Tag Archives: oak grove football

November 4, 2011 · 12:59 pm

By: Allison Slusher
Staff Reporter
Evan Sobiesk is currently the kicker for the Warrior football team and is being recruited by many division one schools. This article follows him throughout the decision making process and allows us to see which college he will choose in the end.

When choosing a college, many seniors visit the schools they are considering to attend. Evan Sobiesk, just like his fellow classmates, has decided to visit some of the universities that have contacted him about playing football. Due to Sobiesk’s growing recruitment, however, this list is continually getting longer.
In order to narrow his choices for a college, Sobiesk has already begun visiting these various schools. He will continue to make these trips throughout the semester including an upcoming visit this month to Montana State and the University of Alabama and a trip to Brown University in December.

Aside from campus visits, however, Sobiesk continues to stay busy in many different ways. First, Sobiesk has stayed in touch with some of the universities that have already contacted him including Harvard, who called him again in October. Secondly, Sobiesk has also proven himself to be a valuable player by participating in the National Nike Combine in Dallas in October. He has also been selected to play in the Mississippi North-South All Star football game, a game that showcases some of the most talented football players in the state. Many of the coaches for the Warrior football team have recently made light of Sobiesk’s talents by nicknaming him the Flying Squirrel, a name he received after making a tackle in a recent game.

Sobiesk has since proven himself to his coaches and teammates by showing his athleticism not only in football but also in tennis. “I’ve never played tennis before. I just went out there and hit a few balls at the tryouts,” Sobiesk said of making the Warrior tennis team. With accomplishments like this, we are all left to wonder – What can’t Evan do? Well, I guess you will all just have to stick around to find out as we continue to kick it with Evan Sobiesk.

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October 5, 2009 · 1:23 pm

Gifted athlete shows off brains and brawn

By: Anna Kate Baygents

Senior Jay Hughes, has been a star athlete for the Warrior football team this season. Hughes, #3, is the starting running back, but has played various other positions. While James McMahon was out with an injury, Hughes had to jump in and play quarterback. “It was a different experience,” said Hughes when asked about playing a new position. “I want them to know they can rely on me when the time comes… I want my teammates to know I can get the job done,” Hughes said. The team practices approximately ten hours a week, but to him, it all pays off “on the field.”

Hughes’s hard work has paid off so far. He was the leading scorer of the Bassfield game, and the Warriors are still undefeated four games into the season. “My family motivates me. I just  take one look into the crowd, and I tell myself I have to make it for them,” Hughes said.

Hughes has been playing football since the fifth grade. His dad is a secondary coach at Mississippi State University and introduced football to Hughes at a young age. Hughes’s love and passion for the game has motivated him to continue playing throughout high school and possibly even college. With offers from Vanderbilt, Tennessee, West Virginia, Duke, Auburn, Mississippi State, Southern Miss, and Tulsa all coming in,  Hughes has a wide selection of schools to choose from.

Hughes, however, does not only excel athletically, but also academically. He works hard to maintain his grades and strives to keep up a high GPA. Hughes is a well-liked student among faculty and is active in several school clubs. “My mom has always encouraged me to keep up in school,” said Hughes. When asked why grades are important, Hughes responded, “If you don’t have the grades, you’re going to fall behind in sports and class. So why not just work hard all the time and have them good when it really matters?”

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· 1:22 pm

Former Warrior continues success on next level

By: Lauren Pace

Taiwan Easterling is a special football player. He is not only average, he is capable of almost anything on the field. Easterling is special in the way that many great wide receivers are special—the type of player who simply changes the complexion of a game by just being on the field. When the Florida State Seminoles are looking for points and the ball is passed down the field, fans and the opposing teams are usually looking for #8 to come down with the ball. Easterling brings an invaluable quality to the Seminole football team. Even when the team is behind, the coaches always feel like they have a chance to win with him on the field. He brings confidence and skill to the playing field each and every game.

