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Charleston Volleyball Bounces Back Big Over Lady Bulldogs 3-0

Sports

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9:52 am

Charleston Volleyball Bounces Back Big Over Lady Bulldogs 3-0

After a disappointing performance last week against Paris, the Charleston Lady Tigers hosted Waldron Monday night. The Lady Tigers returned home from a week on the road with the chance of regaining the momentum they had going into the match with Paris.

Going into Monday night it was unknown how the Lady Tigers would respond to their first adversity of the year. Charleston (5-1, 2-1) responded with a 3-0 sweep over conference foe Waldron. Although the games were competitive, the Lady Tigers put last week behind them and charged out to a 3-0 sweep of the Lady Bulldogs. The sweep was a statement win that announced they are back and focused for a conference run for the remainder of the season.

After the game, Charleston coach Ryan Rachuy indicated that overall he was pleased with the response of the team, but said the team still had things that needed to be cleaned up. This is a very important week for the Lady Tigers, as they host Lincoln on Tuesday night in another conference match-up. Charleston will be on the road Thursday for a third conference match of the week when they play West Fork.

The Lady Tigers will play 7th grade, junior high “B”, junior high “A” and varsity matches on Tuesday. The action will begin at 4 p.m. The Lady Tigers need your support Tuesday night as Charleston plays a quick turnaround match less than 24 hours after their win over Waldron.

It’s never too early to begin thinking about finishing the conference season strong. Rankings from the regular season will be used to determine seeding in the all-important district tournament. With the district only allowed three teams to move on to the state tournament, it is imperative that the Lady Tigers take care of business and finish the season strong. A second place or better finish in district would be huge for Charleston and their chances to land a state tournament birth.

But for now, the old coaching cliche applies. You have to take them one at a time. Now is the time for Charleston’s senior leadership to take over and keep the team focused on the opponent that is in front of them with each match of the regular season. It is way too early to look ahead to the district tournament.

If Monday night’s performance is any indication of how this team will respond, good things await the Lady Tigers down the line.

Hackett LL Sweeps West Fork

Sports

Megan Hecox

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9:32 am

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The Hackett Little League Hornets took to the skies on Saturday, September 7th as they headed north to square off against the West Fork Tigers. Neither program had faced each other outside of the WCFL Jamboree held earlier in the season, so no one really knew what to expect. But with the first snap of the ball, everyone found out rather quickly that the Hornets haven’t missed a step.

The third and fourth grade Hornets played a classic game against the Tigers of West Fork ending with a narrow 6-0 Hackett victory. Defense was the name of the game as both teams stuck it to each others’ offenses for three quarters of the game. As for the winning touchdown, it was the Hackett defense that set the Hornets up with great field position to score late in the fourth quarter.

Hackett third and fourth grade coach, Nick Holbert, said “If you like a good defensive ballgame, this was the one you wanted to watch. West Fork came out and shut our offense down for almost all of the game. It was a hard-fought battle and a fun one to watch. We still have a few things to work on and plan to get better each and every week.”

The Hornets fifth and sixth grade game was the polar opposite of the match before them. Hackett came out with a high powered offense that most college teams would be jealous of. They showed their big play skills along with their ability to sustain a drive as Hackett almost effortlessly racked up 32 points on the scoreboard. The Hornet defense also did their job well by keeping West Fork to a single score in the game ending with a final tally of 32-8 Hackett.

The Hackett Little League Hornets were able to walk into an unknown West Fork territory and walk out with two victories. This Saturday, Hackett will stay home to host a team they are very familiar with. On Septemeber 14, the Hornets will go toe to toe against the Magazine Rattlers with games starting at 6 p.m.

DIRECTV Scam Warning

Headlines

Resident News Network

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7:28 am

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Many residents of this area have already been contacted in the form of a fake email from DIRECTV about late payment or expired credit card with an attempt to pay their bill through AutoPay.

The email looks and closely resembles that of your actual bill from AT&T / DIRECTV, but it is not. It is a phishing attempt that is seeking personal information including your credit card number.

