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Joey Martin is the Sports Editor for the Concordia Sentinel located in Vidalia, LA and he covers most all the sports in and around Concordia Parish, if you see him, please tell him how much you enjoy reading his articles on MissLouSports.Com  

Even when he was competing in the minor leagues with farm teams for
Oakland and Baltimore, Josh Hoffpauir still had another dream besides
playing at the next level.
“My dream has always been to be a head coach,” said Hoffpauir, the son
of Johnny Lee and Pam Hoffpauir of Vidalia. “My dad told me back then
that I was losing my mind. But I told him this was something I always
wanted to do.”
Hoffpauir’s dream became a reality last week as the three-year Pearl
Riverl Community College assistant baseball coach was elevated to the
position of head coach after Jamie McMahon resigned to accept a
position as assistant baseball coach at Nicholls State University.
Pearl River is located near Hattiesburg, Ms., in Poplarville.
Pearl River President Williams Lewis recommended Hoffpauir to replace
McMahon soon after McMahon’s announcement.
“Coach McMahon had been debating on this decision for about two or
three weeks,” Hoffpauir said.
After McMahon turned in his resignation, Hoffpauir was called to the
president’s office.
“He told me he had already made contact with some coaches in the area
and talked with (former USM) Coach (Corky) Palmer and some of the guys
at Southern Miss and a couple of board members,” Hoffpauir said. “He
then said they would not be taking applications because they wanted me
to be head coach It’s a good feeling knowing they have that kind of
confidence in me. I’m comfortable there and have been for three years.
I like the administration, athletic director and other coaches.”
Hoffpauir was a second-team All-Conference USA selection in 2000 for
Palmer at USM, batting.333 with 12 doubles, one triple, eight home
runs, drove in 35 runs and had a .400 on-base percentage. He stole a
team-high 18 bases that year, including a school-record six against
Cincinnati.
Hoffpauir played for Northwestern State and current Mississippi State
head coach John Cohen for two years and current Arkansas coach Dave Van
Horn for one year. Hoffpauir was third on the career triples list with
nine. He was named the Southland Conference Newcomer of the Year as a
freshman and earned All-Southland Conference honors as well.
McMahon, a 1993 graduate of Oak Grove High School, served as head coach
of the Wildcats for five seasons. He guided the Wildcats to MACJC
Tournament berths in 2008, 2009, and 2010, as well as Region 23 berths
in 2009 and 2010.
“This is going to be a fun ride,” Hoffpauir said. “I have not one bit
of doubt in myself. I have been preparing for this for a long time.”
Hoffpauir hit .452 for his father at Vidalia High from 1993-96.
Hoffpauir’s brother, Jarrett, plays for the Las Vegas 51s, the triple-A
farm team of the Toronto Blue Jays. Hoffpauir played briefly in the
majors with the St. Louis Cardinals last year and with Toronto this
year.
“I talked to Jarrett and I told him that surreal and unreal feeling he
had after being called up was kind of where I am right now,” Josh said.
“It hasn’t really set in, but I know I’m excited about it.”
After transferring from Northwestern State to Southern Miss, Hoffpauir
started his professional career in the Oakland A’s organization in June
2000. He played in the Arizona League that fall, was named the Arizona
A’s Most Valuable Player and was selected to play in the all-star game.
He signed a free agent contract with Baltimore in 2002 and advanced to
the triple AAA level by the 2003 season. He signed a free agent
contract with Seattle in 2004, where he played for Tacoma (AAA)
Rainiers in the Pacific Coast League, before playing in Texas Rangers’
system in 2004.
Hoffpauir was an assistant coach at Holmes Community College before
taking the job at Pearl River.
“I told my wife (Khara) that it was a blessing for us to come here,”
Hoffpauir said. “I had talked to a couple of other schools about head
coaching jobs, but pulled my name from one of them because I wanted to
show Pearl River I was tied to them. I want to be a part of this
program. This is where we want to be.”
Hoffpauir recruited all the players on the current Pearl River team.
“I wanted to show them that I am loyal,” Hoffpauir said. “My dad has
stayed at the same school for 35 years, so loyalty has been instilled
in me.”
One of those players was pitching standout Sean Kelly, who signed with
Kentucky after previously courting another offer from Arkansas.
