Published: July 04, 2008 10:44 am            

BENNY ROGERS: Cleaning off the sports desk

A few random notes, thoughts and observations while waiting for fireworks to light up the Fourth of July sky ...

—————

By now, I’m sure everyone has had a chance to see t his year’s edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. If not, what are you waiting for? Preseason workouts start in less than a month.

If the annual magazine’s prediction for teams in the Henderson County area are correct, it won’t be a banner year. But let’s not confuse predictions as being absolutes.

Pretty much without exception every team in our area made strides last year and three — Athens, Mabank and Trinidad — made the playoffs. Though graduation may prove to have taken a big toll at least a couple of schools, it’s not a far-fetched notion that most of our area teams will at least battle deep into their district schedules before being eliminated from playoff contention.

In case you missed it, here’ how Texas Football predicts districts involving area schools to finish:

DISTRICT 15-AAAA — 1. Lancaster, 2. West Mesquite, 3. Red Oak, 4. Mesquite Poteet, 5. Forney, 6. Terrell, 7. Mabank

DISTRICT 20-AAA — 1. Crockett, 2. Palestine Westwood, 3. Brownsboro, 4. Palestine, 5. Athens, 6. Fairfield

DISTRICT 14-AAA — 1. Canton, 2. Wills Point, 3. Van, 4. Mineola, 5. Eustace, 6. Kemp

DISTRICT 14-AA — 1. Kerens, 2. Mildred, 3. Blooming Grove, 4. Edgewood, 5. Malakoff, 6. Scurry-Rosser, 7. Rice

DISTRICT 20-A — 1. Alto, 2. Cayuga, 3. Grapeland, 4. Carlisle, 5. Overton, 6. Cushing, 7. Cross Roads

DISTRICT 14 SIX-MAN — 1. Avalon, 2. Trinidad, 3. Penelope, 4. Oakwood, 5. Apple Springs, 6. Coolidge

On the junior college front, the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals were picked to finish fifth behind Navarro, Kilgore, Blinn and Cisco and ahead of Tyler, NEO and Arkansas Baptist.

—————

By all reports, the annual Lady Pea Picker golf tournament at Athens Country Club this past weekend was huge success. Rhonda Walden, the tournament chairman, did a great job securing a full field of 49 teams to make it the largest in several years.

Here are the winners of special contest held during the two-day event, which was sponsored by the Women’s Golf Association:

Saturday

Closest To The Hole No. 2 (Championship, First, Second Flight) — Barbara Perry and Linda Potts.

Closest To The Hole NO. 6 (Third, Fourth Flights — Mickie Channey and Mary Baldree.

Longest Drive No. 8 (Championship, First, Second Flights) Janet Gaddy and Donna Caraway.

Longest Drive No. 12 (Third, Fourth Flights) — Betty Johnson and Gina Haidinyak.

Closest To the Hole No. 14 (All flights) — Pat Park and Mimi Rose.

Closest To the Hole No. 16 (All flights) — Mimi Rose and Pat Park.

Sunday

Closest To The Hole No. 2 (Third, Fourth Flights)— Gina Haidinyak and Betty Johnson.

Closest To The Hole. No. 6 (Championship, First, Second Flights) — Jane Shell and Pat Fowlkes.

Longest Drive No. 8 (Championship, First, Second Flights) — Janet Gaddy and Donna Caraway.

Longest Drive No. 12 (Third, Fourth Flights) — Nancy Anderson and Karen Paul.

Closest To The Hole No. 14 (All flights) — Ann Connelly (hole-in-one) and Mona Frame.

Closest To The Hole No. 16 (All flights) — Janet Gaddy and Donna Caraway.

—————

The Tyler-Lone Star Chapter of the Texas Association of Sports Officials is currently looking for football officials for the upcoming season.

Persons interested should visit the organization’s Web site at www.tylerrefs.org for more information or to add name to list of interest.

Meetings are scheduled to begin Monday, July 21.

—————

Congratulations to Dwayne Garner of Brownsboro for winning a promotion by Tyler radio station KTBB to attend the training camp of the Dallas Cowboys in Oxnard, California, later this month. Garner, who has worked on the chain crew for Brownsboro High School games for more than three decades, will be at the camp with station’s sports team and help with coverage.

Garner survived three rounds of Cowboys trivia competition and beat out 12 other contestants to earn the right to join KTBB’s David Smoak and Jamie Lent in California.

—————

Former Malakoff assistant boys basketball coach Ryan Tomlin, most recently the head boys basketball coach at Bullard, has been named the head boys basketball coach at Whitehouse.

Tomlin, 33, was 121-46 at Bullard.

The Grand Saline native will be just the third Whitehouse head boys basketball coach in four decades, following C.L. Nix and Wally Dawkins.

—————

Navarro College recently promoted from within to fill head coaching vacancies in football and basketball.

Nick Bobeck is the new head football coach and Johnny Estelle the new head basketball coach, replacing Ray Woodard and Lewis Orr, respectively.

—————

Former Trinity Valley Community College Lady Cardinal Betty Lennox scored 44 points in a recent WNBA game for the Atlanta Dream.

Lennox led the Lady Cardinals to a national championship in 1997.

—————

And finally ... have a safe holiday weekend.

Benny Rogers is sports editor for the Athens Daily Review.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.