Thursday, July 21, 2005

 

Trinity names former Lynch standout Amie Smith Bradley as new HC

San Antonio – Trinity University is pleased to announce the hiring of Amie Smith Bradley as its new women’s basketball coach, effective immediately.

Coach Bradley, a four-year starter and member of the 1,000 point club for the University of Texas women’s basketball team, is the founder and owner of a basketball skills training company in Dallas, as well as an active coach in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). She was a graduate of 22-time state champion (Dallas) Bishop Lynch High School, and has also been an assistant coach at the school since 1999.

“Today is a great day for Trinity women’s basketball,” remarked Trinity Director of Athletics Bob King. “We are privileged to hire a talented young coach that has been close to the program the last three years. I am very pleased in the search process, and the number of top-quality candidates that we were able to consider.”

Coach Bradley has watched the team closely over the past three seasons, as her younger sister Jenna Smith led Trinity to two playoff appearances – including the 2003 NCAA Division III National Championship.

“I’m excited about the athletics and academics at Trinity,” said Coach Bradley. “My focus is to bring in players from around the state. There is definitely a lot of talent out there. I’m also excited about inheriting a winning program from Coach Geyer.”

Former head coach Becky Geyer left Trinity after 13 years of service to the University, leading the Tigers a record of 164-50 (.766 winning percentage) over her last eight seasons. Under her guidance, the Tigers won three Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference titles and the only four NCAA playoff appearances in its history.

“She comes highly recommended by outstanding coaches and administrators in collegiate women’s basketball,” continued King. “With her days at the University of Texas and her involvement in basketball in Dallas and the AAU, I believe Coach Bradley will provide the program with wonderful opportunities in recruiting. The returning team is very fortunate to have a quality coach such as Amie Bradley.”

In addition to her playing and coaching experience, Coach Bradley has organized numerous basketball clinics and camps, and has also helped Texas universities in evaluating talent for recruiting.

The Trinity women’s basketball team returns two starters and 12 letterwinners from last year’s team that advanced to the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen, and finished with a 25-5 record.


 

Lynch and Louisiana Tech's Ryan Moats signs with the Eagles

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Eagles signed two of their draft selections Wednesday, agreeing to four-year deals with third-round pick Ryan Moats and fifth-round pick Trent Cole.

Moats, a 5-foot-8, 210-pound running back, set school records for yards rushing (1,774), touchdowns (18), and carries (288) at Louisiana Tech. He is a product of Dallas' Bishop Lynch HS.

Moats finished his college career with 499 carries for 3,176 yards and 28 TDs. He also received first team All-WAC honors as a sophomore following a 1,364-yard, 10-touchdown performance.

 

Tomball Concordia Lutheran crusades in the land of cheese

Riveness' crew hones hoops skills at Wisconsin camp
By TODD HVEEM, Houston Chronicle Correspondent, July 20, 2005, 7:56 pm

The Concordia Lutheran Crusaders have made a 20-hour bus trip in hopes of improving their high school basketball program.

The Crusaders, who are struggling to remain competitive in the rugged TAPPS 3-5A, drove to Milwaukee last Saturday for the bi-annual Wisconsin Lutheran College basketball camp. The five-day team camp ends Friday.

"This is the third time we have gone," said Concordia Lutheran coach Garrett Riveness, who is entering his sixth season at the helm. "They usually have it every two years.

"We have a good relationship with coaches up there. They have a team camp and they keep it small. They have individual instruction, then we play in a tournament."

The Crusaders also will spend at least one day at the Milwaukee Bucks training camp, Riveness said.

"They have a good relationship with the Bucks," Riveness said. "It is really neat for the kids. It is really a fun trip."

Even the 20-hour bus ride?

"Sure," Riveness said with a laugh. "The kids love it. It is especially fun for them. We leave on Saturday evening, so we pull into Chicago about lunch time the next day. We then eat and head up to Milwaukee."

Riveness said nine players made the 1,500 plus-mile trip.

"We have kind of limited it to that number," he said. "The college does a good deal for them. They let them stay in the dorm during the camp and tournament. The college coaches have them over for dinner, so they don't spend any money on food. The whole trip costs kids $150."

Riveness said several of his varsity players coached younger kids in a summer basketball league to help pay for the cost of the trip.

