Monday, July 30, 2012

MAIS Coaches,
Please designate a school official or parent to text or call football, softball and/or soccer scores to Southern Sports & Travel at 985-750-3455 immediately following the games. Thousands of MAIS supporters visit Southern Sports & Travel for the latest and most up to date scores and we are the only online publication dedicated solely to MAIS athletic coverage.
The upcoming 2012/13 athletic season will be the biggest in the five years since the inception of Southern Sports & Travel.
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Thanks,
Darron Thomas
Southern Sports & Travel

Sunday, July 22, 2012

Pick Em Contest
The Southern Sports & Travel "Pick Em" Football contest is back! The eleven week contest will kick off beginning with week one action on August 17 and will run through the week eleven regular season finale. Ten games will be posted each Sunday night along with a tie-breaker. Contestants must email their picks by noon on Friday to be eligible for that week.
The contestant with the highest aggregate of wins at the end of week eleven will win a $100 gift card and can select from the following:

*Hibbett Sports
*Dick's Sporting Goods
*Academy Sporting Goods
*Outback Steakhouse
*Cracker Barrel
*Olive Garden
*Chili's
*Wal Mart
*Target
*Best Buy
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In the event of a tie after week eleven tie-breakers will be totaled from all eleven weeks to determine a winner.
Limit one entry per contestant
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WEEK ONE GAMES
>Central Private at Cenla
>Central Hinds at Riverfield
>Oak Hill at Newton
>Magnolia Heights at Marshall
>Lee (MS) at North Delta
>Lamar at Heritage
>Brookhaven at Silliman
>MRA at Jackson Prep
>Pillow at East Rankin
>Oak Forest at Copiah
**Week One Tie-Breaker: Total points scored in the Lamar/Heritage game
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Email picks by noon on Friday to aafandaman@yahoo.com

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Bobcats tab new baseball coach
Southern Sports & Travel
Presbyterian Christian recently named Kyle Maxie as their new head baseball coach. Maxie is a graduate of North Forrest High School in Hattiesburg. Maxie signed with Florida State to play baseball out of high school (He also was drafted in the 22nd round of the MLB draft that year) and went on to transfer to Southern Mississippi and star for the Golden Eagles during their epic run to the college World Series. Kyle has been an assistant coach the last three years at the college level, the last at Southeastern Lousiana University in Hammond.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

I AM Powerful!

I love Glenda from the Wizard of Oz when she says, "Go away you have no power here." I've adopted that to mean... the goodness and the light coming from me is way too strong; you have no ability to affect me.

We all have dreams that we must release into the universe. There are times when people who don't wish us well try to block those dreams. But, as long as you know the power that's within you, no one can block any blessing or dream that God has for you. Just remember Glenda, the good witch or spirit, who told Dorothy that she's always had the power. It comes from within... it lives in your heart. As long as you know that you have nothing to fear, you'll live an abundant life!

The ability to manifest great things in your life comes from being grateful for what you have... and serving others in some way. It can be as small as helping someone see great potential within themselves that they may not have seen before. It could also mean using your life to inspire someone to step out on faith. We all have a purpose that's divinely connected to each other.

When you travel just remember the stranger that you meet may be someone who was sent to help you discover more about yourself. My intuition always guides me to the truth, so I've learned to trust it. On the occassion that I meet somenone who connects me to my purpose, I know that the universe is at work guiding me to something bigger than myself. Power comes when you can connect the dots.

Friday, July 13, 2012

WHY SUPPORT SOUTHERN SPORTS & TRAVEL?
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"Southern Sports and Travel has been an invaluable source of information for fans of the MAIS, providing not only statistics, but great articles about the different teams. Coaches and fans alike are rewarded from its reading and I personally enjoy and appreciate the coverage of the MAIS. Thank you Southern Sports & Travel."
Leake Academy Athletic Director & Girls Head Basketball Coach Doyle Wolverton
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"Southern Sports & Travel has given a perfect venue to promote MAIS sports and acknowledge the accomplishments of our student athletes. All MAIS patrons and schools should do whatever is in their power to help this website flourish because the kids deserve it."
Marshall Head Basketball Coach Craig Dailey 
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“Darron is a great ambassador for the MAIS and its member schools. He is professional in his work and writes detailed, positive articles that reflect well on our association.”
Jackson Prep Head Basketball Coach David Horner
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"Southern Sports & Travel does a great job covering MAIS sports through his site Southern Sports and Travel. Our players know it is a big game and are excited when he comes to cover our games! Without Southern Sports and Travel our schools and students would get very little recognition."
Simpson Academy Head Football Coach Billy Wayne Hankins
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"Southern Sports and Travel has been an excellent source of up to date information for me. It's the first place I look after a ballgame to find scores all across the state. Thanks Darron for all your hard work!"
Parklane Academy Head Baseball Coach Michael Clements

