By Robert Morgan | Published Sunday, April 26, 2009
With every spring sport entering postseason play and competition, sometimes it's hard to make note of the small things that are going on. In fact, some of you may not find it newsworthy while others would like to hear anything I have to say - positive or negative.
So, whatever group you are in, this is your chance to keep reading or move on to my Chico High School softball story in today's sports. Otherwise, fasten your seat belt and lets take a drive through all eight of our high schools in about 30 inches, or five minutes, however you want to look at it.
Boyd
Wise County is not exactly the hotbed for football stadiums, and the taxpayers make sure it's kept that way. That's not the case when you have a little unused cash lying around.
Boyd ISD has a few million dollars that it needs to put to work so it will build a much-needed football stadium along with its new high school. And for good measure, this nice little addition will also be blanketed with some artificial turf.
J.G. Cartwright Stadium (OK, I made that up, but you know it's coming.) will be the envy of all schools. Chico, Paradise and Alvord can hardly seat two bands and drill teams in their bleachers, Bridgeport's visitors' side is a beat down and Decatur's nest is older than my grandma.
Just when the folks in Decatur cringe because Boyd is getting what it never will, watch what happens when Boyd lays some carpet on its baseball and softball fields. Nice, very nice.
Alvord
The high school isn't growing in numbers, but there were are a few extra bodies roaming the halls and offices last week. Oh, don't worry; it's just the fine folks from the Title IX office wrapping up an investigation that was launched some 10 months ago.
The findings here will determine the fate of some.
Chico
The Lady Dragons softball team is headed back to the state playoffs, an extended part of the season that no other program in Chico has seen in years. The last time a Chico team made it to the playoffs in any team sport was in 2006, and yes, that was also the softball team.
After starting district play with a 3-4 record, the Lady Dragons had an impressive run to snag their playoff spot. They won six straight games by a combined score of 75-12 and have run-ruled five of those teams.
Impressive.
Bridgeport
Senior Trevor Schuett suffered an injury before the District 5-3A track and field championships last week and was not able to run on the 400 relay team along with Austin Blevins, Jace Hudson and Garrett Mullins. So, his freshman brother Trevor picked up the slack and did not disappoint as he helped lead the team to a second place finish and a spot at next weekend's regional finals in Lubbock.
However, Trent is expected to be back at full strength and will likely run with the relay team even though his younger brother filled in to help get the team to the next round. That's brotherly love.
Paradise
The Panthers surprised everyone, I think even themselves, last week when they won the boys' team track title. This group had not won a meet this year but was golden in the only meet that mattered.
To top it off, the group had season-best times and distances in an eye-popping 12 events. That is a great day at the office.
Decatur
This has been a rare, challenging season for the softball team that has lost more games than usual. The Lady Eagles have missed the state playoffs only once this decade (2007), which also happens to be the only losing record posted by the program during the same stretch.
The Lady Eagles were eliminated from playoff contention for a second time since the coach Lauri Candioto-era Tuesday night in a 5-2 loss to Vernon.
The good news: Decatur starts four freshmen and will lose onlyone senior starter. The bad news: They will likely be playing for a new coach next season.
Northwest
The Lady Texans, who were five games below the .500 mark before starting district play, have won 13 of their last 14 games in dominating fashion.
Pitcher Erinn Jayjohn, a Mississippi signee, and Northwest shutout state-ranked Keller 4-0 last week to secure a share of the district championship.
Finishing in the top spot has made for a tough playoff road in recent years. The team was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs two years ago when it won the title, but advanced to the regional finals and state tournament as a second-place team in 2005 and 2006.
Slidell
In case you were wondering why I ignored the softball and baseball teams this year, it's because they do not exist. For the third straight year, Slidell was unable to field enough athletes to play the most popular spring sports.
It should come as no surprise when you look at the plummeting enrollment figures. The high school had more than 100 students the last time the Greyhounds took the diamond, but the numbers have dipped below 70 and are still falling.
