Those were Bay’s Khyri Thornton and DeAndre Richardson, Arnold’s Chris Jackson and Marianna’s Bradley Battles. We also had several small-school signings. You can read all about those here.

I’m the first to admit that signings can be tedious work, if you allow them to be. Yes, the brunt of the stories is the same, but it’s always nice when you find a better story than just some kid who’s moving on to the next level.

Thornton provided some of this, as he was open about his lack of study skills. He said he liked to party at Bay and he skipped class a lot. He said getting Ds was good enough.

He soon realized it wasn’t good enough and he went to Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. This was the same place Mosley’s Enrique Davis went. There’s little doubt they came out changed men.

Thornton said the semester lasts four months and you aren’t allowed contact with your family for three months. It’s like extended boot camp. You are there to study, work out and be disciplined.

Thornton said he’s a better man for it. Now if only he had enough sense to show up with a jacket. It was funny to see a 300-pound man shiver through the first part of his signing.

Now to some thoughts on FSU’s class.

The late addition of Greg Reid, coupled with some additional signings on Wednesday helped make this class pretty good. A lot of these guys will play next season. It will be interesting to see how they pan out.

This is probably one of the most well-rounded classes for FSU that I have seen in my six years with The News Herald. They filled needs, but also provided depth for offensive line, quarterback, running back and linebacker.

The Seminoles’ overall ranking differs depending on where you look. Last I checked FSU was sixth at Rivals.com and tied for 16th at Scout.com. FSU was ahead of Florida on Rivals and one spot behind the Gators on Scout.

Put what you want into that, but it doesn’t mean the talent is that much different. Florida didn’t have as many holes to fill and the Gators don’t need many freshmen to step up early. The Gators are loaded, which isn’t the case with the Seminoles.

Post from: Organized Chaos

What the Mosley girls soccer team currently is doing is one of those occasions.

The Dolphins are 18-0-1 with one match to go before the district tournament next week. They have been scored upon in only four matches, with Arnold’s two-goal outburst on Tuesday the most.

They are the favorite to win not only the district, but all indications are pointing this team to the Final Four. It’s there they will, and we will learn just how good they are.

But let’s put this into perspective.

Soccer in Bay County has never taken off like it has with our neighbors to the West and East. Pensacola area has some great teams, such as Gulf Breeze and Niceville and Tallahassee routionely fashions programs that draw the awe of coaches here.

Teams in Bay County haven’t had a lack of talent or good coaching. It’s quite contrary. But, it never seems to pan out in the district and regional rounds.

Mosley has advanced to regional six times and won only one match. The Dolphins haven’t survived past districts since 2001.

What they have accomplished thus far is mind blowing. There never has been a team like this and the scary thing is the Dolphins are young and could do it all over again next year.

Whether they win the state title or not is not the story here. The story is this is a Mosley team that is feared and has beaten the top teams in the Panhandle. The story is this is something no one has ever witnessed in Bay County.

I think more people should appreciate what they’re seeing. And in a few weeks there will be no denying what’s in front of our eyes.

Post from: Organized Chaos

Here’s some items about this year’s Barnstorm that you may not be aware of. Count this as a little behind the scenes look at the ninth Barnstorm.

— Franklin High of Tennessee was the only school to truly bring a stable with them. The team was accompanied by cheerleaders, tons of them (well more like 16 or so), as well as a healthy fanbase. The team’s not half bad, either, as it was one of the favorites coming in and has done nothing to dispel that notion.

— Port St. Joe’s Willie Quinn fouled out on Monday, but his departure from the game was controversial. The Marianna scorebook had him with five fouls, while the Port St. Joe scorekeeper had three fouls and two others, one on each player, that the Marianna scorer did not have.

The decision was made to go with Marianna’s book since the Bulldogs were the home team and deemed official. PSJ coach Derek Kurnitsky, who at the time had lost 11 straight games in the John L. Cobb Gymnasium, shrugged his shoulders and told his team “I don’t think Willie’s had five fouls called on him all season.”

— When you hear someone say “I’ve seen it all” they probably are fibbing a bit. But when Willie Warren says it, he means it.

Warren has manned the Bay scoreboard for every game in every Barnstorm. We’ll do a story on Willie either this year or next year when the Barnstorm turns 10, but he doesn’t know it yet. When we told him he’s the story he said “No, I’m never the story.”

