Fishing became a hot topic around the county over the past week, and football teams made their final preparations for the first official games of the season.
TUESDAY
ELLISON RETURNS FROM INJURY AT QB FOR JESSIEVILLE
JESSIEVILLE -- The Lions lost their starting quarterback to injury last season and finished the year 3-7, but Dalton Ellison returns under center for Jessieville this year ready to get head coach T.J. Burk's team back on track.
Jessieville's 2022 campaign was always going to be a rebuilding season after Matthew Huff and Carson Hair graduated, but the project was dealt a blow when Ellison was injured in the second game of the year at Mount Ida.
"He's a talented kid," Burk said. "He's dual threat. He can run. He can pass. It hurt us big time last year when he got hurt, out for the year. He's got some experience there. He's kind of a leader for us."
MOUNTAIN PINE HEAD COACH JOINS POLICE FORCE
MOUNTAIN PINE -- No one is shocked to see Mountain Pine head football Daryl Scott on the sidelines at football games on Friday nights, but some were surprised to see Scott working a sobriety checkpoint as a police officer in town.
Scott recently decided to join the Mountain Pine School District police to keep his football players and other Mountain Pine students safe.
"I've always felt very vulnerable out on the football field," Scott said. "It's my job as the head coach to protect these players. Anybody can walk through these gates and pay their money and do something horrible. We're out there in front of everybody with no protection really. I know we have a few police officers at the game, but I'm still out there with these kids."
WEDNESDAY
RAM ANGLERS COMPETE AT HIGH SCHOOL NATIONALS AS 'TRUE GRIT FISHERMEN'
Lakeside's anglers placed 11th at the Bassmaster National Championships of high school fishing at Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.
"What a whirlwind," head coach Christy Culbreath said. "It was amazing. I am so proud. We had two teams competing. Cole (Martin) and his partner Josh Bowen got 11 in the nation. That is nothing to cry about. It was grit, push, they studied, mapped out and they had a plan. They went for it."
Lakeside sent two teams to compete for the title. Sophomore Griffin Ralph and junior Kaleb Snow placed 123rd out of 481 boats.
THURSDAY
MAJESTIC PARK ALL-STARS SET FOOT ON WORLD STAGE
The Cal Ripken 12U World Series took place in Branson, Missouri, at the Ballparks of America, and Hot Springs' own Majestic Park sent a team to compete on the world's stage.
The Ballparks of America is made of Major League replica fields based off Fenway Park, Comiskey Park, Wrigley Field, Busch Stadium and Kauffman Stadium. The World Series started Aug. 2 and ended Saturday.
Ohio Valley won the World Series, defeating Taiwan 2-1.
FRIDAY
LH GOLF ENTERS SEASON WITH SENIOR LEADERSHIP, HIGH EXPECTATIONS
PEARCY -- High school golf season is in full swing, and the Lake Hamilton Wolves are looking to make a run at state despite their tough conference schedule.
"We have five seniors," head coach Brandi Higginbotham said. "We have had quite a few kids join us that are from other sports, which I have not had before. I have 12 boys this year, three football players, two tennis players, one band and we are trying to mix all of those kids together to get a score.
"We have a little more competition in the boys this year. For the girls, the three girls have been with us a while, but all three of them have been scoring better. I have been very happy with them. Our conference is tough, in the boys especially. If we can get out of it and into the state tournament, I would be thrilled."
ZENYATTA CO-OWNER JERRY MOSS, 88, DIES
Thanks largely to the superstar thoroughbred he owned and raced, Jerry Moss became known as more than a famous man's partner.
The record producer who with trumpeter Herb Alpert formed A&M Records died Wednesday at his home in Bel Air, California. He was 88 and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. He owned and raced Zenyatta, now 19 and enshrined in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Along with Alpert, he produced such acts as Sting/The Police, Carole King, Joe Cocker, The Carpenters, Peter Frampton, Janet Jackson and Styx.
SATURDAY
USANGLING BRINGS YOUTH EDUCATION DAY TO HULSEY FISH HATCHERY
USAngling is bringing a youth angler education event to Hot Springs during the Pan American Fishing Championship Sept. 9.
The free event teaches young anglers and family members alike different parts of fishing including basic tackle, knots, regulations, environmental stewardship, casting instructions and personal flotation usage.
USAngling youth committee chair Michael Brand said USAngling not only brings dollars into communities with tournaments, but also brings the opportunity to provide experiences for the youth who might not have much experience with fishing at all.
OAKLAWN STAR WET PAINT SEEKS SARATOGA SWEEP
If you were wondering, the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga Race Course is not named for the Southeastern Conference football team Nick Saban coaches. And, though contested in upstate New York, it has a connection to the Heart of Dixie.
The $600,000 race for 3-year-old fillies dates to 1872, when won by August Belmont's Woodbine. The Alabama derives its name from owner-breeder William Cottrell of Mobile, Alabama, whose Ascension finished 10th in the inaugural Kentucky Derby in 1875 and whose Buchanan won the Churchill Downs classic in 1884. The English native, who came to the United States in the 1840s, was too modest to have a race named in his honor and requested it be named after his home state.
The Alabama is three years older than the Kentucky Oaks, which like the Derby dates to 1875. It has been run each year since 1912 and, at the classic American distance of a mile and a quarter, is longer than the Oaks with both races Grade 1.
SUNDAY
COUNTY FOOTBALL COACHES EXAMINE BIGGEST QUESTIONS AHEAD OF SEASON
PEARCY -- Lake Hamilton was knocked out of the Class 6A playoffs in the second round last season by Benton, ending the season at 9-3.
Head coach Tommy Gilleran said the biggest question mark for the Wolves this season is in depth.
"There is a bunch because we lost so many kids," Gilleran said. "We have eight on offense and on defense we have to replace 10 people. There is a lot of questions everywhere. Other than our quarterback play, we know what we are getting there.
PAINT IT BROWN IN SARATOGA UPSET
The man from Mechanicville, New York, feels right at home at Saratoga Race Course, especially within the winners' circle.
Chad Brown, a former aide of Hall of Fame trainers Shug McGaughey and Bobby Frankel, only 44 in shaping his own HOF career, is the perennial leader at what amounts to his hometown track. Best known for his work with turf horses, Brown is also adept on dirt, twice winning the Preakness along with three straight Eclipse Awards as the nation's leading trainer.
Padding his lead in the local standings, Brown scored a third victory on Saturday's card with a female on dirt -- Randomized wiring the field in the Grade 1 $1 million Alabama. The Nyquist 3-year-old won a minor Saratoga stake before rolling to her third career victory for Klaravich Stables, which paid $420,000 for the filly as a yearling.