"We ran a summer league at our school for players in grades five through high school," Riveness said. "The kids did not come in as part of a team, but we would place them on a team and they would play that way.

"We let our varsity kids coach the younger kids to help pay for the trip. We wanted them to feel like it was their trip."

Riveness said he had some players also play in a summer league in Conroe, and some other young athletes attend the Don Eddy basketball camp.

"We really had stuff going about six days per week," he said. "Not every kid was doing everything, but it kept us all pretty busy."

The Crusaders return a trio of potential stars in Nathan Elrod, Kyle McCluskey and Jake Griedl. Elrod, who is only a junior, stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 220 pounds.

"He is a big kid," Riveness said. "He was a second-team all-district selection."

The 6-5 McCluskey, who is a senior, was an honorable mention all-league choice a year ago, and Griedl started at point guard as a sophomore.

"We also have Chris Duffy coming back," Riveness said. "He was our sixth man as a freshman. He has done well this summer."

Riveness said he has more than 35 players in the program and hopes to have a freshman team this season.

"We kind of had to pay some dues last year, but the kids are really coming along," he said. "They are improving and having fun.

"We are building a lot from the ground up. We are adding a freshman team next year. We used to have a freshman team, but when our enrollment dipped, we had to drop it. We have started to grow again now."

Concordia Lutheran, however, will not participate in a fall basketball league.

"We will probably not do that," Riveness said. "We have a lot of kids who play football and run cross country. When kids are committed to a fall sport, we expect them to do that. We could probably field a JV-caliber team (in the fall league), but I think kids ought to be sticking with fall sports."

Riveness said Northland Christian and Houston Christian could be the teams to beat in TAPPS 3-5A.

"They were so strong last year, but they both graduated a lot," Riveness said. "Lutheran North also graduated some, but they still have their big scorer back.

"We are coming up. It should be real tight. Nobody is going to go winless or nobody is going to run through the league."

 

Westbury Christian's Preadom to Wichita State

Shockers add guard to roster
Wendell Preadom changes plans for prep school to commit to Wichita State

BY PAUL SUELLENTROP, The Wichita Eagle

Guard Wendell Preadom hasn't visited Wichita yet, but what he's heard about the Wichita State basketball program is good enough.

Preadom, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard from Houston's Westbury Christian School, said he has committed to Wichita State and will sign a nonbinding letter of intent within a week.

Preadom, who will be a freshman this season, said WSU assistant coach Tad Boyle saw him play with his AAU team this summer. Boyle was impressed enough to bring in coach Mark Turgeon and they sold Preadom on WSU, causing him to change his plan to attend Maine Central Institute, a prep school.

Preadom said Turgeon offered him a scholarship last weekend after watching him play with the Houston-based T-Mac All-Stars in a tournament in Denton, Texas.

"I know the program is up and coming," Preadom said. "Good competition. Every game is packed. That sounds pretty good."

Preadom said he will visit WSU in late July or early August. He will join Houston products P.J. Couisnard, Karon Bradley and Nick Rogers on the WSU roster.

Preadom averaged 12 points, five rebounds and four assists for Westbury Christian, which won its third straight Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 5A title in March. Teammates Jeremy Barr (Southern California), Sean Coleman (Tulsa), Peter Stein (William and Mary) and Obi Ikeakor (Saint Louis) will also play Division I basketball.

Westbury Christian coach Greg Glenn described Preadom as an explosive player who can drive, shoot and plays good defense.

"He's very good in the open court," Glenn said. "He plays bigger than he is."

TexasHoops.com ranked Preadom as the No. 63 senior in Texas after the season. He was one of 20 players named TAPPS All-State for classes 4, 5 and 6A.

TexasHoops.com describes Preadom as a strong, well-rounded guard who can penetrate and score inside as well as shoot three-pointers, run the team, rebound and defend.

Preadom's letter of intent is nonbinding because the signing period ended May 18. He will also a sign a financial aid agreement. WSU coaches cannot comment until they receive the signed paperwork.

He said Evansville, Jacksonville State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Lamar also had shown interest.
Preadom fills WSU's 13th and final scholarship for the 2005-06 season. He joins a recruiting class that includes freshman center Ryan Bradley, from Florida, and junior college transfers Ryan Martin (Coffeyville) and Jared Young (Pratt).

Division I transfers Keith Wooden (Arizona State) and Phillip Thomasson (Colorado State) are also expected to attend WSU this fall and be eligible in 2006-07.

