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March madness comes early in PanhandleBay High School’s Jeremy Wade takes a sh Gracevifle in a preseason jamboree last month.Nows Herald Photo: Vern Millershot againstTodd LeskanicThe News HeraldLooking at the lineup for the next two weeks would lead one to believe the middle of March was at hand. Although it’s only December, tournaments already dot the schedules of many area basketball teams.Rutherford's boys team spent most of this week in the 16-team Jackson County Tournament in Marianna along with area teams Graceville, Grand Ridge, Cot-tondale, Marianna, Blountstown, Malone, Vernon and Chipley. Next week the Rams will travel to Dothan, Ala., to participate in the 16-team Dothan Tournament, which features 15 teams from Alabama.With Rutherford's football season finally ending last Friday, the Rams (1-6) got back starting guards Marcus Roulhac and Jermaine Bvrd for the first time1/against Dothan High.“Having the tournaments will give Byrd and Roulhac a chance to get some game experience before district play,” Coach Clyde Mills said. “Now we have the ability to do some things defensively that we didn’t before.”Even without his two floor generals, Mills was not expecting a 1-6 start. However, the tournaments should give the Rams a chance to make up a lot of ground quickly.“I didn't think we would start out this slow,” Mills said. “Mike Sherfield has had to play the point and he’s more of a three or four player. And some of our younger players didn’t have varsity experience.“But a tournament is good because the kids are free fromschool and it enables us to play a lot of games in a short period of time.”Tournament madness has also caught the fancy of Rutherford girls coach Greg Rivers. The Lady Rams (2-4), who will play in a classic at Port St. Joe, haven’t played in a tournament in seven or eight seasons, Rivers said, since Mosley discontinued its holiday invitational. Wewahitchka and Chipley are also in the field.“Our girls are looking forwardto it and it should be motivating to them because it gives us a couple more of regular-season games,” River said.Rivers is also just returning to the hardwood from the gridiron as he doubles as defensive coordinator for Rutherford’s football team.“Over the holidays we’re gonna be trying to catch up with everybody else,” Rivers said. “Since I wasn’t there too much before it was harder for ourteam to focus.”Port St. Joe is hosting a girls tournament for the fifth year.“Girls basketball is not a big money maker on our level. We’re just trying to give the kids something to compete for,” said Lady Sharks coach Becky LaCour.Bay County’s newest hoop phenomenon, Fellowship Christian Academy, has started 12-0 and will host a holiday classic with rival Panama City Christian School included.Despite the spotless record, Eagle coach Luther Scott will tiy to keep his team’s intensity level at a maximum. A tournament game against PCCS will surely do that as evidenced by Fellowship’s 73-69 overtime win over the Crusaders on Dec. 10. A rematch could happen if both teams win their first-round games.“In the Panhandle Christian Conference you’re not constantly bombarded with high-quality competition all the time,” Scott said. “So when you do get a tough game you’ve got to pump everybody up.”Bay’s boys team (6-2) will play a tournament in Choctawhatchee starting today and then move on to the Port St. Joe Tournament, along with Mosley on Dec. 26.“We wanted to go play,” said Bay coach Jim Prater. “We like playing different people. I just wish we were healthy so we could get a better read for us, but we have no control over that. It’s a good time for us to work on some stuff.”Bay may be without 6-foot-4 forward Wesley Wade and guard John Paul Rickels for the both tournaments. Wade sprained an ankle in Tuesday’s game against Crestview while Rickels missed the entire game.
Newspaper Details
Panama City News Herald
Panama City, Florida, US
Thu, Dec 19, 1996
Page 22
Full Page
Clipped by
Travaras R.
FL, USA 27 Apr 2021
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