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Lady Tigers Cash In At Today’s Bank Meet

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3:24 pm

Lady Tigers Cash In At Today’s Bank Meet

It wasn’t as easy as pulling through the drive-thru window and cashing a check. It took some real money crunching. But, the Mansfield junior high Lady Tigers cracked the endurance vault to win their second consecutive team cross country title of the season at the 16th Annual Today’s Bank Invitational on their home course.

With 25 schools and over 600 athletes registered to compete at the Saturday, September 28 cross country meet, it was the host with the most that shined prettier than a new penny.

The little ladies of Mansfield with their youth filled roster roared as a team to take down Waldron in the small school division for a 47 to 59 victory. Led by top Tiger Trinity Triska, who’s just a seventh grader, Mansfield bested a field of 62 small school runners and a total field of 111 junior girls for the Today’s Bank first place plaque.

As they have all season long, Mansfield sisters Laney Wood and Jadelynn Wood finished among the top medal winners. Respectively, the seventh and ninth grade siblings claimed seventh and ninth place in the 1A-3A divisional race.

Triska’s sixth place finish, Alyssa James’ 21st position, and Addison Bowman’s 23rd spot, completed the scoring five for the Lady Tigers’ team win. Azlynn Nelson and Eden Mounts served as the units first two displacers.

It was the Mansfield team’s second championship trophy in a row as they also won the Tom Stuthard Stampede in Acorn a week ago.

Like the 1970’s Jackson 5 song ABC, Mansfield’s overall performance among all squads was “as easy as 1, 2, 3”. That’s to say, Mansfield’s three total teams finished first in the junior girls, second in the senior women, and third in the senior mens events.

Mainstays among the top scoring women, Mansfield’s Faith Rainwater and McKenzie Griffin didn’t disappoint running the longer 5K course at the home show. Rainwater, last year’s player of the year, was fifth overall in the small school class. Griffin only 25 seconds behind her teammate was eighth.

Joined by Darby Jones, Katlynn Moore, and Shelby Cole; Mansfield was able to take second place behind a very strong Waldron Lady Bulldog team.

Mansfield’s older team had been limited by numbers and unable to compete for team titles up to this point. Two of their preseason favorites, Harleigh Mars and Hope Rainwater, have been out of the lineup with injury and most likely will not return.

Cole, the 24th best runner at Today’s Bank, just returned to racing this week after she had been absent from the meet schedule with illness. Moore (23rd), who was in softball offseason until recently, joined the squad when she saw her school’s cross country friends needed a boost.

Jones has improved steadily throughout the season and has established herself as the third best runner on the Tiger team. She narrowly missed the medal stand at the home meet finishing thirteenth, but has earned many medals so far this season.

Victor Steffen offered a similar sacrifice for the school’s senior men’s team as Moore did for the women. The eleventh grader transitioned from track offseason to the men’s cross country team to give them numbers to compete as a unit.

The lineup of Ethan Chapman, Renden Emery, Ashton Hinkle, John Branche, Logan Yoss, and Steffen muscled out a third place team stance for the Tiger men at the MHS Invitational.

Chapman in typical fashion led the Tiger core with its top time. The sophomore finished fourteenth among a crowded field of small school racers. Emery was 24th followed by Hinkle, Branche, and Steffen in consecutive order at 28, 29, and 30.

XC-Mansfield-Today's Bank — MJH seventh grader Trinity Triska takes home a medal from the Today’s Bank Invitational cross country meet.

Mansfield-XC-Today's Bank — Caught on camera working the Today’s Bank meet are Mansfield HS Principal Donnie Eveld and senior girls basketball coach Josh Bryan.

Mansfield-XC — Mansfield’s juniors also win the the Tom Stuthard Stampede at Acorn.

Pirates Set Sail to Lamar For Conference Opener

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2:53 pm

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Pirates Set Sail to Lamar For Conference Opener

The Cedarville Pirates traveled down I-40 Friday evening to open conference play against the Lamar Warriors. After both teams cruised to a 3-0 non-conference start, this was the first true test for each squad.

