Toliver, Prickette Seek Re-election to SSISD Board
Early Wednesday morning, John Prickette and Lessa Toliver filed as incumbents for the Sulphur Springs School Board. Wednesday, was the first day to file for a place that will be on the May 4, 2019 ballot. Places on the board held by Prickette, Toliver, and Clay Johnson will be on the ballot.
School board trustee election filing continues through Friday, February 15, 2019. Anyone desiring to seek a place on the board may file at the Tax Office at the SSISD Administration Building on Connally Street. If no others file for a place on the board, the incumbents will be returned to their place without an election.
Porter Scores Game High 29; Lady Cats Defeat Mount Pleasant 58-31
Led by dynamic point guard Sadavia Porter, the Lady Cats’ basketball team built a 10 point lead during the third quarter against Mount Pleasant and then blew the game wide open in the fourth quarter taking a 58-31 win at Mount Pleasant Tuesday evening.
Porter almost matched the Lady Tigers offensive output all by herself scoring a game high 29 points including a dramatic long three-point basket just before the third quarter buzzer.
Autumn Tanton added 12 points.
Nylah Lindley scored 7 points.
Kate Womack had 5 points coming off the bench.
Danielle Godbolt scored 4 points and
Aliyah Abron had 1 point.
The Lady Cats actually struggled through the first two and a half quarters before Porter sparked the big finish. Mount Pleasant led 9-6 after the first quarter. The Lady Cats rallied in the second quarter to lead 21-17 at the half. The Lady Cats closed strongly in the third quarter and led 38-28 after three periods. The Lady Cats scored the first 19 points of the fourth quarter and outscored the Lady Tigers 20-3 in the final period.
The Lady Cats improved their district record to 3-1 and their season mark to 21-4. The Lady Cats have a big showdown with Texas High at Sulphur Springs Gym Friday evening at 6:15 p.m.
Wildcats Defeat Tigers 63-43; Kahn Leads Scoring With 22
The Wildcats’ basketball team, ranked #5 in Class 5A, scored the last nine points of the third quarter to build an 8 point lead against Mount Pleasant and then used a big fourth quarter to secure a 63-43 district win at Mount Pleasant Tuesday night. The Wildcats had to play without Sadaidriene Day Day Hall who is following concussion protocol after a fall against Greenville last Friday night.
6-foot 6 junior Cameron Kahn was called on to step up and delivered big time with a game high 22 points.
Keaston Willis poured in 14 points and
6-9 senior post Xavier Cork added 13 points.
Grayson McClure chipped in 7 points.
Boo Wilkerson started in place of Hall and scored 4 points.
Jeremiah Roland scored 3 points.
Stifling defense by the Wildcats made Mount Pleasant struggle to make shots and to work hard for their points. The Wildcats led 13-5 after one quarter and 26-17 at the half. The Tigers made a run at the Wildcats in the early part of the third quarter and took the lead at 32-31. The Tigers last led 35-34 in the third when the Wildcats went on their 9-0 run to close the quarter.
Mount Pleasant slips to 0-2 in district play and 12-12 for the season. The Wildcats are 2-0 in district play and 16-8 for the season.
The Wildcats host Texas High in Sulphur Springs Gym Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Wildcat Soccer Ready for Ice Bowl Tournament
Wildcats Soccer Coach Alexi Upton maintains a positive attitude concerning his team. He sees the Wildcats as being near where they need to be after mostly tournament competition so far. The Wildcats are 2-3-1. They won one and lost two in the 2019 Lobo Invitational in Longview this past weekend (January 10-12).
The Wildcats defeated a smaller school New Summerfield, 5-0 to open the tournament. Coach Upton says the Wildcats played really well and finished their chances. He says when playing a smaller school, the Wildcats can’t be complacent and he says the Wildcats took care of business against New Summerfield. The Wildcats then lost to Jacksonville, 3-1. Coach Upton says Jacksonville won the tournament. He notes the Wildcats went up on them 1-0. He says the Wildcats need to finish games and be more consistent throughout a game. Next came a loss to Tyler Chapel Hill, 2-0. Coach Upton says the Wildcats were missing some players and had some injuries. He says the Wildcats started slowly and never really played well.
Next for the Wildcats is the Ice Bowl Tournament in Richardson this Thursday through Saturday. The optimistic Coach Upton feels he will have all twenty two of his players healthy and ready to go for that tournament. He expects his team to pick up some wins.
Lady Cat Soccer Battle Injuries; Face Strong Opponents in Tournament Play
Lady Cats Soccer Coach Joel Bailey is ready to pick on some teams that are the same size as his Lady Cats. He says when he plans tournaments for the coming season, he hopes games will be competitive. Then he says this season tournament brackets show up matching his Lady Cats with some powerful opposition. The Lady Cats also have had more than their fair share of injuries and illness and Coach Bailey is awaiting orthopedists’ reports and MRI results.
In last weekend’s (January 10-12) Princeton tournament, the Lady Cats opened play against Class 6A toughie Flower Mound Marcus. Actually Coach Bailey was generally pleased with a 3-0 loss against Marcus. Previous Lady Cats’ opponents this season have included Red Oak and he Highland Park JV. The Lady Cats have opened the season against tournament competition with a record of 0-5-2. That includes going 0-3-1 last weekend in the Princeton tournament.
