- During last Friday's meeting in the Crosstown Classic, the winning team won the 1st and 4th quarters in their respective games but lost the 2nd and 3rd quarters.
- Oxford Girls Basketball was held without a Field Goal for the last 9:38 of the game against Lafayette last Friday.
- Oxford Boys Basketball will begin in the "Great 8" Jefferson City, MO Tournament today against the host team. Jefferson City is 1-3 at home this year.
- Oxford Girls Basketball will begin their Tournament in Dyer, TN today against Loretto (TN). Loretto is 4-2 on the year.
- Oxford Boys started 3-for-4 from 3-point range against Lafayette - they went 1-for-14 after that.
- Only four players from Lafayette Boys contributed in the scoring in that game. Oxford had 7 of the 9 players that played in that game score.
- The Tupelo Police Department is offering a $162,500 reward as of Thursday for any tips that lead to the capture of a shooter that killed an TPD officer and wounded another in a bank robbery that occurred Monday.
- On this date in 1927, Show Boat - considered to be the first musical play - opens at the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway.
- On this date in 1932, Radio City Music Hall, the "Showplace of the Nation", opens in New York City.
- On this date in 1978, Spain becomes a democracy after having served the last 40 years as a dictatorship.
- On this date in 2001, China is granted normal trade relations with the Untied States.
- This is the last Friday of 2013.
- Today is National Fruitcake Day.
- Today is the third day of Christmas.
- Tomorrow is Card Playing Day.
- January is National Thank You Month.
- Today is the birthdays of Arizona Cardinals QB Carson Palmer (34), and former New Orleans Saints and Ole Miss Rebel Running Back Deuce McAllister (35).
Here are some facts for you to keep up with this Friday. They can range from sports to things you could care less about. Here we go:
Here are some facts for you to keep up with this Friday. They can range from sports to things you could care less about. Here we go:
Not knowing this happened Wednesday and first reported Thursday until finding out Saturday by John Talty of the Clarion-Ledger that Oxford Senior DE and #9 on this year's Oxford Dandy Dozen list Darrius Liggins had his scholarship pulled from Mississippi State. He had been committed to the Bulldogs since June 15th, right around when DK Metcalf committed to Ole Miss. Liggins still holds an offer from UAB and has interest from UNLV and Cincinnati, but considering that is still a good number of schools, it could have been a lot more should the situation have been better for him. The disturbing part of this is that this is a trend that we hear far too often. The three recent ones that come to mind - and two were done by Ole Miss (before I get hate comments by any MSU fan reading this) - was when Ed Orgeron pulled a scholarship away from Matt Malouf - former OHS QB who graduated in 2006 and was a lethal part of the 2005's 13-1 team that made it to North Half. Now unlike the other two situations I'm about to present, Malouf was not committed yet when it was pulled and wound up going to Memphis before transferring to Samford in Alabama - that one was one Coach O got away with because the player was not committed, but still wrong. The next one was when Alabama's Nick Saban pulled a scholarship from a Georgia player who had been committed for a year only to see that scholarship get stripped and to defer enrollment until the following year. As recently as last year, Hugh Freeze also did so on a player last year. I WANT THIS STRAIGHT: All three are VERY wrong to do, because it hurts the student-athlete more than anything after thinking they earned a scholarship only to have it get taken away - especially AFTER committing to a school. Now we see Liggins get his scholarship from MSU get taken away AFTER he had been committed for almost 6 months (would be 6 months to the day today) and now just less than two months away from signing day. This prompted a lividly angry Coach Johnny Hill to throw this comment into the Clarion-Ledger's story on the cause: “I don’t know what it does for other schools, but as long as that staff is intact, they aren’t welcome at Oxford. If they are going to lie to one kid, what’s to say they won’t lie to another? I think that’s pretty crappy that coaches come by and I tell them he’s committed and they don’t recruit him. And then Mississippi State drops the ball on him.” If you want to see Oxford Eagle's John Davis' opinion on the matter which also includes the above quote, click HERE. John Talty's article where the quote originated can be found HERE.
