'Riders struggle in opening loss to J'ville - December 5, 2011
By John Krueger
Sports Correspondent

Center guard Jacarius Berry dribbles toward the basket during Friday night's season opener for the Center Roughrider. Berry scored 10 points, but the 'Riders dropped a 60-42 decision to Jacksonville. (Photo by Ray Jackson)

Minus a couple of their heavyweights in their season opener, the Center Roughriders shot only 34% (17-of-50), while committing 30 turnovers in a 60-42 setback to Jacksonville in Roughrider Gymnasium Friday night.

The 'Riders (0-1) were only able to put a pair of players in double-figure scoring in this contest. Jakiel Johnson hit 3-of-6 from the field, finishing with 10 points, along with Jercarius Berry, who struggled with only 4-of-14 of his field goals going in.

Tony McCollister added eight points on 3-of-7 field goals, Myles Netherly chipped in six points, Ki-Janaven Garrett managed four points and Darron Bolton and Derrick Thomas scored two points each.

Center played the game without Cameron Cloudy and Johnny Sudds, who were major scoring contributors last season.

The Roughriders claimed 36 rebounds, while limiting the Indians to just 34 to win the battle by two. Bolton pulled down nine to lead the 'Riders, with McCollister adding seven, Jakiel Johnson hauling in five, Berry and Thomas each tallying four and Garrett and DeJalen Preston each posting three boards.

Berry led CHS with three steals, while McCollister paced the team in the assists department with three.

Jacksonville committed 23 turnovers in the game, while hitting 10-of-19 (53%) from the line. Center was 7-of-18 for a dismal 39%.

The Indians held a 12-8 lead at the end of the initial period, but Center pulled to within 24-23 at the half.

Jacksonville then began to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the Roughriders 12-5 to widen the gap to 36-28. JHS then outscored Center 24-14 in the final eight minutes.

The 'Riders will return to action Tuesday night when they travel to Woden. There will be three games (9th,JV,V) with the first game tipping off at 5 p.m. Center will be back at home next Tuesday (Dec. 13) when they host Rusk (9th,JV,V) at 5 p.m.

Rams capture A.J. Lawrence Classic title - December 5, 2011
By John Krueger
Sports Correspondent

Joaquin guard Wyatt Hairgrove (00) makes a move against a Longview Christian defender during action at the A.J. Lawrence Classic on Thursday. Hairgrove was selected to the all-tournament team. (Photo by John Krueger)

JOAQUIN -- Wyatt Hairgrove and Will Vaughn were a tough one-two punch for the host Joaquin Rams as they posted a spotless 3-0 mark as they captured the boys division of the A.J. Lawrence Classic basketball tournament this past weekend.

Gary only suffered one loss in the tourney, with that setback coming on the final day of the tourney in a 50-48 setback to Corrigan-Camden. But the Bobcats finished with the second-best record of the tourney at 3-1.

Corrigan and Logansport both went 2-1 in tourney action, while Elysian Fields suffered with a 1-1 record. Hemphill, Shelbyville and Louisiana School each recorded 1-2 records, while Timpson and Longview Christian were winless at 0-2.

Joining the two Joaquin players in the all-tournament team included Gary's Matt Wood and Stephen White. Corrigan-Camden's Coby McClendon and Keegan Mitchell were both selected, along with Raj Patel of Louisiana school.

Here's a wrap-up of action involving area teams on Friday and Saturday:

Joaquin 46, Louisiana School 35 -- Tra Rogers scored 14 of his game-high 19 points in the first half as the Rams surged out to a 20-3 lead at the end of the opening period and 29-5 at the half and never looked back in a win over Louisiana School on Friday.

Seven different players scored for Joaquin. Hairgrove added nine first-quarter points and then finished with 11 as he sat on the bench for most of the second half. Za Cooper scored five points, Evans scored three and Nathan Martinez, Cody Runnels and Vaughn each scored two points.