Easterling graduated from Oak Grove High School in 2007. He began his football career as a quarterback at Magee High School for the first three years of high school and then transferred to Oak Grave and played wide receiver as a senior. Not only was he very skilled at football, but he was also very talented at baseball. Easterling had many options for college including Mississippi State University, Southern Miss, and West Virginia.  In the end, he decided to attend Florida State University and become a Seminole.

Easterling achieved many accomplishments throughout his high school career including being named Class 5A leader in receptions, “Dandy Dozen,” Mr. Baseball by the Clarion Ledger, and winning the 2007 State Baseball Championship with the Warriors.

Easterling spent his freshmen year practicing with the team and training for the next year. He was considered one of Florida State’s top offensive weapons during his sophomore year. He had a great season with an unforgettable touchdown against Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, in early February of this year, during off-season training in the spring, he ruptured his left Achilles tendon, which connects the calf muscles to the heel.  He went through surgery in late February and then proceeded through several months of physical therapy.  Easterling was given little hope of returning anytime soon; however, Easterling finally recovered enough to return to the field.  When he played, he appeared as though he had never been injured. People were shocked at how fast he went through his recovery.
Florida State has a very good football program and holds many national championships with Coach Bobby Bowden. Although they have not been as successful in recent years, they might be on their way back up this year. In 2009 they were 9-4 and this year they have started the season off at 2-2.

Easterling is an extremely talented athlete and Oak Grove was lucky to have him his senior year. Oak Grove definitely had a hand in preparing him for what could be his future career.

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· 1:20 pm

Warrior sports notes

Football

The Warriors didn’t skip a beat after their two off break.  It was a truly outstanding Homecoming game Friday night against the Wingfield Falcons.  With senior quarterback James McMahon finally healed from his injury, our offense was ahead by 34 points before halftime.  In the first half of the game, in fact, Senior LJ Jackson forced a fumble that Vince Taylor returned for an amazing touchdown.  Coach Barr said that he feels quite confident about the rest of the season, and he is excited about welcoming McMahon back to the field. With four games under their belts, the team will be practicing diligently to continue their winning streak for the remainder of the season. Since the team is currently 4-0, confidence shouldn’t be much of an issue.

Swimming

The swim team continued their successful season this month by performing very well at the Laurel Invitational and Vicksburg tournaments.  At the Vicksburg tournament earlier this month, the boys’ team and the girls’ team both placed second overall.

At the much larger Laurel Invitational, the team performed even better.  The girls’ team placed first in the overall competition, and the boys’ team placed second overall.  Over 500 swimmers and more than 20 teams were present at the competition.

On October 3, the team will travel to their next meet in Biloxi.  The competitors continue working towards meeting or exceeding the state qualifying time so they can compete in the south state competition on October 24.

Volleyball

After getting off to a rocky start this season, the girls’ volleyball team has undeniably turned their luck around.  As of last Friday, September 25, the girls were ranked number one in the district, but whether or not they maintained their top rank depended on how well they played at home this week.  With the win against Petal on Tuesday, the varsity volleyball team is sure to  be playing in the state playoffs.

The girls also picked up wins last week against Hattiesburg and Gulfport. The team wrapped up the 2009 regular season against Hattiesburg at home  on Thursday. Playoffs will begin Saturday, October 3 and will be played at home and on the Coast. So far this season, the varsity volleyball team has a record of 7-5.

Cross Country

Lately, the cross country team has had very consistent results.  On September 4 the team participated in the Southern Miss Invitational at Tatum Park. The team competed against 25 other teams, and the girls placed first, continuing a winning streak. The girls team has placed first at every meet so far this season; the boys, however, did not place. On September 10 the team competed in the Admiral Invitational at the Gulfport Sportsplex. Both boys and girls placed first overall in both divisions. Christie Stricker came in third in the girls’ division and Chad Moore placed first in the boys’ division.

The team’s last meet was held at Tatum Park on September 25th. The girls placed second and the boys placed third. Kayla Stricker placed third in the girls’ division and Chad Moore placed third in the boys’ division.

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