“We’ve been pretty succesful with 30 sophomores signing with four-year
schools and about half with Division I schools,” Hoffpauir said. “The
Hattiesburg area is a hotbed for baseball in the state. We have to
overcome some other things that other schools do not have to, but that
just means we have to play harder. And we’ll definitely be branching
out. We have the opportunity to move in the direction of the Miss-Lou
because we’ve got a few ties there.”
Speaking of branching out, Hoffpauir and his wife Khara have a 2
1/2-year-old son Zach and are expecting a baby girl around Christmas
Day.
“It’s certainly an exciting time,” Hoffpauir said.
Hoffpauir said the timing could have been better with the hiring, but
it could have also been worse.
“We’ve already started school, but it’s early enough because we are not
too much into the (fall) season,” he said. “If it would have happened
around Christmas it would have been more difficult. Now we can start
moving forward.”
Hoffpauir is interviewing assistant coaches at this time.
“Within one day I could already tell the difference,” Hoffpauir said of
being named head coach. “Now if something goes wrong, the finger is
pointing in my direction. I have to be able to handle those things. In
the past I could deflect the blame. But that’s something I know I can
handle and will handle.”
Hoffpauir said his team’s will be like the Florida Gators in football.
“We’re going to play a fast-paced, aggressive style,” he said.
“Everything is going to be fast and intense. You can epect us to be
flying around the baseball field. We are going to run a ton, play hard
and play the game the right way. There’s only one way to do things, and
that’s the right way.”
Pearl River finished third in the state last year and fourth in
regionals, losing out to LSU-Eunice.
“I didn’t take this job to keep us afloat,” Hoffpauir said. “I want to
take us to the next level and I have full intentions of moving
forward.”


In a tale of two quarters, Ferriday High defeated Vidalia High 27-13 in
the final game of the Vidalia Jamboree Saturday night at Dee Faircloth
Viking Stadium.
Ferriday led 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Each game in the jamboree lasted two quarters.
“I got too satisfied,” said Ferriday head coach Chad Harkins. “I was
just willing to run the ball and run the clock. But we’re still not in
game shape. We played well in the first quarter, but we have to be able
to go four quarters.”
Ferriday’s defense held Vidalia to minus -34 yards offense in the first
quarter.
The Trojans went 55 yards on their first possession as ZuRaine Thompson
and DaVonte Scott accounted for all the yardage, with Thompson scoring
on a 1-yard sneak with 7:06 remaining.
On Ferriday’s second possession, Thompson passed 43 yards to the end
zone where Alfred Brown outjumped two defenders in the end zone for the
score. Scott ran in the conversion for a 14-0 Trojan lead with 5:46
remaining.
Following a 34-yard pass from Thompson to Scott, Marques Lewis scored
on a 2-yard run with 2:02 remaining to give the Trojans a 20-0 lead at
the break.
Vidalia scored first in the second quarter after Walter Jones recovered
a fumble on the Ferriday 32-yard line.
Caleb Vines found Tri McCoy on two straight passes, the second one
taking the ball to the Ferriday 1-yard line where Vines snuck it in for
the score. Josh Fauvre kicked the PAT to put the Vikings on the board.
Scott reeled off a 32-yard run on Ferriday’s first play after the score
and four plays later Thompson scored on a 9-yard run with 8:23
remaining. Scott kicked the conversion for a 27-7 lead.
After two exchanges of punts, Vidalia pulled to within 27-14. Vines
completed a 42-yard scoring pass to Jamale Davis. Fauvre’s PAT cut the
lead to 13 with 3:21 remaining.
Vidalia recovered a Trojan fumble on Ferriday’s next possession, but a
dropped touchdown pass kept the Vikings from capitalizing.
“I expected us to come out with a little more fire,” said Vidalia head
coach Gary Paul Parnham. “But I credit Ferriday, they have a good team.
They gave us some different looks than what we expected. We played a
little better in the second half, but there’s a lot of room for
improvement.”
In the first game of the night, Block used a tipped touchdown pass with
1:18 remaining to key a 20-13 win over Delhi Charter.
Block wasted very little time scoring after a Gator fumble as VaShawn
Davis went 52 yards for a score on the Bears’ first play from scrimmage
with 10:46 remaining. Trey Vault ran in the conversion.
Delhi Charter got on the board with 41 seconds remaining in the first
quarter, completing a 68-yard drive aided by three offsides penalties
on Block as Riccie Gray went in from two yards out. Gary was stopped
short on the conversion.
