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Sports
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Mirror
Midlothian junior guard Jackson Sandifer thanks members of the student section for their support this season following the Panthers’ 56-51 loss to Red Oak in the regional quarterfinal match-up. The Panthers had over 1,000 fans at the game on Monday night as the team finished the season with a 21-12 record.
Abrupt ending
Ellis County rival Red Oak ends Panthers’ magical playoff run in regional quarterfinals, 56-51 By ALEX RILEY Mirror sports writer
MANSFIELD – Zach Hofstad smiled at the thought. On a night when it would be easy for senior players to break down and get emotional, Hofstad cracked a grin. Making a trip to the state tournament would have been nice but when you consider few people gave the Midlothian boys basketball team a chance to even make the playoffs, losing in the regional quarterfinals doesn’t have much of a sting. The Panthers dropped a 56-51 game to Ellis County rival Red Oak in a game to determine who would advance to the regional tournament with a shot at advancing to state in two more games. But on Monday night, it simply wasn’t meant to be. “It was a great run. I would definitely do it again if I had to. Hands down my favorite experience in high school,” Hofstad said. “It’s good finally getting some fan support, Midlothian hasn’t had that in a while and tying Midlothian’s all-time run through the playoffs was a fun time for us. It was a great run and it was a lot of fun.” Armed with a massive crowd, the Panthers (21-12) overcame a pressing
Red Oak defense that has a knack for getting turnovers and converting them into easy buckets. Figuring out a scheme to beat that was the easy part. In the end, the team simply couldn’t overcome itself. After giving up 12 first half turnovers, the Panthers still found themselves ahead 27-24 at the half. The turnover margin improved in the second half as the team only had four giveaways. But misses on short range shots came back to bite the squad as point-blank lay-ups and short jumpers became the team’s biggest enemy. “We had some opportunities there when it was close and even when we were ahead we missed them. I don’t know, we missed a lot of lay-ups, guard play wasn’t very good tonight,” coach Glenn Hartson said. “We had six turnovers and we were still up eight or nine. And then later on we had missed shots there at 51-55 and then (if we make those) it’s down to two. In games like this you’ve got to make them.” With the full-court press of Red Oak (24-9) in their face, the Panthers looked for quick outlets up and down the court. That plan got off to a slow start in the second half as the first nine possessions
resulted in six misses, a turnover and just eight points. Senior post player Eddie Johnson tried to remedy that with a lay-up that brought the Panthers back within one at 37-36. Moments later, Hofstad hit a driving lay-up to give the team a 38-37 lead with 2:20 left in the third period. Hofstad again came up big in the third with a shot to put the Panthers on top 42-41 with under 30 seconds left in the period. But the Hawks would hit a bucket just before the buzzer to take a 43-42 lead. From there, they would not look back. That score sparked a 10-0 run that led to a 51-42 deficit for Midlothian. Free throws by Blaine Blackburn and Trent Morgan cut the lead to six at 55-49 while a Cameron Lowman shot off glass made it a four-point game with 1:24 left. But that would be as good as it got as Red Oak came up with a pair of defensive stops to seal the win late. While the season did not end like the team would have wanted it to, there was Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Mirror no doubting the year was one players Midlothian junior Derrick Agbaroji takes up a shot will look back on fondly, although not against defense from Red Oak’s Dominique Harris. He would finish with 11 points to be the Panthers’ See HOOPS, Page 2C second leading scorer.
Post contest takes spotlight Graves, Johnson do battle down low in classic game By ALEX RILEY Mirror sports writer
MANSFIELD – At first glance, they only appear slightly different. But once Earl Graves and Eddie Johnson start playing, its apparent the two players have entirely different skill sets. Graves, the 6-foot-6 post player for Red Oak, is a shooter with touch and range to spare. Johnson, the 6-foot-4 Midlothian power forward, is physically aggressive underneath the basket and has a knack for battling other players for position and the ball. On Monday, they got a chance to square off. Though Graves and the Hawks got the 56-51 win in the regional quarterfinal bout, there was no doubt that both players had seen the best of what each other had to offer Photo by Gary Puckett/Special to the Mirror Midlothian’s Eddie Johnson finished and each was impressed with what the other with a game-high 14 points in the See POST, Page 2C regional quarterfinal loss to Red Oak.
Well written legacy trumphs final game Loss won’t tarnish what was accomplished
M
ANSFIELD – More times than not, a coach can’t really tell if what he’s saying is getting through. Players run plays, systems and schemes, but running and understanding are two totally different things. Some times, it’s just instinct or second nature. But as the 11 varsity players of the Midlothian boys basketball roster filed out of the Mansfield Timberview locker room on Monday night, you could tell something coach Glenn Hartson had been saying stuck. It wasn’t press defense, attacking the zone, full-
court traps or boxing out. In fact, it might not have even been something Hartson has said or has needed to say. Written on plastic in the Panther locker room hangs a sign that simply says, “How do you want to be remembered?” It’s there everyday to remind players of their legacy as a member of the basketball program. As the players solemnly came out of the locker room, it appeared that philosophy might have taken. There were a few sniffles and watery eyes but there were also smirks and a few laughs, handshakes and thank yous. The season
Alex Riley Mirror Sports writer had ended on a note no one wanted it end on but despite that, this group of young man seemed to See RILEY, Page 2C
Sports
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 Midlothian Mirror 3C
Photo by Alex Riley/The Mirror
Midlothian lifter Heath Lemoine tries to squat a new personal best during the final qualifying meet last week. Lemonie was one of a handful of Panthers trying to make the regionals with their last lifts of the regular season. Four Panther lifters will advance to regionals.