Up to this point, Cedarville and Lamar had dominated the ground game against their opponents which left a lot of anticipation leading up to this game.

Lamar was quick to put points on the board with their first drive of the game taking the lead 7-0. The Pirates would find end zone pay dirt with their third drive of the ballgame on a long run by Darryl Kattich to move the score to 7-6.

The Pirates forced the Warrior offense to punt their next two possessions before the Warriors added another touchdown on their fourth drive of the game to go up 14-6. That score did not stay long as the quick hitting Pirates found pay dirt again just before the half on a long run up the middle by Kelin Mitchell to move the score to 14-12.

Lamar started the second half with a ground pounding, time management drive that chewed up 7 minutes and 41 seconds off of the clock leading to their third touchdown of the evening to go up 21-12.

Following that drive, the Pirates Defense dropped the anchor, ending further fireworks for the Warrior offense. The Pirates would find the end zone on their next two possessions by running back Kelin Mitchell and quarterback Calloway Henslee to take the lead 24-21.

The Pirates Defense forced two turnovers on the Warriors last two possessions which led to the Pirates lining up in victory formation to run the clock out.

The Cedarville Pirates improve to 4-0 on the season, 1-0 in conference play and will host the Charleston Tigers, Friday, October 4, at 7:00pm.

Local Families Honored at Fallen Vietnam Veterans Ceremony

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Tammy Teague

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1:48 pm

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Local Families Honored at Fallen Vietnam Veterans Ceremony

On Saturday, September 28, at 2 p.m., members of the families of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War were honored.

The auditorium at Ramsey Junior High in Fort Smith filled with those who came to pay tribute to those fallen heroes. Dignitaries, including State Representative Marcus Richmond, Senator Terry Rice, Scott County Judge James Forbes, Mayor Buddy Black and others were also present.

The ceremony, emceed by Daren Bobb, marked the 44th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. Following the posting of the Colors by the Honor and Color Guard, the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by VFW Post 8845 Commander Jeff Harness. VFW Post 8854 Chaplain Charles Hollibough gave the invocation.

There were 29 families present, representing the veterans who fought and sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War. Survivors and disabled American Veterans of the Vietnam War were also recognized.

Advocate Jonathon Baker shared the reading of the “Missing Man Table Tribute.” In that tribute, Baker explained the significance of the small round table that is always set but never occupied, the Missing Man Honors Table.

Two of the guest speakers, Commander Jeff Harness and Representative Marcus Richmond, spoke with conviction and great emotion.

“They did not loose their life, they gave it,” Harness said. Richmond admitted he had pondered all week on his speech. “I have no words. There are no words to emphasize how we are all touched by the sacrifice.” Richmond, a career Marine, stated that the greatest thing that the State of Arkansas has contributed is “our sons and daughters. They’ve done their duty, and done it with honor.”

Local families that were honored during the ceremony included: William Arvel Boatright of Abbott; Billy Duane Crelia of Huntington; Jimmy Cartright of Mountainburg; Larry Neil Harper, Karl Lewis Reineccius and David Frank Schluterman all of Paris; and Johnny F. Davis of Waldron.

The ceremony concluded with a slide show of the 60 fallen veterans, 21 gun salute, taps and the retiring of the Colors.

Vietnam-war-sacrifice — Family representing American Hero Johnny F. Davis from Waldron.

Family representing American Hero Billy Duane Crelia of Huntington.

Honorable mention of the women who scarified their lives in the Vietnam War.
Guest speaker, Commander Jeff Harness of VFW Post 8845.
Remembering those who gave all.
The Missing Man Table.

Mansfield Steals West Forks Stripes To Stay Undefeated

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Megan Hecox

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11:02 am

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Mansfield Steals West Forks Stripes To Stay Undefeated

In an almost complete blowout of a football game, the Mansfield Sr High Tigers quickly let it be known to the West Fork Tigers that there could only be one “Big Cat” in the 3A-1 conference. After Friday nights huge 52-6 homecoming victory against West Fork, Mansfield now sits undefeated 4-0 in overall season play.

