Prep Notebook

By Staff
In Class 2A boys, Mooreville is the only choice in the North State. In the South State, Heidelberg is the first pick followed by Kemper County, Philadelphia, Newton, and Perry Central.
In Class 1A boys, Hickory Flat is the top pick in the North half followed by West Lowndes, Ingomar, Houlka, and H.W. Byars. The South State's only choice is McAdams.
On the girls' side, Class 5A North's first choice is Tupelo followed by Northwest Rankin and the Jackson Public Schools at Murrah High School. The 5A South will be hosted by either Hancock or Gulfport.
In Class 4A girls, the North No. 1 choice is Pontotoc followed by Tishomingo County, Shannon, and the Jackson Public Schools at either Forest Hill or Northwest Middle School. Petal is the first pick in the 4A South State followed by Northeast Jones, McComb, George County, and Brookhaven.
In Class 3A South girls, Choctaw Central is the No. 1 pick followed by Franklin County, Southeast Lauderdale, Hazlehurst, and North Pike. The 3A North top choice is Ripley followed by Independence, Alcorn Central, and Aberdeen.
In Class 2A girls, the top pick in the North State is Baldwyn followed by Coldwater at Northwest Mississippi Community College, Hollandale Simmons, Water Valley, and New Site. The South State's first selection is Perry Central followed by Newton and Heidelberg.
In Class 1A girls, Scott Central is the top choice in the South half followed by McAdams and Dexter at Tylertown. The North half's first choice is West Lowndes followed by Houlka, Pine Grove, and H.W. Byars.
Marty Stamper
MPSA state sites released
The Mississippi Private School Association will play its state tournaments at various sites in the Jackson area. University Christian School in Flowood will host Class A, Canton Academy will host Class AA, and Jackson Prep will host Class AAA.
The Overall Tournament will still be held at Mississippi College in Clinton.
Marty Stamper
Brunson, Smith just keep scoring
Northeast Lauderdale soccer players Chad Brunson and Danielle Smith both continued their standout seasons on Tuesday in the first round of the state playoffs.
Brunson scored three goals for the Trojans against Hernando his 35th, 36th and 37th goals of the season. He is Northeast Lauderdale's record holder for goals scored in a single season. Smith, the Lady Trojans' lone senior, reached 36 goals for the season on Tuesday versus Hernando.
The Trojans continue their playoff run on Saturday against Pearl, while the Lady Trojans face Ridgeland.
Will Bardwell
State golf sites announced
The MHSAA has announced its golf sites for the 2004 state championships. Class 5A will be played at Caroline Golf Club at Madison, May 3-4. Class 4A will play at Brookhaven Country Club, May 4-5. Forest Country Club will host Class 3A with the dates yet to be decided. Class 2A will play at Windance Country Club on the coast, May 4-5. Class 1A will play at Beau Pre' Country Club in Natchez, May 5-6.
Marty Stamper
Cuevas in at Harrison Central
Former Gulfport coach Ronnie Cuevas is returning to South Mississippi as the new head football coach at Harrison Central.
Cuevas has coached at Starkville High School the past two seasons. He was the head coach at Gulfport from 1990 through 2000, compiling a 97-51 record.
Marty Stamper
He succeeds Donny Bentz, who resigned at the end of the 2003 season.
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College head coach Bill Lee also was one of the finalists for the job. In addition to Lee, other candidates included former St. Martin coach Kelly Causey, Wayne County assistant Todd Mangum, and Gulfport assistant Brian Barkley, as well as two coaches on Bentz's staff.
"It is exciting to be coaching at the biggest high school in Mississippi," Cuevas said. "There is a lot of potential. I think Harrison Central can be as good as anyone on the Coast and in the state. I'm looking forward to the challenge."
– Marty Stamper
Polly's back at South Pontotoc
In coach Polly Kirkland's first game back, the South Pontotoc Lady Cougars were able to hold off a late rally by North Pontotoc to win, 56-50.
"They felt more comfortable tonight, and we played better at times than we have all year," said Kirkland.
Britney Doss led the Lady Cougars with 20 points.
– Marty Stamper
Thanks for the equipment
Former Pontotoc High School quarterback Jimmy Wilder wants to help other PHS athletes stay in shape by filling the new field house with the latest in fitness equipment.
Pontotoc recently completed a state-of-the-art field house and Wilder's goal is to give the Pontotoc athletes the best weight equipment to work with.
Wilder is the owner of Wilder Fitness Equipment in Pontotoc. His manufacturing company supplies weight lifting apparatus to athletic programs at universities across the country.
– Marty Stamper
BA girls still bad news
The Brookhaven Academy Lady Cougars are still the No. 1 MPSA girls' basketball team in the state following a 42-28 win over the Jackson Academy Lady Raiders last week at Brookhaven.
The Lady Cougars improved to 29-0.
"We did really good on the defensive end," said Brookhaven Academy girls' coach Barry Gray.
"BA is very good as a ball club," stated Jackson Academy girls' coach Jan Sojourner. "They work very hard together to win games. We played extremely hard but BA's press really hurt us."
Leading BA with 13 points and five rebounds was Kelli Byrd. Wayne Academy transfer Kristian Davidson netted 11 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and made three steals.
– Marty Stamper