The North Delta football team recorded a successful spring practice under new head coach Richard Russo.

The Green Wave hosted a spring jamboree with Delta Academy and Lee, Ark.

Russo gave spring training a "solid A."

"If I had to assign a letter grade to evaluate how the team and the coaching staff meshed together and bought into the new Program during Spring Training it would be a solid A," Russo said.

In the midst of spring training was an awards banquet, awards day, graduation and other school activities, but the Green Wave was able to do something solid in those three weeks of working.

In the jamboree, North Delta varsity defeated Lee, Ark. 7-6. The junior varsity Green Waves and Lee tied at the end of their set 0-0.

The junior high Green Waves lost to Delta 20-12. The JV defeated Delta 6-0.

The junior varsity Green Waves defeated Delta 6-0. Then the varsity Green Waves won their game over Delta 13-0.

"I could not be more proud of the total team effort that we gave during the Jamboree," said the excited new coach. "We played an extremely tough, hard-nosed style of defense. To shut down the offense of a team like Delta that went undefeated during the regular season last year is a testament to how hard the players worked and prepared this spring."

Though the Green Waves left the jamboree injury free and with a very positive outlook, according to Russo, he did note a couple of areas of concern.

"There are two specific areas that we must work on in order for us to go as far as we can in the fall," Russo said. "Those two areas are offensive execution and our conditioning. I was pleased that our offense could sustain drives on the other teams, but I wish we had broken a few more long runs. The execution will come with more and more repititions during fall camp."

Russo was also pleased with his upcoming senior class. Upcoming senior Jon Michael Ware was awarded the coveted Brandon Presley Memorial Award Friday morning following the jamboree. The award was given to the player the coaching staff deemed the one "who sells out to lead the team."

"The senior class has shown a lot of leadership and character this spring," he said. "Each one of them will make huge contributions to the team this upcoming season. Both of these things will invaluable to us in the fall."

North Delta opens the season Friday, August 25, by hosting rival Magnolia Heights.
 

By Myra Bean

Deshea Townsend and the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers could not have asked for a more enthusiastic crowd at the Pay It Forward Camp Saturday morning.

Townsend sponsors the camp each years and brings with him some of his teammates to impart their knowledge of the game with the participants.

This year with Townsend were Hines Ward, Chris Hope, Ike Taylor, Ricardo Colcough, Joey Porter and Cedric Wilson.

Hope just signed a free agency contract with the Tennessee Titans.

Also returning home to help in the camp were for South Panola Tigers Chris Young, who played at and graduated from Vanderbilt, and Javar Pollard who will be a senior at the University of Memphis this upcoming season. He is a cornerback for the Tigers.

Paul Morgan who was a 1993 teammate of Townsend and who also played and graduated from Vanderbilt helped coordinate and work the camp. Also coordinating the camp were Nyanthia Townsend, Belinda Morris and myself.

Other camp workers included the South Panola coaching staff Ricky Woods, Willis Wright, Mark Weaver, Lucian King, Trenell Edwards, John Davis and Michael Fair.

Many parents and other adults volunteered to work at the camp to ease the burden of seeing after so many children.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

Over 500 children participated in the camp, making this one of the biggest ones ever held. Townsend ran out of t-shirts because of the last minute surge in children signing up for the camp.

The Tiger football field was covered with white-shirted children when all of them were called from the stand by grade and put on the field to begin the camp.

The players conducting the camp worked the children out so good that after water and gatorade provided by Cornerstone Rehabilitation, pizza by Pizza Hut, and shaved ice, many reported the children went home and rested for a while.

Then, when the sun went down many were seen proudly wearing their camp shirts at SpringFest later on that night.

It was a perfect day for the camp with a breeze blowing throughout the day to keep the heat down.

The joyful sounds of the children’s laughter as they had the time of their lives brought smiles to many hearts.

Some of the girls in the junior high age did not really like to do the football stuff but they hung on in there. Holly Springs brought members of their football team to glean just a little bit of information from the professionals who know how to get a Super Bowl ring.

We expect great things from Holly Springs this coming season.

I was so busy running around with the microphone and making sure the little ones didn’t get hurt that I forgot to interview Deshea and the other guys. I do know that he was glad to put on the camp again for the sixth year. I have already heard other people were ready for the seventh year in 2007.

Hold on! Some of us have to recuperate from this year.

It is great to know that the excitement is still lingering in the air. Hopefully, Deshea will be real nice and share with us again.