Reach Paul Suellentrop at 269-6760 or at psuellentrop@wichitaeagle.com.

 

McKinney Christian's Aja to Lucas Christian Academy

By BRENT YARINA, McKinney Courier-Gazette

Rene Aja is returning home after three years at McKinney Christian Academy.

Aja, the MCA head football coach the past two seasons, was named the athletic director at Lucas Christian Academy on July 1.

The former Mustang head coach led MCA to a 16-6 record and two playoff berths in his two seasons. Aja came to MCA in 2002 via Dallas Metro, where he coached for six years.

"It took some time and prayer," Aja said of his decision to leave MCA. "When it came down to it, Lucas and I met each other's needs."

As the athletic director of Lucas, Aja will control the day-to-day athletic duties and coach football, track and girls basketball, something he did at Metro but not at MCA.

"I want to be able to have my hands in everything," he said. "I like to be involved year round, and Lucas gave me that."

Aja knows what kind of team he leaves behind, however.

"I left a very good team," he said. "Having to leave a team that could win district this year made it a real hard decision, but I wanted something brand new.

"Sometimes as a coach you need something like that to motivate you."

Still, the head coach had a tough time saying goodbye to his players, especially the seniors, who started varsity football the same year he arrived.

"I talked to my kids and told them I was going to miss them," Aja said. "They told me the same thing. It was a real hard thing to do."

But goodbye isn't forever. Lucas and MCA are both members of TAPPS 2A, and the two schools are scheduled to play a football game at MCA this fall, according to Aja.

"I rest easy now at night knowing what I am doing," Aja said. "It's not a brand new thing, but new things can be started and I want a hand in that."

MCA athletic director Keith Bollinger was unavailable at press time.

Contact Brent Yarina at sports@courier-gazette.com.

 

Midland Trinity grad Bennett shoots par to win Palmer area championship

by Len Hayward, Midland Reporter-Telegram, 07/21/2005

MIDLAND -- Brent Bennett called it a day where he had to grind it out. Bennett, though, worked his way through his troubles to shoot an even-par 72 and win the Ryan Palmer Foundation West Texas Area Championship in the boys 16-18 division by one stroke on Wednesday at Hogan Park Golf Course.

"I struggled to hit the ball today," said Bennett, who was a part of back-to-back TCAL and TAPPS state golf championships at Midland Trinity. "I had one birdie and a whole bunch of pars. It was just one of those days where you have to eke out pars."

Bennett, who will walk on at the University of Tulsa this fall after graduating from Trinity this spring, shot a 2-under 70 for a two-round total of 142, which was good enough to hold off Craig Feuer. Feuer made a second-day charge after shooting a 76 on Tuesday to card a five-under par 67. He finished at 143, one stroke behind Bennett.

The two-day event was to help determine qualifiers for the upcoming Westcott Tour Championship, scheduled for July 28-29 at Woodbridge Golf Club in Wylie. Bennett, third-place finisher Ethan Summers and fourth-place Dylan Dockery all qualified for the Tour Championship in the boys 16-18 division. Feuer had qualified earlier for the championship.

Bennett said Wednesday he was not planning on playing in many Westcott Tour events this summer, but said a friend talked him into playing an event at Midland Country Club earlier this summer.

He shot a 67 in that one, and also wanted to come back to play in the West Texas Area Championship because it would be the last time he would play in the event before he went to college. Bennett said he won the event when he was 9-years old.

"I played for a little bit of nostalgia," said Bennett, who was second to Brian Scherer in the Texas-Oklahoma tournament a few weeks ago in Wichita Falls.

Saturday, March 26, 2005

 

TABC 2005 Private School All-State Girls Team Announced

Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) All-State Girls Team

Class 4A-6A

Mary Ann Baker, Dallas Bishop Lynch
Kim Cessna, San Antonio Cornerstone Christian
Chelsea Cook, Garland Christian
Candace Crawford, Addison Trinity Christian
Jordan Ford, Dallas Bishop Lynch
Taja Guerin, Carrolton Christian
Rachel Hartman, Dallas Ursuline Academy
Holly Isaacs, Lubbock Trinity Christian
Katie Johnson, Richardson Canyon Creek Christian
Kat Kundmueller, Fort Worth Christian
Meredith Nieswiadomy, Fort Worth Country Day
Christina Ray, Houston Westbury Christian
Rachel Rentschler, Fort Worth Christian
Layne Reeves, Lubbock Trinity Christian
Mary Claire Rodriguez, Austin St. Michael's
Brittany Smith, Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal
Chelsea Tiner, Dallas Christian
Ijeoma Waturuocha, Houston Westbury Christian
Renee Wilson, Lubbock Trinity Christian
Heather Wright, Fort Worth Christian


