Tyler County Sports

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JANA RAYBURN | TCB The Chester varsity basketball team is 2-0 after the first week of the season. Pictured, front row, left to right:  Elysia Gray (manager), Jack Rayburn, Kaighnen Green, Travis Zulpo, Rick Carlton,  Coach Justin Hilliard, P.J. Purvis, Cutter Lowe, Luke Read, Keighen Green, Carson Thomson, and Assistant Sydney Hickman.  Front row, left to right:  Jaxon Hilliard, Kessler Romo, Bradley Davison and Jeff Knox. 

By Jana Rayburn 

The Yellowjacket basketball team got the season off to a good start with a couple of wins last week.  The Jackets defeated the Apple Springs Eagles on Tuesday, Nov. 16 by a score of 45-17. Coach Hilliard is encouraged after this first week of play.  He has high expectations for the team.  High scorer for the night was Jack Rayburn with 20 points.  Carson Thomson scored nine points.  Keighen Green scored six points, Rick Carlton score four points, Jeff Knox scored three points, Cutter Lowe scored two points, and Kaighnen Green added a free throw.  The Jackets took on the Fred Good Samaritan Home School team on Friday, Nov. 19. 

 The Jackets won 37-19.  Rayburn again led in scoring with 14 points.  Luke Read and Keighen Green each had seven points.  Bradley Davison scored three points, and Carson Thomson, Cutter Lowe, and P.J. Purvis each scored two points. 

The Jackets next game will be in Spurger on Tuesday, Nov. 30.  The game will start at approximately 6:30 p.m., or after the conclusion of the girls game.

 The Lady Jackets won their first game of the season last week as they defeated the Apple Springs Lady Eagles 28-16 on Tuesday, November 16.  Coach Hilliard was pleased with the win, especially since the girls only had a few hours of practice.  Sydney Brock led the team with 9 points.  Emma Grimes, Kat Knox, and Lily Read all scored 5 points each, and Kyli Handley scored four points. 

The Lady Jackets will travel to Spurger to face off against the Lady Pirates on Tuesday, Nov. 30.  Tip off will be at 5 p.m.

 The junior high teams traveled down the road to Colmesneil on Monday, Nov. 15 to play a boys and girls game against the Bulldogs. Both boys and girls got big wins for their first game of the season. 

 The junior high teams will be on the road on Nov. 29, as they head to Burkeville to play against the Mustangs.  Game time for junior high girls will be 5 p.m., with the boys game to follow.

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By Chris Edwards
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COLMESNEIL – Several players from the Colmesneil Bulldogs’ squad earned All-District nods for their work this season.

 Senior Treston Horton, who played wide receiver for the ‘Dogs was named in the Superlative category as “Utility Player of the Year.”

 First team picks are: seniors Kolyer Marshall (center) and Scott Eddins (inside linebacker); juniors Reed Best (quarterback) and Dylan Fowler (defensive tackle.) Marshall and Fowler were also named to the second team as defensive tackle and offensive tackle, respectively.

Second team picks also included: senior Jermi Shamblin (outside linebacker) and junior William Mitchell (running back.)

 Honorable mention nods went to: senior Brent Jones (cornerback); juniors Michael Good (cornerback); Fisher Yardley (inside linebacker); Kaden Butler (WR); Mason Teel (safety) and sophomore Jayden Shamblin (offensive tackle.)

 The Bulldogs had an overall strong season with a 6-4 overall record and 2-4 in district play. 

Plenty of the Lady Dogs volleyball team also had reason to celebrate after the season ended. Lady Dogs who received All-District honors included the following:

 First-team All-District – Emily Park, sophomore (outside hitter); Second-team All-District – Karen Martin, senior (middle blocker); Bernice Pittman, sophomore (outside hitter). 

Juniors Gracen Lindsey (setter) and Cara Wade (right-side hitter) received honorable mentions.

 Lady Dogs head coach Tanner Shepherd said he wanted to thank all of the players who participated in volleyball this season.

“Sometimes success cannot be measured in winds and losses, but rather improvement and progress throughout the season,” he said.

 “This year your Lady Dogs progressed significantly as a unit at every level as well as individually. I am very proud of the body of work that they put together,” he added.

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Mighty Eagles running back Pop Prejean has possession of the ball. Prejean scored three touchdowns against Crockett last Thursday. (LARRY LAMB | PCPC )

By Larry Lamb
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LUFKIN –  The Woodville Eagles turned in a dominating performance on both sides of the ball to upend the Crockett Bulldogs, 41-6, in the bi-district round of the Class 3A DI playoffs Thursday night in Abe Martin Stadium.

