By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
If you ask Forrest City Mustang Coach Dwight Lofton and Hughes Blue Devil Coach Brad Brannen about winning the Forrest City Grocery/Rumble on the Ridge tournament, both would answer yes, but there are far more important issues at stake for each team.
"Winning is always great," said Lofton, whose Mustangs got to the championship game a year ago, only to fall short against Lee, Ala. "But I look at the Rumble as being able to play three games against some outstanding teams, which will hopefully get us prepared for the conference season. If we win a couple of games or even the championship, then that is just gravy for us."
Brannen, in his first year at Hughes, echoes Lofton's sentiments, but with a twist.
"We will use the Rumble to help get ready for the conference part of the schedule, but at the same time, I would like to win at least two of the three games," Brannen said. "That's our goal, to win two."
Call it a proving ground for each team for the remainder of the season, if you will.
Brannen says he will play a lot of people, including a couple of sophomores who he says have to be ready to help the Blue Devils this season.
"Losing Lonnie (Smith) our point guard left a big hole for us to fill," Brannen said. "Lonnie was a senior and a floor leader. We need to find someone who will step up and be a leader for us until we get Lonnie back."
Smith, considered to be one of the state's best small guards, is out until late January, at the earliest, with a broken leg.
Hughes, the defending Class AAA state champions, are making their first appearance in the five-year-old tournament.
The Blue Devils are 1-1 coming into the Rumble, having defeated Earle and losing to Memphis East.
The Mustangs have played only one game -- the opener last Friday against Little Rock Parkview -- and lost.
Lofton is searching for the right combination of players to put on the floor.
"You will probably see a different starting five at the Rumble," Lofton said. "We had some kids do some good things against Parkview and they need to continue that progress in the three Rumble games."
The Mustangs do not have the scoring punch the team has had in past years, at least not yet. That, along with finding a point guard, are two areas Lofton will be looking at during the Rumble.
"We've always had that one player we could go too when we needed to score," Lofton said. "This year, we don't have that comfort zone."
It appears that both coaches will be throwing everyone into the mix over the next three days and hope the players come out stirred rather than just shaken.
"I'm going to just throw them into the fire, so to speak and see what happens," Brannen said. "It won't matter if we have the lead or if we're trailing."
Hughes will open the Rumble at 3:30 p.m., Thursday (Nov. 22) when they tip off against Columbus, Miss.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
RUSTON -- Freshman guard Erica Smith hasn't taken long to make an impression on the Louisiana Tech coaching staff.
In just her second career game and her first collegiate start, the Palestine-Wheatley, native scored a career-high 19 points to lead the fifth-ranked Lady Techsters to an 88-43 win over McNeese State Tuesday night before 3,257 at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Smith connected on 8 of 13 field goals and 2 of 2 free throws while also grabbing three rebounds and recording three steals in helping Tech improve to 2-0 on the young season. The 5-foot-10-inch guard also recorded six turnovers.
"I thought Erica deserved to start tonight," Barmore said. "Overall, I was pleased with her play. She just needs to learn to take better care of the basketball."
Smith scored the first bucket of the game, igniting a 20-0 Tech run to open the contest.
McNeese State didn't hit a shot until the 11:57 mark of the first half when a three-pointer by Taylor Morrell made the score 20-3.
Tech quickly built the lead up to as many as 30 before entering the half-time locker room leading 46-17.
Senior forward Ayana Walker and sophomore Amber Obaze led all Tech scorers in the first half with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Walker didn't play in the second half.
"I didn't start Amber but I thought Amber came off the bench and did well,"
Obaze finished the evening with 11 points and four rebounds while Bibbs added five points and three boards.
In the second stanza McNeese State was unable to cut into the Tech lead as a free throw by Catrina Frierson at the 9:49 mark gave the Lady Techsters their first 40 point lead at 68-28.
All 11 Lady Techsters played and scored as Brooke Lassiter added nine points on three-for-four shooting from beyond the arc.
Tech finished the game shooting 52 percent while McNeese State only connected on 28 percent of its shots.
The Cowgirls were led by Monique Powell with 11 points.
The Lady Techsters return to action Friday when they travel to face second-ranked Tennessee at 6 p.m. Tech then plays Duke, Sunday, Dec. 2 and Connecticut on Sunday, Dec. 9, both on the road.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The stars of Memphis Championship Wrestling are on their way to Forrest City to help the city's police department.
Huh?
MCW brings its show to the Forrest City Civic Center on Friday, Nov. 30, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
Admission is free to the event sponsored by the Forrest City Police Department for a night of education and entertainment in a drug free and violence free program.
The motivational program will feature professional wrestlers Bobby Horne aka Sir Mo or Rob Harlem of the WWF, as the main speakers before the matches begin.
Harlem gained fame as one half of the tag-team Men on a Mission, who held the WWF championship tag titles.
Memphis Championship Wrestling stars scheduled to wrestle (card subject to change) include Derrick King, Fabulous Rocker, Dustin Starr, Hardcore Mickey Ray, "All Natural" Flex, Tyler Gates, "All That" Alan Steel, "Bulldog" Raines, Seven and from Forrest City, making his MCW debut, Rage.