6A-Region 2 Preview

6A Football is the pinnacle of high school football for rather obvious reasons: more players, larger talents pools, more money, etc. In the weeks leading up to the beginning of the season, we have looked at Region 1 of 6A football in Mississippi and we will continue to look at the 3 other regions of 6A football.

6A-Region 2

1. Madison Central- This is an easy pick in my mind. Top to bottom, the talent at Madison Central is incomparable to that of any other school in Region 2. Madison's real fight this year will be outside their region (see non-region schedule: Olive Branch; Starkville; Petal; West Monroe, LA). The transferring of Jamarion Robert to MRA should prove somewhat tricky (the degree of which has yet to be determined). Former Madison Central and Auburn University offensive lineman Chaz Ramsey has now taken the Tight End coach job at MC, which is pretty cool if you ask me. It doesn't hurt that Madison Central has the best special teams unit in the nation (at least that's what MC kicker Patrick Rahaim tells me, but he is a tad biased). This is looking like a complete team, just ask offensive lineman Leonard Swilley, "Y'all really don't know what's coming. All I've got to say is 'Get ready'". Record: 11-0 or 10-1; 7-0 (a letdown game somewhere in non-region schedule possibly)
2. Northwest Rankin- Although NWR has lost offensive firepower, coach Pete Hurt isn't going to let that stop his team from attempting to grab the top ranking in this region. With QB Reid Humphries out from Tommy John surgery and RB Ramone Nash transferring to MRA (weird how so many players are "transferring" to MRA, hmm...), the cougars will have to play stout defense to allow newcomers some slack. New QB Benton Yancey is not incompetent, however. And the new lead RB Curtis Hicks has impressed many current players with his ability to run the ball. But, as is the same case with Olive Branch, how much of last years production can this year's team replace? My answer: A lot. Kicker Cason Gooch thinks that this year's atmosphere around coach Hurt's program is "Incredible. Very exciting." Record: 11-1; 6-1 (Loss: @ Madison Central)
3. Murrah- The Mustangs are a team on the rise in Region 2. And for Murrah, it's all about getting one player the ball, Malik Dear. Dear had 994 receiving yards, 434 rushing yards, and over 100 yards as a punt/kick returner in his freshman year. Yes, you heard that correctly. Malik Dear had over 1,500 all-purpose yards AS A FRESHMAN. If this man doesn't have over 2,000 all purpose yards this year, he's hurt. That is the only reason this player cannot achieve that number. Murrah is slowly closing the gap between itself and the top of the region. Record: 8-3; 5-2 (Losses: Madison Central, Northwest Rankin, and either @ Provine, @ Callaway, or @ Jim Hill) 
4. Clinton- Clinton's decline in football the past several seasons has stemmed from a mediocre offense and lackluster defense. Sure, Clinton makes playoffs nearly every year, but it just seems like the team is normal. Just mediocre. Just right in the middle of everything. Skill players. Offensive lineman. Defensive players. Coaches. Everything: just in the middle. Lets take a closer look; on offense, no returning passer or rusher over 500 yards. On defense; Clinton's best player,Cornerback Cedric Jiles, a MSU signee, is gone. Someone is going to have to step up here or else another 5-7 season is on the horizon. Record:6-5; 4-3 (Losses: @ Meridian, @ Brandon, @ Madison Central, @ Murrah, Northwest Rankin)
5. Jim Hill: 6-5; 2-5 (Losses: Either @ Callaway or Provine, @ Clinton, Northwest Rankin, Madison Central, Murrah)
6. Greenville-Weston: 3-8; 2-5 (Wins: Gentry, @ Vicksburg, Warren Central)
7. Vicksburg: 3-8; 1-6 (Wins: Richwood (LA),  @ Lawrence County, Warren Central)
8. Warren Central- 1-10; 0-7 (Win: Callaway)

6A-Region 1 Preview

6A football is the pinnacle of high school football for rather obvious reasons: more players, larger talent pools, more money, etc. During these upcoming weeks we will be looking at all 4 of the 6A HS football regions, predicting records, and analyzing the top teams from each region.

