Notes, quotes and a thought or two…
The first week of high school football is in the books and four of our five teams came away with wins. Here’s a quick thought on each of them.
At Newton County, the Cougars lined up and mashed Leake Central. On film, Leake Central looked more athletic than Newton County. But the Cougars were much, much more physical and lined up and played smash-mouth football. The Cougars were physical on both sides of the football and are starting to take the attitude that coach Bobby Bass has longed for since taking the job.
In Union, the Yellowjackets took an easy win at Choctaw Central on Friday. While the Warriors didn’t provide much of a challenge, it was a far superior effort than the one they gave in the jamboree the week before. Coach Brad Breland was obviously upset after that performance and blamed the week of preparation in practice. A better week of practice led to a better week on the field. Hmmm, might be something to that.
In Lake, the Hornets took an “ugly” win against Forest on Friday night. After heavy rains on Thursday, Lake’s football field was very wet on Friday. Lake fell behind 13-0 early but fought back and got a fourth-quarter safety and blocked a field goal in the last minute to take that win. Getting that block was Elite 11 selection Tim Norris, which I was glad to see. I love it when players make me look smart but also love it when good kids get rewarded for their hard work.
At Newton County Academy, coach Rob Roberts got just what he needed and that was a blowout win. While Porter’s Chapel didn’t provide much resistance, the Generals needed to open the season with a big win. After struggling to start the season the last two years, the Generals sorely needed a boast of confidence and needed an opponent to push around a little bit. It also allowed the Generals to get some confidence in their new spread offense.
In Newton, the Tigers took a tough loss to Morton in their opener. The Tigers showed signs of life but too many mistakes spelled doom. Coach Zach Grady is still optimistic that better things are to come. This week, he hired former Louisville coach M.C. Miller to be his defensive coordinator. While late in the process, this can only help Newton. Miller took over at Noxubee County when they were the worst team in the state and build them into a juggernaut that still stands today. When he went back to Louisville, that program was in disarray and he built it back into a power. The point being, he knows how to take teams that are downtrodden and build them into title contenders. Even if it’s just a year or two, his influence can’t be a bad thing.
The Lady Hornet mash
Almost every softball coach I talked to this summer had comments about the new slow-pitch softball that was being implemented this year.
The new softball didn’t have nearly as much carry as the old one did, which was going to cut down on the number of home runs and improve player safety. By the way, nothing is scarier than pitching or playing third base in slow-pitch softball.
But the new softball doesn’t seem to be bothering the Lake Lady Hornets. Under new coach Jake Loper, the Lady Hornets are 9-0 on the season and have scored in double digits in every game and won eight of nine games by the run rule.
I jokingly asked Loper if he was using the right softball because their numbers look like last year’s numbers.
The key, I believe, started the day that Loper took over. I was visiting Lake late this summer to take some football pictures and Loper had the Lady Hornets working hard in the weight room. I was very impressed with what I saw.
One thing that I know for certain is Loper knows the formula to win, coming straight off the Justin Chaney coaching tree at Newton County. The Lady Hornets had the talent and add a young, energetic coach with a super work ethic and the Lady Hornets are mashing folks.
Let’s not forget that Lake is two years removed from making the 2A state championship series in fast-pitch. They have plenty of pitching back there two so don’t be surprised to see them resurface as a power in fast-pitch as well.
Not to be left out
Speaking of Newton County, it’s not a surprise that the Lady Cougars are also undefeated at 11-0 on the season.
Last year, the Lady Cougars could bash the softball but have had to depend more on base hits than home runs. One key addition for the Lady Cougars is senior Jada McDougle is back at the top of the lineup after a year away from softball and it appears as if she hasn’t missed a beat. With seniors Lizzy Hollingsworth and Katelyn Gipson batting behind McDougle, the Lady Cougars are strong at the top of the lineup. Add in Lanie Phillips and Lorren Ivey and the Lady Cougars are also scoring their fair share of runs. They have scored 10 or more runs in eight of their 11 wins and scored nine in two of those.
Coach Justin Chaney was excited about the new softball because he felt like it was an equalizer. In particular, he was anxious to play Neshoba Central, who has won six straight slow-pitch titles. Chaney said the new ball would eliminate the gorilla ball and put a bigger emphasis on defense, giving him a shot at Neshoba. Well, he gets his chance on Thursday when the Lady Cougars travel to Neshoba.
Robbie Robertson is sports editor for The Newton County Appeal.