Wasting no time getting to work, Randy Claude got fans on their feet with his blocking skills on a West Fork punt. Quarterback, Ethan Stovall, threw a powerful pass to Tyler Holmes who ran it in for the first Tigers touchdown putting the score to 6-0 Mansfield. As West Fork was finally trying to get their play-action going, Clay James was quick to shut it down with an interception for a 36-yard return.

With only seven minutes into the first quarter, Will Meadows added another touchdown to the board upgrading the score to 12-0 Mansfield. The big play of the night came when the Tigers were deep in West Fork territory. Ethan Stovall took the snap from the one-yard line and launched a pass to Holmes for a 99-yard Tiger touchdown. Along with Claudes added two-point conversion, it was Mansfields game at 20-0. Just as West Fork was thinking they could get some points on the board, Blayne Bryant was fast to crush their dreams as he caused a West Fork fumble allowing Jaicy Griffin to then lay out a 22-yard run.

Before the half, Mansfield would go on to put four more touchdowns in the books. Helping to make that happen was Layton Howard with a 12-yard run for a TD, Stovall with a 33-yard run for a TD, and Isaac Cothran and Luke Ridenhour securing one TD each sending Mansfield into halftime leading 46-0. In the second half of the game, the Tigers would add one more touchdown to the score with a Zayne Dugan pass to Austin Carlton for a 53-yard run to victory. Also tacking on to the Tigers success was Caleb Corson with 49 rushing yards.

The Mansfield Tigers defense were the real MVPs of the game with their over the top blocks and their no holds barred flying techniques that even a wrestler would be proud of. Helping deliver Tiger tackles like it was Christmas Eve was Zach Lowe, Bri Sanderson, Jacob Brown, Dustin Holland, and Cameron “Makin’ em’ Hurt” Macon.

The party’s only getting started for the undefeated Mansfield Tigers as they will travel to Greenland and attempt to create rough seas for the 2-2 Pirates on Friday, October 4 at 7 p.m.

Charleston to Host Annual Marching Contest

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3:32 pm

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Charleston to Host Annual Marching Contest

Every year, the Charleston band Program hosts a marching contest named in honor of the late Arkansas Governor and US Senator, Dale Bumpers. This year the marching contest will take place on Saturday, October 5th at Tiger Stadium in Charleston, Arkansas.

High School and Junior High Bands from Arkansas and Oklahoma travel to compete in the Charleston marching competition. Bands compete in one junior high and one senior high division for grand champion. Each shows will be score outside judges who will score the band on their Marching, Music, and General Effect.

Each band that attends the competition will also receive a division rating based on their show. 1st and 2nd Division trophies will be award for Color Guard, Percussion, Drum Major, and Solo. High Music Score, High Marching Score, and High Overall Effect Awards will be presented as well.

Many area High School bands will be competing this year. Also two area high school bands will be performing in exhibition, the Charleston High School and the Fort Smith Southside High School Band.

Charleston Gets Huge Homecoming Win in Conference Opener Over Greenland, 35-29

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8:10 am

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Charleston Gets Huge Homecoming Win in Conference Opener Over Greenland, 35-29

On a beautiful night for football that gave every football fan fall fever, the Charleston Tigers (1-3, 1-0) defeated the Greenland Pirates (2-2, 0-1) 35-29 on homecoming night. The Tigers ended a three game losing streak to three 2018 state playoffs teams in Class 3A and 4A, all on the road. By defeating Greenland in the conference season opener, Charleston is now 1-0 in conference play, one game ahead of a very good Greenland team. Charleston joins Mansfield, Booneville, and Cedarville who all won opening conference games on Friday. Charleston travels to Cedarville next week. Cedarville defeated a very good Lamar team 24-21 on Friday night. Five teams will make the playoffs, and each conference win is big in qualifying for the playoffs and earning a higher seed in the opening round. Charleston not only ended the three game skid, but also placed themselves in a competitive position in the standings with respect to earning a state playoff birth.