6A-Region 1

1. South Panola- In South Panola's mind, last year was their gift to the rest of the teams in 6A football. Key phrase there? "In South Panola's mind". No one here at the Good-Win! Sports Blog is quite sure how South Panola's team will react to that "disaster" season of last year. While we're pretty sure they won't play like they did on their 89-game win streak, we'll give them the benefit of the doubt. And a quick glance at their roster from last year will make you give them even more. The Tigers return 6+ (+ means plus whoever else became a sophomore and whoever "transferred" to South Panola) 290+ lbs. players on their teams. These numbers show that South Panola will be BIG next year. REALLY BIG. It seems to me that SP will be getting back to their game: shoving the football down your team's throat until they give up a touchdown. With an athlete like Tony Conner, they have even more ways to move the ball down the field. Good luck stopping these guys. Another unique characteristic about S. Panola? They play defense. Not many high school football teams play defense as successfully as South Panola. Look for these men to become the favorites again this year. Record: 11-1, 7-0 (Loss- Hoover, AL)
2. Olive Branch- Not very often is the returning 6A champion not favored in their own division. That is the situation that OBHS returns to 6AR1 football in. In my mind, Olive Branch's team last year was better than any of South Panola's teams during their reign of dominance over MS high school football. However, that team was anchored by an explosive offense that consisted mainly of seniors. With the likes of Todd Mays, Jaylen Miller, D'Arthur Cowan, and most of their offensive line leaving, how much of that point production can be replaced? More than 60% of their scoring offense has left OBHS in the last graduating class. Moreover, can their defense improve? Olive Branch's defense was putrid and porous at best last season. Here's how I see it: The more OB's defense can improve, the less coach Scott Samsel has to replace on offense. This year's season for the conquistadors hinges on the success of their defense. As far as how I see their season going, I think the defense will improve but not to the point that it will counteract the losses of Mays, Miller, and Cowan. Record: 10-2, 6-1 or 5-2 (Losses: South Panola, and either Madison Central, Southaven, Memphis University School, or Tupelo) And if you're into Olive Branch football, watch this.  http://www.maxpreps.com/video/watch.aspx#!videoid=dc223abe-d648-e815-417c-bcb9a2affc4a
3. Southaven- If scores can be any indication of how close a football team is to the top, Southaven is close.They had losses at Olive Branch (49-41), at Tupelo (28-27), and at Northwest Rankin (28-20). All away games. Those games flip to home games this year, which will allow Southaven to finally jump Tupelo for good in the 6AR1 standings. Record: 9-2, 5-2 (Losses- South Panola, Olive Branch) 
4. Tupelo- Closely behind Southaven is Tupelo. This team just can't seem to put it together. Last year they seemed to lack any support from their offensive line. Years past it was the lack of any defense. And with Southaven clearly rising, we have to wonder what might go wrong for Tupelo this year. It doesn't help that 4-star Running back/ Linebacker Ashton Shumpert has left the team either. Record: 6-5, 4-3 (Losses: Lafayette, Starkville, @ Southaven, South Panola, @ Olive Branch)
5. Columbus: Record: 7-4, 3-4 (Losses: @ Tupelo, Southaven, @ South Panola, Olive Branch) 
6. Horn Lake: 5-6, 2-5 (Losses: @ Hernando, @ South Panola, @ Olive Branch, Columbus, @ Tupelo, Southaven)
7. Grenada:4-7, 1-6 (Wins: Kosciusko, Winona, Desoto Central, and either @ Oxford or @ Charleston) 
8. Desoto Central: 3-8, 0-7 (Wins: @ Potts Camp, Lake Cormorant, North Panola) 

The Last of the College Football Titans

If you know anything about college football, you know that there are coaches, big coaches, and the collegiate trinity of coaches. This triad is composed of Paul "Bear" Bryant of the University of Alabama, Bobby Bowden of Florida State University, and Joe Paterno of Penn State University. On December 29, 1982, Paul "Bear" Bryant coached his last football game not only for the University of Alabama but also in his life. Less than one month leader, the winningest coach in college football history died. After the death of the Bear, Bowden and Paterno went on coaching at Florida State and Penn State respectively; Paterno even going on to eventually surpass Bryant in wins. 

The remaining two went unscathed by the times until the end of the previous decade. When hard times fell on Florida State's football program, fingers were pointed, and the blame eventually fell on head coach Bobby Bowden. After the 2009 season, Bowden "retired" after coaching Florida State for over 30 years. "JoePa" as he was often referred to, went on dominating the collegiate field, accumulating over 400 wins at Penn State. Over the horizon, however, a storm lurked.

On November 5, 2011, Jerry Sandusky, a former Defensive Coordinator under Paterno at Penn State, was arrested and charged with over 30 counts of various sexual crimes including the corruption of minors. Three days later, the Board of Trustees at Penn State turned down Joe Paterno's resignation in favor of relieving him of his coaching duties. On November 12, only four days after Paterno was fired, the Nittany Lions played their first game without Paterno as head coach since the 1965 season. Later that month, the Paterno family came out saying that the legendary coach was struggling with a treatable form of lung cancer, but he was hospitalized on January 13, 2012, due to complications form treatment. Paterno remained there until his death on January 22.

Unfortunately, the defamation to the Penn State community did not stop merely with Sandusky. It was soon revealed that Paterno and other high-ranking officials at Penn State had been made aware of what Sandusky had been doing, but, according to an investigation released in the summer of 2012, they had even exhausted efforts to cover it up.

