Archives for July 2017

#74: A podcast debut; Shannon dedicates summer to Billups – 07/26/17

July 26, 2017 by Brad Locke Leave a Comment

With Gene Phelps on assignment, Dalton Middleton makes his debut on the Prep Rally podcast (:42). Dalton is the Daily Journal’s new high school sports specialist, which means he’s in charge of our coverage of the area’s high schools.

The Mississippi State graduate has dived right into football, having talked to several coaches for the Journal’s preseason edition. Dalton has some quick updates on North Pontotoc and Vardaman, both of which have to replace big-time playmakers on offense.

Also today, Brad discusses Gene’s story on Shannon’s football team. The Red Raiders have dedicated their summer 7-on-7 season to the memory of teammate Cam’Ron Billups (5:02), who was killed in a car wreck in the spring. It was a successful summer for Darryl Carter’s squad.

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#73: Houlka football folds; Ripley football hires Hathorn – 07/19/17

July 19, 2017 by Brad Locke Leave a Comment

The Houlka football program, which has struggled to win games during its relatively brief existence, has folded. That’s among the topics discussed by Brad and Gene on this week’s episode.

The Chickasaw County School Board decided Monday to discontinue the football program (3:26), citing a lack of participation and the safety issues that could arise with such a small roster. Houlka is one of several small schools in the area to add a football program in recent years, and in some places it’s worked, but it hasn’t proved a feasible endeavor for everyone (7:29).

In Ripley, the biggest issue has been finding a head football coach after Chad Cook left for a job at ICC earlier this summer. The school promoted from within, elevating offensive line coach Sam Hathorn to head coach (9:32). Ripley is counting on his familiarity with the players and the system to make for a smooth transition.

In other news, the bowling community lost the man primarily responsible for the sport’s growth in the state’s high school ranks. Kevin Hartigan, longtime owner of Tupelo bowling alley Rebelanes and coach of the TCPS bowling team, died last week (12:02). He leaves behind a legacy that won’t soon fade.

And in volleyball, Tupelo has welcomed a familiar face back to the fold. Former Lady Wave head coach Bert Martin has joined the team as an assistant coach (17:15). He coached Tupelo to a pair of state titles in the early 2000s, and one of his key players was Laurie Black – now Laurie Bishop, current THS head coach.

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#72: Peeking ahead to football season – 07/05/17

July 5, 2017 by Brad Locke Leave a Comment

Football season will be here before we know it, and the Daily Journal sports staff is hard at work on its annual football preseason publication. On this episode, Gene and Brad discuss the “football tab,” to use journalism parlance (7:50).

This year’s Football Journal will have a slightly different format, with plenty of info on each of the 51 teams we cover. The guys also look at some of the top area players returning (11:48), including Tupelo’s Jett Johnson and West Point’s Marcus Murphy.

There is some hoops to discuss as well. Gene recently had a story on Lafayette’s Hogan Linzy (2:00), who is headed to a prestigious prep school in Massachusetts. Plus, last week Tupelo saw its sixth player from the 2016-17 boys squad sign to play at the next level (5:18).

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