WAKE UP! ON ETBLITZ | Was it a target, or a sudden landing? FCA results, and Mustangs make state baseball all-tourney team
EDITOR’S NOTE: It’s Tuesday here in East Texas, AND IT’S NOT RAINING!!!! High five! Now, it’s early, but if you’re like me and you’re alone and it’s dark, SELF high five! Celebrate and go by Cozy Coffee Station and get you a big ol’ Just Peachy Lemonade (pineapple-strawberry-peach lemonade). You can’t actually go wrong just pulling up their menu (Home | Cozy Coffee Station), closing your eyes and touching the screen. Whatever you get, it’s gonna be good. And then plug in either 110 Midtown Plaza, Kilgore or 755 Highway 271 North, Gilmer into your phone, and get there – legally – and pick it up. Then repeat. Happiness.
Close call – or not
Drove to Longview yesterday morning and I’m wondering if I saw someone in the Great Texas Balloon Race have to hit a target, or if I saw someone have to sit it down, rather quickly.
Coming down McCann Street, I was sitting at the light with Jucy’s at my left, and looking at Kroger and Starbuck’s at my right. Of course, it was red. I refer to those as “red lights,” by the way, not “traffic lights.” Reckon why?
Light changes and we’re off – like we’re at the Daytona 500, or something – and everybody, I’m assuming, notices the large blue balloon coming down rapidly to our left, from the west, descending on the area that turns out to be the parking lot area near the back of The Butcher Shop and Hupei Chinese restaurants.
It just touches concrete about the time I’m passing, and I can’t take my eyes off the road long enough to see very much. I make my stop, and I’m back through only about 10-12 minutes later, and in that length of time, the balloon is deflated, no one looks in distress, and a truck with a GTBR logo on its door is on the scene.
Guys are loading up gear into the basket (is it simply called a “basket?”) and people are getting into a car beside it. I’m assuming it was a planned landing. Hopefully so.
Four Mustangs make all-tournament team
Four Overton players were named to the University Interscholastic League (UIL) All-Tournament Team as a part of the state baseball tournament last weekend at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
Seniors Jayden Edwards and Bryson Bobbitt and juniors Rylan Holleman and Landon Hill were all named to the team, which was selected by members of the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association. Each game had players selected.
Holleman started the game at pitcher, but was selected at catcher; Bobbitt was selected at second base; Edwards was selected in the outfield, as was Hill. Collinsville’s Jaxon Jenkins was named most valuable player in the 2A-DII title game.
To see the whole list, here you go: All-Tournament Team — Baseball State Tournament — University Interscholastic League (UIL).
FCA wraps another year
The Northeast Texas Fellowship of Christian Athletes hosted its annual all-star games this past weekend in Tyler, all for seniors in the East Texas region. It’s hard to believe that the oldest of these games, the Heart of a Champion football game, was played for the 15th time at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.
The baseball and softball all-star games were both played on the Tyler Legacy High School campus on Friday night, with a split: the Blue all-stars defeated the Red, 9-7, in baseball, and in softball, it was the Red topping the Blue, 6-4.
In football on Saturday night at Rose, Blue came from behind to defeat Red, 27-14.
It was the 10th playing of the baseball game, and the 11th playing of softball.
Lindale’s Ty McCoy, playing for the Blue all-stars, was one hit shy of the cycle: he had a single, a double, a triple, a stolen base and an RBI. Man, if he’d had the homer…
From the ETBlitz.com area of note, on the Red all-stars, West Rusk’s Cole Jackson had a single and scored in the game. Tatum’s Jaxen Prince had an RBI double. And Collin Wheat shared time on the mound, and had an RBI.
Overton’s Braxton Harper, who recently helped the Mustangs to a 31-9 record and the 2A, Division II state championship game, suited up for the Blue all-stars, who were coached by Frankston’s Wes King – Harper was the only player from the Blue from the ETB coverage area.
The Red all-stars were coached by Pine Tree’s Jarod Davidson, and had a few players from schools in our area, including West Rusk’s Jackson, Tatum’s Prince, White Oak’s Wheat, and teammate Brady Greenwood.
Softball was also played Friday night, and the Red all-stars defeated Blue in nine innings, 6-4.
Henderson’s Chloe Ellis threw the first four innings of the game for the Blue. She was joined on the Blue all-stars by teammates Addi Standley and Addison Davis. The Blue all-stars were coached by Canton’s Russell Smith.
The Red all-stars had White Oak’s Jaidyn Marshal, and the head coach was Beckville’s Ronny Grandgeorge.
On Saturday, Big Sandy quarterback Kayden Smith and Edgewood’s Brayden Trlica helped the Blue score 27 straight points to come back from a two-touchdown deficit to beat the Red in the 15th annual Chick-Fil-A Heart of a Champion Bowl.
Trlica had two interceptions on defense, and Smith threw two: one to Chapel Hill tight end Jonah Riordan and the other to New Diana’s Davyon Mapps.
Smith and Trlica were named most valuable players of the game and Jay Sanders of New Diana (a Red all-star) and Tyrell Gause of Chapel Hill (a Blue all-star) were named winners of the Heart of A Champion Awards for performing throughout the week with great character, or as it says, the heart of a servant and encouraging others.
