The state golf tournaments finished last week, but that was only the beginning of the post-season action for area teams.
The state volleyball tournaments are being played this week in Murfreesboro, while local soccer teams and cross country runners are battling in region, section and sub-section tournaments to advance to next weeks state soccer and cross country championships.

VOLLEYBALL
In this mornings volleyball action, two Memphis teams won and four area teams lost. Two more local teams play this afternoon.
In Division 2-A, Harding Academy beat SBEC in three games and Immaculate Conception defeated St. George’s in four. Harding and IC will play tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the winners bracket final of the double-elimination tournament. St. George’s and SBEC will meet Thursday morning in an elimination match.

In Division 2-AA both Hutchison and ECS lost. The Sting won Game 1 vs. Girls Preparatory School, but lost the next three. ECS did not have any luck against defending state champion Nashville Father Ryan. Ryan swept the Eagles in three games. ECS and Hutchison face one another in the 9 a.m. Thursday elimination match.

Houston and Munford both play later this afternoon in the Class AAA portion of the tournament.

GIRLS SOCCER
In girls soccer, Thursday is an important day. At 6 p.m. Collierville hosts Houston in the Region 8-AAA championship. The Dragons and Mustangs have been the dominant teams in Class AAA for the last few years. Collierville won 5-3 in the regular-season matchup. Collierville (16-0-5) is ranked No. 12 in the USA by National Soccer Coaches Assocaition of America/adidias High School soccer National Rankings. Houston is 17-4-0 and looks to have righted itself from a mid-season slump.

In the Region 7-AAA Todd Purcell’s Arlington Tigers will host Jackson’s Liberty Tech. The Tigers defeated Brighton 8-0 in Tuesday night’s semifinals. Arlington junior Kelsey Forsythe scored the first two goals for Arlington, and Brittani Handley and Taylor Lindsey also added two goals for the Lady Tigers (10-5-4).

The region winners will host the region runnerups in sectional matchups on Saturday.

In Division 2 soccer, Saturday is the sub-state round of action. St. Agnes earned the No. 1 seed in the West by defeating ECS 3-0 Tuesday night. The Stars will host GPS at noon. ECS will host Brentwood Academy also at noon. Third-seed Hutchison will travel to Chattanooga Baylor. In the smaller classification, St. George’s is the top seed and will host IC at 3 p.m. Harding Academy will host St. Andrew’s at 1:30 p.m., Lausanne the third-seed will travel to Nashville Davidson Academy and No. 4 seed Tipton-Rosemark will travel to University School of Nashville. All winners advance to next weeks state tourney in Chattanooga.

CROSS COUNTRY

The Division 2 Region Championship will be run Thursday at Shelby Farms, girls at 3:45 p.m. and boys at 4:30 p.m. The Region 7-AAA Championships is Thursday at Arlington Development Center, girls at 1:15 p.m., boys at 2 p.m. On Friday, the Region 8-AAA Championships are at Shelby Farms, girls at 4 p.m. and boys at 4:45 p.m.

The trip to Houston went just like I thought it would. The Tigers left with a win, we got some good mojo from Tyler, and the Tigers fans in attendance were spectacular. Now it is off to the Big Easy and Tulane.

Are they called Tulane Green Wave, the Tulane Green Wave, or the Green Wave of Tulane?

I know few saw the game last weekend so ya’ll missed some great plays. Hankins had some long balls that were just right on the money. Joe Doss ran like the Joe Doss we know. In fact there were a couple of runs that I thought he had 20 on his jersey. The offensive line blew guys off the line and cleared holes. Without taking the time to look it up to be 100% sure, I can remember Joe having at least six runs in excess of 10 yards on his way to 175.
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I went up to Reelfoot Lake Tuesday for the annual Writers Conference hosted by Strike King Lure Company and Blue Bank Resort.

Some of the biggest names in pro fishing were there - and they were all cooped up inside because of the awful weather.

It rained all day, and the 25 mph winds made me feel like a Weather Channel reporter covering a hurricane down on the coast.

It was my first chance to see Arkansas angler Mark Rose since his $125,000 victory in the FLW Series bass tournament on Pickwick a couple of weeks ago.

He really didn’t look richer. But then, I didn’t expect him to.

Mark is just Mark, whether his pockets are half full or overflowing.

THE BIG STORY

The Northwest Arkansas Times reported Arkansas wide receiver Marcus Monk, who has been trying to return from a second arthroscopic knee surgery in late August, managed to get extensive work during Tuesday’s afternoon practice.

Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee was impressed with what he saw from Monk as the wide receiver participated in one-on-one drills, individual drills and some team work. It was the most work Monk has been able to go through since injuring his right knee during a preseason practice on August 9.

But the senior’s status for Saturday’s 1 p.m. homecoming game against Florida International remains uncertain.

“He looked good today. He’s not like where he was in two-a-days, but he’s way better than what you (reporters) saw last week,” Lee said. “I don’t know what that means for Saturday yet. I really think it depends on what happens tomorrow morning when he gets up and what that knee looks like.”

Monk has played only one snap this season, in a 9-7 loss to No. 22 Auburn on Oct. 13. He has indicated that he doesn’t want to redshirt this season, which he is still eligible to receive.

Arkansas coach Houston Nutt said Monk appeared to have more confidence in his surgically repaired right leg during Tuesday’s practice. But Nutt should have a better idea today as to whether the senior will be able to play against Florida International.

Over the past few weeks, Monk has felt sore the day after getting extensive work in practice. Lee said it would be a promising sign if Monk’s right knee didn’t swell up following Tuesday’s practice.

“This is the most he’s done (in practice), so we’re excited about that. So we’ll see,” Nutt said. “It’s hard to put a number of plays on all those things that you (reporters) want to ask about. I don’t know that. I just know that he’s far more ready now than he has been, so that’s a good sign.”

A look at the league: Read the rest of this entry »

Heavy rains forced the University of Memphis football team to practice inside at the turf room of the Murphy Athletic Complex.

And what a shame.

The turf room is a nice size for middle drills and work on the short passing game, but it’s hardly adequate for a Division 1-A team trying to reverse a difficult start and make the postseason.

While the city mulls whether a new stadium or a renovated Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium is best, and the U of M explores the feasibility of an on-campus facility, the university should move quickly to secure funding for a 100-yard indoor practice field. Covering one of the existing Murphy Athletic Complex fields would be ideal.

Albeit a relatively small block, it’s the next building block for the football program as it attempts to ready itself for the next 1-A shakeup. U of M officials who toured the Central Florida campus in September had to be impressed with not only the school’s on-campus stadium, but it’s 100-yard, state-of-the-art indoor practice facility.

A rainy, late-October Memphis week — before a must-win game at Tulane — should have U of M officials pondering such a course of action for the Tigers. If Martin Hankins wants to be sharp Saturday, slingin’ in the rain, or zippin’ short passes in the turf room, doesn’t cut it.