MAIS Coaches,

Please designate a school official or parent to text or call football, softball and/or soccer scores to Southern Sports & Travel at 985-750-3455 immediately following the games. Thousands of MAIS supporters visit Southern Sports & Travel for the latest and most up to date scores and we are the only online publication dedicated solely to MAIS athletic coverage.

The upcoming 2012/13 athletic season will be the biggest in the five years since the inception of Southern Sports & Travel.

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Thanks,

Darron Thomas

Southern Sports & Travel

SOUTHERN SPORTS & TRAVEL 2012 PRESEASON FOOTBALL RANKINGS

Pick Em Contest

The Southern Sports & Travel "Pick Em" Football contest is back! The eleven week contest will kick off beginning with week one action on August 17 and will run through the week eleven regular season finale. Ten games will be posted each Sunday night along with a tie-breaker. Contestants must email their picks by noon on Friday to be eligible for that week.

The contestant with the highest aggregate of wins at the end of week eleven will win a $100 gift card and can select from the following:

*Hibbett Sports
*Dick's Sporting Goods
*Academy Sporting Goods
*Outback Steakhouse
*Cracker Barrel
*Olive Garden
*Chili's
*Wal Mart
*Target
*Best Buy
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In the event of a tie after week eleven tie-breakers will be totaled from all eleven weeks to determine a winner.
Limit one entry per contestant
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WEEK ONE GAMES
>Central Private at Cenla
>Central Hinds at Riverfield
>Oak Hill at Newton
>Magnolia Heights at Marshall
>Lee (MS) at North Delta
>Lamar at Heritage
>Brookhaven at Silliman
>MRA at Jackson Prep
>Pillow at East Rankin
>Oak Forest at Copiah
**Week One Tie-Breaker: Total points scored in the Lamar/Heritage game
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Email picks by noon on Friday to aafandaman@yahoo.com

Bobcats tab new baseball coach

Southern Sports & Travel

Presbyterian Christian recently named Kyle Maxie as their new head baseball coach. Maxie is a graduate of North Forrest High School in Hattiesburg. Maxie signed with Florida State to play baseball out of high school (He also was drafted in the 22nd round of the MLB draft that year) and went on to transfer to Southern Mississippi and star for the Golden Eagles during their epic run to the college World Series. Kyle has been an assistant coach the last three years at the college level, the last at Southeastern Lousiana University in Hammond.

WHY SUPPORT SOUTHERN SPORTS & TRAVEL?

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Leake Academy Athletic Director & Girls Head Basketball Coach Doyle Wolverton
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"Southern Sports & Travel has given a perfect venue to promote MAIS sports and acknowledge the accomplishments of our student athletes. All MAIS patrons and schools should do whatever is in their power to help this website flourish because the kids deserve it."

