By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Forrest City Mustang football team may not have produced a winning season -- record wise -- during the just completed 2001 campaign, but the team did produce 11 outstanding young men who ended the season with a variety of honors.
Led by senior receiver and free safety Willie Wade, who was named to both the All-State and All-Conference teams, five Mustangs were named to the All-Conference First Team and five more were named to the All-Conference Second team.
Three of those 11 plus six additional Mustang players were named to the AAAAA-East All-Academic team.
The All-Conference First Team included seniors Edgar Williams, Jesse Ballard, Demarcus Lockett and Montrell Ashcraft and junior Tony Jones.
The Second Team included seniors Ray Dixon, Adrian Warren, Jeff Bradley, Decoris Lattimore and junior Antonio Patillo.
Jones, Patillo and Bradley were also named to the All-Academic Team along with Eric Jimmerson, Austin Easley, Tremaine Collins, Justin Jones, Tyrone Lewis and Lee Machen.
Wade, who is hoping to play college football, was the leading tackler for the Mustangs with 45 solo take downs and he was in on another 21 from his free safety position on defense.
Wade was the most improved player on the team from last season to this season. According to the Mustang coaching staff, Wade returned for his senior year with the willingness to work hard.
Jones, one of the two juniors recognized for postseason honors, was second on the team in tackles with 43 solo efforts and 23 assists. Jones played linebacker and with one more season ahead of him, showed the coaching staff he has the potential to be an impact player.
Williams, a senior defensive tackle finished the season with 33 solo tackles, 18 assists and five quarterback sacks to his credit. He was one of the solid Mustang players from game-to-game on defense.
Ashcraft was on the field a lot for the Mustangs, lining up in the backfield as a running back and anchoring the seondary as a defensive back. This was Ashcraft's first season to play on the defensive side of the football. He started every game and finished with 27 solo tackles and 16 assists.
Lattimore rarely left the field, largely because he was too busy lining up as a receiver, a kick returner and a cornerback. A solid athlete, Lattimore had 26 solo tackles and seven assists.
Like Lattimore, Lockett seemed to be everywhere on the football field as well, lining up as a receiver, a punt and kick returner and a cornerback. He played extremely well against the pass and forcing the run. He had 21 solo tackles and 12 assists.
Dixon, who was named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention team a year ago, is a three-year starter for the Mustangs at linebacker and also helped the team offensively from the fullback position. Dixon missed four complete games due to injuries but still played well enough to make postseason lists. Dixon recorded 31 solo tackles and helped out with 23 assists.
Bradley was a two-way starter at tight end and at defensive end for the Mustangs. He had seven solo tackles and 16 assists. He had a great work ethic and provided Forrest City quarterbacks Justin Edwards and Austin Easley a big target to throw to.
Warren played defensive end for the Mustangs and possessed a wealth of athletic ability. He had 24 solo tackles and 13 assists and brought down opposing quarterbacks four times during the season.
Patillo, the second of two juniors on the All-Conference team, started at center. He played every down and was very aggressive on the field. For his size, 5'4" and 160 pounds, Patillo played much larger. He will return next season to anchor the offensive line.
Ballard is the kind of receiver every team needs. The senior has great hands and always made something happen when the team needed a big play. As well as lining up at the receiver slot, Ballard carried the ball several times from the backfield.
The Mustangs finished 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the AAAAA-East under third-year head coach Donnie Willis.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
PARAGOULD -- The Paragould Lady Rams won the McDonald's Shootout in 1998 and 1999.
Last year, Paragould was unable to complete the trifecta as the Palestine-Wheatley Lady Patriots ripped their way through the brackets enroute to a 52-36 finals victory over Poplar Bluff, Mo. in the finals.
Palestine-Wheatley went on to win the Class AA state championship, finishing 35-1.
The Lady Rams are set for their shot at re-claiming the Shootout title beginning today at Paragould.
There is one small problem, make that seven small problems facing the Lady Rams, the Lady Patriots and six other teams -- Bentonville, Poplar Bluff, Obion County Central, Tenn., Pocahontas, Jonesboro and Greene County Tech --who would like to win the title.
Palestine-Wheatley, off to a 4-6 start, will open the tournament today at 4 p.m., when they take on a familiar foe, the Jonesboro Lady Hurricane.
The Lady Patriots are rebuilding with lone returning starting guard Nikki Bass.
Gone is "all-everything" performer Erica Smith (now at Louisiana Tech) and standout post player Melanie Baker.
Bass has been the main source of the Lady Patriots' offense so far this season.
The Lady Patriots have struggled offensively in the early going due to inexperience and inconsistency.
"Out of the 12 girls we've got four who have never played --ever, and two that laid out the past two years," Bass remarked. "We've got six players who are totally inexperienced. We've got five that played some in junior high, but none of them have been role players before. We're very young and we have no size and no experience, except for Nikki."
Other key players for P-W are 5-9 post player Nakita Love and 5-8 LaRhonda Bender. Both are juniors.
"We've been used to busting 80 points a game. Last year, if didn't score 80 we had a low-scoring game. Now, if we make it to 40, it's a high-scoring game," Coach Bass said. "We've just had no consistency (offensively). That's what's hurting us."
Both Bass and daughter Nikki are making their final appearances in the 2001 Shootout. The P-W coach is retiring after this season.
"This is Nikki's last year and I'm gonna be sliding on out with her," said Bass, "We're looking forward to coming over and having a good time. We're going to do the best we can."
*Paragould brings an unbeaten 5-0 mark into the tournament but begins without the services of 5-foot-11 Brandi Getson, the team's leading scorer (15 points per game) sick with the flu.
The Lady Rams still have plenty of firepower in their lineup with junior Chastan Denning, sophomore Kathryn Reeves, and seniors Libby Swindle and Jena Murphy.
*Greene County Tech's Lady Eagles step into the Shootout circle for the first time.
The guaranteed three games that the Shootout offers appears to be what GCT (2-4) needs right now.
*Poplar Bluff (5-0) might be the pretournament favorite. The Lady Mules return four of the five players on the 2000-01 roster for this year's tournament.
The Lady Mules are averaging 65 points per game this season while holding the opposition to just 37.
*After a three-year absence from the tournament, Obion County Central's Lady Rebels return with a 5-1 season mark. The last time the Lady Rebels appeared in the tournament, they took home the title.
*Bentonville's Lady Tigers are making their third appearance in the Shootout. Bentonville brings good size -- 6-1, 5-11 and 5-10 across the front line -- and enters the Shootout with a 3-3 mark.
*The Pocahontas Lady Redskins, led by Division I-A signee Ali Carter, are hoping to reverse a 2-4 start and win their first Shootout championship since 1994.
Carter (5-9), who has signed with Arkansas State, is averaging 23 points a game this season.
She is joined by All-Conference senior, 5-7 Priscilla Zitzelberger.
*Jonesboro's Lady Hurricane, with the most wins of any Shootout team, is looking to improve on its third-place finish of a year ago.
The Hurricane is off to an impressive 8-1 start this season, despite losing a pair of Division I-A signees -- Jennifer Sullivan and LeAnn Upshaw -- to graduation.
Jonesboro returns three senior starters from last year's 26-3 team, point guard Lydia Nelson, forward-post Latoya Wortham and 5-10 post Rachel Simmons.