Oxford April 30, 2017

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Ox

Sunday EDITION

Volume 3 | Issue 107

oxfordcitizen.com

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Inside 2 News

Camp Lake Stephens ready for 71st year

4 News

PHOTO BY CHANING GREEN

The Double Decker Arts Festival rolled back into Oxford this weekend, bringing art, music food and tens of thousands of visitors.

Glad to be Back

C Spire Tech Experience brings the latest tech to Ole Miss

12 Sports

Double Decker Rolls through Oxford again drawing thousands

BY CHANING GREEN NEWS WRITER

The 2017 Double Decker Arts Festival kicked off this weekend, drawing staggering crowds yet again.

Estimates for the crowd at the festival this weekend reached upwards of 60,000

locals and out-of-towners pouring onto the Courthouse Square to celebrate the annual art, music and food festival that has become Oxford’s premier event.

Saturday morning kicked off with the annual Double Decker 5k and 10k, followed by a well-attended one-mile Kids Fun Run. There were over 1,500 racers

from all across the country. The final tally of where each runner came fromwill be in later in the week, but the event has seen runners from as many as 26 different states in past years.

Nicole Gladden is an artist who had TURN TO FESTIVAL, 7A

Stepping Up: Wilson moves from doubles to singles to help LHS tennis

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unday news s ou d’s S r for

OXFORD CITIZEN

SundAy, APril 30, 2017

COURTESY

Camp Lake Stephens offers options for children in kindergarten to high school.

Camp Lake Stephens ready for 71st year

year of operation when Camp Lake Stephens in Oxford opens for the One of the longest 2017 schedule on May running local summer 29. camps enters the 71st While the faith based

BY CODY FUTRELL NEWS REPORTER

camp is well known for week-long, fun-filled adventures younger campers can enjoy day camps that are increasing in popularity each year.

The camp began its current run when the Oxford Chamber of Commerce purchased 87 acres of land for the United Methodist Church to headed up by minister Dr. J.E. Stephens.

Camp Lake Stephens operates as one of the oldest camps in the state of Mississippi and large part of the ministry of the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Children in kindergarten through high school have camps available to them. Camps begin May 28 and run throughout the summer. The final camps are July 10-28.

“We have been around since 1946 and have our week-long camps for junior high and high school,” Executive Director Darrell Whitaker said. “But we are also adding three weeks of leadership camps and we are real excited about that. These young people are on track to be counselors one day.”

Whitaker said the camps begin at $245 for day camps and $445 for week-long camps.

“We have all faiths (come to camp),” Whitaker said. “Everybody is welcome. We have the goal of building a sense of community and relationships. (The Coun-

selor camps) build-up self-confidence and independence.

The three-day adventure camps are returning with more fun activities such as rock climbing, backpacking, rafting and more.

“The adventure camps, the kids stay in solar powered tree houses,” Whitaker said. “It is a more rustic setting.

With our backpacking trips, the activities change each year.”

For more information or to get a schedule of camps and register for the summer visit the Camp Lake Stephens website at www.camplakestephens.com.

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DEA holds local Prescription Drug Take-Back

BY CHANING GREEN NEWS WRITER

This Saturday is officially designated as National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day however, Health Promotion and Communicare came together Wednesday to hold a take-back for Oxford at the Old Armory Pavilion.

The event is organized every year by offices of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration around the country every year as a way to get expired or unused prescription drugs off the streets and out of homes in order to prevent prescription drug abuse.

Last year, the DEA was able to collect 447 tons of unwanted medicines from nearly 5,400 takeback sites across all 50 states.

Health promotion is a program within the University of Mississippi’s Department of Recreation. The program worked alongside the Lafayette County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition, which involves several community organizations, including Communicare and Health Promotion.

According to federal surveys, in 2013, 1.9 million Americans met the clinical criteria to be considered dependent on or abusers of prescription pain relievers. That num-

ber is believed to have risen significantly over the last few years, especially in young people.

Purdue Pharma’s website www.rxsafetymatters. org cites that individuals aged 12 to 17 years old abuse prescription drugs more than ecstasy, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine combined.