Joaquin's Will Vaughn (5) looks to pass the ball past a pair of Longview Christian defenders during the A.J. Classic basketball tournament on Thursday. Vaughn was named to the all-tournament team for his play. (Photo by John Krueger)

Hemphill 63, Timpson 60 -- Lorenzo Young scored a game-high 23 points for Timpson, with 12 of those coming in the fourth quarter in a 63-60 setback to Hemphill on Friday.

Jaylin Rhodes added nine points for the Bears, John Jacobs and Dimric Caraway cashed in eight points apiece, and Brandon Castillo and Tevin Brown and Jay Bussey each pitched in four points.

The Hornets took an 18-12 lead at the end of the first period, but Timpson closed to within 29-25 at the half. The Bears kept the game close in the third, outscoring the Hornets 14-12, but Hemphill held on for the win.

Shelbyville 35, Longview Christian 29 -- C.J. Watson scored 11 points, canning a pair of key three-pointers in the third quarter as the Dragons outlasted Longview Christian, 35-29, on Friday.

Robertson scored eight points for Shelbyville, while Jenkins and Stracener each scored six points and Marcus Edwards and James Bradford pitched in two points apiece.

The Dragons had to come from behind in this one. After Longview Christian took a commanding 14-1 lead at the end of the first period, Shelbyville had the upper hand of 13-3 scoring in the second to pull to within 17-14 at the half.

Shelbyville outscored LCS 13-3 in the third and then hung on down the stretch as Stracener scored six points in the final eight minutes for the Dragons.

Joaquin 44, Corrigan-Camden 40 -- Hairgrove scored eight of his game-high 15 points in the third quarter and 13 of his total in the second half to lead the Rams to a 44-40 win over Corrigan-Camden on Friday.

Vaughn added 13 points, with nine of those coming in the first half. Cooper dropped in five points, with Martinez, Runnels and Tristan Hairgrove throwing in three points apiece.

The Bulldogs took a 15-9 lead at the end of the opening stanza, but the Rams pulled to within 19-16 at the break.

Hairgrove's big third quarter enabled Joaquin to outscore Corrigan 18-8 and take a 34-27 advantage heading into the final eight minutes and the Rams never relinquished it.

Gary 44, Elysian Fields 27 -- Levi Cohorst and Luke Thornton combined for 20 points as the Gary Bobcats won this contest, which was shortened when a scuffle broke out between the two squads in the fourth quarter.

Cohorst scored 11 points, Thornton added nine, while Matt Wood and Stephen White each chipped in eight points. Connor Coligan scored six points for the 'Cats and Trevor Liles chipped in two.

Gary opened up a 13-5 lead at the end of the opening stanza and slightly widened the gap to 21-11 at the halftime break.

The Bobcats stretched the lead to 35-19 entering the final quarter and Gary held on to a 17-point lead when the contest was called in the fourth quarter.

Logansport 52, Shelbyville 35 -- Jenkins scored 13 points, including a combined 11 in the second and third quarters, but it wasn't enough as Logansport knocked off the Dragons, 52-35, on Friday.

Edwards and Watson each scored six points for SHS, while Bradford dropped in three points.

Corrigan-Camden 50, Gary 48 -- Matt Wood had a big third quarter, pouring in 11 points, but a third-quarter lead wasn't enough as Corrigan-Camden handed Gary it's only loss of the tourney with a 50-48 win on Saturday.

Wood led GHS with 18 points, while Connor Coligan and Levi Cohorst dropped in eight points each, Stephen White scored seven, Josh Bowen added four and Luke Thornton scored three points.

The Bulldogs took a 10-7 lead in the first quarter, but foul trouble started to take its toll despite the 'Dogs holding on to a 27-19 lead at the half.

Gary outscored Corrigan-Camden 18-10 in the third to tie at 37-37 entering the fourth quarter and the Bulldogs held off the Bobcats down the stretch.