Marshall Head Basketball Coach Craig Dailey 

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Jackson Prep Head Basketball Coach David Horner
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"Southern Sports & Travel does a great job covering MAIS sports through his site Southern Sports and Travel. Our players know it is a big game and are excited when he comes to cover our games! Without Southern Sports and Travel our schools and students would get very little recognition."
Simpson Academy Head Football Coach Billy Wayne Hankins
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Parklane Academy Head Baseball Coach Michael Clements
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"Southern Sports & Travel provides information about our association that cannot be found anywhere else. From game recaps to district standings, it's all available here. Darron's work allows schools such as ours to gain exposure that local media outlets do not provide."
East Rankin Head Basketball Coach Michael McAnally
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"I can't tell you how much I appreciate Darron Thomas and his work with Southern Sports and Travel. The website is great for exposure for MAIS athletes and schools. Darron's knowledge of the MAIS makes it not only informative but extremely credible. Our kids are always excited for Southern Sports and Travel to visit Rees Gym."
Presbyterian Girls Head Baskeball Coach Missy Bilderback
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Hillcrest Christian Boys Head Basketball Coach Wes Prather
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Simpson Academy Girls Head Basketball Coach David Granville
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Columbia Head Basketball Coach Reid McCay
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Riverfield Academy Girls Head Basketball Coach Dave Farrell
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"Southern Sports & Travel is the absolute best site on the internet to get up-to-date articles and information on MAIS sports. Our athletes really appreciate the coverage that Darron provides."
West Memphis Christian Boys Head Basketball Coach Jeff Dalton
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"Thanks to Southern Sports and Travel and Darron Thomas, we can have almost immediate scores and news about what is happening in the MAIS throughout the school year. He does a great job of promoting all our youngsters and providing information. The site is very user friendly. What a great job Darron does. I check for basketball scores every night during the basketball season. We appreciate all the information and interviews."
Starkville Academy Girls Head Basketball Coach Glenn Schmidt
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"Southern Sports & Travel is my #1 source of sports information in MAIS. I can't tell you how many times we have come in after a ball game, whether it be football, basketball, soccer or baseball, and wanted to know what other schools did. The first thing all of our staff does is head to the computer to pull up Southern Sports & Travel."
River Oaks Assistant Football Coach Dalton LeBleu
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"I visit Southern Sports & Travel because it is so efficient and easy to keep up with all of MAIS sports. The Clarion Ledger never covers the Louisiana schools so I rely strictly on Southern Sports & Travel. It has been a great help to myself and my entire coaching staff."
Silliman Girls Track Coach Sharon Kline
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"Darron Thomas and Southern Sports and Travel have meant so much to the Centreville Academy Tiger Baseball team and fans in our quest for back to back state championships. The coverage has enabled our fans to keep abreast of our games. The coverage of our players signing college scholarships was awesome. Darron, please keep up the great work. "
Centreville Academy Baseball Coach Jason Horne

"Southern Sports & Travel does a tremendous job of getting around to various schools and ensuring that many of our athletes in the MAIS are covered. I hear from kids, parents, and fans all the time about stories or items that appear on Southern Sports & Travel. It is THE source for MAIS news and standings."
Heritage Academy Head Basketball Coach Gary Harris

"I really appreciate all the hard work that Darron does accumulating all the scores, stories, and stats weekly. Southern Sports & Travel is my number one site for keeping up with the MAIS sports."
Leake Academy Head Football Coach Brian Pickens

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"Southern Sports site is the only way for me to stay connected to news concerning the MAIS (MPSA in my days)schools of which I was a part for 38+ years. Thank you very much for the excellent coverage."
Billy Swindle, former Administrator of Woodland Hills Baptist Academy and Parklane Academy
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Randall signs on to play football at Belhaven

Ty Randall of Columbia Academy has signed to play football at Belhaven University in Jackson.

Hurst sidelined, could miss start of season

Southern Sports & Travel has confirmed that Centreville head football coach Bill Hurst will travel to Houston on Sunday and will see a heart specialist Monday morning. On a recent routine checkup Hurst was informed of  two areas of concern regarding his heart and subsequently arrangements were made with a specialist in Houston. Hurst is the winningest active coach in Mississippi with 333 wins and 8 state championships and is the only coach in MAIS/MPSA history to win titles in three different classifications. I spoke with Coach Hurst this afternoon and he said he fully expects to be ready for the opening game on August 17th and he expressed his gratitude for the many calls and messages of support and prayer.

A family source stated that they expect surgery to take place next week. Updates on Coach Hurst will be posted as they become available.
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Comments....................
From Anonymous:
"Coach Hurst has had surgery in Houston and is doing well as of Tuesday evening."
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From Anonymous:
"Coach Hurst will be the fighter through this surgery just as he has many times on the football field leading his team to victory. He is strong, steadfast, and a man of God. I would expect to see him return to his duties way too soon and even stronger than ever. You can't keep a good man down! Take care and our many prayers will be with you. Using the words that you have told to us time after time"........"GOD BLESS YOU."

New Hillcrest coach to rebuild on fundamentals

Southern Sports & Travel

Tommy Roberts knows all too well just how successful Hillcrest Christian School has been on the basketball court and on the diamond. Hillcrest has been a stalwart in competing for championships in basketball and baseball for over a decade but for the 33 year old who played his high school football at Wayne County High the task at hand is one he is ready to tackle head on.

Hillcrest named Roberts the new head football coach just last week and in the midst of moving from Kissimmee, Florida back home to Mississippi the former offensive coordinator at Liberty High School is preparing to assess players while at the same time instill a new attitude for Hillcrest football.