One in five teens who abuse prescription drugs began doing so before the age of 12, and nearly one out of every four American teenagers admitted to having abused prescription drugs at some point. When divided across the calendar year, it’s estimated that just over 1,600 teens begin abusing prescription drugs every day.

Children and teenagers aren’t the only parties concerned. Opioid addition is considered and extremely prevalent problem among adults of all ages, races and socioeconomic backgrounds in the United States.

Drug overdose is also considered the leading cause of accidental death in the US, with 20,101 deaths in 2015 related to prescription pain relievers. That same year, there were 12,990 overdose deaths related to heroine use. The DEA also claims that eight out 10 heroine users began by abusing prescription painkillers.

There are also many unknown dangers when

PHOTO BY CHANING GREEN

Heartbreak Coffee was set up at the Old Armory Pavilion Wednesday morning for Coffee with a Cop that went along with the Prescription Drug Take-Back organized by the community organizations and the DEA. it comes to expired medications.

“Expired medical products can be less effective or risky due to a change in the chemical composition or a decrease in strength,” says a statement by the Food and Drug Administration on the topic, which can be accessed on their website. “Certain expired medications are at risk of bacterial growth and sub-potent antibiotics can fail to treat infections, leading to more serious illnesses and antibiotic resistance.”

This falls under our umbrella of trying to promote better approaches to substance abuse,” said Jeremiah Blough, a graduate assistant Health Pro-

motion studying exercise science. “Campus Recreation and Heath Promotion are trying to up our ante in terms of participating in more community events. We want develop that community

and campus relationship so that it’s recognized as one big community.”

The DEA supplied the boxes for the drive.

Volunteers working the event weren’t actually permitted to touch the

drugs, and instead just instructed those bringing unwanted medications to place them in the box.

A designated individual then came to pick up the box of drugs at the end of the day.

Several officers with the Oxford Police Department were also present Wednesday to make sure everything went smoothly and that there were no security risks. OPD used the opportunity to hold one of their Coffee with a Cop community-building sessions where members of the Oxford community could join the police for a cup of coffee and just get to know them. Coffee was provided by Heartbreak Coffee.

As the day wore on, they changed it to Lunch with a Cop, with several pizzas donated by Domino’s. chaning.green@journalinc.com Twitter: @chaningthegreen

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Sunday, april 30, 2017

OXFORD CITIZEN

SundAy, APril 30, 2017

OBITUARIES Thomas Davis

GULFPORT – Thomas Davis, 67, passed away Wednesday, April 26, 2017, at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, TN. Services were held on Saturday, April 29, 2017 at 4:00 p.m. at Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford. Visitation was on Saturday, April 29, 2017 1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at Coleman Funeral Home of Oxford. Burial followed at Garden of Memories Cemetery.

BRIEFING John Grisham at Square Books

BY CHANING GREEN

There were several booths and tables set up at the event that demonstrated the latest in technology from the university and beyond. Displays included interactive games, virtual reality simulations, work polymer research and more.

Internationally renowned author and former Oxonian John Grisham will be returning to Square Books on June 20. Grisham’s latest novel is called “Camino Island� and will be released on June 6. Everyone who preorders a signed copy from Square Books will be entered into a drawing to be a part of the limited event where they can meet Grisham in person at Off Square Books. Winners will be to have their book signed by Grisham in person, and then later in the evening at Off Square Books, another engagement will be held. At this event, those in attendance will have the rare opportunity to attend a live interview with the author. Winners of the raffle will be notified May 22 and will be contacted by the bookstore.

BY CHANING GREEN NEWS WRITER

Nationally known speakers traveled to the University of Mississippi Thursday to present at the C Spire Tech Experience Thursday afternoon in The Pavilion.

The event, which was referred to as CTX, was meant so serve as a sort of mini- South by Southwest expo, featuring renowned speakers and demos of cutting edge technology.

The first speaker at the

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event was Brain Uzzi, a professor at Northwestern University who specializes in artificial intelligence. His talk was entitled “Man + Machine is Greater than Man or Machine.�

Chief Executive Officer of Zuckerberg Media Radi Zuckerberg presented at the event after Uzzi. Her talk was titled “Social Media is Free, Like a Puppy is Free.� Chief Information Officer for the National Football League Michelle

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C Spire Tech Experience brings the latest tech to Ole Miss

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PHOTO BY CHANING GREEN

Professor Brian Uzzi of Northwestern University speaks to a group of students and community members in The Pavilion during the C Spire Tech Experience Thursday. Uzzi’s talk focused on how man and machine can work together.

