Wildcats vs. Tigers; What the Coaches are Saying
Friday night at Prim Stadium the Wildcats return to district play after an open date. The 7:30 p.m. game against Mt Pleasant begins the final three game stretch that will determine district representation in play-off action. Here is the what the Wildcat and Tiger head coaches and Wildcat Coordinators are saying about the game.
Owens on Mt. Pleasant
After the good vibes Wildcats Coach Greg Owens got from his team after the Texas High game, Coach Owens said he wasn’t sure he liked the idea of a bye week coming up last week. Thursday Coach Owens jokingly said he’d see how his team played before deciding if the bye was a good thing or bad thing. Seriously Coach Owens said he thought it was beneficial. Players relaxed and got some energy back. He did admit it was taking some effort this week to get the player’s geared up after they dialed it down some last week. Concerning the Mt. Pleasant game Friday at Prim Stadium, Coach Owens said it would be a physical game. He said both teams would be battling to control the line of scrimmage. Both teams have big offensive lines. Coach Owens said the Tigers liked to run the football. He said they threw only about four passes against Texas High last Friday. Coach Owens said the Tigers had some quick and speedy backs. They also utilize fullbacks in the running game. On defense, Coach Owens said he was impressed with several Tigers: some outside linebackers, defensive tackles and some safeties. He said the best thing they do defensively is get off blocks. Coach Owens said it should be a heck of a game as both teams were fighting for playoff spots. He said the Wildcats were already in playoff mode. Coach Owens said some more keys to the game for us were good tackling and good safety play. The Mt. Pleasant and Sulphur Springs game may not be the rivalry it once was, but Coach Owens said is was a key district game and a big game because of the playoff implications.
MtPleasant Coach Homer
Mt. Pleasant Head Football Coach Corey Homer is in his third year as Tigers’ coach. Coach Homer is a 1997 Mt. Pleasant graduate who played for the Tigers and Head Coach Marc McDaniel in 1995 and 1996. He was hired in December of 2013, coming from Plano East where he was Assistant Head Football Coach. Coach Homer had previous stints at McKinney North and John Tyler. His Tigers’ team is 1-7 so far this year. They got to a rough start in pre-district going 0-4. Still Coach Homer says he liked the way his team fought and he adds they have improved each week. In district play the Tigers lost an overtime heart breaker to Hallsville, 24-20. The Tigers bounced back with a big win over Pine Tree. Coach Homer says it was one of the team’s best games this year. Mt. Pleasant then lost to Marshall and Texas High. Coach Homer says three bad plays, two fumble recoveries and a blocked punt, all that went for touchdowns, put the Marshall game out of reach. The Tigers gave Texas High a good fight trailing only 10-7 at halftime before Texas High rallied for a 27-7 win. Coach Homer feels if his team can defeat the Wildcats Friday and then Greenville, their 3-3 district record should be good enough to earn a playoff spot. He admires Wildcats Head Football Coach Greg Owens and says he is glad to call him a friend.
Wildcats Offense
Wildcats Offensive Coordinator Matt Young says the bye week was a productive one for his offense. He says the focus was on details and technical work. Players were able to relieve leg fatigue. Coach Young says the offense stepped back physically and now they face the task of amping up for Mt. Pleasant at Prim Stadium Friday. He calls the Tigers solid defensively and he says they are getting better every week. Coach Young says they don’t give up big plays because they are good at what they do. He says the Tigers defense includes lots of good high school players. Even Texas High had to earn their points in a 27-7 win last Friday that was only a 10-7 game at halftime. Coach Young says the Tigers are good up front. His bottom line is that the Tigers will present a challenge for the Wildcats who must execute their offense. The Wildcats last three games of the season are against teams competing in what Coach Young calls a small school district playoff battle.
Wildcats Defense
Wildcats Defensive Coordinator Triston Abron appreciates a bye week. It’s a time to heal injuries and lose some fatigue and soreness. He says there was a lot of time for teaching and correcting things. Coach Abron says he is impressed with the Mt. Pleasant offense. Coach Abron says they are our total opposite. They like to maintain possession and hog the ball. He says the Wildcats defense needs to make Mt. Pleasant punt and turnover creation would be nice. Coach Abron says the Tigers are fueled on offense by a big, veteran offensive line that comes off the ball and is good at sealing off defenders. He says the quarterback is a great athlete who runs well and can also throw. Coach Abron says they will use three different running backs who all bring something to the table. He says they will throw out of a shotgun formation if they are behind but he adds running is what they really like to do.