Raising the bar Midlothian powerlifters take aim at making regional tournament By ALEX RILEY Mirror sports writer
ENNIS – Just before stepping on the mat, Justin Seeton got a pep talk from brother Dustin. Sitting just outside the required points needed for a trip to regionals, Seeton needed to go above and beyond his totals for the season Photo by Alex Riley/The Mirror to stand a chance of qualifying for Justin Seeton finished the season by lifting a combined 1070 the upcoming regionals. pounds to tie for ninth in the Region 3 165-pound class. With his brother’s voice barking, his mother looking on and the support of his teammates, the freshman did just that. Seeton topped his previous lifts by 50 pounds to put himself in into next week’s regionals in the Region 3 Division I 165-pound class standings. The freshman moved from 1015 pounds to 1065 putting him near the top 10. After his lift, high fives from coach Gerald Slovacek, his brother and a hug from Mom were the perfect celebration. “Being a freshman it means a lot. I’ve seen a lot of guys do it in a weak field,” Seeton said. “Just being a freshman and doing something a lot of guys have to wait until their junior or senior year, that felt the best.” Rising to the occasion was a running theme of the final qualifying meet held at Ennis High School last week as numerous lifters were looking for a late push to stay in the race for a coveted regionals slot. A handful of Panther lifters were in similar positions to Seeton at the meet including Heath Lemoine who entered the day tied Photos by Alex Riley/The Mirror
Dustin Seeton, left, and Vincent Panza, right, each had solid days at the final lift of the regular season but came up just short of cracking the top 10 to make the state meet list.
Photo by Alex Riley/The Mirror
ers are also football players taking part in new coach Lee Wiginton’s boot camp program to get ready for the upcoming season. That program was described by some players as brutal and there were no exceptions for athletes taking part in other sports. Though it was tough on the body, Slovaeck believed his team was ready to respond to the challenge. “I’m really proud of the guys. They had a tough week with the boot camp deal with coach Wiginton our new football coach and they came in today and did a really good job,” Slovaeck said. “A lot of them had to pull more weight that was expected to have a chance at regionals and they did a really good job.” The good news for Midlothian is the powerlifting program will be well represented in regionals no matter what. Four girl lifters qualified for their regional tournament last week with another five or six boy lifters in contention to do the same. The hope is that it is a good sign of just how strong the program is becoming. “It’s real important. You can’t just have 10 people on a team working out, you’ve got to be as a team, working as one,” Lemoine said. “You can’t just have two or three good players, you’ve got to have the whole team working hard to accomplish the whole thing.” Contact Alex at alex.riley@ wninews.com or at 469-517-1456.
Lady Panthers send four to state meet From STAFF REPORTS
Midlothian’s Jesse Rios prepares to go back up with the weight during the squat. Rios is one of a handful of football players who are doing off-season football training and another sport at the same time.
for ninth place in the 275-pound standings with 1315 pounds. Lemoine was tied with three other lifters for that ninth place spot with the top 10 advancing to regionals. Seeton, Lemoine, Vincent Sellers and Peyton Atkins all qualified for the upcoming regionals on the boys side. Moving on was a big relief for Lemoine who knew what he had to do coming into the last chance event. “I wanted to do a little bit more but my fingers jammed up a little bit and kind of messed me up on the dead lift. But I’m glad I did what I did and was hoping to get a little bit more but I guess you’ve got to deal with what you’ve got,” Lemoine said. While others were fighting for their chance, some of the Panther lifters were onlookers hoping to have friends join them at next weekend’s regional meet in Lindale. One of those was Vincent Sellers who currently stands as the No. 1 qualifier in the 132-pound class with a weight total of 1040. With his slot locked up, Sellers came out to the Ennis meet to root on his teammates in hopes of getting as many Midlothian representatives to join him. “I’m just resting up and taking it easy for next week,” Sellers said with a laugh. “It’s good (to have other lifters qualify) so I won’t be bored. They can keep me company I guess.” The improving performances came despite a tough week of work in other sports. Many of the lift-
The Midlothian girls powerlifting team had a standout showing at the regional powerlifting meet Saturday in Forney as all four lifters that participated in the meet qualified for the state meet in Corpus Christi on Saturday, March 20. The Lady Panther team consisting of Lexi Ball, Kate Tulley, Stephanie Horton and Kristine Robinson finished in fourth place overall in Division 3 at the regional meet. Kristine Robinson and Stephanie Horton both brought home individual medals, finishing third and fifth in their respective weight classes. Lexi Ball finished sixth overall Courtesy photo and Kate Tulley finished ninth. It is the most lifters that Midlothian Four Lady Panther powerlifters qualified for the state meet has ever sent to the girls state over the weekend. From left, Stephanie Horton, Kristine powerlifting meet. Robinson, Lexi Ball and Kate Tulley will all compete for state titles in Corpus Christi on March 20.