Charleston once again fell victim to the big play on defense as the explosive Greenland offense proved it was all that it was built up to be. Greenland’s big play offense kept the Tigers defense on their toes for the entire night. But Charleston reduced the number of busts in the defensive secondary and continued to play physical run defense to lead the team to its first victory. Several Tigers playing both ways on offense and defense turned in iron man performances to defeat the Pirates.

After falling behind early, the Tigers clawed their way back to take a 15-14 halftime lead, their first halftime lead of the season. The game went back and forth until a forced turnover by the Charleston defense in the second half proved to be the difference in the game.

Facing a fourth and one inside their own territory, Charleston elected to go for the first down to end the game. A successful first down attempt with less than one minute to go would end the game as Greenland was out of time outs. But as another example of the intensity and the effort of both teams, the Greenland defense sold out and rushed everyone up the middle to stop the quarterback sneak of Tigers quarterback Brayden Ross. Coach Ricky May elected to try to end the game with the fourth down play. “I probably should have punted there, but the offensive line said they would get it. We didn’t get it. Could have gave up, but we tackle them in bounds…ball game.” The defensive stop gave Greenland one last chance to either tie or take the lead. With no time outs, the Greenland offense moved the ball to the Charleston twelve yard line but were unable to get out of bounds to stop the clock before time expired. The game ended, and pandemonium broke out on the Charleston sideline. Coach Ricky May and the Charleston Tigers had their first win of the season! After the game, a very happy Ricky May said, “Two good football teams, evenly matched, we made some mistakes early, could have capitalized, I felt like we could have been up 22-0 at half, but our kids came back when they had to with their backs against the wall. Kids did what they had to do to win the game.”

Charleston’s Shane Turner, among many Tigers, had a stand out performance on both sides of the line of scrimmage. “We had been playing him at guard because Nolan Harrington had been hurt. That kid (Harrington) I am really proud of; he came back this week, toe was hurt, practiced hard, played his butt off tonight, gave us the opportunity to move Shane to the backfield, that was big time.”

At first report, the Tigers also seem to have come out of the game without serious injuries or loss of availability for anyone next week. “I am pretty sure that everyone is OK and we may get one back next week.”

Friday night’s game at Alumni Field epitomized all the reasons why I believe high school football may be the most entertaining level of football. It is a game played by teenagers who, on most teams, will not play beyond high school. They are not on television, they are not paid for playing the sport, and very few people know them outside their communities, region, or maybe throughout the state. They just play for pride, the fun of the game, for their communities, and for each other. Watching these players respond to the adversity, the injuries, and disappointment of an 0-3 start after working all year to prepare for the season, was heart warming to anyone who remotely calls themselves fans of the game. The Tigers gave their all Friday night in front of their home fans. It was a proud moment for Charleston. Both teams played their hearts out. Greenland is a very good football team. They are very talented and they are going to win a lot of football games.

After a thrilling win last night, the Tigers can take today and enjoy what was a critical win and the most important game of the season thus far. But it will soon be time to go back to work to prepare for another tough conference opponent at Cedarville. Cedarville is a tough place to play, but this Charleston team is one of high character and toughness that has been forged in a tough non-conference schedule that challenged the Tigers to play away from home the entire first month of the season.

The Tigers are a resilient group. They will celebrate this win, but, they will once again go back to practice this week to prepare for their next game, and they will be ready to go when they play Cedarville. If they continue to bring the same intensity and effort that they have, especially over the past two weeks, they will once again find themselves in position to win in another crucial 3A-1 district game.

Coach May will be the first to tell you that this game was all about the players, and he is right. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Coach May on his first win as Charleston’s head football coach. I believe this win will be the first of many for May. He and his staff have done a masterful job of keeping the team together and keeping them focused on the prize of winning in conference when everything seemed so bad during the non-conference portion of the schedule. The players and the coaches deserve a lot of credit for the work they have put in as evidenced by last night’s victory.

Here are a few pictures of Charleston High School football homecoming 2019 at Alumni Field. Enjoy!

