Sports-Henderson County Now

TVCC volleyball undefeated to begin season

By Benny Rogers/TVCC Sports Information

The Lady Cardinals spent the first week of the 2017 on the road with perfect results.

After opening the season Wednesday with a 3-0 road win against Wharton, the Lady Cardinals spent the weekend in Vernon, where they went 4-0 in tournament action – all via 3-0 scores.

“I proud of the kids,” eighth-year head coach Tosha Spain said. “We spent a lot of hours on the road last week and they were tired and banged up. The wins weren’t all that pretty in some cases, but they stepped up and got the job done.”

The Lady Cardinals are scheduled to be back on the road Tuesday, going to Temple for a pair of matches. They are also scheduled to play in tournament action at San Jacinto College this weekend, though the status of the event are uncertain after the Hurricane Harvey-caused flooding.

In the event the San Jacinto tournament is canceled, Spain said she would attempt to add a game to the schedule.

At Vernon, the Lady Cardinals defeated North Lake (25-13, 25-21, 25-15), Butler (27-25, 27-25, 25-17, 28-26), Labette (25-13, 25-21, 25-18) and Seminole State (25-13, 25-12, 25-23).

Of the Lady Cardinals last 28 wins, 23 have been by 3-0 scores.

7 Awards from TVCC’s 57-3 thumping of Pima

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By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN

The TVCC Cardinals opened up their 2017 season by rolling over Pima Community College, 57-3.

The game was the annual Battle in the Valley, made possible by Paul Benson and Virtual Communication Specialists in Athens.

Check out video and scoring summaries below, but first we hand out seven awards for the first game of the season.

Continue reading “7 Awards from TVCC’s 57-3 thumping of Pima”

7 thoughts from the Greenville – Athens scrimmage

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By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN

The Athens Hornets wrapped up their scrimmage schedule Friday night by hosting Greenville at Bruce Field. The two teams got in plenty of work and have lots of film to study before opening the season next week.

It is very hard for an outsider to assess a scrimmage because you never know why coaches are calling certain plays. From the stands it may look like a particular play doesn’t make sense, but coaches may be calling that play to look at a specific aspect of the offense or defense and not be worried about the yardage or down. So with that caveat, here are seven general thoughts I had while watching from the Hornet sideline.

– The Hornets are not afraid to hit, particularly on defense. In our podcast, Coach Paul Essary said that Athens was going to be physical and that came through Friday night.

– The defense has some speed and rallies to the ball well, characteristics that lend themselves to a great nickname if the D can live up to its potential: “The Swarm.”

– The new-look offense is going to be a lot of fun to watch this year.

– I saw several timing patterns built into the Hornet passing game. I predict the completion percentage on those play will go up as the season goes along.

– Xavius Fulton has a rifle for an arm and can put a lot of zip on his passes.

– It’s the preseason for everyone. The referees littered the field with flags Friday night as they worked to get themselves ready. I am sure many of those flags were more “teaching moments” than obvious infractions. I also saw one of the extra referees get wiped out on the Greenville sideline when he didn’t get out of the way of a running play quick enough.

– It’s time for the regular football! The Athens Hornets will open up the 2017 season at home 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1, against Mexia. It will mark the first time the Hornets come out of their new field house for a regular season game, so it promises to be a very special night.

PODCAST: Coach Smiley getting ready for Pima Community College

Trinity Valley Community College Coach Brad Smiley talks about season opener against Pima Community College. (8-24)

MAIN POINTS:

– The Battle in the Valley sponsored by Paul Benson and Virtual Communications Specialists.
– Game is 5 p.m. Saturday at Bruce Field.
– This is like opening the season with a bowl game.
– Pima has a good team and Saturday should be a great game.

QUOTABLE: “It’s a really neat deal for all of junior college football. The NJCAA loves it.”

DOWNLOAD LINK: https://goo.gl/AyALnQ

PODCAST: Coach Essary looks forward to Greenville and Meet the Hornets

Interview with Athens High School Athletic Director and Coach Paul Essary. (8-22)

MAIN POINTS:

Review Friday, Aug. 18, scrimmage against Royse City.
Look forward to this Friday’s home scrimmage against Greenville.
Meet the Hornets scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, at Bruce Field.

QUOTABLE: “We were young last year and we’re young again. People ask how are you young two years in a row? Because we were playing with a lot of sophomores and freshmen last year. This year, they’re juniors and sophomores, and we do have a freshman that is starting for us again this year.”