There are risks involved when a team such as Mississippi State and Ole Miss does this - and with that quote, that bridge is burned. Coach Hill has been around Oxford longer than I have, and what he says goes - he means they aren't welcome here unless/until a new staff shows up at Mississippi State - and Hill has a good memory of these things. That's what being around Oxford Sports for 10 years has done for me is know what works and what doesn't for every coaching staff. That is a for sure "what doesn't" with the football staff. This is a hefty mistake by Dan Mullen and the staff that was recruiting Liggins, the talent that got Oxford to the 5A Championship vastly contains Juniors and Sophomores, and the upcoming Freshmen class will be big - it wasn't just Seniors. There is Jack Abraham, Kenzie Phillips, DK Metcalf is already committed, KT McCollins, Mike McGhee, Harland Stewart, Thomas Allen, Colton Skidmore that will all get D1 looks and scholarships - and those are ones that PLAYED last year, that doesn't include those that have been waiting for their playing time. Abraham is already being looked at by 6 other colleges besides MSU, McGhee is being looked by MSU - those are two that Hill will make as hard as hell to be recruited by MSU after that stunt they pulled. This is a lesson other college head coaches need to take note of this, especially the surrounding ones: If you get a player to commit, then pull the rug out from under him - you can bet that high school coach will delete that head coaches' cell number. Especially if you do it in the manner I've been reading from those two articles that Mississippi State did. Here are some facts for you to keep up with this Friday. They can range from sports to things you could care less about. Here we go:
Well, that one was tough to swallow. Oxford lost to Picayune 42-35 in the 5A State Championship Game tonight. But, before any more people blow up Twitter, here's what needs to get out: Before the season, I was basically told to not tweet anything that West Point may use against us. I avoided that, not putting anything out there with several accounts following or RT'ing anything the OHS students may put out. Basically stayed off Mississippi Sports Talk that week by any one that may have an account. Oxford goes on to be 11-0 through the regular season. 1-seed into the playoffs. Talk started to build. Oxford proceeds to go through Vicksburg, Pearl, and a tough Callaway team to make it to Jackson. It's an exciting thing to make it to the Title game. What came after that was what I feared - and I thought picking out what to and not say in a pre-game blog would be my worse fear. I've made stupid mistakes and learned from them. I overreacted in a Basketball game that got me removed from the scorers table for that game - the one time I wasn't able to Gamecast the game. I see both fans going at it. I know it made it to Picayune's locker room doors as well as Oxford's. Almost how the Center Hill/Oxford Boys Soccer game last year went. I even helped, to which I got scolded for by the coaches then - luckily we won and won 5A. Center Hill was on the wrong end of that and it wasn't more than what I got. The fact of the matter is this was wrong to do. Like it or not. I'm guilty of some of it too - whatever I show it on Twitter or not.The fact is I know better, now more than ever. It wasn't based on a song - it was all week everywhere I saw it. So let's all eat our crow now and give Picayune props to a well played and exciting game. We are better than this, I'm better than this, and everyone else is better than this. Let's try to show it. Here are some facts for you to keep up with this Friday. They can range from sports to things you could care less about. Here we go:
Key: MP = Maxpreps, MPB = Mississippi Public Broadcasting Poll, CL = Clarion-Ledger, AP = Associated Press, NR = Not Ranked The CL's last poll was November 5th until the end of the State Championships when they will release a final poll, ditto for MPB on November 13. Maxpreps updates their computer rankings every week on Sunday Night. Note* - I will use the team's seed instead of any poll as a "rank" during the course of the playoffs. Who's Playing?: Oxford (14-0 [1-seed from Region 1-5A], #4 AP, #2 MP & MPB, #5 CL, #1 in 5A - All Polls) vs. Picayune (11-2 [2-seed from Region 4-5A], #10 MPB, #6 MP, #2 in 5A - MP) What?: 5A State Championship Game of the MHSAA 5A Playoffs Where?: Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium @ Jackson, MS (Directions? Click HERE) When?: Saturday, December 7th @ 7:30 PM How can you keep yourself updated? (All of the following are the known outlets as of release time): 95.5 FM WOXD Radio, Bullseye955.com, @OxChargerSports Twitter Account. State-Wide TV on the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Channel (MPB - see local listings). The Lowdown: Oxford has made a lot of history so far this season. First ever Charger team to have 14 wins in a single season, Jack Abraham has broken school records, and have won North Half for just the second time in school history. They still have more to make - like obtaining their first Gold Football in school history (not to mention an undefeated season). One team stands in their way - the Picayune Maroon Tide. Picayune has won two State Championships - one in 1986, and one recently in 2011. Obviously that would make the one advantage they have is those Seniors this year were Sophomores the year they won it, so they have some experience. Oxford may not have the experience of being in the Title game, but in other spotlight situations (National TV game last year, defeating Jackson Prep, Starkville, West Point, Pearl, and Callaway this year) they have thrived. No doubt this is the