“We must change the culture here at Hillcrest,” said Roberts. “Hillcrest has had so much success in basketball and baseball that there’s no reason we can’t do the same in football.”

Roberts sees his first task as building the roster number from recent levels to fielding a team of 30-50 players and to do that will require kids to believe in his system and the hard work required to rebuild.

The building block will center on fundamentals and Roberts believes there is still a place for “old school” football. “We will focus on three fundamentals,” said Roberts. “Run the football, stop the run and win the kicking game.”

The 2002 graduate of Belhaven had his eyes on coaching Hillcrest football four years ago but after interviewing for the job Hillcrest hired Johnny Mills instead. “That didn’t deter me,” said Roberts. “I’ve always wanted to coach at Hillcrest and now that I have the job I want it to be my last move and last job.”

The 4-47 record for Hillcrest over the past five seasons tells the story but Roberts didn’t have to search far for encouragement. The Hillcrest junior varsity program has enjoyed success recently and in that he sees the perfect path to rebuilding and being successful.

“I want to change attitudes and lives,” said Roberts. “Our junior varsity program is critical and I’ll be heavily involved in it but we need to develop some senior leadership and they must believe in me.”

Another area that Roberts wants to focus on is competing with other MAIS schools in the Jackson area that dominate much of the attention with regards to media coverage and on July 9 his reign officially begins when the Cougars hit the weight room and focus on some skill work before the official first day of practice begins on July 30.

“We’re pretty much set with our coaching staff but we may bring in some older coaches as volunteers and when the season starts we’ll put a product out there that resembles a team that’s been coached,” said Roberts.

Roberts plans on implementing a multiple offense featuring the I-Formation and the Spread while running a 4-2 and 4-3 defensive scheme.  

Coach Roberts joins the Hillcrest family with his wife Rebekah and their five year old daughter Claire.

Edwards of Riverdale gets Rivals Top 200 invite

Southern Sports & Travel

Riverdale Academy quarterback Regan Edwards will be making the 227 mile drive west to DeSoto, Texas next week to participate in the inaugural Rivals Underclassmen Challenge. The 6’2” junior to be is one among 200 of the country’s top underclassmen prospects who will converge on DeSoto High School just outside of Dallas on July 8 to compete in a camp setting.

The invitation only camp will consist of position specific drills under the direction of NFL alumni and a one on one competition that will match some of the country’s top underclassmen head-to-head.

“I’m very excited to have been invited to the Rivals Underclassmen Camp,” said Edwards. “There will be a lot of talented players from all over the country and I’m happy to represent my school and the MAIS there. I can’t wait to see how I stack up against the rest of the players. I’m very happy to have this chance.”

Edwards, who passed for 18 touchdowns and completed 66% of his passes and rushed for nearly 500 yards and 2 touchdowns as a sophomore last season, is the only MAIS athlete who will be participating in the one day event.

At 185 lbs the 16 year old runs a 4.7 in the 40 and has recently worked with former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury on quarterback techniques and fundamentals.

Fire Ravages Glenbrook Gymnasium

Courtesy of The Press-Herald

Construction crews thought they were prepared in the event of a fire while working at Glenbrook's H.O. West Gymnasium; however, insulation from the 1970's and wind were more than they bargained for, according to Minden Fire Chief Kip Mourad.

"It's been determined that the cause of the fire was an accident," Mourad said. "It was caused from contractors cutting outside metal using a grinder.

"They had a water hose but they probably didn't know about the paper backed insulation from the 70's," Mourad continued. "They tried to put it out but the wind was blowing and it was just too much."

Read more.........

Centreville duo heading separate ways bittersweet
Southern Sports & Travel

The Centreville baseball program is coming off a dominant two year stretch that included back to back Class AA State Championships and a remarkable 56-14 record and it goes without saying that a critical component of any championship team is the cohesiveness and bonding that takes place.

For the Centreville Tigers one special bond has been prevalent for much longer than varsity athletics, a close knit relationship that harkens back to childhood.
Centreville seniors Hunter Devall and Cliff Hurst have been playing baseball together since tee-ball and minus a two year separation during their freshman and sophomore seasons the second cousins have parted ways on the baseball diamond after graduating last month.   