Go online to the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/oxford-citizen-contributions and make a secure online contribution.

McKenna-Doyle closed out the event with her lecture “Technology Drives Change.�

Demonstrations were also set up from different university departments as well as from C Spire. There were samples of different marerials and coatings intended to make things bullet, fire and shook proof from the University of Mississippi Nano Infrastructure.

Students from the Center for Manufacturing Excellence had a booth set up where they showed off some of the work they’ve been doing with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

This included an 8-foot rocket and a smaller scale model they make of the larger rocket.

Visitors to the booth could watch as a fin for the rocket was created using a 3D printer, and a special material that could easily withstand the intense strain the rocket would undergo when launched.

Other technology at the event included several demonstrations of virtual reality applications. There were booths that, once having donned put on the appropriate eyewear, made the participant feel as though they were riding a riding a rollercoaster, climbing a mountain or even standing on the sidelines during an Ole Miss football game.

There was even a feature that put wearers on the Walk of Champions, caught in the iconic march of the Rebels across the Grove as they prepare to take the field and win the day.

On-campus partners for the event include the Ole Miss Schools of Business Administration and Engineering, as well as the Associated Student Body, the Haley Barbour Center for Manufacturing Excellence and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

C Spire CEO Hu Meena said that the com-

pany was excited to be hosting the event at Ole Miss. “As the region’s technology leader, we’re uniquely positioned to bring to life an event at the intersection of music and technology,�

Meena said in a statement to the university ahead of the event. “In the new digital economy, these are some of the leading innovations that hold promise for greatly improving the quality of our lives.�

UM Chancellor Jeffery Vitter said the feeling of excitement was mutual. “We’re excited to partner with an industry leader in hosting a major high-tech event on campus,� Vitter said in a press release last week. “It will help spur ideas and innovation that will enable our students and faculty to more fully participate in the new digital economy.� chaning.green@journalinc.com Twitter: @chaningthegreen

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OXFORD CITIZEN

DOUBLE DECKER 2017

Double Decker provided fun filled activities for everyone. The weather was perfect for record crowds.

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Sunday, april 30, 2017

OXFORD CITIZEN

SundAy, APril 30, 2017

OSD discusses possible budget cuts in work session

BY CHANING GREEN NEWS WRITER

The Oxford School Board met Thursday evening to hold their first budget work session of the upcoming school year.

Superintendent Brian Harvey and members of the board sat in a lecture room of Oxford Middle School as District Business Manager Chuck Rainey walked everyone through the preliminary budget. The final budget for the 2017-2018 school year will not be approved and formally adopted for another two months, leaving plenty of time for adjustments and changes

to be made.

President Trump signed a new executive order Wednesday that could potentially impact the Oxford School District, as well as districts around the country, quite significantly by cutting substantial funds from the country’s education funding. The Education Federalism Executive Order has set up a 300-day review of the school system in the United States that would effectively eliminate a large amount of federal funding from school districts across the country, leaving it to states to fund their own education systems.

This was a major point

of concern for the school board Thursday.

With Title I funds already being cut from the federal budget, positions within the district had to be eliminated, putting educators

primary goal is to provide artistic experiences to persons in the North Mississippi area. The Oxford Civic Chorus membership is made up of dedispring concert May 1 cated musicians who come from many areas and are committed to Oxford Civic Chorus is a the joy of music and the expresnon-profit organization whose sive power that it brings.

BRIEFING

and support staff out of work, leaving the schools without those positions and students without the extra help.

During the meeting, Rainey said that with so

The Chorus, directed by Thomas Ardry, and accompanied by Steve Taranto, invites the community and music lovers alike to attend their annual spring concert May 1, 2017, at 7:30 in the Nutt Auditorium on the Ole Miss Campus.

much “up in the air” regarding federal funding, it’s extremely difficult for them to make any sort of adjustments to the district’s budget until the know more. Specifics regarding state-level funding is also questionable at this point.

Each year, the different schools and departments within the Oxford School District rework their budget from scratch. Nothing from the previous year rolls over.

