John Blackledge Sports EditorAfter a relaxing Easter weekend and a little time with the family, the sports world is starting to heat back up on all cylinders.
Prep baseball will be in full swing this week. For Benton and Manchester, league play will be done in two weeks.
Then it will be time for playoffs. After a slow start to the season, the Mavericks are competing a little better, and they look to finish strong for the season. Over at Benton, the Raiders are heating up each and ever game.
It seems like when one player isn’t functioning right, he has a teammate to come along and pick him up. That’s what teamwork is all about folks. Word on the street is the Benton and Manchester baseball game will not be made up.
I know I might be new to town, but I can already see the rivarly between these two teams.
Back in the day, I graduated from Northeast Jones, and our big rival was West Jones. We had a teacher, Gary Buckler, who taught us to stay clear of our rivals.
This means you didn’t date them. You didn’t go over and hang out. You just didn’t do it.
This may seem like it was a little extreme to be teaching high school kids, but it taught us camaraderie.
To this day, that rivalry for West Jones is still there in me. While I might hang out with a few Mustangs, I refuse to wear or own anything green just because of Mr. Buckler.
Now, I can understand Benton and Manchester not playing due to a death, bad weather, or something extreme to happen. However, what better of way to end the season with these two schools playing.
I know Manchester is 1-0 against Benton, but my recommendation would be to play a two-game series the Saturday before playoffs if possible to decide bragging rights for the year. Now, that would be a great way to head into the playoffs.
As far as public schools are concerned, Yazoo City and Yazoo County are shaping up to have some pretty good runs.
The Indians started playing tough competition at the start of the season, and its helping them now to get ready for division play. I’m looking for Coach Peyton and the Indians to make a strong run in the playoffs.
The Panthers have been struck by weather. It seems once the Panthers get rolling the weather comes down causing all kinds of havoc for the Panthers.
I look for both teams to make the playoffs.
In closing, finish the season strong, and always come ready to compete.
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John Blackledge is sports editor at The Yazoo Herald. He maybe reached at
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