By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
MARIANNA -- The Lee Academy (Marianna) Cougars are going where no other Cougar team has gone before -- to the Mississippi State Single A championship game.
The Cougars, under second-year head coach John Holcombe, left Wednesday morning for the long drive to Clinton, Miss., where they will face Claiborne Academy from Haynesville, La., Thursday at 1 p.m. at Mississippi College.
Lee Academy takes an 11-2 season record into the school's first-ever state championship game.
The Cougars advanced to Thursday's title game by holding off Central Holmes 48-47 last Friday to win the Mississippi Private School Association (MPSA) North A championship in a game played at Lexington, Miss.
"That was a thriller," Holcombe said Tuesday. "We were up by seven points with about three minutes to play and we let them score, but they missed the extra point, which left us holding on by one point. We punted with just over a minute to play and they drove to our 25."
That's when the Cougars turned the game-saving play. Cornerback Daniel Parten intercepted a Central Holmes pass with 20 seconds left to secure the one-point win.
Tyler Clarkson, of Colt, ran for 282 yards on 20 carries and scored five touchdowns.
"This team is special," Holcombe said. "They enjoy playing football and they enjoy being teammates. They never think they are out of any game and from week to week, it has been someone different stepping up to help us get the win."
Holcombe said he thought this Cougar team had a chance to be a good team early in the season.
"I knew the kids had the opportunity and the ability," Holcombe said. "All they had to do was pull together, which they did each week."
The Cougar roster is sprinkled with several players from Forrest City and Colt and Holcombe said they all have made contributions to the team in one way or another.
"They aren't all starters for us, but they all have played major roles this season for he team whether it was on offense or defense or special teams. We couldn't have done it without everyone working together."
The five area players, besides Clarkson, are Blake Devazier, Taylor Clark, Jonathan Taylor and Drake Martin.
Devazier, Clark and Taylor are sophomores while Clarkson and Martin are juniors on the Cougar squad, which has grown from 23 to 30 with the addition of seven freshman from the Junior Cougars.
"You just don't get to the state championship game every year," Holcombe continued. "The road is long and tough and these kids have worked hard to get to this point."
Boy, has the Cougars' road been long.
This is the fourth consecutive week the Cougars have had to play on the road. Just call them certified "Road Warriors."
From Marianna, the trip to Clinton is close to a five-hour drive.
For Claiborne, the trip to Clinton is close to three hours.
Claiborne advanced to the state title game by defeating River Oaks, La. 20-16 to win the South A championship. Claiborne last won a state title in 1990.
"Claiborne will put a good team on the field," Holcombe said. "They are a power running team and have quality backs."
Holcombe's Cougars operate mainly from the spread offense behind junior quarterback Landon Bullard and running backs Matthew Gerrard and Clarkson.
The Cougar offensive line is anchored by senior Chris Smith, junior Jonathan Higgins, Martin, senior Michael Tate and senior Bubba Jack Wilson. All but Wilson are 200-plus pounders.
Jeffrey Higgins, Parten and Nathan Waldrip and Charlie Ballard provide the Cougars' receiving corp.
Two non-Mississippi teams playing in the MPSA final isn't new. And it's just as special to two teams from neighboring states.
"Being a state championship game, it really doesn't matter where we play," Parten said. "If it was in Hawaii, it would still be a big game."
During the regular season, the Cougars defeated Winona 56-26; Bayou 42-13; Tunica 24-7; Plain Dealing 54-12; Rossville 38-10; Marvell 42-20; WMC 56-22; Central Holmes 31-20 and lost to DeSoto 24-18 and North Delta 46-14.
In the playoffs, Lee has downed Porters Chapel 26-20; North Sunflower 42-20 and Central Holmes 48-47.
MPSA officials expect a crowd of close to 1,000 at Robinson-Hale Stadium Thursday for the championship game.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
The Palestine-Wheatley Patriots scored 11 unanswered points to start Tuesday's season-opening game against Cross County and cruised to a 76-49 win at Patriot Gym.
Curtis Allen led all scorers with 28 points.
"I was impressed," said P-W Coach Terry Clardy. "I really did not know what to expect. We have been practicing really late due to the football playoffs."
With the majority of Clardy's roster still in football, only eight players dressed out for Tuesday's game.
Jessie Adams added 13 points while Osas Oyara added 12. Tony Huntley and Marcus Gardner finished with nine points each.
The patriots' win completed a sweep over the Thunderbirds.
The Junior Lady Patriots got nine points from Deidra Ingram in a 25-15 win over the Cross County junior girls.
Britney Wilson and Jasmine Wynne added four points each for P-W while Gabriel Barnes and Shaquita Leak had three points each.
The junior girls are 1-1 for the year, after losing to Brinkley last Saturday in the finals of the Wheatley Invitational Tournament.
P-W led 8-6 after one period and stretched their lead to 20-11 after three periods.
The senior girls also started the season on a positive note, taking a 47-31 win over the Lady Thunderbirds.
Fallon Parker led the way with 16 points while Keisha Stovall finished with 13 and Tonisha Wynne added 12. Cara Lansford had four and Whitney Smith helped out with two points.
The Lady Patriots (1-0) led 18-3 after one period and 27-10 at the half.