When Pat McCann, the News Herald’s Executive Sports Editor, found out Willie was a Dallas Cowboys fan he joked, “Maybe we shouldn’t do a story on him now.”

— Madison Ridgeland Academy was the only team to bring a radio crew with them. Well, they didn’t bring them,exactly. A local station made the trip to cover each of the Patriots’ games in the event. Too bad our local radio station isn’t doing the same.

— Coaches aren’t afraid to play anyone, but Cottondale coach Chris Obert made it known before the tournament that he wanted no part of Blountstown. That’s not because he feared the Tigers. No, the teams are in a district together and will play twice this season, soa third matchup was fruitless.

— Port St. Joe and Marianna will meet for the second time in three days and the third time this month on Wednesday. Friendly rivals Derek Kurnitsky and Travis Blanton are competitive, but they can do without playing each other so much. It’s never good when one of your friends has to lose, Kurnitsky told me.

Update, Dec. 31: Well, turns out Marianna and PSJ didn’t want to play again, so the brackets were altered. This was the second time this happened. This occurance could have been avoided had there been a bye in each half of the bracket, rather than in the same bracket.

— Veteran referee Fred Mosley and his crew were late to the court in one of the games on Monday. Warren buzzed them several times before they came out to applause from the fans. Mosley told me he “Had to get his eat on” to make sure he got enough food.

— Speaking of food, coaches, refs, us media types and other school officials are treated to a hospitality room each year. There was a plethora of wings, sandwiches, drinks, desserts and more. Too bad I can’t partake in much of it due to my medical condition.

— The music selection at this year’s tournament between games has been catchy. It’s nice to see the volume was turned down, as the John L. Cobb sound system can get quite loud. It’s a wonder why other schools in the county don’t have systems like this. Arnold and Rutherford have to play music through a boombox and microphone.

— I feel lucky, but only one ball has come my way as I sit next to the scorer’s table. Darrien Mack of Rutherford toppled over the other table on Tuesday. No other players have made contact with the plastic tables, which help me and other people do their jobs accordingly. Thanks to Bay High AD Glenn Manley for making sure we’re taken care of.

— There have been no major injuries, but the play has been physical more so this year than past tourneys. Teams are being allowed to do pretty much whatever they want short of slamming someone.

Post from: Organized Chaos

The playoffs open on Friday.

Graceville, Port St. Joe, Marianna and Bozeman must travel. Each faces stiff challenges. Heck, even Arnold could be in for a battle.

Two teams, Port St. Joe and Marianna, have to play top-ranked teams in their classification. The other three could be considered favorites or at least even with opponents.

I make it a rule not to predict the outcome of the game I cover. It causes too many problems, plus it makes me look biased, which is the last thing I want to do.

So, I will not predict the Arnold-Wakulla game.

Here goes with the picks. Feel free to add your own:

Port St. Joe at Lafayette

The Tiger Sharks draw a solid Lafayette team that returns a nucleus from the one that beat Port St. Joe in last year’s playoffs. The Hornets’ defense has been extremely good, holding opponents to 11 points per game. They also have four shutouts.

PSJ is no stranger to low-scoring playoff games. It has won 2-0 and 3-2 decisions since I’ve been on staff. This will be no different, but Lafayette is too tough.

The pick: Lafayette, 17-10.

Marianna at Madison County

Marianna’s Bradley Battles is one of the state’s best running backs. He willed the Bulldogs to a win over Tallahassee Florida High, one of the better teams on their schedule.

But this is Madison County, the defending state champions. There’s talent everywhere. Two or three Bradley Battles wouldn’t make much of a difference.

The pick: Madison County, 40-14

Graceville at Jacksonville Eagle’s View

These teams met last year, with J.J. Laster leading the Tigers to a 58-34 win. Both of these teams have showed they can score again this season. Graceville has the experience of winning on the road against Eagle’s View.

You can expect another high-scoring affair here.

The pick: Graceville, 35-31

Bozeman at South Walton

This is a rematch of a September game played in Sand Hills. Bozeman had a 13-0 lead, but South Walton rallied and was leading 28-21 with less than three minutes to play.

The Bucks drove the field and scored. Coach Loren Tillman decided prior to the drive to go for 2 and the win, but the Bucks came up short and lost 28-27.