If you receive an email, it is advised that you contact DIRECTV or AT&T immediately.

Haley Moore Designs Centennial Shirt

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Resident News Network

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4:10 pm

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One hundred years ago, the city of Lavaca was incorporated and became a town. Well, that is a great reason to celebrate! A full day of events will be held on October 5, beginning on Main Street with a parade like you have never seen around here! And you might want to get a souveiner of the occasion because, well, all the cool kids will be wearing one!

Haley Moore, a junior at Lavaca High School, heard about a contest being held for a t-shirt design by her art teacher, Mrs. Cooper. Haley broke out a pencil and put her design on paper. She chose the outer design of the city limits with some of the major historical events in Lavaca’s past. She had never entered a drawing contest in her life but, two days before school ended last year, her very proud art teacher announced that her design had been chosen to be on the official Lavaca Centennial shirt!

“It was great to enter and especially to win, but it will be exciting to see people wearing my design on their shirts,” Haley said in an interview at City Hall. She is planning to go into computer animation in college but, for now, she looks forward to softball and deer hunting. Haley is the daughter of Melinda and Amanda Griffin, and Robert and Trudy Moore.

Haley will win a free t-shirt for her winning design. You can get one also by contacting Shelly Quinalty at Lavaca City Hall in the coming weeks before the event. Congratulations to Haley! I bet she’ll make her dreams come true!

2019 Season Begins For Former Lady Tiger

Sports

Tammy Teague

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2:04 pm

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2019 Season Begins For Former Lady Tiger

Former Mansfield Lady Tiger, Megan Rose, entered her second year of collegiate cross country running at Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Savage Storm sophomore was her team’s seventh best runner and the 19th fastest overall runner at the Endurance House Stampede in Wichita Falls, Texas on September 5.

Rose clocked in at 22:59.9 at the Savage Storm’s season opener. Providing displacer points, Rose helped her team for a second place overall finish.

The Storm’s scoring five amassed 47 points to fall just behind host Midwestern State’s winning 32 point total.

Tigers Tackle Heat For Seven Medals

Sports

Tammy Teague

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1:51 pm

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It was hot! Plain and simple, the temperature at the UAFS/Fort Smith Cross Country Invitational on September 7 reached a point where Northside officials cut the distance of the final two races in half to protect the players.

Despite the heat, Mansfield’s overall medal count reached the equivalent of a touchdown and an extra point kick.

Lady Tigers Faith Rainwater, Darby Jones, and McKenzie Griffin handled the heat as well as anyone in a Mansfield uniform. The sophomore trio crossed in consecutive order at fourth, fifth, and sixth places among small school competition to begin the day’s bounty.

Fellow sophomore Ethan Chapman from the MHS senior high men’s team took the next reward with an eighth place finish of his 5K race. Soon after, three MJH girls got into the scoring action.

Mansfield seventh grader Trinity Triska led that trifecta with a fourth place finish. She was followed by fellow seventh grader Laney Wood and freshman Jadelynn Wood. The sister act crossed at seventh and eighth place among the 1A-4A division.

“We handled the heat pretty well,” said Mansfield coach John Mackey. “We saw a college athlete go down and at least one high school player succumb to the hot conditions. Our kids seemed to handle it well enough.”

By the conclusion of the college races, the on field temperature reached into the mid 80’s Fahrenheit. The senior girls’ event began in that moderate temperature range but fell victim to a hefty increase by the end.

The senior boys took off as temperatures felt like the upper 90’s. Just after, word came down from the Forth Smith athletic department to cut the junior high races down from a two mile distance to a one mile sprint.

“It was a good call,” recognized Mackey. “We just didn’t know of the switch until the race was already in progress. Our top junior girl was pretty annoyed because she went out in a two mile pace not a one mile rhythm. It cost her a higher position.”

Despite the switch, Mansfield junior girls squad came away with the runner-up plaque in the team scoring. Farmington, a class 4A power, rallied for the win.

