Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 20

4 Cbc CUufomLcDscr jackson daily news Saturday February 18, 1980 Section mintm yim "1 j(ua, mm in jiff .11 MP sr" ''I What you have to understand right off, see, is that it isn't a game. Not any more. It's no more a game than ghetto riots in 1969 or Germany vs. Great Britain in 1840. Years ago In the Jackson Public Schools it was an activity for white children who would later become doctors or lawyers or policemen.

They played like future doctors, lawyers and policemen. Mama and Daddy went to the games and ate popcorn and talked about Junior's nice uniform and the closing price of preferred. Brown vs. the Board of Education changed more than the complexion of seating charts in fourth grade classrooms. Layups became dunks and a new meaning was given to quickness.

The lexicon of the game mushroomed yer face, and an aura of the superhuman surrounded ghetto kids who soared four feet straight up. In Jackson, the heavyweights do their numbers for Callaway and Murrah. It's an experience. It's basketball, brother. Thursday night: The game's about to begin.

Shellie Bailey Coliseum at Forest Hill begins to swell with the crowd. Callaway's Aaron Brandon takes a couple of final 25-foot warmup shots. On the other end, Murrah's Lonnie Allen turns and stares down the court, 94 feet, toward the orange menace. Twice Callaway and Murrah have met in mortal combat on the basketball floor, playing with an intensity usually reserved for divorce court. They are slam-bang blood-lettings brutally contested among blood brothers who play ball against one another seven days a week on battlefields spread the length and breadth of Jackson.

In war, there are no days off. As in all great dramas, there are leading characters: Eddie Archie, a 5-10 guard for Callaway, and Donnell Allen, a 6-6 power forward for Murrah. Murrah, which has become an Alcorn State clone with "Who Dat" cheers and the curious bouncing pre-game huddle, wins the tip. The Mustangs miss the opening volley. And, soon, like 35 earlier episodes this season, The Eddie Archie Show begins.

He scores from 22 feet from the free throw line extended. Callaway leads, 13-6. He whips a blind pass to Richard Griggs, who banks in a short jump shot; 19-14. He flashes in for a steal, drives the length of the court, layup; 21-18 at the end of the quarter. Early in the second quarter, Archie drives hard down the sideline.

The official can't get out of the way. Archie dribbles behind his back, blows around the ref and spurts in between two Murrah players, lays the ball up and crashes into Donnell Allen. Goal good, charging foul. On the way back down the court Archie nods at the official. "Good call," he says.

He's not being a staff Mm aMr The advice of Callaway's Bobby Ray was not enough for victory. Basketball ho longer just a game Phelps. He sat on the bench, too tired to celebrate. He had missed only 4 shots from the field and one from the line. "We haven't come close to stopping him yet," Callaway coach Bobby Ray said.

He shook his head. What can you say? Later, Archie left the locker room carrying the certificate which assured him for hereafter of his All-District status. Expressionless. He slung his tote bag over one shoulder and headed for the door, his basketball shoes treading silently across the floor. "What are you going to do when you don't have Archie anymore?" somebody bad asked Bobby Ray the night before.

"I don't know," he said. "There have been a lot of years when we didn't have Eddie Archie and we survived. But Til tell you one thing he's the best athlete I've ever seen." Archie will live to fight another dav, next week back at Forest Hill In the South State. Michael Phelps will be waiting for him. And maybe, if we're lucky, they'll do it all over again.

World War IV. smart aleck. He's dead serious. Eddie Archie lives to play basketball. By halftime he's scored 22 points.

He finishes with 34 points and countless assists and Callaway completes the hat trick, beating Murrah, 88-73. The Chargers advance to the District 6 finals against Vicksburg and assure themselves of a berth in next week's Class AA South State tournament Murrah is through. The wages of sin, a poor shooting percentage, is death. Eddie Archie is merely the angel of death. Friday night: Afterward, Archie sat on the bench wiping away the sweat He had swooped and swirled and passed and shot.