Meet Lavaca’s New Fire Chief

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9:45 pm

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The torch has passed. After seventeen years as the Fire Chief of Lavaca, Steve Helms retired in August and has passed the torch of service to fellow fireman Paul Sanders. Steve left some pretty big boots to fill. He is loved and respected by everyone who knows him.

Paul Sanders is a very capable replacement to take the position of Lavaca’s newest fire chief. He’s been on the Lavaca force since 2009. In those ten years, he has worked beneath Helms and has learned by his example.

Paul is the son of Dr. Bob Sanders and Wanda Sanders of Lavaca and Jody Martin of Sallisaw, Oklahoma. He was born in Weatherford, Oklahoma and graduated from Sallisaw High School in 1991. When at SHS, Paul was selected as the Oklahoma American Legion Boys State representative in 1990. He’s a hardworking man, doing things all over town and he’s quick to lend a hand to area activities. Paul has a daughter, Kayla, who graduated from Lavaca High School and now attends college at Stillwater, Oklahoma where she is studying Animal Science.

When asked why he became a fireman, Paul shyly responded, “I just like to help folks. The job is never dull. There are so many parts to the job of a fireman. Yeah, we fight fires but we also help to the first responders, giving medical help. We work with the city and with the people so it’s definitely interesting.”

Lavaca is in good hands with Paul Sanders watching out for us. (And ladies! He’s single!)

Jr Lady Tigers Deliver Triple Takedowns

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Megan Hecox

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11:22 am

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With only eight games left in the season and three weeks until District, the Mansfield Jr High Lady Tigers are nearing the finish line. This past week, the girls were busy taking part in three mentally and physically demanding matches against teams from Lavaca, Booneville, and Lincoln.

On Monday, September 23, the Lady Tigers engaged in spikological warfare against the Lady Golden Arrows. After an excruciating battle, Mansfield took the win 25-22 and 25-20. Alyson Edwards and Brooklyn Adams led the Lady Tigers with three aces each while Natalie Allison came out on top with eight kills. Skylynn Harris along with Edwards added four kills each to the tally and Madelen Jones took the cake with her 16 assists.

In Tuesdays match against the Lady Bearcats, Mansfield wasted no time taking the upper hand and delivering dominance. The Lady Tigers ended their sets with winning scores of 25-11 and 25-6 and another victim was placed in Mansfields trophy case. Edwards ended the night with five aces and four kills while Harris earned three aces and four kills. Allison and Adams added three kills apiece to round out the evening.

With Thursdays final game of the week, Mansfield left fans seeing double as they earned two winning scores of 25-15 against the Lady Wolves. Allison and Harris were on top of the leader boards with their contributions of six kills each while Alayna Turner led with four aces. And coming in with three aces and seven assists on the Lady Tigers night was Harlie Fuller.

The Mansfield Jr High Lady Tigers will travel to Waldron on September 30 to take on the Lady Bulldogs and see if they can continue their winning streak. Games will start at 4 p.m.

7th Grade Tigers Maintain Undefeated Glory

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Megan Hecox

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9:34 am

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7th Grade Tigers Maintain Undefeated Glory

The Mansfield 7th grade Tigers have once again added another victory feather to their cap and this time it was against the West Fork Tigers. The Gold Tigers didn’t go down without a fight though. Every move that Mansfield made, West Fork was there to match it step by step. By halftime, the score read 0-0 and the Tigers knew that they were going to have to come up with some new tricks during the break if they wanted to have a shot at victory.

Whatever the Mansfield coaches said to the Tigers did the trick. In the second half, Trey Powell and Jeremy Strozier each secured two Tiger touchdowns with Powell also rushing for a two-point conversion ending the game with a score of 14-0 Mansfield. “These guys are a special group,” expressed Coach Tim Cothran. “We have a solid talent level at all positions and for us, that is a tremendous positive.”

#61 Zach Chapman, #2 Brandon Raynor, and #19 Dakota Deer

“You always have a handful every year that has special skills but every one of these young men brings something to the table. They love the game, they love to learn, they love to be coached. What impresses me most is how well they take their in-game coaching.” With this win, the 7th grade Tigers have upgraded their season record to 4-0. Up next for Mansfield will be the Greenland Pirates at home on October 3 starting at 5:30 p.m.