The Lady Tiger youth movement scored with Triska, L. Wood, J. Wood, Maylei Rogers (17th), and Meghan Emery (20th). Alyssa James and Lita Hecox served as the team’s first two blockers.

Mansfield’s senior girls didn’t place as a team despite their high order of individual finishes. The group failed to field a required five member team. The remaining roster was intentionally DNP because of a rash of injuries.

Sophomore John Branche from the Tiger’s mens team had his best 5K race of his young career. He timed out at 23:17.9 for 19th place. Junior Renden Emery came in at 26:49.9 for 36th place. The Tiger’s top runner, Chapman, finished at 21:14.9.

Although sporting two top 20 finishers, Mansfield’s men were also left off the team standings with only three total runners.

Mansfield’s junior boys found similar circumstances as they two had high scoring runners but lacked depth.

Freshmen Tommy Phang (12th) and Ashton Hinkle (14th) ran enviable times but couldn’t overcome the five person limitation.

Cassidy Carlton, Addie Bowman, Aiden Fildes, Azlynn Nelson, and Megean Newman all made their cross country debuts for Mansfield. Eden Mounts also ran for the Lady Tigers.

Medal winners Darby Jones, McKenzie Griffin, and Faith Rainwater represent the MHS Lady Tigers.
Sophomore Ethan Chapman finishes top 8 at the First Tee xc course in Fort Smith.
Junior Tigers Ashton Hinkle and Tommy Phang finish top 14 at season opener for Mansfield.
Sisters Jadelynn Wood and Laney Wood finish within two-tenths of a second of each other for medal merits at the UAFS/Fort Smith Invitational. Trinity Triska, not pictured, topped the MJH girls’ results with a fourth place medal.
MJH girls are set for the season opening race despite the heat.
Tigers John Branche, Ethan Chapman, and Renden Emery await the start of the men’s 5K race at Ben Geren Park.

Rattlers Freezing Out Their Rivals

Sports

Megan Hecox

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1:38 pm

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Photos courtesy of LaWaynea Cox

Anyone with any sense knows that if you encounter a rattlesnake, you want to freeze and slowly retreat. Well, that is exactly what’s happening to the Magazine Rattlers competition this football season. Sitting with an accomplished 2-0 overall season record, the Rattlers have been striking anyone who crosses their path. After their 46-20 win over Bigelow in their first game, Magazine decided to go for broke and pulled out an exciting 39-14 victory over Mount Ida.

The first half of the game was where most of the excitement occurred. The Rattlers put 33 of their 39 points on the board during the first two quarters. Helping achieve that success was Xeng Yang with a high-speed 21-yard rushing touchdown along with Tatum Scotts 2 point conversion pass to Jacob Hall and the Rattlers score was set in place at 14-0. Nailing an 8-yard rushing touchdown was Kaedon Trejo and with the extra PAT, the Rattlers moved the board to 21-0 Magazine.

Quickly recovering a Mount Ida fumble was Ashton Droemer and along with the two added touchdowns by Scott and Caleb Hyatt, the Rattlers went into halftime up 33-0. Magazines defense continued staying busy in the second half of the game only allowing the Lions to put 14 points on the board. Kobe Faughn rushed for one more touchdown and the Rattlers ended the game with a huge win.

Magazine will have a bye week before hosting Cutter-Morning Star on September 20. This year, the Rattlers aren’t taking any lip service from anyone let along permitting the competition to come into their home with hopes of trying to defeat them.

ARVBands Travels to Waldron for Week Two

Sports

Resident News Network

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12:54 pm

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ARVBands Travels to Waldron for Week Two

On September 6, Arkansas River Valley Bands traveled to Waldron for their week two Friday Night Feature of the Waldron Bulldog Band and the Mansfield Tiger Band. This was the first time for ARVBands to travel to Waldron since recently adding the band to their coverage.

Waldron-Bulldog-Mansfield-Tiger-Band — The Waldron Bulldog Band watching the Mansfield Tiger band play their Alma Mater.

