

The IA roster is full ofunderclassmen as thesquad lists one senior, sixjuniors, three sophomores,five freshmen, three eighth-graders and six players inthe seventh grade among

its ranks.This quantity of youth

enables Coach Wilson tofeel that "the future looksbright with younger playerscoming up that are moreexperienced. Indianola'ssummer league and tourna-ment teams have made abig difference. Many play-ers are more interested inlearning to pitch and takinglessons and practicingmore."

As for this season's com-petition, the IA coach listsdefending conference cham-pion North Delta School ofBatesville as the team tobeat again this year.

The Lady Colonels andthe Lady Green Wave meetfor the first time this seasonnext Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. inBatesville.

IA’s Lady Colonels to play MondayBy PAUL PUTNAMSports Contributor

Indianola Academy’s dance team members are (first row, fromleft) Mary Mitchell Hill, Ashlyn Haughton, Mary Rodgers Brashier,Elizabeth Bellipanni, Garraway Anderson, (second row) ChrisSeto, Lauren Sledge, Jessica Steed, Beth Bowen, Beth Wright,Sara Long (third row) Kelsey Cather, Madison McKaskill, HaleyUpchurch, Chelsi Pierce, and Anna Daniels.

Members of the Indianola Academy’s football teamare (front from left) Luke Hargett, Rex AllenMorgan, Robert Wright, Zach Whitfield, TaylorMarlow, Hunt Steele, Walt Grant, Austin Yates,(second row) Trey Roberson, Austin Bearden,Caleb Dodson, Dustin Roncali, Cody Maxey,Dalton Bills, Matthew Shamoun, Alex Sykes,

Joshua Evans, (third row) Cameron Richardson,Cody Reynolds, Ty Smith, John-Hunter Smith,Wesley Weeks, Dustin Vance, Samuel Rose, Matt,McGregor, Brandon Spealman, Bruce Seto, (back)Coaches Ray Bridges, Clete Putnam, TommyNester and Shan Wright.

A new coach who is notso new and 18 returningstarters, such is the sce-nario for the Ruleville Cen-tral High Tigers when theyopened their 2010 footballcampaign this last Fridaynight.

And with a solid 28-7win over Caledonia HighSchool, the Tigers and theirnew coach are off and run-ning toward earning a suc-cessful football season. Acomplete story on this gamecan be found in the sportssection of this week's Enter-prise-Tocsin.

As for this season'sRuleville Central team, itall begins with the return ofDon Bankhead as the HeadCoach of the Tigers. CoachBankhead has returnedwith a dozen successfulyears under his belt in lead-ing the Tigers' football pro-gram.

Coach Bankhead, whospent the 2009 season asthe Head Coach of Lake Vil-lage (Ark.) High School, is"Glad to be back and amexcited about this year'ssquad."

Hoping to improve onlast season's 3-9 record, theTigers also have 10 playersreturning on defense andeight on offense, numberswhich naturally translateinto much optimism aboutthe upcoming season.

Helping CoachBankhead guide his 40-man roster through this2010 schedule will be fourassistant coaches.

Serving as AssistantHead Coach is MichaelWilliams while BerkediusWomack will assume the

Offensive Coordinator posi-tion. Guiding the receiversand defensive backs will beDerrick Farrows andinstructing the linemen willfall on the shoulders ofDaniel White.

As for the players theywill coach, the Tigers onlylost one starter from lastyear's defensive unit — agroup of Tigers who allowedmore than three touch-downs in a game on onlythree occasions.

At the linebacker posi-tions, Tra Keyes (5 feet 11inches, 200 pounds), HarryRankin (6 feet 1 inches, 205pounds), and Marquel Pow-ell (5 feet 9 inches, 185pounds) return to stop ball-carriers in their tracks.

Up front, linemenCorderius Burdside (6 feet 2inches, 205 pounds), Bran-don Craft (6 feet 2 inches,225 pounds), and DemetrisRatliff (6 feet 2 inches, 200pounds) will present thefirst line of defense againstopposing offensive units.

In the secondary, the cor-nerback positions areexpected to be filled byCedonius Harris (5 feet 7inches, 175 pounds), JavisRobison (5 feet 10 inches,185 pounds), and JalenSmith (6 feet, 175 pounds)while Antonio Townsend (6feet, 175 pounds) returns toroam the field from his freesafety position.

Offensively, CoachBankhead is expecting thereturn of nine starters inthis unit to create the "abil-ity for us to score points"this season.

Led by quarterback T.J.Calhoun (5 feet 10 inches,185 pounds), the senior isnoted by Coach Bankheadto own "experience, arm

strength, and the ability torun and throw in additionto showing great leader-ship.”

