Find out what Ripley Coach Justin Cruse and Halls Coach Jason Curtis had to say about their teams’ last tune-up before this week’s start to the regular season in this week’s issue of The Lauderdale Voice. Ripley won the Tiger Bowl, 17-6, but Halls gave a good account on itself in the battle against their inter-county rivals. Ripley Middle School won its game with Halls Junior High, 42-0.
Photos by Fran Dew
Ripley’s 11-12-year-old All-Stars win championship
Ripley’s 11-12-year-old All-Stars won the West Tennessee Youth Baseball Majors Gold Bracket Tournament championship, going 8-0 in the event. Ripley beat Crockett County twice, 13-0, and, 15-0. They also beat Munford twice, 8-0, and, 17-0. They beat Haywood, 14-0, and Medina twice, 19-9, and, 10-1. The head coach of the team was Austin Thompson, Jr., with assistant coaches Shawn Rose and Michael Demoss. Team members pictured are, from left, front row, Tristan Frazier, Sammie Smith, Kylan Hicks, Alex Caldwell, Carson Younger, Orlando Currie; back row, assistant Coach Shawn Rose, Will Rose, Marij Barbee, Luke Crook, head Coach Austin Thompson, Jr., Austin Thompson, III, Bodie Glenn, Omarion Pitts, and assistant Coach Michael Demoss. Coach Thompson dedicated the team’s victory to former Lauderdale County Mayor and long-time baseball Coach Rod Schuh.
Halls High School has named Jason Curtis the new head football Coach. The former assistant under Scott Blair takes over the program after one year as an assistant. More to come in next week’s edition of The Lauderdale Voice.
By Jay Heath
The Ripley Tigers played what Coach Lonnie Starks called “their best game of the year,” to defeat their rivals from Haywood, 64-54, in the final game of the regular season.
Senior Captain Jermaine Bonds led the way with 29 points, while sophomore Johnny Holcomb scored 14, and Dalton Haislip added 10 as the Tigers pulled off the season-defining win.
“We’ve played well in Haywood the eight years I’ve been in Ripley,” Starks said. “These guys played hard. It wasn’t our offense or defense that won it, it was just the fact that we played so hard. They played as hard as any team I’ve ever had.”
Earlier in the week, the Tigers fell to Covington, 75-57, despite 15 points from Bonds and 16 from Andre Banks. The Tigers trailed by just three at the half in that game.
“We’re getting closer to Covington,” Starks said. “We’d sure like to play them a third time.”
For that to happen, the Tigers will have to advance in the district tournament, as they were scheduled to open the event on Tuesday against Fayette-Ware. The winner of that game will advance to the semi-finals, which begin for the boys on Friday in Millington.
The Ripley girls lost to Covington last week, 66-31. They also fell to Haywood, 65-45, despite 11 points from Ajah Washington and 12 from Zrica Robertson. The girls were also scheduled to play in Fayette Ware in the district tournament opener. A win would send the Lady Tigers to the semi-finals in Millington starting on Thursday.
By Jay Heath
One of the things the Ripley High School football team needed to change most began its change last week as senior star Bryant Evans signed a scholarship to play football at Bethel University.
“This is a really big deal,” RHS football Coach Justin Cruse told a crowd of teammates, friends and family members gathered to watch Evans sign on National Signing Day on Wednesday. “Bryant has battled a lot of injuries, but now he’s able to play football, and most importantly get an education.”
Evans who played defensive end and offensive line in high school, said Bethel coaches have indicated he will play defensive tackle and nose guard on the next level. He hopes his signing inspires more athletes to get to the college level like the program did in the early 2000s frequently.
“I think we’ll have a lot of kids coming through who will do it,” Evans said.
Evans’ mother, Nikki Evans, said her son earned the chance to continue to play football.
“He’s had a passion for football since the eighth grade,” Ms. Evans said. “I knew he’d go far. He’s a good kid, a good player, and a good student.”