Thursday, September 07, 2006

Jim Hill Looks Impressive With Win Over Callaway

When I talked to Jim Hill head coach Henry Blount before tonight’s game with Callaway, he felt very confident in his team’s abilities, especially coming off a giant 34-0 win over Bailey last week.  And his team proved powerful on the rain soaked Newell Field, downing the Chargers 24-19.  But more impressive to me was Coach Blount’s confidence in his team off the field. 

I’ve met a lot of coaches in my time in television, and when you meet coaches who genuinely care about the players before themselves, it’s quite an honor.  Well tonight was a huge honor for me.  In talking to Coach Blount, I realized that he has truly put his players before himself on the field, and their futures off the field before his. 

I found out something very interesting about what keeps Blount motivatied.  Is it a giant salary?  No.  Is it tons of prestige and media attention?  No.  Is it a massive self-serving ego?  No.  Simply put, it’s this man’s love for Jim Hill High School that has kept him here in Jackson and with the Tiger football program for the last 14 years.

At 40 years old, and in his 3rd season as the Tigers’ head coach, Blount believes in his team now more than ever.  And he believes in his mission with his teams year in and year out.  And that mission is to make fine young men out of these boys 1st, and fine young football players out of them second. 

But seeing the way he interacted with his players during halftime tonight, as his team was down 13-6 to the Chargers, truly connecting with and talking to them, rather than talking down at them, I think he’ll have no problem achieving both goals quicklly and successfully.  The players trust him, and he trusts the players, making a strong and cohesive unit that the Tigers hope will continue to lead to success this season.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Mississippi State Loses, Defense Shines

Well, it was another loss for the Mississippi State football team to start the season, and end August on a bad note.  An August the Bulldogs were pumped about.  Before the season started with a 15-0 loss to South Carolina, 3rd year head coach Sylvester Croom told me that this was the best team he’s seen on the field in his time in Starkville. 

And if Croom was speaking of his defense, he was most certainly right.  What a shut-down, in your face performance by the Bully D.  But offensively, once again, I saw the same anemic productivity on the field against the Gamecock defense that became common last year.  There was one big difference, though.  It was new starting QB Mike Henig scrambling around, getting no protection from the offensive line, and throwing off target time and time again.  That was, until his injury. 

It was a quiet injury for us on the sideline.  No one really saw Henig go down, it just sort of happened.  All we knew from down there was that Tray Rutland was now in the game.  Everyone suspected that Croom just put him in to throw a long ball at the end of the 1st half.  And throw the long ball he did, and he did it well.  But the pass right in (and out of) the hands of Keon Humphries pretty muched summed up the Bulldogs’ night offensively.

And poor Henig.  Talk about a leader for this team and a big blow on and off the field.  You could feel the energy drain from the Bulldog sideline as the youngster returned from the locker room at the beginning of the second half, arm in sling, and tears in his eyes.  I watched him as he went one by one, to his closest offensive teammates, informing them of his bad news, that he would be out 6-8 weeks with a broken collarbone.  Never have I seen so much emotion go through a young athlete’s mind as I did with Mike that night.  But the young leader fought through, and even worked up enough courage to try and rally the crowd with his other arm and get the Bulldogs back in the game.  But alas, it was not enough. 

One bright spot was the play of last year’s Dandy Dozen phenom from Terry High School, running back Anthony Dixon.  The young Dixon showed quickness, versatility, and endurance in his first SEC appearance.  So much so, the coaches were ready to give him the starting nod against Auburn.  He was exactly what running backs coach Shane Beamer told me he was looking for in Jerious Norwood’s replacement.  Until he got hurt in practice with a broken finger.

So, it makes you wonder after a while how much more these Bulldogs can go through this season.  One thing’s for sure though, these trials and tribulations will definitely show everyone of what this team is made.