Insight and commentary on Northeast Mississippi prep sports from the Daily Journal

New episodes released on Wednesday afternoons

Prep Rally

Prep Rally

#346: Signing day and basketball updates – 12/20/23

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Brad is joined by Brendan for a jam-packed show this week.

Wednesday marked the beginning of the early signing period for high school football players, and several local kids set ink to paper (8:22). Among them are Shamaar Darden of Tupelo, William Echoles of Houston and Kobe Williams of Amory.

The guys have some basketball updates, too. Brendan saw Pontotoc’s boys put up a good fight in a losing effort against unbeaten New Hope (2:36). Brad took in a Thrasher-Hatley girls game that went down to the wire (5:05), and he saw Saltillo’s boys capture the Lee County Tournament title (7:35).

Also, the guys preview the All-Area Football special section (12:46), which will appear in Saturday’s Daily Journal. Be sure to visit us on Twitter (@djournalsports) to vote for Athletes of the Week (14:54).

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#345: Chambless retires; Blue Mountain girls rolling – 12/13/23

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Brad is joined by James this week for an efficiently run episode.

In football news, Chris Chambless is retiring after 18 years at the helm of West Point’s program (1:01). He exits with more than 200 wins and seven state titles. On the recruiting front, the early signing period begins next week, and a lot of focus will be on who Tupelo linebacker Tristan Jernigan chooses (3:31).

On the hardwood, Blue Mountain’s girls maintained their perfect record with a win over Wheeler (6:46). Brad talks about New Site’s Dallas Pounds, who has been on a scoring tear (8:18). And there are some notable basketball tournaments on tap later this week (9:19).

Be sure to vote for Athletes of the Week (10:37) by visiting our Twitter page (@djournalsports).

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#344: Biggersville, West Point bring home football titles – 12/06/23

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Brad is joined this week by James to put a bow on the 2023 football season.

Two area teams won titles in Oxford last week. Biggersville topped Velma Jackson in a shootout to win Class 1A (1:50), a game Brad says was the most entertaining he’s seen all year. In 5A, West Point claimed championship No. 12 by running past Laurel (7:35).

On the hardwood, the guys have an update on Shannon’s boys, who opened region play with a win over Tishomingo County on Tuesday (10:12). They also recap the big Ingomar-Pontotoc girls showdown from Saturday (11:33).

Remember to vote for Athletes of the Week (13:40) by voting in our Twitter polls (@djournalsports).

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#343: Three area teams vying for state football titles – 11/29/23

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Brad is joined by Brendan today, and they’re talking football state championships.

Three area teams won last week in the North finals (2:27) and will be at Ole Miss this week. In Class 1A, Biggersville takes on Velma Jackson (5:50), a game featuring two explosive offenses and stingy defenses. In 5A, West Point is making its eighth straight title game appearance and will face Laurel (8:57). And in 7A, Starkville is set for a clash against powerful Oak Grove (11:27).

Also on this episode, longtime Saltillo cross country coach Charles Covington has announced his retirement (13:02). The guys also have the Athlete of the Week nominees (13:52), and you can vote in our Twitter poll (@djournalsports).

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#342: Previewing football North finals – 11/22/23

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Brad is joined by James this week to talk turkey … erm, football.

They recap a few of last week’s key games. Tupelo came up short against Madison Central (4:58), while Vardaman edged Baldwyn (6:31).

This week brings us to the North finals, with four games involving area teams. In 7A, Starkville will look to beat Madison Central for the second time this season (8:28). In 5A, West Point gets another shot at Clarksdale (9:16), which beat the Green Wave in the regular season. In 4A, Houston will try to spoil Louisville’s run for a second straight title (10:00). And in 1A, unbeaten Vardaman travels to mighty Biggersville (11:19).

The guys also talk a little hoops. Jabari Wright and H.W. Byers looked strong against Nettleton (1:47), while Booneville’s boys had trouble hanging with Canton (3:30).

Don’t forget to vote for Athletes of the Week (13:38) in our Twitter poll (@djournalsports).

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#341: Mooreville magic has taken hold – 11/15/23

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Brad and Brendan have a ton to discuss this week, including Mooreville’s unlikely playoff run. More on that in a moment.