Class 1A-3A

Jessica Armstrong, San Antonio Believers Academy
Kelsey Bryant, Lubbock Christian
Kendal Doan, Midland Classical Academy
Maggie Farrell, Muenster Sacred Heart
Katelyn Fuller, Kingwood Northeast Christian
Anna Gallia, Halletsville Sacred Heart
Jaimie Graham, Watauga Harvest Christian
Hannah Haley, Lubbock Christian
Jordyn Hand, Fort Worth Lake Country Christian
Whitney Hand, Fort Worth Lake Country Christian
Courtney Heady, Grapevine Faith Christian
O'Koye Hobbs, Waco Texas Christian
Katelyn Kirkpatrick, Watauga Harvest Christian
Edite Kresa, Watauga Harvest Christian
Katrina Limbaha, Fort Worth Lake Country Christian
Alex Pinney, Halletsville Sacred Heart
Summer Smith, Fort Worth Lake Country Christian
Stephanie Taylor, Katy Faith West Academy
Kirstie Wallace, Grapevine Faith Christian
Georgette Zigler, Grand Prairie Shady Grove Christian

 

TABC 2005 Private School All-State Boys Team Announced

Texas Association of Basketball Coaches (TABC) All-State Boys Team

Class 4A-6A

Jeremy Barr, Houston Westbury Christian
Robert Berry, Gainesville State School
Jonathan Brown, Beaumont Kelly
Louis Butler, Dallas Bishop Dunne
John Claborn, Lubbock Trinity Christian
Sean Coleman, Houston Westbury Christian
Steven Dansby, Houston Cypress Community Christian
Monice Garrett, Houston Westbury Christian
Tom Herman, Fort Worth Southwest Christian
Tabias Jahn, Fort Worth Christian
Ben Johnson, Dallas St. Mark's School of Texas
Torin Moore, Austin St. Stephen's
Taylor Mullenax, Beaumont Kelly
Wendell Preadom, Houston Westbury Christian
Eli Ringel, Fort Worth Trinity Valley
Mike Smith, San Antonio St. Mary's Hall
Peter Stein, Houston Westbury Christian
Zach Walker, Dallas St. Mark's School of Texas
Clarke White, Fort Worth Nolan
Matt Williams, Addison Trinity Christian

Class 1A-3A

Derrell Blackburn, Colleyville Covenant Christian
Jeremy Bowman, San Marcos Hill Country Christian
Ryan Brattlof, Grapevine Faith Christian
Egidijius Budrikis, Colleyville Covenant Christian
Michael Carmona, San Antonio Lutheran
Josh Christian, Fort Worth Harvest Christian
Wally Dunn, Midland Classical Academy
Emmanuel Engulu, Fort Worth Bethesda Christian
Billy Enyart, Kingwood Northeast Christian
Kyle Heingartner, Bullard Brookhill School
Dan Hemingway, Watauga Harvest Christian
Doug Hutchins, Grapevine Faith Christian
Rashaud Jackson, Watauga Harvest Christian
Tony Jones, Cedar Hill Trinity Christian
Rick Morrison, Grapevine Faith Christian
T J Nettles, Rowlett Rockwall Christian
Justin Neuhaus, San Marcos Hill Country Christian
Robert Nickell, Sherman Texoma Christian
Pat Robinson, Kingwood Northeast Christian
Joseph Turner, Bryan Brazos Christian


Thursday, March 17, 2005

 

Haverford's Gabriel (Kingwood NE) finishes stellar career

Leaving a part of a winning program behind at Kingwood Northeast Christian Academy, Mark Gabriel, other than getting a fine education at Haverford College in Philadelphia, knew there was opportunity on the basketball court to be had. The team had only had three winning seasons since 1966 and the last one was in 1995-96 when the Fords went 14-11.