Harvey and the board ask questions and clarified things regarding shifting positions, pay increases and the creation of Susanne Ryals new position. Ryals is currently the principal

They are celebrating the Mississippi Bicentennial with music from Mississippi composers as well as music that honors the state with beautiful arrangements of gospel music by William Grant Still, the contemporary, Can’t Help Falling in Love, as well as the

at Bramlett Elementary School, but will be vacating that position to serve as the Director of Early Childhood and Reading Development across Lafayette County.

The position is funded in equal parts by the Oxford Board of Alderman, the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors, the Lafayette County School District and the Oxford School District.

However, it will appear on the books under the OSD, as that will be Ryals base of operations. Bramlett will have a new principal by the time school starts back in the fall. chaning.green@journalinc.com Twitter: @chaningthegreen

majestic, The Mississippi River Empties Into the Gulf.

Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults and are available at the door the night of the concert as well as through the Ole Miss box office and from OCC members.

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OXFORD CITIZEN

Festival

DKSD PEEWEE DANCERS

FROM 1A

COURTESY

The Deborah Kay School of Dance Peewee dance class earned first place in the 5-7 age division for the KAR competition in Memphis on April 23. This was their first competition.

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several of her works for sale in a booth for the festival.

Gladden has been participating in Double Decker as a vendor on and off for the last nine years or so, both on her own and as a member of the Oxford Artist Guild.

Her playful, surreal style comes to life in her tent which decorated with paintings showing bicycle-riding dogs, girls with birdcages for dresses and more. The blues and grays and whites blend together beautifully on wooden panels, painted with acrylics and framed up. Gladden calls the style “indoor landscapes,” a title bestowed on her work by a friend and colleague.

She said she was thrilled to be able to participate in the Double Decker Festival.

“I love festivals when people really want to talk about art,” Gladden said I

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love when people ask me about my art because it’s a soulful experience for me, painting. I love talking about the spirit behind my pieces. I love talking about art, even if they are not serious buyers. I also just love seeing so many people and a lot of people I know actually come up to me with ‘Oh! I had no idea you were an artist.’”

Food vendor MemPops was also on the Square for the festival. This was their first time at the festival.

The popsicle makers have been in business for about three years now, and have opened a brick and mortar store in Memphis. They’re getting ready to open their second location in June.

In addition to the actual stores, they have nine carts, two Airstreams, and two mail trucks that were converted into mobile popsicle stands. Their flavors at Double Decker were the standard strawberry, banana and other common popsicle flavors, but they

push the limit at their other stores, selling dozens and dozens of different flavors ranging from watermelon to spicy chili mixes.

Chris Taylor is the owner and creator of MemPops he started making popsicles with his kids, and the whole thing kind of beautifully spun out of control and now they’re a full-blown business. Dana Keene works as a nanny for the Taylors and ended up roped into the popsicle business. She love it and was excited that this year’s Double Decker was her first experience in Oxford.

Honestly, I’m just along for the ride,” Keene said, speaking her involvement with the Taylor family and eventually MemPops. “I get to watch his kids and sell popsiciles, and we all just have the best time. I love what we do. Double Decker is so much fun. The buildings here are so cute. We’re so glad to be here.” chaning.green@journalinc.com Twitter: @chaningthegreen

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Sunday, april 30, 2017

OXFORD CITIZEN

SundAy, APril 30, 2017

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OXFORD CITIZEN

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OXFORD CITIZEN

Betty Wiseman

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Sunday, april 30, 2017

ESPN’s layoffs sends signal Ben Mikell Sports Writer On Wednesday, ESPN started a brutal layoff run in order to stop their declining revenue, a revenue largely coming from charging cable companies on average $7 per subscriber. ESPN at one point had more than 100 million cable subscribers. That number is down to less than 85 million.

Do the math. Fifteen million times $7 per subscriber equals at least $105 million in yearly revenue lost over the past few years. That’s just ESPN alone, that’s not including its sister channels ESPN2 and ESPNU. The layoffs contribute to many reasons. ESPN overpaid for sports rights. They spend more than $7 billion in rights fees alone. ESPN has gone far too ‘left’ and political, resulting in cutting the cord altogether.

