Organized Chaos

Paul Myers will forever have a place in Bozeman’s history.

The junior linebacker was named to the Class 2B all-state second-team defense on Tuesday, marking the first time that a Bucks player has ever received the honor. I informed coach Loren Tillman of the good news and he thanked the sports department for helping Myers get a place on the team.

I’ll be honest. The only thing we do here is get the nominations together and send them off. Someone else makes the hard decisions, and we can argue one way or the other if we feel there was some injustice.

I have never had to fight for a player in the four and a half years I’ve been at The News Herald. Their play speaks for itself and Myers made the second team, which is a reasonable slot in a talented classification. Next year, first team is a possibility.

So congratulations to Paul Myers. Your steady play and toughness on the field made you an all-state player. You are one of the best to play at Bozeman, so you should be proud.

You can read my story on the 2B and 2A teams by clicking here.

You can see a list of all the all-state teams currently released by going over to PanhandleVarsity.com’s football section.

Will Holley is coming back to the Panhandle and Chipley High School, at least that’s what a story in the Ocala Star-Banner has reported.

Former Chipley coach Dilly Webb called me last week to tell me he was out as coach. Another round of talks led me to the story, where Holley is quoted as saying he left Ocala Vanguard to take the Chipley job. I give thanks to Webb for guiding me to the story. I would not have stumbled upon it if he didn’t tell me.

Chipley is keeping mum on the new coach. Principal Pat Dickson, who was unavailable for comment on Friday, told Scott Rossman at WJHG that she has her recommendation ready. The Star-Banner story and everyone in Chipley has been talking about Holley as the replacement.

This news will be confirmed at the Washington County School Board meeting Jan. 14.

Holley is a good fit. He did some good things in his short time at Graceville.

You can read my story by clicking here.

Six teams from The News Herald’s coverage area made respective regional tournaments. They are: Arnold, Vernon, Blountstown, Port St. Joe, Graceville and Marianna.

I’ll predict the outcomes for four of the teams. I make it a habit not to pick a winner in the game I will cover. This causes way too many problems when I have to hear people yelling about my decision.

So I will be covering Blountstown at Vernon. You’ll see no prediction on that game here. Feel free to leave your own in the comments.

Vernon is one of two teams at home. The others are on the road, with some (Graceville) traveling more than four hours to play.

Friday’s game are semifinals for the lower classes and quarterfinals for the upper classes. Here are my predictions, with no disrespect to any of our teams:

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Let’s get right to this week’s projections.

Who’s in: None.

Who’s out: Franklin County, Bozeman, Wewahitchka.

Could clinch this week (with a win and no other help): Chipley, Vernon.

Could be eliminated this week: Holmes County, Blountstown, Rutherford.

My projections for district champion and runner-up in each of our area districts, listed in predicted order of finish:

1-1B: FAMU, Graceville
1-1A: Port St. Joe, Jay
1-2B: Vernon, Northview
2-2B: Florida High, Chipley
1-2A: Pensacola Catholic, Walton
1-3A: Pensacola High, Arnold
2-3A: Wakulla, Tallahassee Godby (I pegged Wakulla’s win over Godby)
3-4A: Tallahassee Lincoln, Tallahassee Chiles

Playoff races are heating up for area high school football teams. I’ll take a look at who’s in and who’s out each week and offer my projections for the 2007 postseason.

First, a look at the playoff berths. These are either clinched berths or teams that are eliminated from contention.

Who’s in: None.

Who’s out: None.

Could clinch this week: None.

Could be eliminated this week: Bozeman, Franklin County, Arnold, Wewahitchka.

My projections for district champion and runner-up in each of our area districts, listed in order of finish.

1-1B: FAMU, Graceville
1-1A: Port St. Joe, Liberty County
1-2B: Northview, Vernon
2-2B: Florida High, Chipley
1-2A: Pensacola Catholic, Walton
1-3A: Pensacola High, Arnold
2-3A: Wakulla, Tallahassee Godby
3-4A: Tallahassee Lincoln, Tallahassee Chiles.

Your thoughts? Am I way off base?

The 2007 high school football schedules have been finalized. Here’s a look at each of the teams in our multi-county coverage area.

The 2007 schedule begins on Aug. 30 and ends on Nov. 9. Teams will actually be able to have two-a-day practices, which has been unheard of in the area for some time. I’m not sure how kids will handle it in this kind of heat.

Anyhow, here are the area schedules. Feel free to comment on your favorite team or if anything jumps out at you.
Note: We have not received schedules from Panama City Christian School or Eagle Nest, the new private school.

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The Wewahitchka softball team not only defeated two private schools in succession, but it did so in winning its first state title.

Retiring coach Charles Fortner led Wewa to wins against Mount Dora Bible and Miami Westminster Christian on Wednesday and Thursday in Plant City. Fortner and Wewa finally broke through the private school powers, though you can be sure there will be more to circumvent next season.

The best news for Wewa is that pitcher Samantha Rich returns. She’ll only be a junior and she’s put herself in the position to craft the best career of any Wewa pitcher. And that’s saying a lot given the talent flooding from the program in recent years.

The Gators celebrated their championship in front of the hometown fans on Friday. A new coach will take over next season, with hopes of having another celebration.

And there’s nothing that says the Gators won’t be doing that. After all, they showed that beating the private powers isn’t impossible. It can be done.

For now, Wewa can relish the fact it is a champion. Too bad all of us can’t do the same thing.