Just less than three weeks ago, Gabriel capped a collegiate career that few could top as firmly entrenched himself as one of the best players in Haverford College’s long history.

The senior forward, who was the team captain the past two seasons, led Haverford into postseason Centennial Conference action on February 24th by scored 23 points in its first postseason win since 1976-77 with a 71-53 decision over Johns Hopkins. Two nights later in the semifinals at Franklin & Marshall, two of Gabriel’s game-high 22 points included a game-tying layup with 29.7 seconds to play. However, a basket by F&M’s Bryan Teschke with 2.7 seconds ended the Fords’ postseason run and 14-12 season. (The year before, Haverford played to a .500, 12-12 season.)

Gabriel was the Centennial Conference’s leading scorer in 2002-03 and came back from a foot injury last season to average 18.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game during a 6-1 run to the conference tournament. And in 2004-2005, Gabriel finally reached the pinnacle of Haverford’s recent success by becoming the first first team All-Conference selction since 1996 (Jamal Elliott).

The 6’4” Eagle, Idaho native ended up as the fifth leading scorer in school history with 1,439 points, three spots in front of Houston Strake Jesuit’s Mukul Kanabar. Kanabar scored 1,102 from 1996-2000. Gabriel also pulled down 556 career rebounds, good for 9th on the all-time list. However, only three players – Dick Voith (’77), Mike Racke (’81) and Dave Stubbs (’77) – pulled down more points and rebounds than Gabriel.

Gabriel’s 17.3 points per game career scoring average was 4th in school history and 3rd all-time in the Centennial Conference. The 1,439 points mentioned earlier also left him 10th on the Conference’s all-time scoring list.

He also was in the top ten during his career in the following categories: field goals made (545, 4th), field goals attempted (955, 6th), field goal percentage (.571, 2nd), free throws made (343, 4th), free throws attempted (421, 6th) and free throw percentage (.815, 2nd). The field goal and free throw percentages are also 2nd and 5th in the Centennial Conference all-time.

Gabriel, however, could not unseat Kanabar as the school’s leader in minutes played or minutes per game. Kanabar had the edge 3,083 to 2,619 in minutes played and 32.8 to 31.6 in average minutes per game.


The duo were not the only Texas private and parochial school players during that time. Houston Westbury Christian's Matt Begley was on the Haverford team from 2000-2004.

 

Former Lynch star Jenna Smith feted by d3hoops.com

Former Dallas Bishop Lynch guard Jenna Smith, a member of the 25-5 Trinity Tigers team that lost in overtime to Randolph-Macon in the NCAA Division III Sectionals last week, was named this week to third team All-South Region team by D3hoops.com. Two of Smith's teammates, center Tara Rhode and backcourt mate Amy Howe, were named to the first and second teams, respectively.

Smith capped her collegiate career by averaging 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game for Trinity. The 126 steals broke her own single-season school record of 121 set in 2003-2004. Jenna's 339 career steals leaves her No. 1 on the school's charts with almost twice as many steals as Yanika Daniels, who registered 175 from 1992-1996.

After helping lead Trinity to a national championship two years ago, Smith won her second consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Defensive Player of the Year award and finished second all-time on the conference's career steals list. Smith was also selected to the All-SCAC Second Team -- the third time she has been an all-conference selection.

The younger sister of former Lynch legend and University of Texas standout (1993-1997), Amie, Jenna played four years, logging a record of 111-21 (,841), for head coach Andy Zihlman and helped lead the Friars to three straight championships in 1998-2000. Smith was on the 2001 squad that lost in the semifinals to San Antonio Incarnate Word HS, snapping a record of 12 straight championships for the school’s program. Jenna played at Baylor her freshman year (2001-2002) as a walk-on while the Bears lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament to Drake in Kim Mulkey-Robertson’s second year as head coach. Smith was joined on the Trinity University roster this year by two other Texas private and parochial high school players: sophomore guard Kate Dawson of Bronwsville St. Joseph and freshman guard Hannah Rinn of San Antonio St. Mary's Hall.

 

HBU Huskies win opener against IU-South Bend, 64-49

JACKSON, Tenn. -- However, it wasn't pretty at all. In fact, it might have been one of the most lackluster performances head coach Shane Brown's Huskies have had all year.

The No. 1-ranked NAIA Division I HBU Huskies opened the national tournament on Wednesday in Jackson, Tennessee with a 64-49 win over No. 8-seeded Indiana University-South Bend.