A.J. CLASSIC
Friday's Boys Results
Joaquin 46, La. School 35
Hemphill 63, Timpson 60
Shelbyville 35, Longview Christian 29
Joaquin 44, Corrigan-Camden 40
Gary 44, Elysian Fields 27
La. School 47, Hemphill 42
Logansport 52, Shelbyville 35

Saturday's Boys Results
Logansport 50, La. School 16
Corrigan-Camden 50, Gary 48

Team Tournament Records
Joaquin 3-0
Gary 3-1
Corrigan-Camden 2-1
Logansport 2-1
Elysian Fields 1-1
Hemphill 1-2
Shelbyville 1-2
LSMSA 1-2
Timpson 0-2
Longview Christ.0-2

Boys All-Tournament Team
Wyatt Hairgrove Joaquin
Will Vaughn Joaquin
Matt Wood Gary
Stephen White Gary
Coby MClendon Corrigan
Keegan Mitchell Corrigan
Raj Patel LSMSA

2011 UIL Football Playoff Results - December 5, 2011

4th Round
Dec. 1-3 - Regional Finals
and State Semifinals (3A D-I)

Class 5A Division I
Region I
Southlake Carroll (14-0) 31, Arlington Martin (12-2) 14
Region II
Dallas Skyline (14-0) 35, The Woodlands (12-2) 31
Region III
Fort Bend Hightower (12-2) 35, Pearland (11-3) 14
Region IV
San Antonio Madison (10-4) 42, Harlingen (13-1) 27

Class 5A Division II
Region I
Mansfield Timberview (12-2) 32, Abilene (10-4) 6
Region II
Spring DeKaney (12-2) 28, Spring Westfield (10-4) 18
Region III
Port Arthur Memorial (13-1) 34, La Porte (12-2) 6
Region IV
Cibolo Steele (14-0) 35, San Antonio Reagan (12-2) 10

Class 4A Division I
Region I
Waco Midway (11-2) 54, Wichita Falls Rider (10-4) 34
Region II
Tyler John Tyler (11-3 45, Sherman (10-4) 21
Region III
Pearland Dawson (12-2) 27, Angleton (13-1) 23
Region IV
Lake Travis (14-0) 14, Cedar Park (11-3) 9

Class 4A Division II
Region I
Aledo (12-2) 33, Stephenville (11-3) 0
Region II
Corsicana (13-1) 42, Kilgore (9-5) 21
Region III
Manvel (14-0) 38, LaMarque (11-3) 35
Region IV
Corpus Christi Calallen (13-1) 45, Kerrville Tivy (11-3) 15

Class 3A Division I
State Semi-Finals
Alvarado (14-0) 34, Henderson (11-3) 13
Tyler Chapel Hill (14-0) 21, West Columbia (13-1) 16

Class 3A Division II
Region I
Monahans (12-2) 27, Shallowater (11-3) 20
Region II
Argyle (13-1) 51, Gilmer (13-1) 35
Region III
Coldspring (14-0) 35, West Orange-Stark (9-4) 13
Region IV
Wimberley (14-0) 38, Devine (13-1) 12

Class 2A Division I
Region I
Muleshoe (12-1) 43, Eastland (12-1) 36
Region II
Melissa (11-1) 42, Daingerfield (11-3) 14
Region III
Tatum (12-2) 34, Crockett (11-2) 33
Region IV
Hempstead (13-0) 35, Blanco (8-6) 12

Class 2A Division II
Region I
Cisco (13-0) 34, Holliday (11-3) 0
Region II
Mildred (13-0) 49, Gunter (10-3) 0
Region III
Lexington (11-2) 47, Arp (10-3) 20
Region IV
Refugio (13-0) 41, Sonora (12-1) 24

Class A Division I
Region I
Stamford (12-2) 49, Seymour (11-3) 20
Region II
Mart (11-2) 35, Muenster (12-1) 29
Region III
Garrison (12-1) 31, Lovelady (11-2) 0
Region IV
Mason (13-0) 55, Shiner (8-6) 7

Class A Division II
Region I
Wellington (13-0) 20, Springlake-Earth (7-6) 14
Region II
Munday (12-2) 35, Windthorst (11-2) 28
Region III
Tenaha (12-0) 55, Mount Enterprise (11-2) 6
Region IV
Burton (12-2) 55, Falls City (10-3) 30

Aggies shut down 'Jacks, 55-42 - December 5, 2011

COLLEGE STATION - The Lumberjacks got 12 points from Jereal Scott and 10 from Antonio Bostic, but shot just 23 percent in the first half and 28 percent for the game as the No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies took a 55-42 win over Stephen F. Austin on Saturday night at Reed Arena.

