 The Mitchell ReportBeliever it or not, there’s only a month’s worth of regular season basketball left to be played. It seems like yesterday I was splitting coverage between basketball and football. Soon, though, I’ll be splitting basketball with baseball and softball.
Time flies.
I’ve said it before and it still stands true, the Yazoo City boys team is the best in the county. At 13-5 they’re also one of the better teams in the state. Are they the best? Probably not (that offense disappears at times), but they are good enough to make a run in the north half playoffs and, possibly, the overall state tournament.
To say who the best girls team is in the county is not an easy answer. The two choices are either Manchester or Yazoo County. Neither team has been dominant all season long, but both squads have had times when they are appear to be dominant.
I like the Lady Mavs because they have five players who can score and play defense. The Lady Panthers, on the other hand, have Ashanti Spencer who is one of the best players in the state. If I have to choose (and I’m making myself choose) I’d pick Manchester as the best girls team, followed very closely by Yazoo County.
Both the Lady Mavs and Lady Panthers will both be headed to the post season where each team has a chance at making a deeper run in their respective north half tournament than they did a year ago.
The same situation can be said for who is the second best boys team behind Yazoo City. The Panthers play against some good teams and have plenty of good results, while the Mavericks play solid defense in combination with an electrifying offense.
Those five teams are the ones to watch out for once the calendar turns to February.
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 Xavier Young and the Panthers had an impressive victory against Washington School over the weekend.By TAYLOR MITCHELL
Sports Editor
While it was a rough outing against Madison-Ridgeland Academy for the Lady Panthers of Yazoo County, the Panthers found themselves on the winning end of an 11-point game against Washington School.
The Panthers won 43-32 over Washington School, while the Lady Panthers fell 64-36.
Against Washington School on Saturday, there wasn’t much scoring. The Panthers opened the game with 10 points in the first quarter and added just six points in the second. Meanwhile Yazoo County’s defense held Washington to just six points in the first quarter and five in the second.
-------for the rest of the story see The Yazoo Herald printed edition or subscribe to the Digital Edition.----------
 Manchester Academy got the regular season back in action Tuesday night in a pair of match ups against Washington School.By TAYLOR MITCHELL
Sports Editor
It had been 17 days since the Manchester Academy basketball squads had played in an actual game. On Tuesday night, that streak came to an end when the Mavericks and Lady Mavericks hosted Washington School.
The long break appeared to have some effect on the teams as Washington defeated Manchester in both games, 48-44 in the girls’ game and 66-26 in the boys’.
In the girls’ game, the Lady Mavericks (7-9) put themselves in position to grab the victory with a 24-17 halftime lead. However, a 17-9 third quarter by Washington School gave the visitors all the momentum headed into the crucial fourth quarter.
In the final quarter of play, the Lady Mavs and Washington traded points for most of the quarter, but the Lady Generals were able to score more than Manchester. Washington had 14 points while the Lady Mavs had just 11.
-------for the rest of the story see The Yazoo Herald printed edition or subscribe to the Digital Edition.----------
The Mitchell ReportIn most cases I use this space to write about local Yazoo County sports. But when people begin asking me the same question over and over again.
Who ya got? LSU or Alabama?
Oh boy. That’s not an easy game to pick. Mississippi State and Wake Forest was an easy one to pick. The rematch of the game of the century isn’t easy.
Let’s look at both teams.
Alabama has a defense that is better than the NFL’s Jaguars, Rams, Browns and Buccaneers. LSU’s defense is better than those same NFL teams, too.
Both teams cause turnovers, don’t give up many yards and don’t give up many points. Both the Tigers and Crimson Tide have shaky quarterback situations that have played well enough for their teams to win.
Alabama has Trent Richardson and the best offensive line in the nation. LSU doesn’t have one superstar offensive athlete - unless you count Tyrann Mathieu - but they do have a few that can make big plays (Jordan Jefferson, Russell Shepard, Spencer Ware and Rueben Randle to name a few).
In the first game between these two schools LSU won 9-6 on a field goal in overtime. I watched most of that game and came out thinking those are the two best teams in the nation. Worst, though, both teams are equally talented. Just because LSU won doesn’t mean it’s the better of the two.
So, who will win?
Honestly, I have no idea.
Alabama will be playing with the revenge factor and that’s dangerous. But LSU will be playing with the knowledge that if they win, there will be no doubt who is the best team in the nation.
The deciding factor? Location, location, location.
The national championship is going to be played in New Orleans which is an hour and a half away. The last two times the national title was decided at the Superdome, who won?
LSU.
Tigers make it 3-for-3, winning 27-21.
 Gaston Purvis, age six, killed his first deer while hunting with his great grandfather, Joel Collins, on private property in Yazoo County on Nov. 5, 2011.
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