By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
Forrest City honored 15 Mustangs football players today by naming them to the postseason All-State, All-Conference and All Academic teams.
The group includes 14 seniors and one junior and four returning players from last year's postseason award's list.
CLASS AAAAA ALL STATE
Stephen Henry, who is a legitimate Div. 1 college prospect anchored the Mustangs offensive line this season. It is Henry's second consecutive year to be named to the All-State team.
"At offensive tackle Stephen did a heck of a job for the team this season," said Forrest City Coach Donnie Willis of the big senior. "As a coaching staff we are proud of what he has done. He has had a good high school career and he is destined for a higher plane and will go on to play college football."
Henry was also named to the AAAAA-East All-Conference First Team Offense.
Tremaine Collins, younger brother of Howard Collins, transferred from Wynne to play his senior year with the Mustangs. He played at Forrest City as a sophomore and then went to Wynne as a junior.
"We were very happy to get him back. He anchored our defense at noseguard and he is one of the quickest noseguards to play at Forrest City in recent seasons," Willis said.
Collins was also named to the AAAAA-East All-Conference First Team Defense.
ALL CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
Senior lineman Maurice Lacy worked in tandem with Henry to hold down the right side of the Mustangs' offensive line and draws All-Conference First Team honors for the first time.
Andrew Embry has been a starter since his sophomore season and was named to last year's All-Conference team. He repeats this year as a senior.
Embry played well on both sides of the football, but was used more on offense this season than in the past.
ALL CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
Senior strong safety Andre Johnson wasn't the biggest player on the field for the Mustangs, but he always made the biggest play. As a senior he earned a starting position for his "playmaking" decisions.
If senior David Machen had played high school football all three years, he probably would have been All-World.
Instead, Machen played just his senior year.
"He wanted to play," Willis said. "He had the right desire and the right work ethic and he always brought that to practice and to each game. He was our diamond in the rough."
Machen earned the distinction of being a "hitter" and he played on both sides of the ball as wingback, on kick off teams and as free safety on defense.
ALL CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
Senior offensive guard Clarence Wyatt worked in tandem with Lacy and Henry on the right side of the Forrest City line. Wyatt was a hard worker for the Mustangs. After breaking his leg as a freshman, he sat out his sophomore season, but returned as a junior and has been a key part of the offense.
Senior running back Demarcus Sinclair was one of the "twins" with his brother Dominique for the Mustangs.
Sinclair ran for 649 yards on 113 carries for the Mustangs this season.
Demarcus isn't going to win many foot races," Willis said. "But he is one of the old fashioned hard runners who runs low to the ground and when he is hit, he falls forward for that extra yard."
Mustang senior Tae Chism is making his second straight appearance as an All-Conference representative. Chism has been an all-around player for the Mustangs for three years lining up at running back, quarterback, on special teams, returning punts and kick offs and playing cornerback on defense. He ran for 591 yards on 114 carries.
ALL CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
Like Henry, senior linebacker Michael Boyd is drawing the interest of several college football scouts.
Moving from defensive end to to linebacker this season, Boyd used his speed and understanding of the game to make the plays from sideline to sideline.
Henderson State, Arkansas Tech and UA-Monticello have all expressed interest.
Willis describes senior Justin Jones as the team's "all purpose" player. Jones calls the defensive formations and has lined up at safety, free safety OLB, split receiver and wing back.
"He is a smart kid," Willis added. "He kept us lined up right during the games."
Senior linebacker Terrence Williams had a late start this season but went about his job quietly and efficiently to earn postseason honors.
ALL -ACADEMIC TEAM
Junior Ben Horton is the only underclassman to be named to postseason.
Horton brought a measure of stability to the quarterback position this season for the Mustangs.
Senior guard Terrence Cook has been around a long time and is making his second consecutive appearance on a postseason team. A year ago, he was named to the All-Conference squad.
"He is a smart kid, the kind of kid who down the road will end up being a lawyer or a doctor," Willis said
Senior Goldie Hicks rounds out the 2003 All-Academic selections.
An all-around player on special teams and on both sides of the ball, Hicks was a hard worker and payed a lot of dues. Following a lackluster sophomore year, Hicks turned it around as a junior -- coming into his own this past season. He has a 3.8 GPA.
"Having four players repeat for postseason honors shows a sign of consistency and that is what any football program needs," Willis said. "If a player makes all-state or all-conference as a junor they should make it again as a senior."
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
WYNNE -- The Mustangs rolled Tuesday. The Lady Mustangs fell just a little short.
Led by Roy Parker and Cameron Henderson, the Forrest City Mustangs used an 18-point third period to run away from the Wynne Yellowjackets 50-37.
Parker and Henderson each finished with 12 points to lead a balanced scoring attack by the Mustangs.
Wynne's Lonnie Harris led all scorers with 18 points. The Yellowjackets hit four threes in the game, a stark contrast to the first game between the two schools on Dec. 15, when the Yellowjackets nailed 11 shots from behind the arc at Mustang Arena. Even so, the Mustangs won that game 77-62.
"We didn't start off very quick," said Forrest city Coach dwight Lofton. "Then we picked it up in the third period which may have been one of our best quarters of the season and then we went flat in the fourth period, scoring just six points. We have to play an entire game. Parker and Henderson came to play Tuesday while some of our big guns didn't have such a great night. Parker is starting to step up to be the man while Cam played with some extra determination."
The victory leaves the Mustangs at 5-3 for the year. Wynne is struggling and falls to 1-4.
"If we could finish the nonconference schedule at 8-4 I would be happy. 9-3 would be great. That is not out of reach."
The Mustangs will play at Marianna on Saturday (Dec. 20) and then will open play in the Osceola Invitational tournament on Saturday, Dec. 27, when they face Hughes at 2 p.m.
Beyond the Hughes game looms a possible matchup against West Helena.
The Mustangs led 13-8 after one period and 26-18 at the half.
An 18-to-4 third period had the Mustangs in front 44-22 to start the final frame.
Taurus Moore and Chris Williams each finished with five points while Lorenzo Spearmon and Buck Braddock had just four points each.
The Lady Mustangs lost their lead and their shooting touch late in their rematch against the Lady Yellowjackets, which left them short 66-58.
The Forrest City girls led 49-44 in the third period before Wynne rallied to tie the game and then took the lead early in the fourth period.
"We have to hit our shots, especially late in the game," said Forrest City Coach Sue Jayroe. "We had a chance to put Wynne away last night and we didn't."
Sequoria Grady led the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds and just missed a triple double, getting nine blocked shots.
Trina Wynne finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.
Shari Rogers added nine points and had two blocked shots.
The Lady Mustangs hit 10-of-17 free throws and turned the ball over 11 times.
Wynne had four players in double figures led by Nicole Johnson's 17 points and Callie Sisk's 11 points.
Forrest City (3-7) won the first meeting played at Mustang Arena 61-57.
The Lady Mustangs will play a junior varsity game Saturday against Marianna and will play in the Lady Cat Classic at Conway, which begins Friday, Dec. 26.
Forrest City faces Watson Chapel in the first game.