During the pregame, the Waldron Band formed a semicircle block with the cheerleaders on the field. They played the National Anthem, Waldron Alma Mater, Fight Song, and the Hey Song. The band made its way to the end-zone to play the fight song as the football team ran onto the field.

Once the game got started, the Waldron Band was up and down, playing and cheering on their team. The game played a big role in the enthusiasm of both bands. Mansfield would play a stand tune then Waldron would play one. As halftime approached, Mansfield and Waldron made their way out of the stands to prepare for their performance.

In the Mansfield warm-up circle, the band focused on their individual instrument tone. At the Waldron circle, the band ran through their opener. This was the first night for Waldron to perform their halftime show, so nerves were running high. Waldron Director, Kevin Beirne, addressed his band saying, “Freshmen, this may be your first performance, but it will not be your last. Seniors, this is your last year so give it all you got.”

On the field, the Mansfield Tiger Band performed their 2019 show, “A Tribute to Westerns.” After a week of practice, there was an incredible amount of improvement from their run last Thursday night. Mansfield also added a drill to their opener this past week. The Waldron Bulldog Band was next to take the field. Their 2019 show is titled “Songs of the South” and they performed their opener “Song of the South” by Alabama. Waldron followed up their opener with the Waldron Fight Song.

Waldron-Bulldog-Band — The Waldron Bulldog Marching Band

The Waldron Band is off to a great season. Mansfield is making progress and their show is sounding better every time. The next performance for Waldron will be September 13 as the band travels to Paris. As for the Mansfield Band, they will perform their show next at home on September 13.

Arkansas River Valley Bands will be at Fort Smith Northside High School for their Week 3 Friday Night Feature of the Van Buren Band and the Northside Grizzly Band.

Prescribed Burns in Ouachita and Ozark-St. Francis National Forests

Tammy Teague

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12:37 pm

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Prescribed Burns in Ouachita and Ozark-St. Francis National Forests

National forest fire managers are currently conducting prescribed burns in areas across the Ouachita National Forest and the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests. This notice provides information on the day’s expected activities.

Prescribed burns expected to occur today, Monday, September 9, 2019 include:

Ouachita National Forest:
Oklahoma Ranger District – vicinity of Smithville, McCurtain County, 235 acres.
Jessieville-Winona Fourche Ranger District – vicinity of Story, Montgomery County, 406 acres.
Poteau – Cold Springs Ranger District – vicinity of Waldron, Scott County, 34 acres.

Ozark-St. Francis National Forests:
Big Piney Ranger District – vicinity of Jerusalem, Conway County, 155 acres.

A prescribed fire is one that is ignited by highly trained fire personnel under specified fuel and weather conditions to achieve specific resource objectives. Daily prescribed fire updates can also be found at: www.fs.usda.gov/ouachita or by calling 1-888-243-1042.

Jr Hornets Are Uncatchable

Sports

Megan Hecox

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11:17 am

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Photos courtesy of Mandy Foster

It looks like for the Jr High Hackett Hornets that history really does repeat itself. And in this case, that’s a good thing. Last year, Jr High went undefeated 7-0 in their football season and by the way things are looking, it doesn’t seem too far fetched to say they just might acquire the same outcome again this year. With wins against Mansfield and most recently their 26-16 victory against Heavener, the Hornets are already sitting undefeated 2-0.

“The team looked great against Heavener,” says Jr High Coach, Jordan Shelby. “They played really well as a team.” Offensive leaders for the Hornets were Cole Ketchum and Nate Gordon, bringing in two touchdowns each. Tyler Pittman had an outstanding game on defense with his multiple over the top takedowns.

“I was really happy with the way we played. We really flew to the ball on defense and the offensive line did great opening holes for our backs.” The Jr High Hackett Hornets will be able to rest up and continue perfecting their football skills as they sit in a bye week. The team will get back to business on September 19 when they will face JC Westside at home.

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