Running the ball is #7 Jeremy Strozier followed by #2 Raynor and #6 Austin Oldham

“With 7th grade, we don’t get a lot of info or share a lot of info but I can tell you that this years Greenland team will be well-coached, they will play hard, and they will have some good players. Our guys continue to improve daily and they will be ready to play.”

Womack, Charleston Overpower Booneville 3-0 For 6th Consecutive Conference Win

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7:28 am

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Womack, Charleston Overpower Booneville 3-0 For 6th Consecutive Conference Win

The Charleston Lady Tigers volleyball team began the second half of the conference season on Thursday hosting the Booneville Lady Bearcats. Charleston (11-1, 7-1) defeated Booneville 3-0. Next up for the Lady Tigers is a rematch with Paris in Charleston on Tuesday.

Several Lady Tigers stood out in the sweep over Booneville, but perhaps none like senior Jadyn Womack. In the third set, Womack, seemingly taking over the match, had several dramatic kills to lead Charleston to a big lead. After giving up several late points in the third set for the second consecutive game, the Lady Tigers wrapped up the third set and the regular season sweep of Booneville. Coach Ryan Rachuy commented on Womack’s performance. “I’m telling you, when we can figure out what we are doing with her, she is a difficult player to stop. She really is. We’ve got some really good girls. Jadyn is one of those girls (in the conference). If we can figure out what we are doing with her, she puts the ball down. When you get her fed and you get her going, she starts swinging at that ball harder, and harder, and harder. One isn’t enough for her, she wants two, two isn’t enough, she wants three and on and on. That third set, that was one of those keys that set that third set apart. First set, we, not to take anything away from Booneville, but we had twelve errors to my count. You go out there and commit twelve errors and you give up twelve points, and your asking for every team to be in the match with you. We challenged the girls to cut that error count in half the second set and they did. Starting out that third set we were really on fire. They’re feeding Jadyn and balls were going down. I don’t know how many kills she had in a row but it was several. Then we got lax. We decided we were not going to finish it. That’s something I am going to have to work on as a coach. I’ve got to get out here with these girls and help them understand that this is not how you play championship volleyball.”

Another bright spot in the Charleston win was the play of Lady Tigers libero Kenzie Revis. Revis, who is not afraid to hit the floor for any ball, caught the eye of Rachuy. “That is one of the things I am very proud of all of our liberos. Kenzie is a senior who has worked very hard over the past three years to put herself in the position that she is. There were a couple of games where she struggled and we put the other girls in there. We have Rilyn Robison, who is a junior, and is a very scrappy player. She gets out there and, when her head is in it, she can move with anyone. We have a sophomore in Macie Oldridge, who wasn’t feeling good tonight, but yet she still got underneath a few balls that were going to drop, but she got herself under them, and we were able to play those. Over the past two or three games, Kenzie has really turned it on. I don’t think she has had a single ball handling error in the last two sets. When she’s going, gets her feet moving, over the past three games, she has really turned that on.”

While we are passing out kudos to the team, I would like to pay special tribute to the students and fans who have come out and supported the Lady Tigers this year. The student section especially has grown and has become an increasingly significant factor in creating a home court advantage for Charleston.

And that home court advantage will be needed Tuesday night as the Paris Lady Eagles come calling in their conference season rematch. Paris, who has given Charleston its only loss of the season, will come into the Charleston gymnasium undefeated at 16-0, and will bring a large fan contingent. It appears at this stage of the season that Paris and Charleston may be the best two teams in the conference, and this match could be a preview of a possible district tournament match-up in October.

It will take an all out effort on the part of the Lady Tigers to upset Paris. It will also take an all out effort on behalf of the Charleston fans to turn out in large numbers to create a loud and proud home court advantage for the Lady Tigers. Charleston fans, your team deserves your support. Come out and cheer your team on against the defending Class 3A champions.

R

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