Tatum’s Cayden Tatum caught a 50-yard touchdown pass in the game from Troup’s Bryce Wallum, and Henderson’s Zeshaun Reed caught a 25-yard pass from Smith.
Overton quarterback Bryce Still had a 34-yard pass to Brandon Smith, and also an 8-yard touchdown pass to Smith.
The Blue All-Stars from the ETBlitz.com coverage area: Henderson’s Trevor Kind and Zeshaun Reed; Arp’s Casch Cameron; Overton’s Still and Jayden Edwards; White Oak’s Lucas Frazier; and West Rusk’s Adam Jaimes.
Also on the Blue All-Stars roster: Beckville’s Trace Chamness; Big Sandy’s Kayden Smith; Canton’s Croix Hesskew; Chapel Hill’s Braylen Allen, Trevor Brooks, Tyrell Gause, Riordan, Derek Tovar and Deshawn Waddleton; Commerce’s Rey Maldonado; Edgewood’s Dylan Jones and Trlica; Frankston’s Zaylyn Donnell, Brayden Dotson, Reese Hicks and Tyler Rogers; Garrison’s Antonio Yarbrough; Grand Saline’s Trenton Green and Trevor Green; Harmony’s Casen Cox; Jacksonville’s Brendan Richards; Legacy’s Micah Pierson; Lindale’s Jayrn Eagans; Marshall’s Dameon Smith Jr.; Mineola’s Colton McMahon and Noah Turner; Nacogdoches’ Victor Martinez; New Diana’s Roberto Aguilar and Mapps; North Lamar’s Brayden Reynolds; Rains’ Tylin Oakes; San Augustine’s Treyvonte Holman; T.K. Gorman’s Manuel Lozano; Van’s Cade Christensen; and Whitehouse’s Daylon Hester.
Edgewood’s Alex Guerra was the head coach of the Blue All-Stars, and joining Guerra on the Blue coaching staff were his offensive coordinator Jason Seal and defensive coordinator Flint Bingham, as well as Jeff Riordan, head coach of Chapel Hill, and Craig McFarlin and A.J. Johnson, also of CHHS; Colton Traylor of Gilmer; and Bruce Silman and Daven Murphee of Mineola.
Coaching the Red All-Stars were Garrison’s Brandon Alvarez, and both of his coordinators – defensive coordinator Ritchie Pinkard and offensive coordinator Dane Stanage –joined him on the staff, as well as Matt Perkins of Bullard, Bill Cowley of Hawkins, Big Sandy’s Brian Pullum, Longview’s J.R. Tatum and Marshall’s Hunter Ashley.
ETBlitz.com-area players on the Red All-Star team: Arp’s Bryce Everett, AB Martin, and Demarcus Wade; Henderson’s Johnathan Bateman; Overton’s Vance Fletcher; Troup’s Bryce Wallum; and White Oak’s Dillon Sanchez.
Also on the Red All-Stars: Big Sandy’s Lurbryson Ross; Brook Hill’s Samuel Williams; Bullard’s Keyshawn Jeffery; Canton’s Dane Dial and Reed Vannorsdel; Garrison’s Christian Clark, Jabrahlyn Jones, Landon Peddy and Gavin Pollard; Grand Saline’s Colt Boyd; Harleton’s Tyler Crossley; Harmony’s Konner Ellison and Ashton Sherwood; Hawkins’ Trou Conley and Coby Latta; Jacksonville’s Elijah Whitaker; Legacy’s Rashad Warren and Dwayne Williams II; Lindale’s Jack Kirk and Hayden Nations; Longview’s JaMorion George; Marshall’s Terry Taylor; New Diana’s Ayden Hamilton, Jay Sanders and Canon Willeford; Pine Tree’s Treavon Rougely and Brandon Smith; Tatum’s Cayden Tatum; Van’s Easton Hinch, Kade Richardson and Foster Rust; and Wills Point’s Dakota Ryder and Jake Samples.
Game coordinators were Bullard’s Scott Calloway, Mineola’s Luke Blackwell, and NETXFCA director Robert Bardin.
Hey, next June, the game is planned for Longview High School’s Lobo Stadium.
The game also had cheerleaders who were selected as all-stars, just like the athletes.
Cheerleaders are also chosen for the game, including some from the ETBlitz.com coverage area: Troup’s Emory Cover, Briar Kirkland, Reese Lovelady and Payton Wells, and Sabine’s Camryn Tatum.
Also cheering this past weekend: Big Sandy’s Ryleigh Allen, Jordyn Beckwith, Kiley Dobbs, Kenzie McCartney, Journie Plunkett and Emily Thibodeaux; Beckville’s Jac Shrontz; Carlisle’s Madi Bathke and Marisol Hernandez; Como-Pickton’s Valeria Gonzalez and Danica Wiggins; Edgewood’s Miacheala Cook and Zoey Pippin; Frankston’s Avery Albritton and Nyla Muhammed; Garrison’s Brianna Downs, Morgan Land, and Jayden Rodrigues; Harmony’s Lillian Camp, Katie Henson and Rylee Murphy; Hawkins’ Kylie Adams and Katie Barber; and Van’s Sophie Johnson, Hailey Lamond, Hollynne Moseley, Shelby Parker and Kaylee West.