SFA (3-3) went nearly eight minutes to open the game without a field goal as the bigger Aggies (6-1) picked up their 16th win in 19 all-time meetings between the teams. Texas A&M owned the glass on the night with a 44-28 advantage and outscored the `Jacks 28-14 in points in the paint.

Texas A&M led by as much as 19 points in the second half before a 10-0 run from the `Jacks cut the lead to nine with six minutes remaining; however, that was as close as it would get for SFA as the Aggies got 17 points from Elston Turner, including four threes, after Texas A&M had gone 0-for-17 from beyond the arc in its last game vs Alcorn State.

Scott and Bostic were the only Lumberjacks to reach double figures on the night, while Taylor Smith had a solid night across the board as well with five points, six rebounds and four blocks off the bench. The `Jacks forced 12 Aggie turnovers on the night while turning it over just six times themselves, a season low, and outscored A&M 13-4 in points off turnovers.

But the `Jacks could not overcome its cold shooting and could only muster six points in the final six minutes, with Turner's triple at the 2:17 mark pushing the lead back to 13 and giving the Aggies the cushion it needed to ride out the remainder of the clock.

Both teams started off slowly with nobody getting on the board for the first three minutes of the game before the Aggies broke the ice on a jumper from Ray Turner. SFA missed its first seven shots from the floor and did not score at all until a pair of free throws nearly six minutes into the game from Taylor Smith. Meanwhile, Texas A&M built its lead to 12-4 in the first 10 minutes of the game and despite hitting just one of its seven three-point tries in the opening period, took a 26-15 lead into the break.

The `Jacks hit just 6 of 26 shots in the first half, including misfiring on all six of their tries from behind the arc while the Aggies took advantage of its size by pumping in 16 of its 26 points from inside the paint. The 15 points for the Lumberjacks marked just the second time in the last five years they have been held to 15 points or less in a single half.

SFA will next return to the court on Friday when it takes on Alabama State on the opening day of the Etech Lumberjack Classic.

Ladyjacks take seventh straight victory, 78-50 - Dcember 5, 2011

NACOGDOCHES - Tammara Marion scored a game-high 26 points and the Ladyjacks as a team had their best offensive effort of the season in a runaway 78-50 victory over St. Edwards Saturday evening at William R. Johnson Coliseum.

SFA remained undefeated on the season, improving to 7-0 for just the fourth time in program history.

The Ladyjacks (7-0) shot a season-high 50 percent from the floor and 37 percent from three-point land (9-of-24). SFA forced 23 turnovers and limited St. Edwards to just 37 percent from the field and won the points off turnovers battle, 27-17.

"Lately we've put an emphasis on two things offensively," SFA head coach Brandon Schneider said. "We wanted to finish around the basket better and cut down on our turnovers. Tonight we had our lowest amount of turnovers (13) this season."

Marion carried the Ladyjacks in the first half where she scored 23 of her 26 points on 9-of-12 shooting, which included 4-of-7 on three-pointers. The Hilltoppers actually led 25-23 with 4:22 left in the first half before SFA exploded offensively to go on a 14-1 run to close the half and take a 37-26 halftime lead.

During that stretch Marion scored nine points and made two of her five three-pointers on the evening.

"Marion got a lot of open looks and we put her at the point a majority of the night but there were times she was coming off the ball and we tried to set screens for her as much as possible to free her up," Schneider said. "When she gets in a rhythm like that and takes advantage of those looks she can have a game like she did tonight."

The Ladyjacks cruised in the second half, never seeing their lead drop below double-digits and climbing as high as 31 points with a minute remaining in the game. Joining Marion in double-digit scoring was freshman Porsha Roberts (10 points), followed by eights points a piece from Daylyn Harris and Annette Davis.