Delhi went up 13-8 as Rob Simmons scored on an 18-yard run. The PAT
kick put the Gators Delhi seem to have the game in hand when their
scored their second touchdown and kicked the extra point to lead 13-8.
Gabe Robinson added the kick.After an exchange of punts, Block took
over on its 43-yard line. Following a 14-yard run the Delhi Charter 43,
Block quarterback Chuck Bowie threw a long pass that was tipped by a
Gator defender into the hands of Preston Bowman, who walked untouched
into the end zone. The conversion run failed leaving the Bears with a
14-13 lead.
“That’s just the way I drew it up,” Block coach Benny Vault said
seconds after the play.
Bowman then intercepted a Gator pass with 37 seconds remaining and
returned it 43 yards for the final score of the night.
“I was pleased with the way it came out,” Vault said. “I knew
conditioning would be a factor. We were missing six starters, but I was
happy with the way our kids performed.”
Tensas Parish fell to Madison Parish 16-0 in the second game.
Vidalia faces Block in Jonesville Friday, while Ferriday High opens its
season at Natchez High.

Tensas Academy jumped out to a 24-6 lead over Franklin Academy Friday
and held on for a 32-26 win in St. Joseph.
The contest was not a district game, but when the two teams meet again
on Oct. 1 it will be a district game.
“We made a lot of mistakes,” said Tensas head coach Joe Coats.
“Franklin has good size and they wore us down. They look a lot better
on the hoof than we do.”
  Tensas scored first as David Leake hit Farrell Keahey on a touchdown
pass. Josh Sikes ran in the conversion.
Tensas added to the lead on its next possession as Ryan Neuroth scored
on a run. Jacob Sikes added the conversion run.
Franklin’s Chris Hassell scored on a 7-yard run and ran in a conversion
for the Cougars.
Tensas went up 24-6 as Andy Hazel scored on a run and Keahey added the
conversion.
Kalin Howington of Franklin scored on two short runs, while Rilyn
Taylor rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown.”
Neuroth added another score for the Chiefs.
“They won the first half and we won the second half, but in the end it
wasn’t enough and we still lost,” said Franklin coach Doyle Hassell.
“It was a real physical battle and it came down to the last man
standing. But our kids decided to play and played a heckuva game.”
“We only dressed out 12 kids because of injuries,” Hassell said.
Junior Kyle Knox recovered an onsides kick.
“Kyle gave us some quality minutes,” Hassell said.
Franklin is open this Friday before traveling to Veritas.
Tensas travels to Macon to play Central.
“They are huge,” Coats said. “Hopefully we can outrun them.”

What a charging 250-pound lineman couldn’t do, cancer did.
Joe Dallalio Sr. passed away from the dreaded disease Friday at  the
age of 76.
This is the same man who  a few times took more hits on the football
sidelines while working the chains than the quarterbacks.
It was just not in Joe’s mentality to move out of the way. That would
have meant losing the spot.
Even in his early 70s, Joe would stand firm on the sidelines, proudly
holding up the down marker despite a thundering herd of linemen bearing
down on him while chasing a running back or quarterback.
There were times when I was on the visiting sidelines covering a game
and would help out with the clip that fastens to the chains to let the
officials know where the ball was in case the chain crew had to bail
out (everyone but Joe, that is).
I learned a long time ago that when the play even looked like it was
headed toward my sideline to put one foot back and have the other ready
to follow.
It just about had to be 22 guys coming at him for Joe to move.
But that’s how serious he was about his duty.
And I have no problem saying that you will not find a better chain crew
than what Vidalia had in Dallalio, the late Henry Cooley and Charles
Partridge.
They could have held a clinic on how to run the chains.
As a matter of fact, there was a game where a veteran official walked
up with a rookie official who would be in charge of the chain gang.
The veteran official looked over and saw Dallalio, Cooley and Partridge
and told the young guy, “Don’t worry about it, they’ll be telling you
what to do. And you need to listen.”
Visiting coaches were always relieved to see this trio. They knew they
had no concerns with the chain crew and that they were dealing with
professionals on the job.
Oh sure, there were times — very few and in the most polite way — they
questioned some calls. But they never crossed that line and most
officials knew if these guys saw something, then no doubt they missed
something.