An AgriLife Update By Johanna Hicks
Christmas Joys Update
Wow, we have had a tremendous response to the 43rd annual Extension “Christmas Joys” holiday program! Both sessions, scheduled for Monday, November 7, are full (and have been for quite a while). We will try to call everyone to confirm, but if you reserved a seat, and know you cannot come, please contact my office so we can call those on the waiting list. If you are on the waiting list, don’t be discouraged. I have scheduled a Mini “Christmas Joys”, Tuesday, November 8, 1:30 p.m. at the Extension Office, 1200-B W. Houston. You will receive the full booklet of all the recipes, decorating tips, and craft instructions, along with a goody bag, refreshments, and a chance for door prizes. I’ll demonstrate all of my ideas, and discuss the other presenters’ information. I’ve already started a sign-up list, so if you want to attend, please call 903-885-3443.
There are other opportunities to attend similar programs. The following is a list of holiday programs in close proximity to Hopkins County, and I’ll be presenting portions of my ideas at each of the three:
- Friday, November 4 – Hunt County “Making Memories”, Ben E. Keith, Commerce, 9:30 a.m. Contact the Hunt County Extension Office at 903-455-9885 to inquire about seats.
- Thursday, November 10 – Rains County holiday program, Rains County Extension Office, 410 Tawakoni Drive, Emory, 10:00 a.m. Contact the Rains County Extension Office at 903-473-4580.
- Tuesday, November 15 – Van Zandt County holiday program, Van Zandt County Farm Bureau meeting room, Canton, 5:30 p.m. Contact the Van Zandt County Extension Office at 903-567-4149.
As you can see, this is the season to celebrate with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension! We appreciate the opportunity to provide educational, money-saving, time-efficient ideas to make your holiday season more enjoyable.
EarthKind Living Expo
I want to mention the upcoming EarthKind Living Conference again this week. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the front page featured an article, along with my regular column. The conference is scheduled for Friday, November 18, from 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the opening session in Spence Chapel of First Baptist Church, 115 Oak Avenue, Sulphur Springs. The expo will offer something for everyone! From land-owners to apartment dwellers, pastures to pantries, bees to gardens – the list goes on! Another session (same information but different date and location) is scheduled for Friday, December 2, at Ben E. Keith, in Palestine if you cannot attend the Sulphur Springs event.
Registration is now open, so take advantage of the early bird registration fee of only $25, increasing to $35 after November 10. Lunch is included in the fee, and the Sulphur Springs Expo will be catered by our local Plain and Fancy. To register, go to: https://agrilife.org/earthkindliving and click on register. You can also watch a video featuring our planning committee, and a full color flyer listing speakers and topics. Exhibitors will be on hand to provide the latest information on their products. Contact my office at 903-885-3443 if you have questions.
Creative Arts Contest Results
Watch next week’s column for a list of results from the 2016 Hopkins County Fall Festival Creative Arts Contest. There were many fantastic entries and the judges thoroughly enjoyed viewing items up close. Now that Fall Festival is drawing to a close for 2016, the focus can turn to other fall activities taking place in Hopkins County. We are very blessed to live in our community!
Closing Thought
Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out – Christian Larson
Johanna Hicks
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Family & Consumer Sciences
1200-B W. Houston
P.O.Box 518
Sulphur springs, TX 75483
903-885-3443 – phone
903-439-4909 – Fax
[email protected]
Twig Girdlers and Upcoming Dairy Programs By Mario Villarino
Recently I got a report of Twig girdlers affecting pecan trees in the Miller Grove area. These beetles are 1/2 to 3/4 inch long, light to dark brown with a wide gray band across the wing covers (elytra) and a dense sprinkling of pink, orange or dark yellow spots. They have long antennae, being members of the longhorned beetle family, Cerambycidae. The pecan girdler occurs throughout Texas except in the trans-Pecos area.
Mesquite twig girdlers,Oncideres rhodosticta Bates, are similar in appearance to pecan twig girdlers, but can be distinguished from the pecan twig girdler by the presence of three shiny, black dots immediately behind the head. It is found in the southern Rolling Plains and prefers to feed on mesquite and several acacia species. The huisache girdler, O. pustulatus LeConte, is 11/16 to 1 1/8 inches long, brown with a light brown band across the middle of the upper surface of the body and peppered with small, shiny black dots. It is found in the Gulf Coast Prairie, south Texas and Rio Grande Valley and injures mostly mimosa and huisache. Adults appear from late August through October. After mating, females select a host plant, chewing a clean-cut “V”-shaped groove around a branch. Thereafter, they crawl above the girdled site and insert cream-colored oval eggs singly into notches chewed into the bark. Larvae hatch from eggs in about 7 days and begin tunneling underneath the bark.
Larvae grow through several stages (instars) through the year before transforming into pupae the following summer. A few of the larvae do not complete development until May or June of the second year, which accounts for a small amount of girdling damage occurring in the spring. Mouthparts of this beetles are for chewing. Pecan twig girdlers attack citrus, elm, hackberry, hickory, huisache, mimosa, pecan, persimmon, red oak, retama, tepehuaje, Texas ebony, walnut and various fruit trees. Twigs selected by female beetles to girdle range in diameter from 9-12 mm. Severe girdling can disfigure trees.