The task may not get any easier soon. This weekend, the Lady Cats play in a North Forney tournament. The Lady Cats share pool play with two Class 6A teams: Rockwall Heath and North Mesquite along with old district foe North Lamar, a Class 4A school.
Game Day: Wildcats, Lady Cats Basketball at Mount Pleasant
It’s a big Tuesday (January 15) game day as the Wildcats and Lady Cats’ basketball teams are playing at Mount Pleasant. The Mount Pleasant gym is always a tough place to play.
Action in the main Mount Pleasant Gym features the Lady Cats JV playing the Mount Pleasant JV beginning at 5 p.m.
The Lady Cats Varsity faces the Lady Tigers Varsity at 6:15 p.m.
The Wildcats Varsity opposes the Tigers Varsity at 7:30 p.m. ‘
The Wildcats JV and Freshmen teams will take on Mount Pleasant beginning at 5 p.m. in the Mount Pleasant Auxiliary Gym.
The Wildcats Varsity, ranked #5 in Class 5A, comes in with a 1-0 district mark after defeating Greenville at home last Friday 60-43. The Wildcats season record is 15-8. According to Max Preps, the Tigers are 0-1 in district play after a close 58-55 loss at Texas High last Friday. Max Preps has the Tigers season record as 12-11.
The Lady Cats Varsity has a 2-1 district record and a season record of 20-4. The Lady Tigers are coached by former Lady Cats Coach Tina Carrillo.
SSHS UIL Place 2nd at Pine Tree Winter UIL Invitational; Reid Competes at State UIL Congressional Debate
Rhett Reid finished 2nd at Region VIII UIL Congressional Debate contest in November and qualified to compete at UIL State meet on January 7 – 9, 2019 at University of Texas in Austin. According to Gerald Grafton, UIL Coach, and Reid’s sponsor, Reid did not advance to finals at state but gave four excellent speeches and received high marks from his judges.
The SSHS Wildcat UIL Academic Team travelled to Longview this past weekend, January 11 – 12 and finished 2nd place overall at the Pine Tree Winter UIL Invitational meet. Congratulations to the following students and teams who brought home awards in their events and to all those who participated.
| Ready Writing | Annemarie Gunn | 3rd Place |
| (Gail Herman – Coach) | Breana Wooten | 5th Place |
| Computer Science | Brayden Fisher | 1st Place |
| (Matt Wilder – Coach) | Dakota Soles | 2nd Place |
| Blake Talmage | 5th Place | |
| Computer Science Team – (Fisher, Soles, Talmage) | 1st Place Team | |
| Number Sense | Nathan Little | 5th Place (10th Grade) |
| Brayden Fisher | 3rd Place (12th Grade) | |
| Current Events | Brandon Hodges | 3rd Place |
| (Madison Millsap – Coach) | Current Events Team (Hodges, Dakota Soles, James Draper) | 1st Place Team |
| Calculator | Carissa Carter | 3rd Place (12th Grade) |
| (Gerald Grafton – Coach) | 4th Place (Overall) | |
| Spelling | Gisselle Garcia | 1st Place (Tie) |
| (Gail Herman – Coach) | Dawson Carpenter | 1st Place (Tie) |
| Mariam Tran | 3rd Place | |
| Cameron Beard | 4th Place | |
| Spelling Team – (Garcia, Carpenter, Tran, Beard) | 1st Place Team | |
| continued on next page… | ||
| Accounting | Felipe Alba | 6th Place |
| (Paula Hass – Coach) | ||
| Mathematics | Nathan Little | 4th Place (10th Grade) |
| (Gerald Grafton – Coach) | ||
| Science | Makayla McGregor | 5th Place (10th Grade) |
| (Steven Allemang – Coach) | Nicholas Porter | 6th Place (12th Grade) |
| Literary Criticism | Carissa Carter | 1st Place |
| (Gail Herman – Coach) | Lainey Whittle | 3rd Place |
| Andrew Westlund | 4th Place | |
| Mariana Botello | 5th Place | |
| Literary Criticism Team – (Carter, Whittle, Westlund, Botello) | 1st Place Team | |
| Social Studies | Brandon Hodges | 3rd Place |
| (Madison Millsap – Coach) | ||
| News Writing | Angela Brown | 5th Place |
| (Brandon Nelson – Coach) | ||
| Editorial Writing | Angela Brown | 6th Place |
| (Brandon Nelson – Coach) | ||
| Headline Writing | Angela Brown | 1st Place |
| (Brandon Nelson – Coach) |
Man Arrested for Aggravated Assault with Deadly Weapon; Baseball Bat was Alleged Weapon
When Sulphur Springs Police were called to the parking lot of a business on Posey Lane and State Highway 154, they found the victim of an assault. Witnesses at the scene said the victim’s head had been struck repeatedly by a baseball bat. The attacker had fled the scene but was later found at a local truck stop at Highway 19 and I-30. Witnesses say he was stalking a female who was shopping in the box store at the location of the assault.
Jessy Isaiah Garcia, 20, was arrested for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Garcia and the victim had previous knowledge of one another according to local police. The victim received aid from police until EMS arrived and transported to the local hospital. The victim was later transported to a Tyler hospital.
Garcia was arrested for Disorderly Conduct and Aggravated Assault with Deadly Weapon. Garcia is in Hopkins County Jail and is held on a $75,000.