You didn’t have to worry about holding the game up because one of them
ran off down the sideline with the marker when he wasn’t supposed to or
got too involved in the game.
Many a times they would see the flag or another reason not to move
before the official on the sidelines would be yelling to keep their
spot.
There would just be that sly grin as if, “Hey, this is not our first
rodeo.”
Yeah, when I think of Joe, I will think of him being helped up off the
ground after being run over, displaying that grin and looking as if,
“That was nothing. What else ya got?”
One thing is for sure, if they have a football game in heaven, they
just got an All-Pro chain guy.
It’s first and forever for Joe now. His pain is no longer. But Friday
nights in Vidalia won’t be the same without him.
But we sure do miss him down here.

Vidalia High looks to get a win on the field this Friday as the Vikings
open their season at Block High Friday in Jonesville.
Kickoff is 7 p.m.
The Bears defeated the Vikings 35-0 in the season-opener last year,
seemingly winning only their second game over Vidalia since 1985. But
the Bears had to forfeit the game later because of use of an ineligible
player.
“Block has a lot of team speed,” said Vidalia coach Gary Paul Parnham.
“They run the double wing and our defense is going to have its work cut
out for us. We are going to have to be tough in the trenches. That’s
where the game is going to be won or lost.”
Parnham said his offensive line needs to step up this week after
falling to Ferriday 17-14 in the Vidalia Jamboree last week.
“That’s the big key,” he said. “It’s going to be whichever team can
grind it out the best.”
Block defeated Delhi Charter 20-13 in the Vidalia Jamboree last week.
“Vidalia seemed more confident and playing with more energy,” said
Block coach Benny Vault. “They have some good skilled players and a
couple of big guys inside who are going to be hard for us to block.”
Vault said his team has not talked about having to forfeit last year’s
game.
“These guys on this team are a lot more mature and they are positive
about everything,” Vault said. “They take everything one day and one
week at a time. They are just excited to be able to play.”

Ferriday High travels to Natchez Friday night to take on the 6A
Bulldogs.
Natchez has beaten Jefferson County and Wilkinson County this season,
while the Trojans are playing their first game.
“I was hoping we could get some game film, but they didn’t want to
exchange,” said Ferriday coach Chad Harkins. “They have some good
players, led by their quarterback (Javon Washington). We’re just going
to go out and do our best to give them a battle. The main thing we want
to do is improve from last week (Vidalia Jamboree) and get ourselves in
better playing shape.”
Natchez defeated Ferriday 12-6 last year at Melz Field in the first
football contest between Natchez High and Ferriday High.
“Ferriday has great team speed and some playmakers,” said Natchez coach
Lance Reed. “They are a very dangerous team. We still have some things
to work on. We’re just trying to get better and work on some of the
things that were exposed in our first two games. We’re expecting
another great game with them.”
Ferriday scored first last year after Rodney Lawson threw the ball up
in the air from the Bulldog 19 and Scott went up over Natchez’s Jeremy
Davis at the 10-yard line, came down with the ball and jogged into the
end zone for the first score of the game.
The conversion failed to give Ferriday at 6-0 halftime advantage.
Natchez scored in the second half as with 4:30 remaining, Washington
found Santorius Pollard on a 22-yard scoring play.
The winning score came early in the fourth quarter as running back Joel
Davis went in from two yards out.


Cathedral quarterback Caleb Upton passed for 471 yards as the Green
Wave upended Loyd Star, 48-34 Friday in Brookhaven.
Upton, a junior, completed 23 of 37 passes with five touchdown passes
and one interception. He also ran in for a score in the final quarter.
“Our guys played exceptionally well,” said first-year Cathedral coach
Ron Rushing. “Our offensive line did a tremendous job blocking. Caleb
was only knocked down one time.”
Daniel Huffines had touchdown catches of 13 and 61 yards and finished
with nine receptions for 204 yards. Semmes White caught four passes for
62 yards with a 15-yard score in the second quarter and a 28-yard TD
grab early in the third quarter.
Carl Hammitte had a 29-yard TD reception and finished with three
receptions for 100 yards.
Huffines put the game out of reach with 3:49 remaining in the contest
with a 10-yard touchdown run.
Cathedral lost to Loyd Star 28-0 last year, totaling only 101 yards on
offense.