First up is a look back at Ingomar’s win over Tishomingo County in a top-10 girls basketball showdown (2:58). On the boys side, South Pontotoc is off to a good start with wins against Tupelo and Houlka (4:56).

In the football playoffs, Vardaman took care of Tupelo Christian last week (6:47), while East Webster handled Kossuth (7:41).

And looking ahead, how about them Mooreville Troopers? They rallied late to beat Humphreys County last week and look to keep it rolling Friday with a trip to Amanda Elzy (8:43). The guys also preview Vardaman-Baldwyn (13:00), Starkville-Oxford (15:56) and Madison Central-Tupelo (17:25).

Also on the show, three area players were named Mr. Football (19:32). And don’t forget to vote for Athletes of the Week (19:58) on Twitter (@djournalsports).

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#340: Tupelo whips Starkville; basketball season tips off – 11/08/23

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Hard to believe, but the high school basketball season has begun.

On this episode, Brad and James take a look at the Daily Journal preseason rankings (1:33), and they both got out to games on Tuesday. The Itawamba AHS girls ran past Lafayette (2:55), while the Mooreville boys edged Shannon (4:34).

Turning to football, Tupelo closed out the regular season with a 36-6 beatdown of Starkville (6:04). Brad believes that if the Golden Wave can continue playing the way they did last week, a state title is well within reach. In 4A playoff action, Houston beat Shannon for the second time this season (9:12).

Looking ahead, teams in Classes 5A through 7A open the playoffs this Friday (10:36). As for second-round games, the guys preview East Webster-Kossuth in 3A (12:09) and Tupelo Christian-Vardaman in 1A (14:16).

Also, don’t forget to vote for Athletes of the Week (16:25) by visiting our Twitter page, @djournalsports.

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#339: Big Starkville-Tupelo showdown; playoffs begin – 11/01/23

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Brad is joined by James on this week’s episode, and there’s a lot of football to discuss.

Looking back at Week 10, East Webster went into Nettleton and pulled out a win (1:36), which gave the Wolverines a home playoff game for the first round. In 1-1A, Tupelo Christian edged out Baldwyn (2:42) to earn a No. 2 playoff seed.

The playoffs begin this week for Classes 1A through 4A (4:10). The guys preview some of the matchups, including Shannon at Houston.

Tupelo, meanwhile, wraps up the regular season with a huge game against Starkville (6:50). The winner of this one takes the Region 2-7A crown, and it should be a doozy.

Also today, Brad looks at some of the notable basketball transfers (9:21) – yes, the season is about to start. And be sure to vote for Athletes of the Week (13:07) on our Twitter page, @djournalsports.

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#338: Football region races coming down to wire – 10/25/23

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Brad is joined by Brendan on this episode, and the former might or might not have accidentally told everyone where the latter lives.

Anyway, on the volleyball front, three area teams came home with state championships last week (1:47). The guys recap a couple of last week’s football games: Biggersville over Baldwyn (5:13) and Ripley over Amory (6:18).

Looking ahead to Week 10, several games have playoff seeding implications. East Webster travels to Nettleton for a Region 4-3A showdown (10:19), while Baldwyn visits Tupelo Christian in a 1-1A matchup (12:08). The guys look at some of the other region races, too (14:41).

Also, be sure to vote for Athletes of the Week (15:26) in our Twitter poll (@djournalsports).

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#337: Volleyball championships preview; Ripley-Amory on tap – 10/18/23

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Big games abound this week.

Brad and James preview the MHSAA volleyball championships (1:32), which will be held Thursday and Friday at Ole Miss. Area teams Lafayette, Pine Grove, Ingomar and Alcorn Central will all be vying for titles.

On the football front, the Week 8 rewind looks at Tupelo’s dominant win over Germantown (5:27), the return of Ripley QB Ty Long (6:37), and Biggersville’s blowout of Tupelo Christian (7:54).

Several critical region games are set for this week, including Lafayette at West Point (9:24) and Nettleton at Choctaw County (11:04). But the game of the week is easily Ripley-Amory (12:07), a Region 1-4A tilt to be played at Tupelo. Both teams enter the game undefeated.

Also, be sure to vote for Athletes of the Week (14:53) in our Twitter poll (@djournalsports).

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