St. Edwards (3-5) was led in scoring by Sarah Milewski (9 points) and Maddie Wheeler (8 points).

SFA will face their toughest challenge of the season thus far when they travel to Arkansas Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest. Schneider was already emphasizing the challenge it was going to take to knock off the Razorbacks following Saturday's victory.

"We're going on the road to face a very tough Arkansas team," Schneider said. "We know we've got a few Conference USA teams here coming up but right now our focus shifts to Arkansas.

Lady Riders advance to title game before falling - December 5, 2011
By John Krueger
Sports Correspondent

Center improves mark to 6-2

It's been a continued strong start to the 2011-12 season for the Center Lady Riders. They used strong defense and 58 points by Lakia Shepherd to place second at the Troup Invitational basketball tournament over the weekend. CHS posted a 2-1 record.

Center, which improved to 6-2 on the season, opened the tourney with a 56-34 win over Gladewater on Thursday, before rolling over Troup on Friday, 51-23. In the championship game on Saturday, the Lady Riders gave White Oak a tough game, falling by a 51-45 count.

Here's a rundown of the Center action:

Center 56, Gladewater 34 -- Shepherd scored 26 points, pulled down five rebounds and handed out a pair of assists as Center opened the tourney with a 56-34 win over Gladewater.

Center held a 16-11 lead after the first period and widened that gap to 35-24 at the half as they coasted to the win in the second half.

"We played well and just wore them down with our pressure defense," said Center head coach Tracy Kincade. "the defense was awesome in the second half.

"We just seem to be getting better and better. The girls are loving the taste of victory."

Lacie Evans added nine points, while posting eight rebounds and picking up two steals, while Shya Stansberry threw in seven points for CHS. Ashley Sigler chipped in five points had five steals and two assists, Kemi Cleveland scored four points and picked up four steals, Cassie Bush dropped in four points, pulled down seven boards and blocked two shots. Raven Green scored one point and Requannah Patton added three rebounds.

Center 51, Troup 23 -- Sigler had a strong shooting game, pouring in a team-high 14 points, while pulling down four rebounds, dishing out two assists and tallying four steals in Center's 51-23 win over Troup in the semifinals.

Cleveland was also a strong scorer with 12 points, while Shepherd scored 11 points, recorded seven steals and had four rebounds. Stansberry scored six points, had three rebounds and two steals and Evans scored six points, tallied four steals, one block and two boards.

Other contributors included Bush, who scored two points, had three steals and one block, Chakera Ingram chipped in four rebounds and Patton finished with two steals.

"We played well again and are continuing to get better and better," Kincade stated about the Troup game. "I like the defensive pressure that we're applying to people.

"It was also good to see Ashley have a good night shooting the ball."

The Lady Riders took a 13-4 lead at the end of the initial period and then blew out to a 25-10 lead at the end of the half before coasting in the second half.

White Oak 51, Center 45 (Championship) -- Center battled White Oak within six points in the title game on Saturday. The loss still gave the Lady Riders a record of 3-1 for the week.

Shepherd scored 21 points in the title game, adding four rebound and a pair of steals. Sigler was also in double figures with 11 points, to go along with two steals.

Evans pounded the boards for 13 in the game, adding five points, two steals, a pair of blocks and two assists. Cleveland scored four points and pulled down two rebounds and two steals, while Bush scored two points, but blocked five shots, picked up five steals and ripped down four rebounds. Stansberry scored two points and tallied two rebounds.

"We played well against White Oak," the first-year coach stated. "I was pleased with the kids' hard work through a grueling week of games."

The contest was tied 10-10 at the end of the first period. White Oak held a slim 20-19 lead at the end of the first half. White Oak held a 35-32 advantage heading into the final eight minutes and Center wasn't able to overcome.

The Lady Riders will return home on Tuesday night, taking on Karnack (JV,V), with the first game tipping off at 5:30 p.m.

Associated Press Texas High School Preseason Football Poll - August 23, 2011