The playoff road gets much tougher for the Eagles with an area round matchup against No. 5 ranked Lorena looming Thursday night at 7 o’clock in Madisonville’s Mustang Stadium. Lorena (9-2) beat Hitchcock (5-6) 53-28 in the first round.

The Eagles (7-3) received the opening kickoff and set the tone early by driving 51 yards on 10 plays to take a 7-0 lead. Senior running back Pop Prejean scored on a 2-yard blast and kicker Cole Standley added the extra point with 9:02 left in the first quarter.

Crockett intercepted a pass on Woodville’s second possession but was unable to pick up a first down. After a punt pinned the Eagles back at their own 9-yard line, Woodville drove down the field on hard running by Prejean and a 15-yard pass to Jaylin Kibble. Quarterback Jack Fowler connected with Raylon Williams on a 44-yard TD strike and Standley tacked on the PAT for a 14-0 lead with 3:06 left in the opening quarter.

Prejean made two more trips to the end zone before half time to put the Eagles up 28-0.

After the Eagle defense forced Crockett’s fourth punt of the game, Prejean escaped outside and rambled 55 yards to cap a 76-yard drive. Standley’s kick made it 21-0 with 4:28 left in the half.

A 13-yard quarterback sack at the 3-yard line forced the Bulldogs to punt from their own end zone. Punter Tony Cruz managed to get off a good kick under heavy pressure and the Eagles took over at Crockett’s 38. Three plays later, Prejean bulled his way into the end zone from 1 yard out with :48 before halftime.

Crockett’s biggest offensive play of the half came on the last play when quarterback Jadyn Collins hooked up with Crowley Pierce on a 31-yard toss to the Eagle 25.

After halftime, Pierce energized the Bulldogs when he returned the kickoff to the Eagle 34. Crockett senior running back Keshun Easterling put Crockett on the scoreboard with a 27-yarder but the Eagles blocked the extra point and the score stood at 28-6 with 10:18 in the third.

Midway through the quarter Woodville took over on downs at the Crockett 39 and scored on a 9-yard pass to Jaylin Kibble. Standley kicked his fifth extra point to put the Eagles up 35-6 with 3:47 on the clock.

The two teams exchanged punts the rest of the night.

Late in the game, the Eagles returned a punt to midfield and completed a 25-yard pass to Lloyd Evans at the 14-yard line. Kameron Wyatt scored on the next play with :18 left to make it 41-6. After a delay penalty on a two-point conversion, the quarterback took a knee in the backfield.

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The Chester Lady Jacket volleyball team were well represented in All-District selections. Pictured are: Bottom row, left to right: Sydney Brock, Kat Knox, Emma Byrd, Bailey Fann. Top row, left to right: Emma Grimes, Kyli Handley, Kinsley Barnes, Abby Grimes, Lily Read, Kaylee Tolar, Linzie Romo.

By Jana Rayburn

The Chester Lady Jacket volleyball team was knocked out of the state playoffs in the regional quarterfinal round to the Neches Lady Tigers.  The Lady Tigers were the defending state champions and had experience in their favor.  

Chester has met up with Neches for the last three years in this round, but this year, the score was very close.  The Lady Jackets lost 0-3 (21-25, 18-25, 19-25), but Chester put up a fight. Coach Terry Lambert said, “We battled with Neches, but came up short. Neches played some solid defense, and we errored a little bit more than they did.”  

Lambert said if they had minimized some of the errors and created a little more pressure, they would have won that game. All three sets were a tight battle and both teams fought hard. “In the past, Neches would run all over us. This year, Chester came to play. In the future, we are now on the radar as being a top team in Region 3,” said Lambert.  Everyone in Chester is really proud of the Lady Jackets and all they have accomplished this year. This group of athletes competed with every team they played and learned to play at a more advanced level.  The future for Chester volleyball is exciting.

All-District honors were announced after the conclusion of the season for the Lady Jackets, and Chester was well represented.  Freshman Lily Read was named MVP for the district.  Kat Knox received the honor of Defensive MVP, and Kaylee Tolar was named Co-Offensive MVP.  First team all-district honors go to Emma Grimes, Emma Byrd, and Sydney Brock. Second team honors went to Kyli Handley, Linzie Romo, and Bailey Fann. Kinsley Barnes and Abby Grimes were given honorable mention honors.  

Basketball in season

The Yellowjackets and Lady Jackets are already busy with basketball. Practice started shortly after the conclusion of football and volleyball, and games began last week.  Coach Justin Hilliard will be busy coaching both teams, but he is excited about the upcoming season.  

The boys will play a home game on Friday, Nov. 19, as they host the Good Samaritan Hornets in a 5 p.m. game. The boys will play at home again on Monday, Nov. 22 against the West Hardin Oilers.  Tip off will be at 1 p.m. The girls team will play their first game on Nov. 30 in Spurger.