And, still, Callaway had lost the District 6 title to Vicksburg, 80-71. He had scored 36 points, but it wasn't enough; Vicksburg's Michael Phelps had reached down and come up with a flawless performance, including 39 points and numerous rebounds which turned into layups at the other end. "He's blown out, dead," somebody said, pointing to F'F Wm. iiuuihiiw 111311 iii ww 1 5 f' 1,7 Tie hand is still quicker -1. Phelps, Gators stop Chargers Summaries, Page 5 By JIM GROVE Daily News Prep Editor Perhaps the greatest compliment Vicksburg's 6-foot-4 center Michael Phelps received Friday night came from member of the opposition, Callaway point guard Eddie "Archie.

Not that any member of the near-capacity crowd at forest Hill needed to be told that Phelps was the force in Vicksburg's 80-71 victory in the District 6 iAA final, what with his 39 points and 14 rebounds. But Archie, who finished with 36 points, spoke out loud clear. man played some ball tonight," Archie said. "He hit the boards and played offense. He did it all tonight I he had at least 50 the way he way playing." Vicksburg coach Scott Dyson, whose team is the only one to defeat Callaway twice this season, agreed.

4 "Phelps played the best game of his career offensively defensively," he said. "I think he just missed two shots. Everyone did a tremendous job executing our offense." building a 10-point second half lead, Vicksburg, the state's second-ranked team in The Clarion-Ledger Jackson Daily News poll, held off a Callaway challenge midway through the last quarter and coasted to its 33rd Michael Phelps, who scored 39 points for Vicksburg, slaps the ball away from Callaway's Mike Garner. I i A- i s1'. -V- i.

1 Staff Piwto py stvGr4mr 1 nn in 37 games. Callaway, ranked No. 5, also is 33-4. The Chargers, hurt by Vicksburg inside game, cut the lead to 4 at several points in the fourth quarter, the last at 71-67 with 2:52 remaining. Vicksburg responded including a shot whiched closed the gap to 4.

But he was held scoreless after that. "I feel like since I was a senior, I was supposed to be one of the leaders," Phelps said. "I tried to establish that on the floor." Vicksburg jumped on top early, leading 17-10 late in the first period, but Callaway caught up early in the second quarter and the lead changed 6 times the remainder of the half. Vicksburg led by 1, 40-39, at intermission. A est Hill, Donnell Allen and Daryl Johnson of Murrah and Tony Quinn of Brandon.

GIRLS For the fourth time in the past five years Warren Central won the District 6 AA girls' title, tafc'ng an easy 54-35 win over Clinton. Clinton was hurt whea Sandra Hodge, averaging 20 points a game, got in foul trouble in the second quarter before eventually fouling out string of 9 straight points midway through the third period put the Gators on top for good, 51-41. Jimmy Williams added 14 for Vicksburg while Fred Harris was next with 11. Aaron Brandon scored 20 for the Chargers. Archie, Brandon, Dennis Williams and Phelps were named to the All-District team along with Lancaster Gordon of Hill, Jerry Graise and Mark Coleman of For oy scoring 9 straight points to take an 80-67 advantage with only 17 seconds left.

Phelps missed only 1 shot in the first half and finished hitting 16 of 20 from the field for 80 percent Archie scored 10 of Callaway's first 14 points in the last period, Madison- Ridgeland Prep boys, girls ivin; Raymond hoys coast splits in District 6 A gmwsi yj r.f...fr wmmi Summaries, Page 5 "By BOB GWIZDZ Clariob-Ledger Sports Writer Sometimes you win. 'Sometimes you lose, Nobody knows that better than "jWadlson-Ridgeland basketball catch Jerry Henderson. He did both Pearl High School Friday night. After watching the Lady Braves Win the championship round of the District 6 A tournament by dropping Mendenhall 38-32, Henderson saw his Braves get stomped by Morton 73-53. "It's tough to even play two of them like that," Henderson said after the boys' game.

"We got a tea) good effort out of our girls and oar boys had a late game last night and didn't have enough to get after Morton. We were just flat. rThey have a fine ball club," he continued. "They outdefensed us and outoffensed us." After a relatively slow start by the Braves in the boys' final, scored 12 unanswered points to take a 6-point lead, which Morton dut to at the end of the first frame, 16-11. But the Panthers exploded in the second quarter, outs-Coring M-R 27-10 and taking an 11-polnt halftime edge, which was never seriously threatened.