January 22, 2012, we saw the death of the last great titan of college football, even though his legacy still remained.

But the destruction of the last great titan of the sport came with the investigation lead by former FBI Director Louis Freeh. 

The allusion of Bryant, Bowden, and Paterno of being the "Big Three" is even more appropriate after these findings. Like the three of Greek mythology, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, two maintained their status as Olympians (Bryant and Bowden) while the third (Paterno) fell from his standing and was cast out like a leper. 

What impact will this have on college football? Time will only tell. 

Will Penn State receive the death penalty like SMU? Time will only tell.

What we have learned from this, however, is that at large universities with big sports programs, athletic success is the main focus. 

And that is sad.

Leadership in Following: Jake Schwartz

This is the first part in a series that will highlight the football players of Madison Central High School for their marks made on and off of the field.

Remember Madison Central's huge victory over South Panola, 28-14? Think hard and you might remember that towards the 4th quarter, quarterback Drew Rowell was fighting back tears from severe shoulder injuries. Think even harder and you might remember that there was a young man, dressed out in full uniform, standing right next to him, consoling him in his pain. "Come on Drew. This is your team, you need to lead them to victory." Drew Rowell continued to play that night and led his team to their biggest victory in school history since 1999. What might surprise you about this story is the player that was encouraging Drew was the backup to Drew. Jake Schwartz had everything that a high school football player wants, playing time, within his grasp. And he chose to encourage his predecessor to finish the game. 

Drew and Jake's relationship began somewhat roughly, but to understand how that started, we need to know Jake and Drew before they were quarterbacks together at Madison Central. Jake Schwartz was a highly anticipated dual-threat quarterback playing for the 9th grade team at Rosa Scott when he got the call up from Bobby Hall to backup then senior QB Peyton Johnson. Drew Rowell, at the time a 10th grader, was successfully running the veer over at St. Andrew's. The next football season their paths would collide. Drew, the elder of the two, was looked to to run coach Hall's newly inserted veer offense. However, Schwartz knew the system better. The dilemma for Hall was obvious. Which player should he choose? The older-option based QB Rowell or the younger more knowledgeable Schwartz. Schwartz made the decision for him. Schwartz took Rowell aside and helped Drew learn the playbook. From that point on, a rough relationship became more like a friendship everyday. Rowell started for the next two years, ultimately because of the unselfish act of a 9th grader. The story above would be no shock to anyone who knows Jake Schwartz. Like most relationships that Jake has made, this was one built on selflessness, teamwork, and encouragement. These are intangibles that any coach would take over height, strength, or speed. 

But do not think these things come easy to Schwartz, who runs a 4.8 second 40-yard dash. There are days when Jake wakes up and doesn't want to go lift weights. There are days when Jake wants to skip training all together. But he won't allow himself to do these things to his teammates, who give their all, day in and day out. (Jake, however, was quick to point out that there is nothing special about that on a team full of hard-working players.) All QB's are looked up to (whether officially or not) as the leader of the team. He tries his hardest to be a "same-level" kind of leader by leading by example and providing encouragement to his team. Schwartz told me straight up, "A leader MUST be encouraging. Or else he will lose the respect of his peers." 

As for his game, have no doubt, it is his turn to lead this team, whether that means handing the ball off or slinging the ball 50 yards down the field. And on this year's team, Jake Schwartz feels like this is the year for Madison Central. "There is something different about it. Just the entire atmosphere and attitudes here. Everyone is excited." 

Thanks to Jake for sharing his story and his time! Any thoughts/comments/questions? 

Ashton Shumpert Update: 7/3/12

A 4-star running back/safety (scout.com and 247sports.com) from Itawamba Agricultural High School, Ashton Shumpert took some time to talk to me this afternoon. A big thanks to him for giving me some of that time (he's a pretty busy guy, ya know?).

(Photo courtesy of NEMS360.com)

While talking to Ashton, I had the feeling that I had caught him at just the right time to talk to him. I was right. Ashton has been hitting the gym HARD this summer. He's squatting 405 and benching 225 about 5 times. Everyone who knows anything about life knows that that hard work, will translate into a better product on the field. He thinks IAHS can surprise some people this fall. "I believe we can go as far as we want." Shumpert told me, "Everyone needs to play every down as hard as they can and everything will take care of itself."