HBU improves to 34-2 with a current winning streak of 30 games after back-to-back losses to tournament No. 2 seeds Union (Tennessee) and Southern Nazarene. The Huskies will face Cumberland (Tennessee) in the round of 16 on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. in the Oman Arena.

Brown, in his fifth season as the head coach of the Huskies, was a former girls basketball coach at Houston's Westbury Christian School.

Former Angleton HS standout and redshirt freshman Dominique Thomas led HBU with 16 points, seven boards and six steals in the game. Senior Stephanie Stoglin had 14 points and five boards, while Brenham's Velencia Kuykendall had 11 points and five rebounds. Clear Lake's Cari Scaff finished with 10 points and five caroms as well.

Senior Arie Wilson and junior Sherill Hadrick each had five points, and Wilson added seven rebounds. Wilson was an uncharacteristic 2-of-9 from the field as IU-South Bend gave the senior from Beaumont West Brook as few looks as possible.

Jessica Hass led the losing effort for Indiana University-South Bend with 11 points and seven rebounds. She was the only player in double-figures for the Titans, the Chicagoland Athletic Conference champs. The Titans finish their season at 23-11.

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

 

Breaking News: Fitzsimmons back as HC at Dallas Jesuit

Dallas Jesuit College Preparatory, which made the UIL 5A playoffs in both of its first seasons in the league, announced Monday that assistant head coach and former head coach Jack Fitzsimmons will once against guide the Rangers basketball program, as he did in 2000-2001.

The position became vacant four weeks ago when Fred Younkman announced that he would be the first boys' head basketball coach at Denton Guyer, a new to-be-opened high school in the Denton Independent School District.

"I'm definitely thrilled to be named once again as Jesuit's head basketball coach," Fitzsimmons told WalkSports.com this afternoon. Fitzsimmons, who has been a part of the Rangers basketball program for 13 years (1980-84, 1994-2000 and 2003-05) took over the job originally from current Dallas St. Mark's coach Scott Jolly in the summer of 2000. However, his positions as the Director of Admissions, Senior Guidance Counselor and English teacher made that go of it a challenge.

"While it was difficult to step down after just one season, it was best at the time for the school and for me because of my duties," he said. "After one season of missing coaching terribly, I returned to be an assistant on Fred Younkman's staff in the fall of 2002."

In its two seasons in the UIL, Younkman guided the Rangers to marks of 17-12 and 19-11 overall and 9-3 and 9-5 in district, respectively. Both seasons, Jesuit exited the first round of the playoffs with losses to Hurst L.D. Bell in 2004 (71-68 overtime) and Dallas Skyline in 2005 (48-40).

Fitzsimmons, who teams up with Tom Walsh on the school's football broadcasts, will continue his role as the school's Senior Guidance Counselor although this stint as the Rangers head basketball coach will no longer see him as the Director of Admissions.

 

Will Walk: Greetings from Central Florida

Yes, yes, these are actual "Letter to the Editors" that my father, Will Walk, sent to the sports department of the Houston Chronicle. Monday's didn't get published this morning and we'll have to check tomorrow to see if today's effort makes it. One thing is for certain? He comes cheap!

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

Greetings again from the Astros camp in central Florida.

With reference to Brian McTaggert's article in this morning's (3/15/05) Chronicle, we would like to offer some advise to GM Tim Pupura that perhaps would help solve two of his question marks that continue midway through Spring Training.

Why not name Craig Biggio as the fifth starter allowing (Willy) Taveras, (Jason) Lane and (Chris) Burke to play everyday like they should be.

Manager (Phil) Garner has played in the era when only four starting pitchers were needed and most of them went deep into games, often registering complete games.

There's not enough time left in the entire season to find a firth starter.


Monday, March 14, 2005

Greetings from Central Florida where the Astros were given the day off by Manager Phil Garner. Given the state of the current roster, I would think that everyday should be a work day.

The local paper reported that Manager Garner was taking his grandchild to Disney World. Perhaps he is recruiting for a few Mickey Mouse players. They can't be much worse than the current non-roster invitees.

 

Catching Up With: Jesuit's Bob Wunderlick

Two of the most optimistic guys that I know are both red heads: Titus Sports Marketing's Dave Stephenson and Dallas Jesuit head football coach Bob Wunderlick. In fact, if you stood the two side-by-side, you might think that they were "separated at birth."