ESPN’s ratings have dropped across the board by 15 percent, which results in loss of ad revenue, which is a result of going too far ‘left’ and covering more political views from athletes than actual sports.

That’s the reason I’ve basically stopped watching ESPN save for an Ole Miss game here and there or if Oxford ever has another ESPN game or if Lafayette gets an ESPN game. It has gotten too political and away from sports. Sports is supposed to be the gateway from politics.

Young people (such as myself) go to Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, and other social media outlets to get their highlights in much cheaper ways and usually without politics in the way. It’s even a place to watch live sporting events now.

For those and many other reasons, good sports reporters, anchors, writers, and those analysts that don’t get politically involved have lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

Many of them truly reported on just sports and events that actually affects sports and their games. Great people like Ed Werder, Marc Stein, Jay Craw-

ford, Jayson Stark, Dana O’Neil, and Trent Dilfer who got to see former Oxford quarterback Jack Abraham in an Elite 11 camp while Abraham was in high school are among the ones I’ve thought did an excellent job, and there many others that I’ve seen do a great job.

It just shows any article, interview, or broadcast done by anyone at any business or media outlet, print or televised, local or national, could be their last one, whether they did a great job or not. Money talks in the real world, and ESPN is running out of money to talk with because of their poor business decisions.

I’m fortunate to have this job writing sports articles and features. Hopefully it might just take me somewhere else.

I’ve been around sports all of my life. Many people have seen me at a sporting event usually broadcasting a play-by-play through a gamecast on my iPad, refereeing a sporting event, filming a sporting event, running the scoreboard at a sporting event, or of course covering a sporting event for this paper.

I’ve gotten to see some exciting sporting events that I’ve been able to write about. Games such as Ben Bianco’s walk-off homer against New Hope two years ago, watching Jarkel Joiner go off for around 40 each night, watching Thomas Dillard hit a baseball to Mars every other game last year (He actually did that on Friday for Ole Miss), seeing Sam Kendricks win the Bronze medal in Rio with about 200 other supporters and family members on the Square, or watching Oxford’s Volleyball team win the title in Jackson this past fall and the emotions that followed.

It is alarming to see so many great talents in this business are losing their jobs because of poor economical decisions made by the powers at ESPN. This is but a problem at a larger scale that the nation is facing in sports media. Instant and live access to sports, and just sports, is what people want these days. They don’t want politOh darn, I’m out of column to type up. I guess all things have a limit.

SportS

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JOHN DAVIS

Lafayette’s Emma Wilson has been playing singles in the MHSAA Class 4A playoffs for coach Debbie Swindoll, who has relied on the junior to move around in the lineup.

Stepping Up

Wilson moves from doubles to singles

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS WRITER

Emma Wilson has no problem recalling the moment when Lafayette tennis coach Debbie Swindoll asked her to move over from doubles, and start playing singles. It was right at the start of the MHSAA Class 4A playoffs, a run the Commodores are still enjoying.

“It’s a lot different,” Wilson said first about the move. “I had to adjust. I won both of the matches I’ve played, so I guess it’s been pretty good.”

Wilson, a junior, started the 2017 season in her normal spot in doubles but Swindoll felt the move was necessary in the playoffs because teams were really going to mix up the lineup in the effort to defeat Lafayette. Swindoll needed an athletic player to counter with, and Wilson turned out to be the best prospect.

“It was a calculated gamble to be honest with you,” Swindoll said. “Ally Bowen, who has a good chance to win a state championship in the individual tournament, most of the teams are running from her. I was looking for a really

good, competitive athlete to then go and play singles while I put Ally in mixed doubles where she was maybe a little more valuable. I knew I had a good one in Emma.”

Swindoll’s thought of winning singles and mixed paid off, and the 14-4 Commodores are now playing for the Class 4A north half state championship next week against New Albany. Singles has made Wilson a better player, Swindoll said.

“I’m fortunate that they trust me to let them make the moves,” she added with a laugh. “She is the kind of person, the kind of teammate, that just does and does what is asked of her. I think her playing soccer has helped her do that, too. She is so unselfish.

And I trusted her. I knew she would compete and if the skills were all equal, competitive wise, she’s better than most of them. Really there is only about 20 percent of the kids you could do that with and she is one of them.”

