Many area athletes make all-state list

By Staff
From staff reports
March 11, 2002
Eighteen area athletes have been named to their respective all-state tournament basketball team.
Making the Class 5A boys' team from Meridian are Keno LeFlore and Jason Windom.
Wayne County's Nicole Jordan and Ratassia Worsham made the Class 5A girls' squad.
Jessica Mason of Noxubee County is the lone area representative on the Class 4A girls' team.
The Class 3A girls' team had Patty Monroe, Kristina Gardner, and J.J. Huggins from West Lauderdale and Jessica Yates and Catina Fowler of Heidelberg.
Heidelberg's Derrick Turner, Marvin McDonald, and Jessie Jones and West Lauderdale's Calvin Moore made the Class 3A boys' squad.
Lenora Gray of Newton was picked to the Class 2A girls' team.
Kemper County's Kenny Boyd was chosen to the Class 2A boys' team.
Derrick Harris and Prentiss Evans of Union were selected to the Class 1A boys' team.
Marty Stamper
State champs for 2002
Taking home the big gold balls in the Mississippi High School Activities Association state tournaments in 2002 are 37-1 Gulfport (5A), 34-5 Lanier (4A), 29-3 Corinth (3A), 34-5 Okolona (2A), and 36-2 Ingomar (1A) on the boys' side and 32-3 Murrah (5A), 30-5 Provine (4A), 34-6 New Albany (3A), 30-3 Bruce (2A), and 27-3 Durant (1A) on the girls' side.
At the Mississippi Private School Association's tournaments, state championships were claimed by the boys from 29-5 Madison-Ridgeland Academy (AAAA), 36-3 Central Private School (AAA), 31-6 Marshall Academy (AA), and 33-7 Christ Missionary and Industrial (A).
Girls' MPSA state champions are 30-5 Jackson Academy (AAAA), 41-3 Copiah Academy (AAA), 34-4 Brookhaven Academy (AA), and 46-2 Delta Academy (A).
The Academy Overall championships went to the Jackson Academy Lady Raiders and the CM&I Crusaders.
Marty Stamper
Caught ya
In going 46-2, the Delta Academy Lady Raiders equalled the MPSA record for wins in a season set by Leake Academy's Rebelettes in a 46-0 showing during the 1998-99 season.
Marty Stamper
First time champs
Teams winning MHSAA state basketball champions for the first time in school history are the girls from Provine and New Albany and the boys from Okolona.
Marty Stamper
MPSA MVPs
Chosen as the top male basketball player in the Mississippi Private School Association this year is 6-foot-2 guard Randall Gulina of Central Private School. Gulina averaged 32 points, seven rebounds, and four assists for the Academy AAA state champion Rebels, 36-3. He has signed with Samford University.
Named co-Players of the Year for the girls are 5-foot-11 Robin Chastain of Marvell (Ark.) Academy and 5-foot-8 Lauren Adams of Delta Academy.
Chastain averaged 23 points and eight rebounds for the Academy AA state runner-up Lady Eagles, 25-13, while Adams averaged 22 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists for the Academy A state champion Lady Raiders, 46-2. Adams has committed to Delta State. Winston Academy's Caleb Metts was a second-team boys' pick.
Marty Stamper
Turning it around
Although Bay High School of Bay St. Louis lost 60-58 to Provine in the Class 4A girls' state finals, the Lady Tigers finished with a 27-9 record, a far cry from a program that lost 87 straight games from 1990-93. With only one senior on this year's team, Bay should make some noise again in 2003.
Marty Stamper
Streaking no more
Picayune saw its school-record 29-game win streak snapped with Saturday's 77-73 loss to Lanier in the Class 4A boys' state championship game.
Marty Stamper
Closing hot
Class 4A girls' state champion Provine won 21 of its last 23 games. The Lady Rams' two losses during the run were to Class 5A state champion Murrah.
Marty Stamper
Billups gets No. 5
Lanier coach Thomas Billups won his fifth state championship in 11 seasons with the Bulldogs with Saturday night's 77-73 victory over Picayune in the Class 4A finals.
Billups played football at East Central Junior College during Ken Pouncey's time as head coach.
Billups is the father of Newton boys' and girls' coach Crandal Porter.
– Marty Stamper
One small step
Picayune's Maroon Tide reached the state championship game for the first time since 1969, but lost 77-73 to Lanier in the Class 4A finals.
The last time the Maroon Tide reached the state finals, astronaut Neil Armstrong was doing the original moonwalk.
– Marty Stamper
Going out in style
New Albany girls' coach Chuck Poer wrapped up his coaching career with a 74-55 win over West Lauderdale for the Class 3A state championship Saturday afternoon.
Poer will take a job in administration in the New Albany school system.
Poer had previous stops at Oak Hill Academy and Marshall Academy. While at Marshall, Poer won the MPSA AAA state championship in 1997.
– Marty Stamper
St. Stanislaus hires Wittman
St. Stanislaus has named Casey Wittman its new head football coach. Wittman replaces Dave Kenson, who resigned last month after leading the Rock-a-chaws for five years. St. Stanislaus went 2-8 in 2001.
Wittman is a 1984 graduate of St. Stanislaus. He later played at Gulf Coast Community College.
He comes to SSC after a two-year stint as offensive coordinator at Pass Christian. This will be his first head coaching job.
Wittman was selected from 17 applicants.
– Marty Stamper
Russell chosen at Biloxi
David Russell has been selected to replace Mike Battles as head football coach at Biloxi.
Among those Russell beat out for the job are Gulfport coach Ronnie Cuevas, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College assistant Mike Gavin, former Biloxi coach Larry Weems, and Hattiesburg assistant Tom Ferrill.
Russell comes to Biloxi from D'Iberville where he was 40-21 in five seasons including a 12-2 mark in 2001.
Biloxi competes with Moss Point, Gulfport, Harrison Central, Ocean Springs, St. Martin, and Long Beach in Region 4-5A.
– Marty Stamper
Moore chosen at Ridgeland
New Ridgeland High School has selected well-traveled veteran Lynn Moore as its head football coach. Moore comes to Ridgeland, which is scheduled to open this fall, from Itawamba AHS.
Moore also coached at West Point and Louisville in the 1990s and has had other stops at Taylorsville, Leakesville, Aberdeen, and Harrison in Mississippi. He also coached in Louisiana for eight years and has a 164-122-1 career record.
Ridgeland will play as a Class 4A independent in 2002 before being assigned to a region in 2003.
Moore has been at Itawamba AHS the last four years.
– Marty Stamper
Belmont's Deaton calls it quits
After just three seasons, Belmont girls' basketball coach Heather Deaton has resigned.
Deaton, 27, was 89-29 in her three years and won the Class 2A state championship in 2001 with a 38-2 record.
This year's team went 24-9, but did not advance from the 2A North State Tournament.
Deaton should know as she played at Belmont, graduating in 1993.
– Marty Stamper