“This is a real confidence booster for us,” Rushing said. “But we still
have a few kinks we need to get worked out.”
Cathedral has an open date Friday before hosting Enterprise on Sept. 10
at 7:30 p.m.
“This will give us time to get some injuries healed and get the kids
back down to earth,” Rushing said. “There’s still a bunch of improving
we need to do.”

It’s almost here. College football is just around the corner, and there
is not a greater sport in the world.
To celebrate this wonderful time, I’ve picked the 10 best games to look
out for in  the 2010 season.
What game better to kick off the countdown than the first game of the
year?
At No. 10, the North Carolina Tar Heels vs. the LSU Tigers.  The
contest will kick off at 7 p.m. on Saturday on ABC.
The game will be held in the Georgia Dome and the Tar Heels come into
town with the best defense in the nation.
UNC is led by senior linebackers Bruce Carter and Quan Sturdivant,
along with junior defensive end Robert Quinn and senior defensive
tackle Marvin Austin.
LSU returns eight starters and is loaded with talent. The key factor
for the Tigers this season is the quarterback role.
If Jordan Jefferson doesn’t step up to become the man, LSU could have
another long year.
Coming in at No. 9 is a big ACC showdown.  Georgia Tech will travel to
Virginia Tech on November 4. This Thursday night game will be televised
on ESPN at 6:30 p.m.
Georgia Tech returns a lot of solid players, which gives them a chance
at winning the ACC again.
However, if they want to win the conference, they have to get past the
Hokies. Virginia Tech is led by returning senior quarterback Tyrod
Taylor.
The defense has some holes to fill but with ace defensive coordinator
Bud Foster, that shouldn’t be too big of a problem.
As we go on down the list, No. 8 sees two SEC rivals going at it. The
defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide will travel to Little
Rock to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks on September 25 with kickoff at
2:30 p.m.
Alabama’s defense has lost a lot, but because they have fantastic
coaching and so much talent, they’ll be just fine.
On offense, the Tide returns some superstars in senior quarterback Greg
McElroy, junior running back Mark Ingram, sophomore running back Trent
Richardson, and junior wide receiver Julio Jones.
Arkansas has made themselves a legitimate threat to win the SEC West
this year. The Hogs have one of the best offenses in the nation.  They
return 10 starters on offense, and more importantly they return senior
quaterback Ryan Mallet.
No. 7 features two Big Ten schools clashing as Penn State travels to
Iowa on October 7 at 7 p.m. on ABC.
Penn State has to replace quarterback Daryll Clark, so senior running
back Evan Royster will get a larger workload.
Iowa returns seven starters on offense but the backfield stays in tact.
Iowa always has some big “hogmollys,” so finding offensive lineman
shouldn’t be too difficult of a task for them.
Coming in at No. 6 is another Big Ten showdown. Ohio State travels to
Wisconsin on October 16 at 7:15 p.m. on ESPN or ESPN 2.
Ohio State is loaded with experience and their defense should be solid.
The Buckeyes are a big favorite to win the title because of their easy
schedule, but they have to get by Wisconsin first.
The Badgers were young and good last year, and this year they will be
good and experienced. Wisconsin will be Ohio State’s toughest test of
the season. Should they upset the Buckeyes all national title hopes
could be lost.
At No. 5, Alabama travels to Baton Rouge to take on the Tigers. The
game is scheduled to take place November 6 and no time or TV listing
has been decided yet.
LSU looks to finish what they started last year, as LSU came close to
knocking the Crimson Tide off of it’s national title crown.
No. 4 features a potential national champion in Boise State taking on
Virginia Tech on September 6.
The game will be held at in Landover, Md., at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
Boise State is my personal pick to win the national title this season.
I’m the first to rip teams that don’t play anybody, but this year Boise
State is seriously good.
They have a great coach and have all offensive starters returning. The
Broncos have 21 of 22 players returning from last season.  Not to
mention the fact that Boise has an easy road to get to the title game.
The Broncos must go undefeated to get there, and that’s what makes this
game so interesting. Virginia Tech is a great opponent and if the
Broncos slip up early, national title dreams could be down the tube.
No. 3 features one of college football’s greatest rivalries in Oklahoma
vs. Texas. These teams will do battle October 2, and the time of the
game has yet to be announced.