One of the really big differences between playing doubles and singles is working through problems solo.

“You have to take full responsibility for every point,”

Wilson said. “If you need encouraging, it has to come from yourself. You have to break through on your own.”

Halle Moore was Wilson’s partner in doubles, and Wilson said she was better from the baseline now that she doesn’t have Moore to help out. The net is still Wilson’s best part of the court, while her serve has been OK. “If she needs me to play singles, I will but I do like doubles with Halle,” Wilson said. “I was a little uneasy, but you do what you have to do.”

Wilson is also a soccer player for Lafayette. It’s a good balance, she said, adding that both coaches have a good understanding of what she needs to do to help both squads.

The really young Commodores have made huge strides this year on the court. Wilson has been a big reason for the improvement thanks to her steady play.

“It’s been a lot different this year. In the past, usually our girls are stronger than our guys, but this year, the guys are really performing the best that they can,” Wilson said. “That’s something to be proud of for us.

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Sunday, april 30, 2017

OXFORD CITIZEN

paGE 13

Peterson can sympathize with current NCAA situation

BY BEN GARRETT

SPECIAL TO OXFORD CITIZEN

Cory Peterson is synonymous with some of the greatest moments in Ole Miss football history.

There was the time the former Rebel wide receiver was on the receiving end of the deciding two-point conversion in the 1997 Egg Bowl, when Ole Miss rallied from two touchdowns down in the fourth quarter to win. Or his overtime touchdown catch against LSU – a game in which the Rebels used 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to tie – in 1998. Peterson caught a Romaro Miller pass on second-and-10 from the 25, but before he crossed the goal line, he was hit and the ball popped free. Peterson stayed with it, and while laying on his back and two defenders draped on him, the ball fell back into his hands as he went into the end zone.

He’s remembered for his 92-yard punt return against SMU in 1998 – the fifth-longest punt return in school history – that helped facilitate an Ole Miss comeback for the ages. The Rebels overcame a 22-point

fourth-quarter deficit to win 48-41 in overtime, and Peterson’s 181 yards on 16 catches were no small part of the heroics. And who can forget the ‘Payback’ game in 1999? Peterson secured a 23-yard touchdown from Miller to beat Auburn and hand former Ole Miss head coach Tommy Tuberville his first loss to his former team, and on the Plains, no less.

“The Egg Bowl, definitely,” Peterson said of the game he gets asked about the most. “Not as much anymore, but still every once in a while I get that question. I love hearing from a fan or whoever it is saying, ‘Hey, I remember when you caught that pass. I was at the game or with my family celebrating Thanksgiving.’ I always like hearing their reaction to it and that great win that our team had in ’97 to get us to the Motor City Bowl.”

But the good times for Peterson and Ole Miss didn’t come until after the program was dealt its toughest test yet. Ole Miss was handed down a four-year probation period by the NCAA in 1994, which included a twoyear postseason ban, a one-

OLE MISS ATHLETICS

Cory Peterson played in some of Ole Miss football’s most memorable games. year television ban and a reduction of 24 scholarships over a two-year period.

Peterson, who finished his career with 1,843 receiving yards, signed amidst it all.

Over 20 years later, Ole Miss is dealing with similar uncertainty. After a five-year investigation, the NCAA issue the Rebels a Notice of Allegations that included lack of institutional control, and coach Hugh Freeze familiar to monitor, on top of 21 allegations of impropriety. Ole Miss will dispute LOIC and failure to monitor, among others.

Ole Miss was 5-7 overall in 2016.

“Coach Freeze has han-

dled it as good as you can handle it,” Peterson said.

“It’s a tough situation with the NCAA ‘cause they’re just so unpredictable. It was obviously a tough year because of injury, and recruiting you’ve got every other school saying things against you. I know it’s been tough; lost a lot of coaches that went to other schools.

“But our core, with depth on offense and defense, is in a very good place right now. I’m looking forward to seeing this offensive coordinator (Phil Longo) doing his thing and looking forward to seeing (QB Shea) Patterson develop. We’ve been there before with probation. I know there’s still

going to be a black cloud over us because we don’t know what’s going to happen, but that’s out of our control now. These guys just need to go in and play hard. We’re going to support them at the games, and I think we’ve got a special group of players on this team and great leadership with the seniors that are coming back.”