biggest spotlight game of them all. Picayune bases their offense on the ground - more so than Callaway was. They are close to an 85/15 running team, passing only roughly 15% of the time. Their rushing attack is based on one main back but they do go to a second back. The quarterback does not run the ball often and has only been involved in 124 plays this season (thrown it 87 times ALL YEAR to 37 rushes) when not handing the ball off. When he does throw it - 14 of the 53 completions have been for Touchdowns, so they do throw it effectively, but mainly because of their ability to run the football. Teams that have thrown it that few times when they trail in a football game will eventually make a mistake and only think about throwing it to one or two receivers. One thing Picayune has not seen all year long is a solid passing attack - of all the teams they have faced (that have put up stats), the most amount of times any team has thrown against them is 20 times - and of those that have thrown against the Maroon Tide, they have not defended it well. It is one thing when a team that throws only throws it enough to keep the running game honest, it is another thing when facing a team that throws the ball and knows where they are going with the football and THEN they run the ball. Jack Abraham - among games where he has played all four quarters - has thrown it 35 times a game. They have also not seen a team that uses every single player they have on offense. Oxford just does not have one completely dominant wide receiver to cover up, they have four. Oxford's fourth leading receiver has 45 receptions; Oxford's leading receiver has 49 receptions. THAT is how even it is. When they throw somebody else out there - they aren't a decoy, Oxford uses them too. Let's not leave out Oxford's rushing attack (a big reason why Oxford has thrown it well is because of the established run game) - while teams have figured out Oxford can run the ball, the Chargers still run it effectively. Oxford's offensive line should be able to do what they want - as Picayune has given up 7 yards per rush. Kenzie Phillips could have both rushing records before it is all said and done. He needs 110 rushing yards and 3 rushing Touchdowns to break both rushing records at Oxford High School currently held by Mont Dean. Oxford has gained more than 5,900 yards of offense - you do the math on that out of 14 games played. When Oxford made it to the State Championship game in 2003, they were a 4-seed from their region that was happy they even made the playoffs let alone have a chance to win the whole thing. This time, they are Champions from their region, and they are not satisfied with just winning North Half. They know they have what it takes to win it all, and now is the time to prove it once again that they are a force to be reckoned with in 5A not just now, but for the next couple years. This has been such a ride of a season. Oxford waited so long to face Jackson Prep, then the sudden loss of new OHS Student Sarah Bial who was killed in a car wreck - to this day, the football players still wear the "SB" decal on the back of their helmets. Tommy Knight suffered a season-ending off the field injury not too much later. A parent later died from cancer of the OHS Band. These Chargers hasn't let a thing bother them this season, and what is to stop them from winning this title not just for Oxford, but for the fallen? Their focus has been there all season long, and now they just need to focus for one more game.....
Weather: At Kickoff in Jackson, MS (7:30 PM): 40*F (Wind Chill 33*F) with Showers (40% Chance). Winds from the North at 8-12 MPH (going towards the Jumbotron in the stadium). Temperatures are supposed to remain still throughout the game.
Other Notes: With a win, Oxford will have earned their "Diamond" Championship - their 50th State Championship in school history. This would be their first state Title in football. Oxford is 0-2 all time in the month of December in Football. Here are the directions to Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium from Oxford. I will list them going two directions - one going towards Batesville via Highway 6, the other going towards Grenada via Highway 7.
This is the last week of the pick'em game - as this week is Championship Week. Good Luck!
1. (Lafayette vs. Forrest Co. AHS) Who will WIN this matchup? A. Lafayette B. Forrest Co. AHS (21) 2. (Tupelo vs. Oak Grove & Lafayette vs. Forrest Co. AHS) Who will have MORE TOTAL OFFENSE? A. Tupelo (246) B. Lafayette (or Tie) (219) 3. (Lafayette vs. Forrest Co. AHS & Oxford vs. Picayune) Who will have MORE PASSING YARDS? A. Lafayette (or Tie) (40) B. Picayune (140) 4. (Lafayette vs. Forrest Co. AHS & Oxford vs. Picayune) Who will have MORE PASSING YARDS? A. Lafayette AND Picayune (or Tie) (180) B. Oxford (275) 5. (Lafayette vs. Forrest Co. AHS & Oxford vs. Picayune) Who will have MORE RUSHING YARDS? A. Lafayette (179) B. Oxford (or Tie) (59) 6. (Tupelo vs. Oak Grove & Oxford vs. Picayune) Who will have MORE PASS ATTEMPTS? A. Oak Grove (40) B. Oxford (or Tie) (40) 7. (Oxford vs. Picayune) Will Kenzie Phillips (OHS) BREAK Mont Dean's single-season school Rushing Record? A. Yes, he will break it (110 or more Rushing Yards) B. No, he won't break it (109 or less Rushing Yards) (84) 8. (Oxford vs. Picayune) Which stat will occur the MOST? A. Jack Abraham Pass Completions (22) B. Picayune Points Scored (or Tie) (42) 9. (Oxford vs. Picayune) Which stat will have MORE YARDS? A. Jack Abraham Passing Yards (275) B. Picayune Rushing Yards (or Tie) (371) 10. (Oxford vs. Picayune) What will be the GAME RESULT? A. Oxford wins by 15+ Points B. Any Other Result |
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October 2016
AuthorBen Mikell |