In the all-importantoffensive line, centerDevontez Woods (6 feet 1inches, 265 pounds), guardDaniel White Jr. (5 feet 10inches, 315 pounds), andtackle Brian Martin (6 feet3 inches, 330 pounds) willreturn to anchor the line ofscrimmage.

Other returning startersfor Ruleville this yearinclude a receiving corpswhich features DevontezCraft (6 feet, 180 pounds),Jakarius Flowers (6 feet 1inch, 181 pounds), DalvinMinton (6 feet 1 inch, 185pounds), and Phillip Pugh(6 feet, 190 pounds).

Coach Bankhead alsonoted that "special teams isan area we do have con-cerns about.”

As for the balance of

Ruleville Central's 2010schedule — an 11-gameslate which features sixhome-field appearances, —non-district play will domi-nant the action until Oct. 1at which time the Tigerswill begin their District 2-3A play against CharlestonHigh School.

In district play, CoachBankhead lists Charleston,Cleveland Eastside, andM.S. Palmer of Marks to bethe stronger district compe-tition for his Tigers this sea-son.

Other district foesinclude Holly Springs andIndependence while othernon-district competitionwill come from South Deltaof Rolling Fork and a pair ofSunflower County rivals inthe form of Drew High andGentry High of Indianola.


Veteran coach returns to lead Ruleville

Ruleville Central’s Brandon Craft rushes the quar-terback and tries to deflect a pass on defense.

Cedric Coleman, No. 25, looks for running room.

Members of the RCHS football team, in no particular order, are Cordarius Burnside, Devontez Craft,Brandon Craft, Gentle Calhoun, Cedric Coleman, Carlton Archer, Robin Hinglton, Terrence Edwards,Cedonius Harris, Brian Martin, Tra Keyes, L.P. Nash, Caleb Payne, Javis Robinson, Demetrius Ratliff,Marquel Powell, Jalen Smith, Ricky Scott, La’Patrick Shaffer, Antonio Townsend, Tyari Termble, DevontaWoods, Oliver Washington, Daniel White, Calston Young, Kerry Flower, Harry Rankin, Chivas Robinson,Michael King, Terry Flower, Henry Nolan, Corey Anderson, Phillip Pugh, Roderick Womack, De’AndreBrand, Dupree Glover, Justin Simpson, De’Andre Fields, Jalen Thomas, Ontario Smith, Jalen Hodges,Dalvin Minton, and Jarius Conway.

Aug. 20 CaledoniaAug. 27 DrewSept. 3 GentrySept. 10 South Delta

Sept. 17 LelandSept. 24 O'Bannon

(Homecoming)Oct. 1 CharlestonOct. 8 Holly SpringsOct. 15 M S PalmerOct. 22 EastsideOct. 29 Independence

2010RCHS

FootballSchedule



The Ruleville CentralHigh School Cheelead-ers are (first row, fromleft) Tambreisha Terrell,Lavonne Davis, Ryne-ka Williams,VeronicaSmith, Caterica Can-non, Christine Parker,(second row) PaytinMitchner, Jasmine Nor-wood, Deondria Bell,Amonte' Higgins,Arganae McCray, andKyndle Price.



50 Cordarius Burnside5 Devontez Craft22 Brandon Craft2 Gentle Calhoun25 Cedric Coleman10 Carlton Archer70 Robin Hinglton7 Terrence Edwards9 Cedonius Harris60 Brian Martin32 Tra Keyes54 L.P. Nash75 Caleb Payne1 Javis Robinson23 Demetrius Ratliff8 Marquel Powell21 Jalen Smith44 Ricky Scott51 La’Patrick Shaffer6 Antonio Townsend35 Tyari Tremble52 Devonta Woods77 Oliver Washington56 Daniel White55 Calston Young4 Kerry Flower17 Harry Rankin

Chivas Robinson14 Michael King72 Terry Flower20 Henry Nolan24 Corey Anderson16 Phillip Pugh18 Roderick Womack58 De’Andre Brand66 Dupree Glover59 Justin Simpson40 De’Andre Fields21 Jalen Thomas15 Ontario Smith30 Jalen Hodges11 Dalvin Minton

Jarius Conway

2010RulevilleCentral

HighSchool

Football

A new football season atNorth Sunflower Academyhas brought a new headcoach, a new format of com-petition, and a healthy doseof experience to the 2010version of the Rebels.

With new Head CoachTommy Thompson at thehelm, the Rebels are nowplaying eight-man footballand the changes promise tobe exciting for NSA fans.

That blend of new andexperienced ingredients hasquickly resulted in a potentdisplay of offensive footballby the Rebels this past Fri-day night, despite NSA suf-fering a hard-fought loss.