This was an early game where Bozeman was still trying to find its legs after losing some close games and having to deal with suspensions stemming from some blowups against Baker. South Walton is a good team and this will be close again.

The key will be if South Walton can contain a Bozeman running game that has a new star, Tyler Grier, to go along with holdover Mason Bennett.

The pick: Bozeman, 21-20

Post from: Organized Chaos

Tiebreakers are held Nov. 10. The host will be the team with the best overall record.

Area teams Vernon, Mosley and Rutherford could be involved in tiebreakers.

Vernon will be in a three-way tie for two spots if it defeats Holmes County Friday and if South Walton beats Bratt Northview. That would leave Vernon, South Walton and Baker tied at 3-1 in District 1-2B.

Mosley could force a three-way tie for the District 3-4A runner-up spot with a win over Rutherford and a Tallahassee Chiles win over Tallahassee Leon. That would leave Mosley, Rutherford and Leon at 2-2.

Rutherford could be in a tie for two spots with a win over Mosley and a Leon win over Chiles, leaving Lincoln, Rutherford and Leon tied at 3-1.

Complete scenarios and projections after the jump:

Who’s in: Bozeman, Port St. Joe.

Who’s out: Franklin County, Blountstown, Chipley, Wewahitchka, Liberty County, Bay, Holmes County.

Could clinch this week: Marianna (with a win over Walton), Winner of Cottondale-Graceville, Arnold (with win over West Florida Tech OR with a loss and a Gulf Breeze win over Pensacola)

Could be eliminated this week: Mosley (with a loss to Rutherford), Marianna (with a loss to Walton), Loser of Cottondale-Graceville.

District champion and runner-up projections - Click here for area standings

1-1B: Tallahassee FAMU, Graceville
1-1A: West Gadsden*, Port St. Joe*
1-2B: Baker, South Walton
2-2B: Tallahassee Florida High*, Bozeman*
1-2A: Pensacola Catholic*, Marianna
1-3A: Arnold, Pensacola High
2-3A: Tallahassee Godby, East Gadsden
3-4A: Tallahassee Lincoln, Rutherford

*positions are clinched

Post from: Organized Chaos

Bozeman took a giant step toward its first postseason berth with a comeback win over Blountstown. The Bucks need to wait for Chipley to lose one more district game before they can officially celebrate.

The Tigers dropped to 0-2 in District 2-2B and will miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2002 season. Blountstown had advanced to the regional round in each year from 2003-2007.

Arnold will clinch its second district title in school history with a win over Pensacola West Florida Tech Nov. 7.

Bay County still has a shot to qualify four teams for the postseason. What a year that would be, eh?

Projections after the jump:

As of this week (for our area only) -

Who’s in: None.

Who’s out: Franklin County, Blountstown.

Could clinch this week: Bozeman (if Blountstown defeats Chipley), Rutherford (with win over Tallahassee Leon)

Could be eliminated this week: Chipley (with a loss to Blountstown), Holmes County, Bay, Mosley (with Tallahassee Lincoln win over Tallahassee Chiles and a Rutherford win over Leon)

District champion and runner-up projections - Click here for area standings

1-1B: Tallahassee FAMU, Graceville
1-1A: West Gadsden, Port St. Joe
1-2B: Baker, South Walton
2-2B: Tallahassee Florida High, Bozeman
1-2A: Pensacola Catholic (has clinched district title), Marianna
1-3A: Arnold, Pensacola High
2-3A: Tallahassee Godby, East Gadsden
3-4A: Rutherford, Tallahasse Lincoln

Post from: Organized Chaos

I’ll take a look at the area playoff scene each week until all the races are decided. I’ll note the clinched berths, who’s close and give you my projections for the top two teams in each district that will advance to the regional round.

As of this week (for our area only) -

Who’s in: None.

Who’s out: None.

Could clinch this week: Arnold, with a win over Gulf Breeze and a West Florida Tech victory over Pensacola. Others: Bozeman is close, but even with a win over Blountstown, Chipley could force a triebreaker with wins over Blountstown and Florida High.

Could be eliminated this week: Franklin County, Bay, Blountstown.