Growing up less than a mile from each other in a large closely tied family in Clinton, Louisiana the two will now embark on different paths. The much heralded southpaw Devall will continue playing baseball. Devall signed with perennial national power and arguably the nation’s best college baseball program, LSU.

Conversely Hurst, who was just named the MAIS Most Valuable Player in baseball, will pursue his first love at the University of Southern Mississippi as a walk on with the Golden Eagles football team.
Devall and Hurst realized the time for parting ways on the diamond was inevitable but they also have a deep appreciation and admiration for one another.
“It’s been great to be able to play with Cliff for so long,” said Devall.  “We started t-ball and finished as seniors with a few trophies in hand. Cliff is a tough competitor and we seemed to feed off each other. In little league we would split innings pitched in every game. I would throw three and then he would throw the next three. In high school we split games instead of innings. Cliff and I are cousins and always had a ton of family support which made it all even better. Summer baseball was a way of life for us. You could find us doing one of two things.... fishing a pond or on the road somewhere playing the game. I could not begin to tell you the amount of time we have spent together practicing and playing, Now that we have graduated we will be going in different directions, actually different states. It has been a great ride with a lot of good memories that we will always look back on. Cliff is a good athlete and I know he will excel at Southern Miss. I wish him the best. I will be cheering him on and know he will be doing the same for me.”

For Hurst there would be no question as to whether he would be heavily involved in athletics. “Cliff’s first word as a baby was ball,” said Bonnie Hurst.

That combined with both his and Hunter’s ties to a Mississippi High School coaching legend paved the path to a life of sports. Both are nephews to coaching legend Bill Hurst who has been at the pinnacle of football success at Centreville Academy football for decades.
From his first homerun as an 8 year old playing at the Haynes Little League Park in Clinton, Louisiana to his last in a 4-0 win over Marshall Academy in the state championship game Hurst has excelled. “It didn’t take long for folks to figure out not to park too close to the fence at Cliff’s little league games,” said Bonnie Hurst. “Several windshields were victims early on.”
From his early days of little league through his high school career Hurst belted 103 homeruns.
Although hitting .386 and belting out 10 homeruns his senior season Hurst was also stellar on the mound for Centreville. The right-hander mounted a 10-2 record accompanied by a 1.09 ERA.
Remarkably Hurst, who was named the MAIS MVP, received very little attention from recruiters which underscores today’s nature of college athletics to many. In many instances families aren’t savvy in the evolving system of recruiting that requires bringing talent to recruiters as opposed to recruiters finding the talent.
Fortunately for Hurst his love of football has motivated him since the 8^th grade, his first year of varsity football. A starter at tailback and linebacker his freshman year was coupled with punting and kicking duties that he fulfilled throughout his five years of varsity football at Centreville. What came with the hard work on the gridiron were two state championship rings and a talent in the kicking game.
Hurst began turning heads while attending the Ray Guy Pro-Kicker.com camps regularly and was often ranked among the best punters in the nation. That talent is what the 6’ & 215 lb Hurst is relying on to fulfill his dream of playing college football in the fall.
Hurst too understands the brevity of his time at Centreville and the thought of not sharing the same uniform with his cousin. "Hunter and I have had a good time growing up together and playing ball,” said Hurst. “We’ve created a lot of memories that we’ll cherish for the rest of our lives. I have always dreamed of him and I being able to continue to play ball together at the next level, but it didn't work out. I wish him the best at LSU. All good things must come to an end, but at the same time it isn't an end, but a new beginning. As far as my career at Centreville, I've made a lot of friends and was able to accomplish more than many dream of, thanks to family, friends, coaches and the good Lord. From my 1st State Championship as an eighth grader playing tight-end and punting in football, to being the winning pitcher in my 4th State Championship in baseball my senior year, I've been fortunate to create many memories with some of the greatest guys anyone could ever hope to have as teammates."
Since making the All-District squad as an 8^th grader Hunter Devall has been devouring opposing batters. Devall recorded 15 strikeouts against Bowling Green that season and the southpaw has been nothing short of phenomenal on the mound ever since.
Except for a two year stretch in which he transferred to Zachary High School Devall has attended school alongside Hurst since Pre-K. Both were pulled up from the Tiger’s junior varsity baseball team during their 8^th grade seasons and helped Centreville earn a playoff spot where they would ultimately advance to the South State Championship series.
Devall’s dream of playing college athletics took a different path than his cousin Cliff’s. The recruiting of Devall started in his junior year at Centreville and culminated with him signing with LSU prior to his senior season. The pressure associated with signing with a national power in college baseball can be immense but Devall showed little evidence of it affecting his talent of pitching.