Ole Miss self-imposed a one-year bowl ban for 2017, and the Rebels are set to issue their official response to the NCAA in May. They’ll likely meet with the Committee on Infractions well into the season, roughly around late-October or early-November.

Peterson said, as a player, the best way to handle such circumstances is simply to go out and play. Ole Miss returns a number of key contributors, from Patterson, five starters along the offensive line and wide receivers A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf, to decorated defensive end Marquis Haynes, defensive tackles Benito Jones and Breeland Speaks, linebacker DeMarquis Gates and more.

“All you can do is go out there and play hard.” Pe-

terson said. “I know we’re not going to a bowl game this year, but keep fighting.

We’ve been there before in probation. Who knows what’s going to happen?

Quite honestly, I know everyone in Rebel Nation is getting tired of hearing it from other people, but it’s just a part of college football. It’s the ugly part of it.

Things happen and mistakes happen. The NCAA’s got that book of 900 pages of rules and regulations.

“But we’re going to overcome it. We have before, and that probation was almost the death penalty. We came out of it and went to a bowl game the first year after probation. I think the future’s bright with these guys. The talent here now versus when we were on probation 20 years ago is obviously a lot higher.

We’ve just got to get guys that believe in Ole Miss and believe in the program and what coach Freeze is doing. I want to see him there a long time. I have always enjoyed watching him. I think he’s an incredible coach and mentor to these young players. It’s going to be a great year. We’ll get through this.”

Oxford makes statement in Game 1 win over Ridgeland

BY BEN MIKELL SPORTS WRITER

Editor’s Note: Game 2 was played after press time Saturday.

After Friday night, the Ridgeland Titan players and coaches had the song “Gone” by Montgomery Gentry stuck in their heads after hearing it over the loudspeakers four times during the game.

That’s because each time they heard the song, an Oxford Charger had hit a home run. The Chargers did so four times in their 14-1 five-inning rout of the Titans in Game 1 of the second round of the MHSAA 5A playoffs to take a 1-0 series lead.

“It warmed up here and the wind is blowing out,” Oxford coach Chris Baughman said. “My biggest fear with us was getting up there and trying to hit bombs. I told them before the game that we hit 30 in batting practice today and that’s no exaggeration. I said (the ball) is going to jump out.

We hit several off the wall.

We hit several to (Oxford boys basketball) coach (Drew) Tyler’s house.”

After Oxford (26-4 overall) went up 2-0 after backto-back RBI hits from Drew and Ben Bianco respectively, Clark Stovall started the home run parade by hitting his first in a Charger uniform, a two-run blast, to give Oxford a 4-0 lead after

the first inning.

Drew Bianco hit his first of two long balls of the game in the second inning, a two-run homer, to give Oxford a 6-1 lead. Oxford added three more runs on a RBI hit from Stovall and a two-RBI hit from Parker Stinnett to increase the Charger’s lead to 9-1.

In the third inning, it was Ben Bianco’s turn to deposit a baseball behind the fence, this time a solo shot, to bump the lead up to 101. The Chargers added one more run on a RBI hit from Duncan Graeber to score CJ Terrell and made the score 11-1 after three innings.

Drew Bianco in the fourth inning put an explanation point on the contest

with a three-run bomb that went over the scoreboard in left-center field to provide the final margin. Bianco wanted to make sure that the Titans couldn’t hang around in the game like the Chargers have allowed other opposing teams to do in the last few weeks.

“This is the playoffs, you can’t hold anything back,” Bianco said after his 3-for4, six RBI night. “You have to keep stepping on their throats the whole game. We did a good job of that. We played really clean defense.

Carson (Stinnett) pitched a really good game, he was hitting every spot. Offense one through nine was just crushing the ball all over the field. I don’t know how

many extra-base hits we had, but it was a lot.”

Ridgeland (12-15) got its lone run of the game in the second inning when Ryan Ishee scored on a fielding error hit by Kolby Smith, but Smith was thrown out on the same play trying to take second base. Thomas Milam had the team’s lone extra-base hit with a double in the third inning. Ishee and Javondus McGrueder were the only other Titans who had hits in the contest.