District champion and runner-up projections - Click here for area standings

1-1B: Tallahassee FAMU, Graceville
1-1A: West Gadsden, Port St. Joe
1-2B: Baker, South Walton
2-2B: Tallahassee Florida High, Bozeman
1-2A: Pensacola Catholic, Marianna
1-3A: Arnold, Pensacola High
2-3A: Tallahassee Godby, East Gadsden
3-4A: This is way too close to call right now

Post from: Organized Chaos

Rutherford is led by flashy quarterback Cordarryl Rogers.

There are many intriguing stories brewing in Bay County, but none may be as good as Rutherford.

The Rams are 4-1 and are one play away from being unbeaten in high school football. They also are 1-0 in District 3-4A after defeating Tallahassee Lincoln 29-28 last week.

Confidence is back in Springfield.

Rutherford has won four games in a season for the first time since 2004. The statistic is odd given how long the Rams were the class of not only the county but of Northwest Florida.

Rutherford may have finally turned the corner after years of mediocrity. There’s no more excuses, like the one of being too young that Steve Hardin used in nearly every one of the last years of his tenure.

Of course there’s a lot of season to be played. Matchups against Tallahassee schools Leon and Chiles await, as does the annual rivalry game against Mosley.

Before the season I felt that matchup could have been for a playoff spot. Now it could be for a district championship, though Mosley would have to upset Lincoln as well for that to happen.

If you haven’t seen Rutherford play, you should make time to fit it into your schedule. In fact, Arnold and Mosley are pretty good, too.

But it’s Rutherford that’s the feel-good story of the year, especially with how far they fell after being on the doorstep of winning two state championship games. It’s also nice to see Greg Rivers have some success.

Rivers is one of the good guys. He’s always polite and has the best interests of his players on his mind at all times. The team respects him and they are finally honoring him with some victories.

Again, confidence is back in Springfield. And it will keep growing, especially if a playoff trip is the end result.

Post from: Organized Chaos

Meantime, you can check out our preview stories and capsules for each of our area high school football teams. Log onto PanhandleVarsity.com and head to the football section, where you’ll find all the stories cleverly headlined Prep Football 08.

We’re releasing stories for each team, two by the day and some days three. You can look at the archives to read each story.

Our football preview issue will release on Wednesday. This includes all of those preview stories, as well as a look at college programs in the ACC and SEC and a glance at the NFL schedule.

So get ready. It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

Post from: Organized Chaos

I’m not going out on a limb here. Wewa is playing better and performing better than it did in last year’s magical run. Not even the best private school can stop the Gators.

The only team that can stop Wewa is itself.

The Gators are 22-2, losing only to Tallahassee Lincoln and a highly ranked team from Tennessee. Wewa has since avenged the loss to Lincoln.

Wewa opens against Tallahassee Maclay, which muddled through its district with a losing record. A potential fourth meeting awaits against Port St. Joe in the second round looms and Baker could be the favorite to be slaughtered in the regional championship.

Many past Wewa teams played well and were simply happy to advance to the Final Four, only to lose to a private power. Now the Gators are the powerful team and the rest of the state needs to take notice.

Unfortunately for the rest of the state, it may be too late, as Wewa will roll to another championship. Talk to anyone in the softball community and you’ll quickly learn this is no bold prediction.

The next Class 2A state champion will be crowned in Plant City on May 8. That team will be Wewa.

Get the parade ready.

Post from: Organized Chaos

Closer to home, we have a good group of expected signees. There are Division I prospects in Bay County and surrounding areas, including two from Blountstown.

Speaking of the Tigers, that’s where my day begins at 9 a.m. Then I’m off to Vernon for an 11 a.m. signing. The rest of the staff will be in places such as Lynn Haven, Graceville, Chipley and Panama City and maybe even in Franklin County, should a late signee come through.

We’ll have wall-to-wall coverage of the area signings on PanhandleVarsity.com. You can check out a list of expected signings by clicking here.

This day is always the busiest, but one of the more memorable days in a career. I’ll be supercharged early on and throughout the night. Then I’ll go home late and crash.

We also have other area events, including the District 2-5A boys basketball tournament at Rutherford. Gulf Coast baseball is in town and the Gulf Coast women’s basketball team is prepared to crush North Florida again.

But football takes center stage on this day. Make sure to check out PanhandleVarsity.com as well as Thursday’s News Herald print edition for all the coverage you need about our local athletes, as well as complete stories on the FSU and UF classes and lists from the South’s top programs.

Post from: Organized Chaos

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.

Post from: Organized Chaos