Nikki Newby led Cross County (0-1) with 14 points.
*Trumann led 17-6 after one quarter but Nettleton turned up the pressure defensively and rallied for a 59-44 victory Tuesday in senior boys' basketball.
Leif Lovins scored 17 points to lead the Raiders to their season-opening victory.
Clay McClung scored a game-high 22 points to lead Trumann (1-1).
*Brooks Taylor poured in 31 points and Brandon Ballard added 26 to lead Buffalo Island Central to an 81-62 victory over Marmaduke Tuesday in senior boys' basketball at the Mustang Athletic Complex.
BIC (9-0) led just 37-36 at the break but Taylor and Ballard each scored 8 points in the third quarter as the Mustangs outscored the Greyhounds 26-12 in the period.
Derek Rolland added 10 points for BIC.
BIC is one of the eight teams involved in next week's Rumble on the Ridge boys basketball tournament at Forrest City's Mustang Arena.
*Nicki Mitchell led Paragould with 19 points in a 64-42 senior girls' basketball victory over Piggott Tuesday.
Also for Paragould (1-0), Ashton Reely had 11 points.
*Josh Calamese pumped in 13 points and Annie Camp pulled away in the middle quarters for a 51-28 victory over Mountain Home Tuesday in junior boys' basketball at the Regions Bank Classic at Whirlwind Gym.
In the nightcap, Blytheville outscored Rivercrest 33-4 in the second and third quarters for a 50-15 victory.
In scheduled games today, the Forrest City Lady Mustangs will play a second-round game against Jacksonville at the Heavenly Hoops girls basketball tournament at Mount St. Mary's in Little Rock.
Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
The Lady Mustangs lost to El Dorado Monday in the tournament's opening round.
Monta Ellis made a verbal commitment to Mississippi State during February of his stellar junior season at Lanier.
Then last Thursday, in a news conference at his school's gymnasium, Ellis made his choice official by signing a binding national letter-of-intent with MSU.
A 6-foot-3, 175-pound senior guard, Ellis is ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the Class of 2005 by national recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons. Ellis initially considered Alabama, North Carolina and Texas before casting his lot with the Bulldogs.
Ellis will lead Lanier (Miss.) into next week's Forrest City Grocery/Rumble on the Ridge Tournament.
Lanier will open at 6:30 p.m., Thanksgiving Day, against the host team Forrest City Mustangs.
"I wanted to go on, get it over with and put it behind me so I can focus on other things like my schoolwork and what I've got to do to win a state championship," he said. "It's just something me, my mom and my stepdad sat down and had a talk about. We made a decision not to go too far. Mississippi State is just an hour and 45 minutes away."
A three-time All-State pick and two-time Metro Player of the Year by The Clarion-Ledger, Ellis is averaging 42 points, 11 rebounds, 10.5 assists and 4.5 steals for the state's top-ranked team (2-0). He averaged 29.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2.8 steals in 2003-04 as Lanier finished as the Class 4A runner-up for the second consecutive season.
Lanier coach Thomas Billups is confident Ellis can make an immediate impact at Mississippi State, where shooting guard Winsome Frazier is a senior.
"There's no doubt about it," Billups said. "Monta could probably go to any college in the country and start."
Ellis downplayed speculation that he could follow in the footsteps of Jonathan Bender, Travis Outlaw and Al Jefferson by going straight from the Mississippi high school ranks to the NBA.
"I'm not thinking about that too much. I just want to go to college, get better and hopefully my chance will come," Ellis said.
"Monta talks about Mississippi State so much," Billups said. "I think he really wants to stay for a while just to get the feel of college life. I think if he's doing well after two years, he'll have a chance to make that jump."
Ellis is slated to join ex-Lanier standout and MSU freshman forward Charles Rhodes in Starkville. State's current recruiting class, which is ranked in the Top 10 nationally by several recruiting Web sites, also includes Reginald and Richard Delk, 6-5 twins from Jackson, Tenn.
Vernon Goodridge, a 6-9 center from Philadelphia (Pa.) Lutheran Christian Academy, made an oral commitment to the Bulldogs but apparently has yet to sign. He could not be reached Thursday.
Buffalo Island Central (Ark.) senior Brandon Ballard signed with Arkansas State University last week.
Buffalo Island will be making their first-ever appearance in the Rumble.
Tyler Hansbrough, from Poplar Bluff, Mo., signed with North Carolina last week and Denham Springs, La. senior Tasmin Mitchell is headed to LSU.
Calvary Christian School hosted Pulaski County Homeschool Tuesday night but couldn't follow up Friday's season opener with another win.
Pulaski County swept the three-game set which began with an elementary boys game and followed by the varsity Lady Eagles and the Eagles.
The Calvary elementary Eagles fell 36-8 to the visitors.
Blake Lester led Calvary with six points while Hunter McLean had two.
The Lady Eagles fell to 1-1 for the year, losing to the Pulaski County Lady Flames 42-36.
Summer Hess and Meredith Borden led Calvary with nine points each while Katie McNair had eight and Ashley Austin helped with five points.
Calvary trailed 20-16 at the half.
The Flames handed the Eagles their first loss in the late game, winning 73-34.
Kyle Smith had 21 points to lead Calvary while Jason Cantrell
added nine points.