Texas is loaded with talent like every year, but has to worry about the
inexperience factor at quaterback. Sopomore Garrett Gilbert hasn’t had
much playing experience other than the National Championship Game last
season.
Oklahoma has eight returning starters on offense to go along with one
of the nation’s best recruiting classes. This rivalry game will have
big implications on the Big 12 and the national scene.
No. 2 on the list could very well be No. 1 just because of the buildup.
The Texas Longhorns will travel to Nebraska on October 16.  No time or
TV listing has been set.
Last season Nebraska was one second away from knocking Texas out of the
title game. The clock ran down to zero and the referees decided to put
one second back on the clock. After kicking the game winning field
goal, Texas went on to play for the National Championship as Nebraska
hung their heads in disgust.
With revenge on their mind, the Cornhuskers will look to take it to the
Longhorn with 10 players returning on offense. You better believe this
is a game you can’t miss.
Who else would be at No. 1 other than Florida taking on Alabama? These
two will clash on CBS at 7 p.m. on October 2. As the Gators make their
way to Tuscaloosa, they bring talent, talent, and more talent.
The Gators lost Tim Tebow, but replace him with an NFL prospet in
redshirt junior John Brantley.
The past two meeting between these teams have been epic clashes. This
game truly defines college football with hard-hitting, raw athletic
ability, and unpredictable outcomes.
College football is just around the corner. Can you feel it?

In a tale of two quarters, Ferriday High defeated Vidalia High 27-13 in
the final game of the Vidalia Jamboree Saturday night at Dee Faircloth
Viking Stadium.
Ferriday led 20-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Each game in the jamboree lasted two quarters.
“I got too satisfied,” said Ferriday head coach Chad Harkins. “I was
just willing to run the ball and run the clock. But we’re still not in
game shape. We played well in the first quarter, but we have to be able
to go four quarters.”
Ferriday’s defense held Vidalia to minus -34 yards offense in the first
quarter.
The Trojans went 55 yards on their first possession as ZuRaine Thompson
and DaVonte Scott accounted for all the yardage, with Thompson scoring
on a 1-yard sneak with 7:06 remaining.
On Ferriday’s second possession, Thompson passed 43 yards to the end
zone where Alfred Brown outjumped two defenders in the end zone for the
score. Scott ran in the conversion for a 14-0 Trojan lead with 5:46
remaining.
Following a 34-yard pass from Thompson to Scott, Marques Lewis scored
on a 2-yard run with 2:02 remaining to give the Trojans a 20-0 lead at
the break.
Vidalia scored first in the second quarter after Walter Jones recovered
a fumble on the Ferriday 32-yard line.
Caleb Vines found Tri McCoy on two straight passes, the second one
taking the ball to the Ferriday 1-yard line where Vines snuck it in for
the score. Josh Fauvre kicked the PAT to put the Vikings on the board.
Scott reeled off a 32-yard run on Ferriday’s first play after the score
and four plays later Thompson scored on a 9-yard run with 8:23
remaining. Scott kicked the conversion for a 27-7 lead.
After two exchanges of punts, Vidalia pulled to within 27-14. Vines
completed a 42-yard scoring pass to Jamale Davis. Fauvre’s PAT cut the
lead to 13 with 3:21 remaining.
Vidalia recovered a Trojan fumble on Ferriday’s next possession, but a
dropped touchdown pass kept the Vikings from capitalizing.
“I expected us to come out with a little more fire,” said Vidalia head
coach Gary Paul Parnham. “But I credit Ferriday, they have a good team.
They gave us some different looks than what we expected. We played a
little better in the second half, but there’s a lot of room for
improvement.”
In the first game of the night, Block used a tipped touchdown pass with
1:18 remaining to key a 20-13 win over Delhi Charter.
Block wasted very little time scoring after a Gator fumble as VaShawn
Davis went 52 yards for a score on the Bears’ first play from scrimmage
with 10:46 remaining. Trey Vault ran in the conversion.
Delhi Charter got on the board with 41 seconds remaining in the first
quarter, completing a 68-yard drive aided by three offsides penalties
on Block as Riccie Gray went in from two yards out. Gary was stopped
short on the conversion.
Delhi went up 13-8 as Rob Simmons scored on an 18-yard run. The PAT
kick put the Gators Delhi seem to have the game in hand when their
scored their second touchdown and kicked the extra point to lead 13-8.