Wunderlick told WalkSports.com that he thinks that his team's chances to go deeper in the UIL 5A playoffs are good but that "it will not be easy." The '83 Jesuit grad is not discouraged that he loses 25 seniors, including Reggie Stephens (OG to Iowa State) and Sean Carney (DE to Tulane), but rather energized that there will be 30 seniors on the '05 squad as well as JV and Freshman units that combined for a 17-2-1 record. The Rangers are in the middle of offseason and last year's candidate for Coach of the Year says that things are "going well".

Because of the school's academic track record, Wunderlick's football players often find multitude of places to play at the lower levels of college football. The '04 bunch is no different. QB Bryant Wilson, Wunderlick reports, will either be an invited walk-on at Indiana or will go to Trinity University in San Antonio, where he might try to play football and hoops; Ronald Satterthwaite (DL-LB) will either walk-on at Tulane or at the University of San Diego (where former Bears QB Jim Harbaugh is the head coach); and, David Mooney (DL-OL) will pick from among several D III schools: Tufts, Wash U, Washington & Lee, Pomona, Carnegie Mellon, Occidental, Rhodes, Trinity, & Austin College. Kicker Sean Bellomy will go to Georgetown University for soccer.

 

Houston St. Pius X announces 7-on-7 Schedule

Houston St. Pius X's man of many titles (seriously -- assistant AD, assistant HFC and offensive coordinator), Blake Ware, announced the school's annual 7-on-7 football tournament and league schedule for this coming summer.

The Panthers will host five Saturdays of 7-on-7 football passing tournaments beginning on June 11th and running all the way through July 16th. Each tournament can host up to eight (8) teams and each team will be guaranteed three (3) games for a $125 fee. St. Pius X will also host two 4-week, 8-team Tuesday night leagues that will begin on May 31st and June 28th, respectively. The entry fee is $200 per team.

For more information, Ware can be reached at (713) 692-3581, extension 147 or (713) 498-2447.

 

Recent "Long Time No See's"

While at the Red River Athletic Conference women's basketball conference championship Saturday night, March 5th in Waxahachie, I had the opportunity to visit with former Dallas Gospel Lighthouse and Waxahachie Cornerstone Christian head basketball coach Scott Vaughn. Scott, who later spent time as the men's and the women's basketball coach at Southwestern Assemblies of God University, is currently the boys basketball coach at The Cantebury Episcopal School in DeSoto.

I also had the chance to visit at length with Houston Grace Christian boys head basketball coach David Hernandez and former Houston Christian Youth Association (HCYA) basketball coach Marshall Johnson at Saturday night's 14th annual Greater Houston Area Private School Basketball All-Star Game hosted by Houston Christian High School. Johnson shared with me that his son, Kevin, who starred at Tulsa University, had been playing recently in Turkey. Kevin had turned in one of the most prolific private school All-Star game performances in 1997 when there were two games that were played at Houston Baptist University's Sharp Gymnasium.

Seen at the TAPPS state basketball championship in Mansfield when I was there with my daughter, Waverly, to visit Events Director Edd Burleson: Arlington St. Alban's head basketball coach Brian Rodricks.

Monday, March 14, 2005

 

March 14th News and Notes

Houston Lutheran North's Ross Petree was one of the Houston Chronicle's five nominees for Boys Athlete of the Week on Monday, March 14th. The senior catcher was 6-for-10 last week, hitting two home runs, six RBIs and two doubles. He hit the game-winning three-run homer to lead the Lions past Westbury Christian 6-4. He also threw out two runners trying to steal.

Former Dallas Christian School and SMU track star Clint Bell won the 3rd annual Baylor Student Foundation Bearathon in Waco on Saturday, March 5th. Bell, who currently resides in Wilmer, defended his 2004 title with a time of 1:14:40.7. The 13.1-mile half marathon course was short approximately .35 miles. Bell then turned right back around the following Saturday, March 12th, and finished fourth in the St. Paddy's Day Dash Down Greenville 5K in Dallas. Bell finished in a time of 16:03, nearly a minute off of former Aggie Andrew Cook of Flower Mound's 15:14.

Monday, February 07, 2005

 

Back At It .. or Trying!

