Malakoff-Henderson County Now

10 Awards from Malakoff’s 49-14 homecoming win over Groesbeck

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ7c04uFbWh/

By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN

Tim Howard and I live streamed (audio only) Malakoff Homecoming Friday night as the Tigers beat Groesbeck, 49-14, to improve to 5-0 and 2-0 in district play.

We hand out 10 awards from the night.

THE BOW TO ROYALTY AWARD

Congratulations to Homecoming Queen Ari Tart and Homecoming King Adonia Dixon-Thomas. I love the fact that both of them are members of the Pride of Malakoff Band.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ82YarlhKC/

THE COMPLETE BEAST AWARD

During the broadcast, I couldn’t help but say Zee Bailey was going Beast Mode after several of his runs, including a three-yard touchdown blast up the middle. But Bailey isn’t only an offensive weapon, he is also a very physical linebacker who blew up Groesbeck running backs multiple times.

THE MINI BEAST AWARD

Late in the game, wide receiver Ethan Snow took a short kick off and flat ran over a Groesbeck defender on the return. The hit brought a chorus of “oohhhs” from the sidelne.

THE SCOOP AND SCORE AWARD

Linebacker Parker Busch had a big game including an appearance in the end zone after he picked up a Groesbeck fumble and rumbled untouched for a score in the third quarter. He nearly added an interception later in the game.

THE TAKE THE LONG WAY HOME AWARD

R.J. Carr must have covered more than 100 yards with his sideline-to-sideline run on third and long in the third quarter. Statistically, it went down as a 49-yard gain to the Groesbeck 4 and Carr got the chance to finish what he started a couple of plays later with the first of his two touchdown runs.

THE PERFECT PASSES AWARD

Quarterback Judd Miller had two “wow” throws on the night that electrified the crowd. On the Tigers first possession, Ethan Snow got behind the Goat defense and Miller hit him in stride with a 50-plus yard TD strike. Later in the half, Miller was forced out of the pocket and scrambled right. With the defense closing in, he calmly floated a beautiful throw down the right sideline to Jake Lee for a first down.

THE TOWERING TWINS

Big players have to make big plays and Judd Miller and Zee Bailey did just that in the third quarter to put Groesbeck away. After going up 21-0, Bailey recovered a Goat fumble setting Malakoff up on the Groesbeck 30. Miller converted the opportunity on a long scamper up the middle for the TD to go up 28-0 and end any real chance of a Groesbeck comeback.

THE GREAT CALL AWARD

Groesbeck jumped offsides as Malakoff lined up for the extra point after its first touchdown, moving the ball to the one. Coach Jamie Driskell immediately called his kicking team off the field and went with his “jumbo” package for a two-point attempt. Zee Bailey walked into the end zone untouched to make the score 8-0. While the call didn’t mean much this week, it has in the past. Driskell did the same thing against Rusk earlier this season and it turned out to be the deciding factor in a 29-27 victory.

THE BIG TIME BAND AWARD

Not only did the band supply the Homecoming King and Queen, the Pride of Malakoff Band put on a sizzling halftime show that had a sea of cellphones taking video in the stands. Good luck to the band as it heads to competition at the Mesquite Marching Festival and the Sunnyvale Invitational Saturday.

THE GREAT HOMECOMING TRADITIONS AWARD

Malakoff has some awesome homecoming traditions, including alumni awards from the Malakoff Ex-Student Association. Friday there was also an induction into the Malakoff Sports Hall of Fame. But my favorite tradition is when the cheerleader alumni come down and are recognized.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ82tUWF7AF/

Around the Town: Finding out about Toad Hoppers

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

Several new shops have opened in downtown Malakoff lately, which I find pretty exciting. I’m thinking one day soon every available building will have something interesting happening in it.

I thought it would be fun to go visit our newer shops and introduce you to the owners, letting you know a little about them and what their stores are like.

So today I just marched right into Toad Hopper’s, and announced to Mike and Karen Courson that I was there to interview them. They were gracious enough to let me stay and quiz them.

