The Preps World

Jason Smith, our Prep Writer, has been busy the past few weeks working on football stories and videos, but we know the other fall sports are starting up. We have also begun working on our golf, cross country, volleyball and girls soccer previews and they will start appearing between now and the end of August.
But, we would also like your opinion on who the top teams and individuals are in each of those sports.
Can Houston and St. George’s repeat in boys golf?
Is St. Agnes going to dominate in girls cross country again?
Who will emerge as the top girls AAA cross country team among Arlington, Houston and Collierville?
Nick Dwyer at CBHS and George Gibson at Houston are both loaded with top runners in boys CC, can they win a state title?
Will the Collierville girls soccer team reach a fourth consecutive state championship game or will David Wolff lead the Houston girls to the state finals?
Who is the top local volleyball team? — Olive Branch, Hutchison, Harding, Briarcrest, ECS, St. George’s, Munford, Collierville, Houston, Arlington, etc… Lot’s of talent spreadout among area teams… Can any of them win the state title?
Let us know what you think about your team or your top players….

Here is the Jamboree Schedule for this weeks games. If you see something interesting at any of the jamborees be sure to send us a note….
ST. BENEDICT JAMBOREE
Where: St. Benedict High
When: Aug. 14, begins at 6:30 p.m.
1st quarter — Rossville vs. Bishop Byrne
2nd — TRA vs. St. George’s
3rd — FACS vs. St. Benedict
4th — Rossville vs. St. Benedict
MIAA JAMBOREE
Where: Fairgrounds Stadium
When: Aug. 14 & 15, begins at 5 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 14
1st quarter — Northside vs. Manassas
2nd — Craigmont vs. Oakhaven
3rd — Northside vs. Treadwell
4th — Cordova vs. Hamilton
5th — Ral.-Egypt vs. Sheffield
6th — Fairley vs. Wooddale
7th — BTW vs. Mitchell
Friday, Aug. 15
1st — Westwood vs. Hillcrest
2nd — Frayser vs. Overton
3rd — Central vs. Carver
4th — Trezevant vs. Kirby
5th — Kingsbury vs. W. Station
6th — East vs. Whitehaven
7th — Ridgeway vs. Melrose
All quarters will be 15 minutes, clock will run on game-time situations
SHELBY COUNTY JAMBOREE
Where: Arlington High
When: Aug. 15, begins at 7 p.m.
1st quarter — Southwind vs. Bartlett
2nd — M’ton vs. Germantown
3rd — Collierville vs. Bolton
4th — Arlington vs. Houston
COVINGTON JAMBOREE
Where: Covington High
When: Aug. 15
6 p.m. — Munford vs. Brownsville Haywood
7 p.m. — Brighton vs. Ripley
8 p.m. — Covington vs. Fayette Academy

St. Mary’s Lauren Harrington, our Pepsi BOP Girls Swimmer of the Year, had three top ten finishes in the U.S. Junior Nationals that ended Saturday in Minneapolis, Minn.
Lauren took second in the 200 meter butterfly, fifth in the 100 fly and ninth in the 50 free.
Lauren has been busy this summer. She also competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Our Pepsi BOP Boys Swimmer of the Year, Michael Sheppard of St. George’s High School, finished 11th in the 200 meter backstroke.
Also, White Station’s Brooke Watson was 24th in the 200 Fly.
Congratulations to all three swimmers.

The Commercial Appeal Prep Staff has selected its Preseason Dandy Dozen High School football teams and we will start revealing a team a day beginning Sunday, Aug. 10. Be sure to check out our video each day at www.commercialappeal.com/preps
Who do you think should be included in our Dandy Dozen? Teams eligible must be from Shelby, DeSoto, Tipton or Fayette County.
Some questions heading into the season:
Is this the year that Olive Branch defeats South Panola?
Does defending state champion St. George’s have enough to repeat?
Who is the best in Division 2-AA? MUS or CBHS?
Which team will climb to the summit in tough Region 8-5A?
Will traditional power Germantown bounce back from missing the playoffs in 2007?
Can Coach Devin Rutherford lead White Station to another 12-win season?
How good will Briarcrest Christian be in Coach Major Wright’s first season?
Kingsbury, Melrose or Fairley in Region 8-4A?
Will Covington bounce back from its 2-8 season?
Is Millington still the team to beat in Region 7-5A?
Let us know your choices…..

Editors Note: If you missed Jason’s story on area commitments, go to the Preps Page on our website or visit commercialappeal.com/news/2008/jun/25/early-birds-get-some-big-name-recruits/
Area Prospect List with offers and commitments listed….
Chris Blakemore, Whitehaven DT (6-0, 251)
Marlon Brown, Harding Academy WR (6-5, 205)….offers from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, Stanford and Tennessee
Chris Campbell, Briarcrest QB (6-3, 180)….committed to Southern Miss
Demario Carter, Sheffield RB (5-8, 165)
Quartez Clark, Overton WR/DB (6-6, 190)
Keshun Cowan, Olive Branch CB (5-10, 165)
Courtney Easterwood, CBHS OG (6-4, 310)….offer from Tennessee
Gabriel Hunter, Kingsbury RB (5-11, 180)….offers from Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, Memphis, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt
Nathan Jolley, Houston QB (6-0, 204)
Cliff Jones, MUS OG (6-3, 290)
DeMarcus Harris, Olive Branch OG (6-3, 320)
Curtis King, Trezevant DT (6-3, 270)
Greg King, Melrose LB (6-3, 200)….offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisville, Miami (Fla.), Memphis, North Carolina, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas Tech
Jermarceono Lamb, Sheffield LB (6-4, 220)….offer from Texas Tech
Austin Long, Briarcrest Christian OT (6-5, 268)….committed to Georgia
Tremayne McKinley, Horn Lake CB (5-10, 170)
Cortez Mosby, Whitehaven RB (5-8, 211)
Nick Nelms, Houston OLB (5-10, 223)
Martavius Neloms, Fairley CB (6-2, 175)
Aubrey Phillips, Olive Branch OT (6-6, 320)….committed to Tennessee
Gene Robinson, Whitehaven CB (5-10, 165)….offers from Alabama, Colorado, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Southern Miss and Vanderbilt
Jimmy Robinson, Fairley DT (6-0, 253)
Will Stokes, MUS ILB (6-2, 197)
Nickolus Thomas, Frayser WR (6-0, 181)
James Walker, Houston RB/ATH (5-10, 204)
Derrick Webb, Whitehaven LB (6-0, 214)….offers from Middle Tennessee, Ole Miss and Southern Miss
Rod Woodson, Olive Branch S (5-11, 200)….offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida State, Louisville, Michigan, Ole Miss, Missippippi State, Southern Miss and Tennessee

Looking for the freshest and latest Spring Fling coverage? We’ve set up a separate blog just for the Fling.
Go to our Spring Fling blog to check out blog entries and quick videos.

Hernando’s Ricky Robertson may only stand 5-foot-10, but that did not hinder him as he recently high jumped 7-foot-3. The jump was the best outdoor performance to date for a high school athlete.

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