Catrina Hall was named to the All-Region Team this past week as a freshman.Q’curtesia Bullock was one of four Lady Panther softball players to be named to the All Region 3-4A team.By TAYLOR MITCHELL
Sports Editor

After a quick and promising start to the 2012 season, the Lady Panther softball team of Yazoo County saw its season end on a sour note.
But that taste has subsided a bit with the announcement of four players named to the All-Region 3-4A Team.
Catrina Hall, Jessica Adams, Raven Carter and Q’curtesia Bullock were chosen by the coaches in the region recently to be honored as the best players in the region.
The selection of four Lady Panthers to the all region team bodes well for the upcoming seasons. Carter is the lone senior on the Lady Panther softball team, meaning head coach Grant Andrews returns the bulk of his starting line up in 2013.

The Mitchell ReportIn my five years working as a sports reporter, I’ve written plenty of articles about success stories and championship victories as well as the negative ones about losses and bad performances.
I’ve celebrated the accomplishments of players and called out coaches, players and even an entire team when the situation called for it.
But’s that the rule, only when the situation calls for it.
If a coach or player makes a decision that turns out bad, it is my job to point that out.  If they cost their team the game, it is my job to point that out as well. (Note: I do not call out high school players like I would a college or professional).
However, you and me, as well as the person sitting  next to you, all have different opinions about what is negative. That’s fine and it is what makes us human.
Which brings me to the point I want to make. In this past Wednesday’s edition, I wrote a story about Fletcher Cox. I had an opportunity to speak with Cox at the Yazoo City Athletic Awards Banquet. It was a good interview and a story I was excited to write about.
So, when I sat down trying to figure out what to lead with, I looked for something interesting to grab the reader’s attention, which led me to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s report about Cox’s first practice and a situation with a coach.
It was interesting and I thought it would grab the reader’s attention. So, I wrote the story without a second thought. Apparently those four paragraphs didn’t have a good reception for several people, including Fletcher himself.
I deeply apologize to Fletcher for that. It was never my intention to offend by writing something negative. I did not see it as something negative, but rather something interesting about that first weekend of practices.
Again, I did not mean to offend, but only to entertain and keep the readers informed on Cox’s experience as an NFL rookie.
For that I’m sorry.

Manchester senior Mary Moses Hitt returns a back hand shot, en route to her sixth straight state championship, 6-1, 6-1. Hitt’s victory helped guide Manchester to another state championship in MAIS class AA. The Mavs claimed the state title last year, but lost two key players and had to fight even harder for them to win it all again.Sophomore Mary Morgan Mohamed (above) and Margaret Dent won the No. 2 girls doubles state championship with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Lamar Academy.Hitt’s sixth straight title leads Manchester to second state title in two years
By TAYLOR MITCHELL
Sports Editor

When she was just a seventh grader, Mary Moses Hitt set a goal for herself that would seem impossible to anyone else. Before she even stepped onto a court, Hitt wanted to go out and win all six state tennis championships that she would be able to in her career.
Wednesday afternoon at the Ridgeland Tennis Center, she accomplished just that with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Anna Reddy in the MAIS AA No. 1 girls singles championship match.
“When I set that goal so young…to accomplish that is very great,” Hitt said with her sixth state championship clutched in her hands. “I see it as pretty big accomplishment.”
“That was tremendous to see her accomplish,” Manchester head coach Debbie Crisler said. “She set a goal for herself and never backed down from it.”
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The Mitchell ReportI tell people this all of the time, but I’m going to say it again.
My job is awesome. I get to watch sporting events for free and interact with the players and coaches. It’s a fun (most of the time) job. But what I saw Wednesday afternoon was spectacular. It was one of those things that, if I do this job for a hundred years, I’ll never see it happen again.
On Wednesday, at the Ridgeland Tennis Center, on two courts that were side-by-side, there was 12 years worth of undefeated seasons and state championships.
Seniors Mary Moses Hitt of Manchester Academy and Ellie Yates of Jackson Academy wrapped up their impressive careers with victories in their respective classes’ state championship matches.
Imagine that. On two courts, there were two seniors who had never lost a match (in fact, both of them had lost just one set in six years), winning their sixth straight championships.
“That was fun to watch,” Manchester Academy head tennis coach Debbie Crisler said. “That ball was flying back and forth on those courts. I just stood there and looked at everything and thought how great this is to be watching this. Two great players wrapping up their career on courts right next to one another was very appropriate.”
Very appropriate, indeed.
Perfection is something that is near-impossible to achieve, yet two tennis players finished their careers perfect. How many times do you see something like that happen?
Here’s a better question: How often does a team go undefeated in just one season. It’s only been done once in the NFL. Never in the NHL, NBA or MLB. Never in college basketball. Of course, it has happened in college football, but it’s not very often.
“It’s very, very rare to see a team go undefeated in a season,” Crisler said.
Hitt and Yates did it, though.
They both fought through bad games and injuries during their careers. But the biggest hurdle they had to overcome was the pressure that builds when someone is undefeated. There’s pressure to stay that way because people are watching everything you do. There’s pressure to just not mess things up. There’s pressure not to disappoint.
There’s too much pressure for anyone except Hitt and Yates to comprehend. Nobody else has ever won six straight state championships and never lost a tennis match.