Gabe Robinson added the kick.After an exchange of punts, Block took
over on its 43-yard line. Following a 14-yard run the Delhi Charter 43,
Block quarterback Chuck Bowie threw a long pass that was tipped by a
Gator defender into the hands of Preston Bowman, who walked untouched
into the end zone. The conversion run failed leaving the Bears with a
14-13 lead.
“That’s just the way I drew it up,” Block coach Benny Vault said
seconds after the play.
Bowman then intercepted a Gator pass with 37 seconds remaining and
returned it 43 yards for the final score of the night.
“I was pleased with the way it came out,” Vault said. “I knew
conditioning would be a factor. We were missing six starters, but I was
happy with the way our kids performed.”
Tensas Parish fell to Madison Parish 16-0 in the second game.
Vidalia faces Block in Jonesville Friday, while Ferriday High opens its
season at Natchez High.
Tensas Academy jumped out to a 24-6 lead over Franklin Academy Friday
and held on for a 32-26 win in St. Joseph.
The contest was not a district game, but when the two teams meet again
on Oct. 1 it will be a district game.
“We made a lot of mistakes,” said Tensas head coach Joe Coats.
“Franklin has good size and they wore us down. They look a lot better
on the hoof than we do.”
  Tensas scored first as David Leake hit Farrell Keahey on a touchdown
pass. Josh Sikes ran in the conversion.
Tensas added to the lead on its next possession as Ryan Neuroth scored
on a run. Jacob Sikes added the conversion run.
Franklin’s Chris Hassell scored on a 7-yard run and ran in a conversion
for the Cougars.
Tensas went up 24-6 as Andy Hazel scored on a run and Keahey added the
conversion.
Kalin Howington of Franklin scored on two short runs, while Rilyn
Taylor rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown.”
Neuroth added another score for the Chiefs.
“They won the first half and we won the second half, but in the end it
wasn’t enough and we still lost,” said Franklin coach Doyle Hassell.
“It was a real physical battle and it came down to the last man
standing. But our kids decided to play and played a heckuva game.”
“We only dressed out 12 kids because of injuries,” Hassell said.
Junior Kyle Knox recovered an onsides kick.
“Kyle gave us some quality minutes,” Hassell said.
Franklin is open this Friday before traveling to Veritas.
Tensas travels to Macon to play Central.
“They are huge,” Coats said. “Hopefully we can outrun them.”



The University of New Orleans men’s basketball coach Joe Pasternack III
is featured in last week’s Sports Illustrated dated Aug. 30.
The 33-year-old Pasternack was born in Ferriday but left after a year
in kindergarten when parents Joe Jr. and Sarah Pasternack moved to New
Orleans, has to start over building a new team.
The story talks about Pasternack having to lead a program that went
from Division I to Division III because of cutbacks.
Pasternack was featured in the Concordia Sentinel on July 8. Visit the
concordia sentinel.com to read that story.
record with nine road victories, including a huge upset at North
Carolina State.

It’s going to be that kind of year.
What if, why, where’s so-and-so and when?
Those questions will come up a lot for LSU this season, and depending
on the answers will determine how the Tigers finish.
I can see LSU going 10-2. I can also see LSU going 7-5.
So many questions.
But a few things I do know.
Jordan Jefferson needs to learn to look off his receiver and be able to
find a secondary receiver instead of being determined to throw the ball
to where it was first designed to go.
Too many time in the past Jefferson would throw the ball to Terrance
Tolliver or Brandon LaFell when they had double coverage on them.
Then a replay would show a tight end, running back or other receiver
wide open.
Of course, if Jefferson goes down, the season is toast. Jarrett Lee is
not going to lead LSU to any championships and the cupboard is bare
after that.
Before Lee stepped on the field, I would rather see Russell Shepard in
the Wildcat and have him actually throw the ball once in a while.
For that matter, put Stevan Ridley in the Wildcat.
That may sound strange, but Ridley was actually a very good quarterback
at Trinity Episcopal and can throw the football.
Sure, I know the SEC is not Trinity, but I would rather have the ball
in Ridley’s hands than Lee.
Then again, I think Richard Murphy can operate out of the Wildcat. But
the football needs to be in the hands of Shepard and Reuben Randle.
It’s not that complicated.