Morton improved its lead to 18 points by the end of the third quarter, and held a 25-point edge on several occasions in the final frame. Darrell Benford, who popped in a niimber of long outside shots, in- eluding one from almost half-court at the third-quarter buzzer, led all scorers with 23 points. Mike Shirley added 15 in the winning effort, while Robert Hubbs paced Madison-Ridgeland with 14. "It always helps to play a runner-up rather than a champion," Henderson said of his first and second-place finishes. "But you never know who you'll get in the second game." Morton coach W.

D. Stroud saw his team's record improve to 26-5 with the win. "It feels good but it's going to get tougher," he said. "This was a real fine tournament. We've been working all year long to get there.

"You won't see that kind of game very often in a championship of any tournament. They have a fine ball club. We got our game going and they had some trouble." The loss dropped M-R to 18-10 for the campaign. The win, however, raised the M-R girls to 30-2 for the season. Despite the loss, coach M.

D. Deer of Mendenhall remained optimistic about the upcoming state tournament. "I don't think it'll dampen the spirits of my girls," he said. "They know Madison-Ridgeland's got a good ball club. I'd like to meet them again in the finals of South Mississippi." Deer's wish is akin to death.

His team, 22-7 on the season, has faced M-R six times. It has lost all six. Summaries, Page Compiled From Special Dispatches Jackson Prep's boys stormed into the Academy AAA state tournament final against McCluer Friday night, breezing past Indianola, 74-54. Prep, now 34-0 on the season, took a 36-28 halftime lead, played Indianola even in the third period, then raced to a 22-10 advantage in the final period. Prep was led by Ted Hill's 22 points.

Jeff Ball added 15 and Kurt Irish, 10. McCluer, meanwhile, had a tough time with Greenville Washington, before winning, 62-56. McCluer took a 31-19 halftime lead, but bad to withstand a fourth-period Washington rally. Robbie Barr and Dwayne Bailey had 14 points apiece for the winners, while Doug Blalock led all scorers with 20 points. Raymond was an easy winner in the District 6 BB tournament at Byram, romping past Benton in the final, 75-56.

Robert Henderson bad 23 points for the winners, who placed all five starters in double figures. Dan Haralson led all scorers with 36 points. Puckett took a 66-62 win over Pisgah in the District 6 tournament at Pisgah, moving into tonight's 8:30 final against Pelahat-chie in the process. Johnny Cameron led Puckett with 14 points, while Clyde Grant of Pisgah was the game's high scorer with 17 points. Pelahatchie topped Ben-tonia, 42-34, in the other semifinal.

Unbeaten Tupelo improved to 30-0 on the season, beating Shannon, 82-61, in the District 1 AA tournament in Tupelo. Jeff Norwood poured in 22 points for Tupelo, which pulled away in the final two periods for the victory. In the District 8 AA tournament, Gulfport, the defending state overall champion, took a 61-49 decision over Harrison Central. Gerald Se-liby led Gulfport with 18 points. GIRLS Jackson Prep advanced to the championship game against Lee in the Academy AAA state tournament at Clarksdale by trouncing Pillow, 41-23.

Robin Weems led Prep with 13 points, while Kathy Patrick added 12. Lee ripped Manhattan, 64-41 in the other semifinal, getting 19 points from Melinda Walker. Manhattan was led by Dawn Trotti's 13 points. In Academy AA action at Park-lane, Kirk dropped Leake, 55-41, as Carolyn McKay had 17 points and Fran Morgan added 15, and Brandon used 17 points from Sherry King to record a 52-41 victory over Columbia. Utica won the District 6 BB tournament at Byram, whipping Lake, 54-49, as Janice Moreland had 16 points.

Utica took a 27-15 halftime lead and held on for the victory. Rose Loper scored 15 points for Lake. Bentonia and Sebastapol advanced to the District 6 final tonight at 7. Bentonia beat Pelahatchie eaily, 70-o. Itaff Photo by Mark KtlMr Warren Central's Sharon DuClose attempts to shoot over the outstretched arm of Clinton's Sandra Hodge during the District 6 AA finate Friday..