The southpaw produced a 7-1 mark with 3 saves to his credit and was hands down the most dominant pitcher in the MAIS this season. In the back to back state title seasons Devall’s resume spoke for itself. Those two seasons saw Devall go 17-2 with 280 strikeouts and 7 saves and a dominating ERA of 0.88 and the lefty hit .312 at the plate for the Tigers his senior year.
In Devall’s past four seasons of baseball that included summer and fall baseball tournaments in Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Louisiana he suffered just two losses.
Devall has already started attending classes at LSU and will embark on following in the footsteps of two other MAIS greats that played at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge. Former Central Private stand-out and fellow southpaw Lane Mestepey and Louis Coleman who is a current member of the Kansas City Royals by way of Pillow Academy.
Both Hurst and Devall are quick to recognize the huge support from their families and the Centreville community of supporters but the unity shared by members of the Centreville baseball team is also shared amongst the parents who have been faithful in their support and never wavered when it came to providing everything needed to achieve success on the baseball field.
“Cliff SR. and I are so thankful to God for the blessings he has bestowed upon our son,” said Bonnie Hurst. “We are proud of his success not only as an athlete, but also as a student at Centreville Academy. None of what he accomplished could have been possible without so many wonderful people teaching, coaching, supporting, and loving him along the way. He hopes to be successful in his dream to play on a college football team and will be at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg this fall pursuing that dream, and somewhere in the crowd, like so many times before we will be there to cheer him on.”
“Tiger Baseball was a blast,” said Jana Devall, Hunter’s mother. “It was amazing to see this team accomplish so much in such a short amount of time. We (parents) approached Coach Horne and asked what the program needed the most to be successful. What would make it complete and give the Tigers the best opportunity to accomplish their goals for the upcoming seasons. We were expecting the answer to be uniforms, equipment, or something along those lines. His answer was a field house. I thought we had surely bitten off more than we could chew. The school got behind the team while the players and parents raised money like crazy. Six months later before the start of the season (2011), they were in a new field house. That was the start of an awesome two years. The parents and family promised the boys that we would do our part to help, but they had to be totally dedicated in reaching their goal at hand. I really believe that they refused to let anyone down. They played bigger than life and kept their word. Where this team lacked in talent they made up for it in character. Character was always the most important tool. To be the first team in 42 years to win not only a state championship, but back to back, will always be larger than life. We are so thankful that Hunter had the opportunity to play for Centreville Academy and under the instruction of Coach Horne and Coach Mann. What made this program successful was the complete unity of the coaches, players, fans, community, and school. Don't get me wrong, there was a ton of talent on this team, but what was so amazing is how everyone worked together to bring out the best. It was all positive energy. I have never been around anything like it. This was a special group of players, parents, and fans that we will never forget.”

While both Hunter Devall and Cliff Hurst will not be connected at the hip any longer as they have been for their entire lives one has to imagine that their cell phones will stay busy after LSU baseball and Southern Miss football games as the two trade experiences and reflect on their days at Centreville Academy.
It’s also easy to imagine that both will one day have sons who will probably don the purple and gold of Centreville Academy and share stories of their father’s feats and accomplishments on the field.
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Comments...........
From Anonymous:
"Two great people. I've been around them both since they were 7 and I've never had a reason to give a negative comment about either of them. It has been a pleasure to watch them both even though my school (Silliman) has been on the short end of most games."

Lady Bobcat inks with University of Mobile

Molly Speed, a 5'11 Shooting Guard from Presbyterian Christian has signed a full basketball scholarship with the University of Mobile.

(Above) Zay Speed (brother), Nancy Speed (mother), Molly Speed, and Wilford Speed (father). (Standing) Presbyterian head coach Missy Bilderback and Mobile head coach Billy Evans.