Oxford pounded out 15 hits as a team and eight of the nine Chargers in the starting lineup each had at least one hit in the contest.

The first five hitters in the Oxford order Stovall, Carson Stinnett, Drew Bianco,

Sam Bianco, and Ben Bianco were a combined 12for-17 and each had multiple hits in the game with Stinnett and Drew Bianco each having three. Stinnett earned the complete game win on the mound allowing one unearned run on just three hits, one walk, struck out three, and threw only 52 pitches.

“I thought he was very efficient,” Baughman said of Stinnett’s outing. “He pounded the zone. He really didn’t need a whole lot of off-speed. Out of the 50-something pitches he threw about 35-40 fastballs.

Thought he was real good; thought he had good command. He challenged them and kept them off base.”

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Sunday, april 30, 2017

OXFORD CITIZEN

SundAy, APril 30, 2017

Oxford’s Mounce can help the Chargers anywhere he’s needed

BY JOHN DAVIS SPORTS WRITER

In three days, when the Oxford Chargers host Grenada in the MHSAA Class 5A north state title tennis match, coach Louis Nash will have a decision to make with Ryan Mounce and where to put him on the lineup card.

The junior is reliable and versatile enough to play anywhere. Nash has confidence in Mounce to go win a tough match at No. 1 singles, or join anyone else from the team in doubles play.

“He will compete wherever you put him. He’s won a lot of points this year and he’s been in some tough spots, some hard spots, and lately as he’s grown older and had more experience with it, he’s winning under pressure,” Nash said about Mounce. “When the score is 3-3, he’s winning those kind of match

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points. That’s something he wasn’t as used to doing early on. Now, he kind of embraces and jumps out after it.”

Every tennis team needs a player like Mounce on the roster. In the case of the Chargers, Nash has relied on those type of players for years.

He’s molded them into great competitors, and Mounce is as good as any of the great ones that have played for the most dominant program in the state.

“You’re going to have tight matches this time of year and the scores are going to be better, and he plays hard,” Nash said.

“He practices hard and he’s a leader by example.

He’s going to play where you ask him to play, and he’s going to play well.

And he’s playing really well right now, which is good this time of year.”

Playing time has been earned by Mounce, who cut his teeth in the line-

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Oxford junior Ryan Mounce leads the Chargers by example on the court, playing anywhere coach Louis Nash needs him to. up some last season. He’s played in pressure matches and won those critical last points. Nash said all of it came with him doing it over and over again.

“He’s worked on it and played and the experience has been good for him. He’s a tough guy to win a point against,” Nash said. “He’s the best server we got. He’s awfully hard to play because his serve is hard to handle. He also runs well. He’s athletic

and he can intimidate up front at the net. He can also volley and put balls away.”

Mounce is a left hander, so his serve is different than most tennis players.

He also practices it, and he likes to think it’s pretty good.

“Everything spins opposite compared to what most people play. I’m the only lefty on the team and that helps it a lot because people aren’t used

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to playing it,” Mounce said of his serve. “I’ve been working hard this year and playing pretty well. I have great partners in doubles. They always help.”

Max Mauney and Gordon Whitwell are the two that Mounce has played with the most in doubles.

In regards to work ethic, Mounce said he likes to show up and do what he’s supposed to do. In other words, he likes to lead by example.

“I think I’ve kind of moved into it,” Mounce said about being a leader. “I watched the older guys and I tried to learn as much as I can so I could teach the younger kids.”

Oxford is 17-3 on the season heading into the Grenada match. Two more wins means a 10th straight state championship.

“We’ve made a lot of progress this year. It’s been fun to watch. Even

though we’ve lost, those teams were probably as strong as they’ve been in a long time as well,” Mounce said.

If the Chargers triumph over Grenada for a second straight season, then they will play at FNC Tennis Center, their home court, in the title match.

“It’s comforting to have a home court advantage, to be able to walk out here and see people that you know,” Mounce said. “It would be awesome to get some home support out here.”

Tennis has been a part of Mounce’s life since he was age 6. He plays six days a week and he would love to play tennis in college.

“I play in tournaments and some coaches have seen me play. I’ve talked with some coaches, but no offers so far,” Mounce said. “I want to keep playing tournaments and work on my backhand.”

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