On his college recruitment, Shumpert told me that "everybody is pretty much even, so it basically is wide open." Although its anyone's guess where he will end up, Shumpert did note that in-state schools Mississippi State and Ole Miss were pursuing him the hardest. I asked Ashton if he had grown up watching and pulling for either of those schools. Get this: Ashton Shumpert did not watch college football until he was a freshman in high school. That's the year that he told himself that if he worked hard enough, he could be a special football player. He also noted that his "special love for the game" is a major reason for his well-developed skills. Shumpert told me that he will most likely end up playing RB at the college level because of his ability to develop holes in the offensive line for himself as well as his ability to use moves that he uses in the second level of the defense. I also asked him about the Ole Miss recruiting tactic controversy (although I should point out, MSU isn't too far behind) and how that affects his attitude towards those schools. "It doesn't change it really."


Good-Win! Sports Blog- " I'm getting the feeling that you aren't going to set a timetable on your commitment, are you?"
Ashton Shumpert- "No, I'm not. I'm going to ride it out as long as I can."
G-W!SB- "Just trying to make the best decision?"
AS: "Yeah. And have a little fun with it too. It's a great time."

Good luck to Ashton this fall with his senior year as well as his college recruitment (I'll wish him a good time too).

Any thoughts/comments/question? Thanks for reading!

The Final Draft

If you'll notice the title, you'll read "The Final Draft". This might seem like a weird title to a blog post, but I'll point out that while yes it is rather unusual, it also connotes that there was a rough draft. So, that's what we will use when we refer to last year because, like on a rough draft, there were things I wish I could do better or even redo. Some might say: "I thought you did an excellent job with the blog last year!". To which I would say: "Thanks! I think I did too! I truly appreciate you reading my blog! But when I refer to things I wish I could redo, I mean things in my personal life." So without getting too personal, I will leave it at that. The way I was running the blog last year made me give up several things (one of which was this blog). So, this year is the redo. This year (and from then on) is the final copy. Things will be changed for the better. So enough with the regrets! The rest of this post will be dedicated to what will be done differently as well as new features on the blog (plus a request)

Towards the end of my writing (April and May), I started covering some recruiting that was not related to local sports. Honest time: I bit off more than I could chew. This year, I will try my best (no promises) to cover local (local is such a relative term) recruiting. I've learned my lesson. Leave the recruiting to Rivals.com, Scout.com, and 247sports.com. They're the pros.

This is important enough I'm giving it its own paragraph; take note. If you think you might possibly be interested in writing for the blog, please contact me. I would be more than happy to share this medium with anyone that wants to share their own opinion! I've even done it before! I'll even let you write about NASCAR (tongue-in-cheek). A big props to Andrew Toler (AKA tolernator) for stepping up and picking up the Ole Miss side of things here on the blog as well as the writing while I was on "vacation". And while none of us here are particular USM fans, we would be more than happy to welcome anyone who would like to pick that up!

Now.... Here's what's going on with the blog!

Madison Central

• This is one area of the blog that I would really like to expand. Any students that would like to provide some perspective here are more than welcome! Last year we only covered football, which is disappointing because Madison Central had a lot of excellent athletic teams! Fast pitch softball won a state championship! Boy's basketball made the playoffs for the first time in a long time. Boys and Girls soccer both had great seasons that extended into the postseason. Boys track and fieldwon a state championship! Baseball went all the way to the state championship series! Last year was a great year to be a Jag! So help us cover some Jaguar sports!
• What we're keeping: Well there isn't much to keep (we didn't do too much). We will definitely continue to do scouting reports on upcoming opponents! 
• What's new? We'll try our best to follow even more MC sports next year! Look for analysis after games with quotes from players and notes from us! Also look for player updates (reports written by players to help keep people in the know)!

   Mississippi State

• Last year I kinda got hooked on talking about MSU sports. We had interviews with (used to be) commits, analysis on (used to be) coaches, as well as other things. Less of that. 
• What we're keeping: I'm going to continue to try to find Mississippi State recruits that will open up to the blog. I'll continue to search through the numbers to find the true story. 
• What's new? Not much in this category. If any opportunities arise, I'll see where it takes me and then reevaluate. 

Ole Miss

• The Ole Miss side didn't truly open up last year. Sure, there was this great piece by Andrew on Derrick Millinghaus. But not too much more
• What we're keeping: Like i said before, not too much to keep.
• What's new? What's not new? Look for Andrews new (insert amount of time)ly Rebel Report (the name was my idea). He'll talk about Ole Miss athletics and knowing him, there is nothing that he won't talk about when it comes to Ole Miss (He threatened me with Ole Miss tennis once). I think he will probably want to cover a tad of Ole Miss recruiting too. 

Lastly, this may sound like a lot of new stuff. It's not. All I did was use big letters and fancy colors. Sure, there is some new stuff, but not a ton. We will try our best to keep the blog updated, but in the words of the all time winning-est coach in Mississippi State basketball history, "It is what it is." 

Any thoughts/comments/questions? Thanks for reading!