It is realistically tough to try and keep the energy level to keep up with Texas private and parochial high school athletics when you don't live and breathe it every day.

Running is that passion for me these days! I guess I feel guilty that I can't promote the schools the way I used to. Plus I got sidetracked from updating here when the issue with TAPPS and the Muslim school from Houston hit the newspapers the week before Christmas and offered up analysis on txprivatesports.com's message boards.

+ Nice story in Monday, February 7th's Houston Chronicle on Westbury Christian School's Jeremy Barr. Click here for more.

Friday, December 24, 2004

 

Volleyballers Recognized by Bryan-College Station Eagle

On Tuesday, the Bryan-College Station Eagle released its Seventh Annual All-Brazos Valley Volleyball Team and a number of private and parochial school athletes were recognized on the honorable mention as well as the All-Academic Team

BRAZOS VALLEY ALL ACADEMIC VOLLEYBALL TEAM
Beatriz Aguilar, Allen Academy junior, 3.7 GPA, NHS, Who’s Who, TAPPS art state champion
Jamie Lenz, Allen Academy junior, 3.9 GPA, NHS, Citizenship Award winner, BTV essay winner
Cindy Turner, Brazos Christian senior, 3.93 GPA, NHS
Sarah Yezak, Brazos Christian, 4.24 GPA, 1,350 SAT, NHS

ALL-BRAZOS VALLEY VOLLEYBALL TEAM HONORABLE MENTION
MH Cindy Turner, Brazos Christian senior, 65 kills, 60 digs, 20 blocks in 10 district games
OH Kasey Zemanek, St. Joseph freshman, 77 kills, 50 digs, 94 % serves in 10 district matches

 

Dallas Morning News' All-Area Teams Filled with Private Schoolers

Dallas St. Mark's Charles Wilson, Fort Worth Trinity Valley's Riley Foster and Fort Worth Country Day's Pat Powers were named the Dallas Morning News' Players of the Year in boys water polo, girls field hockey and boys volleyball on Thursday.

Boys Cross Country
First Team
Will Smith, Dallas Jesuit, Jr.

Boys Water Polo
First Team
Charles Wilson, St. Mark's, Sr. (Player of the Year); David Newell, St. Mark's, So.; Matthew Perkins, St. Mark's, So.; Michael Shashova, St. Mark's, Fr.; Sumpter Smartt, St. Mark's, Sr.

Girls Field Hockey
First Team
Riley Foster, Fort Worth Trinity Valley, Jr., F (Player of the Year) ; Chloe Bade, Fort Worth Country Day, Sr., F; Dianne Goode, Dallas Hockaday, Sr., F; Chelsea Miller, Dallas Hockaday, So., F; Kristen Berry, Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal, Sr., MF; Lauren Gage, Dallas Greenhill, Jr., MF; Brittni Himelfarb, Episcopal School of Dallas, Sr., MF; Sarah Johnson, Dallas Hockaday, So., MF; Hannah Miller, Dallas Hockaday, Sr., D; Kylie Vincent, Fort Worth Country Day, Jr., D; Kendra Walton, Arlington Oakridge, Sr., D; Paige Pickett, Episcopal School of Dallas, Sr., G

Boys Volleyball
First Team
Pat Powers, Fort Worth Country Day, Sr., MB (Player of the Year); Garrett Dobbs, Dallas Greenhill, So., MB; Matt Feldman, Dallas St. Mark's, Sr., MB; Ian Hall, Fort Worth Trinity Valley, Jr., S; Jeff Klein, Dallas Greenhill, Sr., OH; Gabe Oros, Dallas Greenhill, Jr., OH; Van Vanderburgh, Fort Worth Country Day, Sr., OH


Football
First Team Offense -- Reggie Stephens, Dallas Jesuit, Sr., OL
Second Team Offense -- Kyle McKissack, Dallas Jesuit, Sr., RB

 

5 Private Schoolers Make El Paso Times All-City Honorable Mention

Five (5) El Paso area private and parochial school players on Thursday were named to the honorable mention squad of the El Paso Times All-City high school football team.

Offensively, Jesus Chapel sophomore RB Chris Cordero, Faith Christian junior RB Steven Lopez and Cathedral senior WR Adrian Rodriquez were tabbed to the unit. Cathedral senior DB Julio Devora and Jesus Chapel senior DB Danny Moran were named on the defensive side of the football.

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