In a high-scoring game,the Rebels dropped theirseason opener to BriarfieldAcademy in Lake Provi-dence, La. by a 36-28 mar-gin. Complete game cover-age can be found in thisweek's sports section of theEnterprise-Tocsin.

According to CoachThompson, this year'ssquad "started two-a-daysthe week of July 26 andfocused on conditioning andgetting acclimated to thehot weather."

It did not take long forthis decorated military-vet-eran-turned-coach to find apair of leaders in his groupas he observed that "AustinStarnes and Nathan Cum-mins have been motivatedfrom day one and have ledthe team through drills andthe conditioning process.”

Coach Thompson isbeing assisted on the prac-tice field and sidelines by apair of coaches, Joel Jee andMichael Ward.

In eight-man football,the primary difference ascompared to conventionalfootball is that there mustbe five men on the line ofscrimmage and any line-man on either end of thatscrimmage line is eligible tocatch a pass, as is anyoneoff the line of scrimmage.

There are 11 returningstarters from last season'sNSA squad; five players onoffense and six players ondefense.

And with only eight

players now required oneach side of the line ofscrimmage, the experienceof this volume of returneesholds the promise for largedividends for the Rebelsthis season.

Additionally, CoachThompson feels some of theapparent strengths of thisyear's squad are the "chem-istry between the playersdue to playing together for afew years, their aggressive-ness on defense, and theversatility of all the play-ers.” Coupled with that pre-viously mentioned return-ing starters' experience, theguarded optimism for suc-cess is justified at NSA forthis football season.

With only up to a dozenplayers on the team, howev-er, Coach Thompson alsonoted that depth at eachposition is a concern.

Encouragingly, at thequarterback position, thatmay not be the case. For thenew NSA coach listed threeplayers who will take snapsand each one brings his ownstrength to the position.

Thomas Glass, a 6 foot,210-pound sophomore, islisted by Coach Thompsonas a "good athlete that isvery motivated and canthrow the football." For

Kevin Muzzi (5 feet 11 inch-es, 168 pounds), the junioris "an intelligent player thatcan manage the offense.”Another who is listed to runthe offense is AustinStarnes (5 feet 8 inches, 170pounds), a junior who is an"extremely versatile foot-ball player that can adaptto any situation,” notedNSA's new coach.

Rounding out the return-ing offensive players arerunning back DylanDeBower (6 feet 2 inches,175 pounds), offensive line-men Patrick Burchfield (5feet 9 inches, 210 pounds)and Matt McCool (6 feet 2inches, 187 pounds), as wellas end Nathan Cummins (6feet, 180 pounds).

On the defensive side ofthe football, Earon Burt (5feet 5 inches, 185 pounds)will return at his nose-guard position along withlinebackers Glass andStarnes while DeBower andMuzzi will fill defensiveback positions.

There is a pair of eight-man football districts in theMAIS this season, andNorth Sunflower falls intoDistrict 1, which is com-prised of seven teams.

Joining NSA in this dis-trict are Calhoun Academy,

Calvary Christian School ofMeridian, Central Academyof Macon, Delta Academy ofMarks, Kemper Academy ofDeKalb, and Veritas Schoolof Ridgeland. The NorthSunflower Academy squadwill play Delta Academytwice this season.

In addition to just-played Briarfield Academy,the Rebels' nine-gameschedule also includes anon-district bout with ParkPlace Christian Academy ofPearl.


Aug. 13 Calhoun Academy JamboreeAug. 20 Briarfield AcademyAug. 27 Delta AcademySept. 10 Park PlaceSept. 24 Calhoun AcademyOct. 1 Kemper Academy

(Homecoming)Oct. 8 Central AcademyOct. 15 Veritas AcademyOct. 22 Delta AcademyOct. 29 Calvary Academy

Home games in bold.

Rebels 2010

FootballSchedule

1 Thomas Glass RB/DB/QB5 Austin Starnes RB/LB/QB11 Kevin Muzzi QB/TE/DB12 Nathan Cummins TE/DE22 Derick Livingston RB29 Anthony Joseph RB/DB39 Dylan Debower RB/DE44 Earon Burt OL/DL60 Matt McCool OL/DE75 Ronny Henley OL/DL61 Patrick Burchfield OL/DL79 Ryan Wilson OL/DL

2010North

SunflowerAcademy Football

Eleven starters return to NSA

Submitted Photo

Submitted Photo

GETTING MENTALLY TOUGH: North Sunflower Academy football playersKevin Muzzi, Anthony Joseph, Dylan DeBower and Nathan Cummins testtheir mettle with an ice bath contest while their fellow team members cheerthem on.

North Sunflower Academy’s Dylan DeBower carries up the middle to pick upa few yards during recent Rebels action.


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