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"Southern Sports & Travel provides information about our association that cannot be found anywhere else. From game recaps to district standings, it's all available here. Darron's work allows schools such as ours to gain exposure that local media outlets do not provide."
East Rankin Head Basketball Coach Michael McAnally
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"I can't tell you how much I appreciate Darron Thomas and his work with Southern Sports and Travel. The website is great for exposure for MAIS athletes and schools. Darron's knowledge of the MAIS makes it not only informative but extremely credible. Our kids are always excited for Southern Sports and Travel to visit Rees Gym."
Presbyterian Girls Head Baskeball Coach Missy Bilderback
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"Southern Sports & Travel is the best sports website for MAIS sports. It is a great unbiased, factual sports sight. It is a great tool for coaches to keep up with box scores and district standings. I frequent the site often during the season."
Hillcrest Christian Boys Head Basketball Coach Wes Prather
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"This site is a blessing to every Coach and to the MAIS. It gives accurate information about the sports experiences of our student/athletes in every classification. Southern Sports & Travel’s commitment to our kids and to our academies is unbelievable and their knowledge of our sports is excellent. As a basketball coach, I find their articles to be better than most scouting reports I can obtain from other coaches. I pray everyone will support this site by purchasing a sponsorship."
Simpson Academy Girls Head Basketball Coach David Granville
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"Southern Sports and Travel has become the "must view" website for our entire school, along with the entire association. Players, parents, staff, and alumni turn to SST on a daily basis to get all the latest news and events."
Columbia Head Basketball Coach Reid McCay
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"We advertise on Southern Sports & Travel because we are building a basketball program, and it is absolutely the best way to stay on top of MAIS scores and trends. Supporting a resource as valuable as this makes perfect sense. The MAIS must agree since they have made it the official location for playoff scores after each game. Our schools are so far apart, we need this service to bridge the gap."
Riverfield Academy Girls Head Basketball Coach Dave Farrell

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"Southern Sports & Travel is the absolute best site on the internet to get up-to-date articles and information on MAIS sports. Our athletes really appreciate the coverage that Darron provides."
West Memphis Christian Boys Head Basketball Coach Jeff Dalton
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"Thanks to Southern Sports and Travel and Darron Thomas, we can have almost immediate scores and news about what is happening in the MAIS throughout the school year. He does a great job of promoting all our youngsters and providing information. The site is very user friendly. What a great job Darron does. I check for basketball scores every night during the basketball season. We appreciate all the information and interviews."
Starkville Academy Girls Head Basketball Coach Glenn Schmidt
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"Southern Sports & Travel is my #1 source of sports information in MAIS. I can't tell you how many times we have come in after a ball game, whether it be football, basketball, soccer or baseball, and wanted to know what other schools did. The first thing all of our staff does is head to the computer to pull up Southern Sports & Travel."
River Oaks Assistant Football Coach Dalton LeBleu
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"I visit Southern Sports & Travel because it is so efficient and easy to keep up with all of MAIS sports. The Clarion Ledger never covers the Louisiana schools so I rely strictly on Southern Sports & Travel. It has been a great help to myself and my entire coaching staff."
Silliman Girls Track Coach Sharon Kline
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"Darron Thomas and Southern Sports and Travel have meant so much to the Centreville Academy Tiger Baseball team and fans in our quest for back to back state championships. The coverage has enabled our fans to keep abreast of our games. The coverage of our players signing college scholarships was awesome. Darron, please keep up the great work. "
Centreville Academy Baseball Coach Jason Horne

"Southern Sports & Travel does a tremendous job of getting around to various schools and ensuring that many of our athletes in the MAIS are covered. I hear from kids, parents, and fans all the time about stories or items that appear on Southern Sports & Travel. It is THE source for MAIS news and standings."
Heritage Academy Head Basketball Coach Gary Harris

"I really appreciate all the hard work that Darron does accumulating all the scores, stories, and stats weekly. Southern Sports & Travel is my number one site for keeping up with the MAIS sports."
Leake Academy Head Football Coach Brian Pickens
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"Southern Sports site is the only way for me to stay connected to news concerning the MAIS (MPSA in my days)schools of which I was a part for 38+ years. Thank you very much for the excellent coverage."
Billy Swindle, former Administrator of Woodland Hills Baptist Academy and Parklane Academy

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For school sponsorship rates and advertiser rates click link
http://aafansportsandtravel.blogspot.com/p/sponsorship-and-ad-rates-on-southern.html

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Randall signs on to play football at Belhaven
Ty Randall of Columbia Academy has signed to play football at Belhaven University in Jackson.