Continue reading “Around the Town: Finding out about Toad Hoppers”

Around the Town: When good things come through the mail

By Loretta Humble/Around the Town

My new oilcloth tablecloth came in the mail. Two yards of it, cut from the bolt, it is bright red with vivid pictures of fruit all over it. It doesn’t match my sedate moss green kitchen cabinets, but I love it. It brings back some kind of childhood memories, though I can’t exactly remember what they are. I don’t think Mama had one, but I must have seen them in other country homes we visited, welcomed into tidy, sparsely furnished kitchens, brightened by a cheery oilcloth tablecloth.

Continue reading “Around the Town: When good things come through the mail”

Eight observations as Malakoff edges Rusk, 29-27

By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN

MALAKOFF — Interview as many football coaches as I have and you will eventually hear that games, especially close games, come down to a handful of plays. Those plays can happen at anytime, on offense, defense or special teams and you never know which plays are the crucial ones until the game is over.

Friday night, that truism came to life in Malakoff.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYzUAIYhIhW/

In the second quarter, Malakoff’s Ethan Snow intercepted Rusk quarterback Andreas Garrett and the Tigers took the ball down the field and scored on a Zee Bailey run. On the ensuing PAT kick attempt, Rusk was called for a penalty and the ball was moved to the 1 yard line. Malakoff Coach Jamie Driskell immediately sent his offense back out for a 2-pt attempt, which Judd Miller converted running up the middle.

That was one of those plays. Because of that second quarter 2-pt conversion, Rusk was down 2 after scoring a touchdown with just 20 seconds left in the game. The Eagles had to try for the 2-pt attempt and failed.

Final score: Malakoff 29 – Rusk 27.

Which goes to show you, there’s a reason coaches say the things they say.

Here are some of my other observations from the sidelines in Malakoff Friday night:

– The Tiger defense came up big against a very good Rusk offense. There were five times throughout the game that Rusk had the ball inside the Malakoff 30 yard line and the Tigers turned them back.

– In addition to Ethan Snow’s pick, the Tigers got interceptions from Zee Bailey and Iverson Sparks. Sparks took his to the end zone, but it was called back for an illegal block on the return.

– Speaking of Sparks, he laid a hit on a Rusk receiver in the third quarter that brought the Malakoff crowd to life with one, massive “Ohhhhhhhh.” It was a perfect form tackle, just the way they teach.

– The Malakoff offense got moving in the fourth quarter behind a physical running attack, led by Judd Miller, Zee Bailey and R.J. Carr. Miller scored two rushing touchdowns in the fourth, including a 10-yard run where the Rusk defense had him at the 3, but he refused to go down.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYzgDCYBVxl/

– You might have noticed Zee Bailey’s name all over this column. That’s because he was all over the game and was a vital component on both offense and defense for the Tigers.

– The first touchdown of the night for Malakoff came on a wide receiver screen to Jaquaylon Hart. Hart is another one of those players who had a big game on both sides of the ball.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYzPis2BeNc/

– Sometimes it is hard to see a coach’s influence on the game unless you are part of the inner circle and have actually seen the game plan, but there were some overt coaching decisions tonight. First, you could see Malakoff wanted to keep their players as rested as possible, so from the very start of the game players were rotating in and out on almost every play. Then there was Driskell’s decision to go for 2 in the second quarter. Finally, the decision to pound the running game in the fourth quarter. All three moves were key in a close game.

– Finally, Malakoff basketball and cross country coaching legend DeArtis “The Dean” Nickerson was at the game. That doesn’t have anything to do with the football game, but Coach Nick is worth mentioning whenever I see him.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYzsMSOhHJz/

Malakoff gets ready for speed as Rusk set to visit

Coach Jamie Driskell talks to his team during the preseason. (Michael V. Hannigan photo)

(Listen to our podcast with Coach Jamie Driskell above.)

By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN

The Malakoff Tigers (1-0) stumbled a couple of times last week on the way to beating Bullard, 48-34, on the road. The Tigers will have to be better this week if they want another win when they play their home opener against Rusk.

Rusk (1-0) torched Center 48-21 to open its season last week.

The Eagles had two players combined for more than 370 yards rushing in their opener.

“The quarterback can really run,” said Malakoff Coach Jamie Driskell, “he’s just a really good athlete. And their running back can really run. They’ve got some speed on the outside with their receivers. We’ve got a challenge ahead of us and it’s a good challenge.”

Continue reading “Malakoff gets ready for speed as Rusk set to visit”