Damage appears mainly in late summer and fall when adult beetles are active. Leaves on the girdled branches turn die and fall, and the branches often fall from the tree during high winds and storms. Beetles are not commonly encountered on trees. They are attracted to lights. Females chew a groove around the circumference of small branches (9-12 mm), “girdling” them, thereby killing injured parts of trees; injured branches eventually fall from the tree; larvae feed inside the dead injured tree part and are not a threat to tree health; medically harmless. For additional information, contact the Hopkins County Extension Office at 903-885-3443 or email me at [email protected].
Coming up!:
Two major programs will be occurring in the next weeks. The Northeast Texas Dairy Fall Conference scheduled for October 26, 20916 at the Southwest Dairy Museum (5 CEU for DOPA dairies) Starting at 8:30 with registration. Cost $10 lunch included, and the Private Applicator CEU session November 2, 2016 starting at 10:00 AM (5 CEU’s for private applicators) cost $30 with lunch included. Make sure to call the Hopkins County Extension Office to register for any of this programs by calling 903-885-3443.
Mario Villarino DVM, Ph.D.
Hopkins County Extension Agent for Ag and NR
1200B Houston Street
Sulphur Springs, Texas 75482
903-885-3443
Flynn Working on Legislation to Arm First Responders
State Representative Dan Flynn, R-District 2, has begun working on a bill for the next legislative session relating to the carrying of a handgun by a first responder engaged in the actual discharge of the first responder’s duties. This would allow first responders like Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and firemen and women to carry a firearm on the job if they have a valid CHL without restrictions on places to carry.
Flynn stated, “It is crucial for these men and women to be able to protect themselves and the people they are sent to help as they are most often the first on the scene. Allowing first responders to carry firearms would aid in defense and protection and is a Second Amendment right that should be permitted as these brave men and women do protect us everyday.”
Dan Flynn
County Firemen Have Been Busy With Large and Small Fires
A community effort stymied a potential major fire in the East Caney Community Wednesday. A Hay bale fire on the Jacob’s Dairy South of I-30 off County Road 2341 and Lawrence Lane was extinguished when firemen and others utilized tractors to remove bails from the 1100 bale stack. Only 280 bales were destroyed in the fire. Hopkins County Firemen along with volunteers from Brinker, Como, Pickton, Pine Forest, Dike, and North Hopkins responded to the scene. Cumby Volunteers manned the central fire station to assist.
Hopkins County Fire Department and Volunteer Departments in the County have been busy. Thursday morning lightning struck a large tree in the backyard of a residence on County Road 2318. The County Department and Como Volunteers responded.
He Never Made It Out of Jail
He was in a holding cell awaiting release when he made several threats against local law enforcement.
James Andrew Fryi Mushonga, 24, of Sulphur Springs, told one officer that it is a small town and that he would see the officer again. To another officer, he stated that he knew where their children went to day care.
Mushonga never made it out of jail. He was arrested and charged with Obstruction or Retaliation. His bond is set at $75,000.
He had completed a 17-day stay for Violation of Parole when arrested.
Cumby Man Arrested on Drug Charges
Cumby police noted the license plate light out on a vehicle traveling West Main Street in Cumby Thursday.
During the traffic stop, the officer noted the smell of an alcoholic beverage on the breath of Bradford Wesley Jones, 45, of Cumby. Gaining consent to search the vehicle, an orange pill bottle was found between the front seat and the center console. The pill bottle contained 28 Methadone pills.
Jones was arrested and is charged with Possession Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 over 4-grams less than 200-grams. He is in Hopkins County Jail being held on a $20,000 bond.
Translator Assists County Investigators in Arrest of Pickton Man for Continuous Sexual Assault of a Child
Hopkins County Criminal Investigators Corley Weatherford and Jase Anglin arrested Samuel Avila Garcia, 38, of Pickton for Sex Abuse of Child Continuous: Victim Under 14 Wednesday.
Using a translator, the investigators advised Garcia of his rights. Garcia then proceeded to admit to sexual assault of the child on numerous occasions over the past year beginning around October 15, 2015.
Garcia is in Hopkins County Jail being held on a $200,000 bond.
Meal-A-Day Menu: October 24th-28th
Meal A Day Menu
October 24th – October 28th
Monday
Beef Spaghetti
English Peas
Garlic Toast
Tuesday
Sliced Ham
Au Gratin Potatoes
Green Beans
Roll
Wednesday
Beef and Vegetable Soup
Crackers
Tossed Salad
Thursday
King Ranch Casserole
Corn
Pinto Beans
Friday
Baked Chicken Wings
Sweet Potato Fries
Cole Slaw
Roll