Saturday, July 7, 2012

Hurst sidelined, could miss start of season
Southern Sports & Travel has confirmed that Centreville head football coach Bill Hurst will travel to Houston on Sunday and will see a heart specialist Monday morning. On a recent routine checkup Hurst was informed of  two areas of concern regarding his heart and subsequently arrangements were made with a specialist in Houston. Hurst is the winningest active coach in Mississippi with 333 wins and 8 state championships and is the only coach in MAIS/MPSA history to win titles in three different classifications. I spoke with Coach Hurst this afternoon and he said he fully expects to be ready for the opening game on August 17th and he expressed his gratitude for the many calls and messages of support and prayer.
A family source stated that they expect surgery to take place next week. Updates on Coach Hurst will be posted as they become available.
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Comments....................
From Anonymous:
"Coach Hurst has had surgery in Houston and is doing well as of Tuesday evening."
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From Anonymous:
"Coach Hurst will be the fighter through this surgery just as he has many times on the football field leading his team to victory. He is strong, steadfast, and a man of God. I would expect to see him return to his duties way too soon and even stronger than ever. You can't keep a good man down! Take care and our many prayers will be with you. Using the words that you have told to us time after time"........"GOD BLESS YOU."

Monday, July 2, 2012

New Hillcrest coach to rebuild on fundamentals
Southern Sports & Travel
Tommy Roberts knows all too well just how successful Hillcrest Christian School has been on the basketball court and on the diamond. Hillcrest has been a stalwart in competing for championships in basketball and baseball for over a decade but for the 33 year old who played his high school football at Wayne County High the task at hand is one he is ready to tackle head on.
Hillcrest named Roberts the new head football coach just last week and in the midst of moving from Kissimmee, Florida back home to Mississippi the former offensive coordinator at Liberty High School is preparing to assess players while at the same time instill a new attitude for Hillcrest football.
“We must change the culture here at Hillcrest,” said Roberts. “Hillcrest has had so much success in basketball and baseball that there’s no reason we can’t do the same in football.”
Roberts sees his first task as building the roster number from recent levels to fielding a team of 30-50 players and to do that will require kids to believe in his system and the hard work required to rebuild.
The building block will center on fundamentals and Roberts believes there is still a place for “old school” football. “We will focus on three fundamentals,” said Roberts. “Run the football, stop the run and win the kicking game.”
The 2002 graduate of Belhaven had his eyes on coaching Hillcrest football four years ago but after interviewing for the job Hillcrest hired Johnny Mills instead. “That didn’t deter me,” said Roberts. “I’ve always wanted to coach at Hillcrest and now that I have the job I want it to be my last move and last job.”
The 4-47 record for Hillcrest over the past five seasons tells the story but Roberts didn’t have to search far for encouragement. The Hillcrest junior varsity program has enjoyed success recently and in that he sees the perfect path to rebuilding and being successful.
“I want to change attitudes and lives,” said Roberts. “Our junior varsity program is critical and I’ll be heavily involved in it but we need to develop some senior leadership and they must believe in me.”
Another area that Roberts wants to focus on is competing with other MAIS schools in the Jackson area that dominate much of the attention with regards to media coverage and on July 9 his reign officially begins when the Cougars hit the weight room and focus on some skill work before the official first day of practice begins on July 30.
“We’re pretty much set with our coaching staff but we may bring in some older coaches as volunteers and when the season starts we’ll put a product out there that resembles a team that’s been coached,” said Roberts.
Roberts plans on implementing a multiple offense featuring the I-Formation and the Spread while running a 4-2 and 4-3 defensive scheme.  
Coach Roberts joins the Hillcrest family with his wife Rebekah and their five year old daughter Claire.
Edwards of Riverdale gets Rivals Top 200 invite
Southern Sports & Travel
Riverdale Academy quarterback Regan Edwards will be making the 227 mile drive west to DeSoto, Texas next week to participate in the inaugural Rivals Underclassmen Challenge. The 6’2” junior to be is one among 200 of the country’s top underclassmen prospects who will converge on DeSoto High School just outside of Dallas on July 8 to compete in a camp setting.
The invitation only camp will consist of position specific drills under the direction of NFL alumni and a one on one competition that will match some of the country’s top underclassmen head-to-head.
“I’m very excited to have been invited to the Rivals Underclassmen Camp,” said Edwards. “There will be a lot of talented players from all over the country and I’m happy to represent my school and the MAIS there. I can’t wait to see how I stack up against the rest of the players. I’m very happy to have this chance.”
Edwards, who passed for 18 touchdowns and completed 66% of his passes and rushed for nearly 500 yards and 2 totchdowns as a sophomore last season, is the only MAIS athlete who will be participating in the one day event.
At 185 lbs the 16 year old runs a 4.7 in the 40 and has recently worked with former NFL quarterback Sean Salisbury on quarterback techniques and fundamentals.