Jefferson needs to keep from running the ball and needs to look for
Sheppard first, and if he’s not open look for Randle or DeAngelo
Peterson and then get rid of it.
Gary Crowton can’t teach that, but I firmly believe Billy Gonzales will
have Jefferson comfortable by the third or fourth game.
I also believe Shepard will be getting the ball out of the backfield
quite a bit.
The defense should be even better than last year.
I don’t understand Patrick Peterson being on the punt return team.
Sure, Peterson is a great athlete and capable of breaking one.
But, I think you have about 10 of those on the team who don’t start on
offense or defense.
If Peterson goes down with an injury returning a kick, you have lost
one of the best cover guys in the nation.
There are way too many bodies flying around and too much change of
direction during a return kick to put someone as valuable as Peterson
in harm’s way.
You know there will be more pondering and more questions asked as the
year goes along.
For Tiger fans, they can only hope the most popular question at the end
of the season is “Who expected LSU to be playing for a national
championship?”

Defending Class A champion Trinity Episcopal stepped up in class and
came back with an impressive 21-9 win over Class AAA East Rankin Friday
in Pelahatchie.
“That was one of the best defenses we’ve ever gone up against,” said
Trinity coach David King. “They reminded me a lot of the Jackson Prep
teams I used to play against (at ACCS). I didn’t think anybody could
stop us like that. Fortunately, their offense was not as good and our
defense played well. It was a heckuva win.”
Trinity senior Givonni Dent got the Saints on the scoreboard in the
second quarter with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Tip McKenzie with 1:20
remaining to give the Saints a 6-2 lead.
  Kent King scored on a 1-yard run and Dent found McKenzie on the
two-point conversion to give Trinity a 14-6 lead with 3:24 left in the
third quarter.
Dent completed the Saints’ scoring with an interception he returned for
45 yards and a score.
Dent then picked off a Justin Laster pass and returned it 45 yards for
a touchdown to give the Saints a 21-2 lead with 3:21 left in the ball
game.
Dent completed eight-of-15 passes for 128 yards with no interceptions.
Trinity’s defense held East Rankin to minus-16 yards rushing on 19
attempts and forced four turnovers.
Trinity Episcopal  hosts Centreville Academy at 7 p.m. Friday.
Centreville is an uncharacteristic 0-2, falling to Oak Forest and
Parklane.
“I doubt they have ever been 0-3 before,” King said. “They have an
outstanding football team and if we block like we did last week against
East Rankin, it’s going to be a long night for us. It should be a
heckuva game.”

ACCS head football coach Paul Hayles called it one of his most
heartbreaking losses last year when his team lost to Hillcrest 28-12
after scoring the first touchdown of the night and turning the ball
over countless times.
The Rebels avenged that loss playing with a heavy heart Friday in
Natchez, defeating the Cougars 28-14.
The AC football team attended the funeral of Hayles’ mother, Jeanette
Marie Hayles, earlier in the day.
Hayles had to be thinking back to last year after ACCS fumbled the ball
on its first play, had a false start on its second play and fumbled the
ball on its third play.
Then on its next possession, Hillcrest’s Anthony Brooks picked up an
ACCS fumble and ran 23 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was good
and the Cougars led 7-0.
“We had a kind of inauspicious start,” Hayles said. “I had a full-blown
flashback. I was not a happy camper. But the kids overcame that.”
But AC countered as Rusty Blackwell scored two touchdowns in the second
quarter on runs of six and eight yards, while Duncan Guedon added a
two-point conversion run to give ACCS a 14-7 halftime lead.
“I knew we could do it, it was just a matter of settling down,” Hayles
said. “We have a brand new quarterback who was starting his first game
so when we caught our breath, things started going our way.
Fortunately, our defense stayed solid.”
Junior Johnny Smith was starting in place of senior Kent Yates, who
broke his arm last week.
A 2-yard TD run by Christopher Perry put the Rebels up 20-7. In the
final period, Brandon Sanders rambled 76 yards for a score and added
the two-point conversion.
Sanders finished with 169 yards rushing on 17 carries to go with three
kick returns for 67 yards while Blackwell ran 20 times for 101 yards.
  Perry added 12 carries for 58 yards.
ACCS travels to Liberty to take on Amite School Center Friday.
“They have always been a big rival and will be much improved with Ray
Olive coaching them,” Hayles said. “We just have to take care of the
football.”