The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana • Page 22

Sports 2C FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2005 THE TIMES shreveporttimes.com HIGH SCHOOL TRACK IViinden, Northwood win AND FIELD 1-4A titles CATCHINCBP ACTION "I had figured it two or three times, and it was going to be close with Minden," Lady Falcons coach Jerry Burton said. "We had some performances in the field I wasn't expecting." The Minden boys scored 164 to Fair Park's 123 to take home their Amarillo faces unfamiliar tandem By Brian McCallum bmccallumgannett.com Demetric Carey says he doesn't have much confidence in himself. Only a sophomore, he is in his second year of varsity track and field but his first competing in run ning events. Whether he trusts himself or not, he earned plenty of respect from coaches and opponents on Thursday. Carey won three individual events and anchored the mile relay for Carey Minden, which won the District 1-4A boys track and field championship at Lee Hedges Stadium.

The Northwood girls won their meet by a 37-point margin over Minden, 163-126. Standings AMERICAN CONFERENCE Last Week's Results East Division Macon 67, Birmingham 50 W-BScranton 3 0 W-BScranton 55, Albany 37 Louisville 2 0 Louisville 48, South Georgia 46 Manchester 1 1 Memphis 54, Arkansas 13 Green Bay 1 1 Bakersfield 57, San Diego 30 Albany 0 2 Florida 63, Rio Grande Valley 30 South Division Manchester 59, Green Bay 47 Florida 3 0 Okla. City 48, Central Valley 41 Macon 2 1 Quad City 36, Bossier-Shrev. 29 Birmingham 0 2 Bye: Tulsa, Amarillo South Georgia 0 2 Tonight's Games Arkansas 0 2 Louisville at Wllkes-Barre NATIONAL CONFERENCE Scranton, 6:30 Midwest Division Rio Grande Valley at Bakersfield, Memphis 3 0 9 Oklahoma City 2 1 Saturday's Games Amarillo 11 Manchester at Albany, 6:30 Quad City 1 1 South Georgia at Florida, 6:30 Bossier-Shrev. 0 3 Macon at Green Bay, 7 West Division Amarillo at Bossier-Shreveport, 7 Tulsa 1 1 Memphis at Birmingham, 7 Bakersfield 1 1 Quad City at Oklahoma City, 7: Central Valley 1 1 30 San Diego 1 1 Tulsa at San Diego, 9 Rio Grande Val 0 2 Arkansas at Central Valley, 9:30 trophy.

Minden's Mike Arender was named the outstanding performer on the track for winning three events. Carey also won three. He won the 100-meter hurdles Burrow with a time of 15.4 seconds, a personal best "I started off real good out of the blocks, but my technique was not real good over the hurdles so I had to make it up between them," Carey said. one Class 2A semifinal. McDaniel went 2-for-3 with a double in Thursday's second-round game as the Lady Griffins improved to 18-13-1.

That is the same record as winning pitcher Jana Henderson. Jonesboro-Hodge's season ended at DENHAM SPRINGS 5, HUNTINGTON 2: The Lady Raiders were not able to earn a repeat trip to the Class GOLF HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL N. DeSoto advances to state tourney be three undefeated teams left as the Fire and Pioneers play each other on Friday night at Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Battle Wings player profile WHO: McKinley Bowie POSITION: WRLB SIZE: 6-2. 230 COLLEGE: Baylor HIGHLIGHT: Playing against the Battle Wings for rival Laredo last season, Bowie had five receptions for 47 yards and two touchdowns.

NOTE: Was injured Bowie in Tulsa game and missed last week's contest against Quad City. Bowie is expected to be back at full strength on Saturday. Protecting our house After struggling to a 4-10 start this season, home teams rebounded in a big way last weekend going 8-1 for the week. It was the best week for home teams since Week 9 of the 2004 season when home teams went 10-2 for a .833 win percentage. For this season home teams are now 12-11 for a .522 win percentage.

Getting to know you Chris Johnson set or tied three team records in his Macon Knights debut last week. Johnson set the Knights single-game receiving yards record with 216 yards. He FL From Staff Reports Courtney McDaniel drove in two runs, plenty for North DeSoto to win its Class 2A softball playoff game 4-0 over Jonesboro-Hodge on Thursday, sending the Lady Griffins on to the state tournament next week. North DeSoto will play the Ouachita Christian-Pine Prairie winner next Friday at a time to be announced in Singh sets pace at Houston From Staff and Wire Reports HUMBLE, Texas Fresh from inclusion in the World Golf Hall of Fame, Vijay Singh tied the course record with an 8-under-par 64 for a one-shot lead Thursday after the first round of the Houston Open. The 42-year-old Fijian, No.

2 in the world rankings, extended his streak of par or better to 56 holes at the Redstone Golf Club, where he won this event a year ago. Shreveport's David Toms shot an even-par 72 and is eight back. Shreveport's Hal Sutton withdrew before the first round. Singh laughed when told of his bogey-free string going back to last year, when he finished 11 under and won by two shots. "Don't mention that," he said.

"I struck the ball really well today, had a very good feel of the greens and my speed was good, and when you do that you can make some birdies." After Singh came Australians Gavin Coles and Brendan Jones. Eight players were at 67. Six others, including John Daly, were another shot back. Singh was announced Wednesday as the latest inductee into the Hall of Fame, although he said he learned three weeks ago the honor was coming, meaning it wasn't a distraction now. "My focus this week is coming out here," he said.

Still, the recognition, both off and on the course Thursday, was appreciated. "Every player out there said something about it, so that was good," Singh said. So was his round. Starting on the back nine, he had pars on four of his first five holes, then birdied 15, 16 and 17 and made He said the 400 meters, which he won with a time of 51.15 seconds, required the most effort to win. "I was behind until the last turn," he said.

That really made me compete better." Arender took the 1,600 800 (2:07.43) and 3,200 Robyn Burrow was a triple winner for the Lady Falcons. She took the 1,600 meters in 5:49.9, the 800 (2: 27.78) and the 3,200 Ka-melia Stroy won the 200 meters in 26.22 seconds and the 400 (59.25). The two shared the girls outstanding field honor. Fair Park's Brittany Davenport won the javelin with a throw of 109-11 and the shot put (34-6). She was named the outstanding performer in the field for the girls, while Kyle Kent of Northwood took it for the boys.

He had a win in the javelin (162-3) and two second-place finishes. 5A state softball tournament with a second-round loss on the road. Denham Springs improved to 31-3, wliile Huntington's season ended at 27-9-2. The Jackets scored four runs in the first inning to get a jump on the Raiders but were mostly shut down from there. Huntington had nine hits, the most against Denham Springs this year.

AP pionship on Thursday, while Lorena Ochoa struggled to a 1-over 71 in her second pro event in her homeland. TIGHT LIES TOUR: Emlyn Aubrey's road back to the Tour began Thursday in Alexandria with a 2-under-par 70 at OakWing Golf Club on the Tight Lies Tour. The former LSU golfer has missed much of the past two seasons due to back problems. He is a veteran of the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. Aubrey is tied for 24th place after the first of four rounds.

He made five birdies, three bogeys and trails leader Brad Heaven by six strokes. The 41-year-old Bossier City resident will attempt to make it back to the Nationwide Tour this season through Monday qualifiers. Shreveport's Perry Moss, a fellow LSU product, shot a 66 and is tied for fourth. out," Anderson said. "When I go to Toledo Bend, it definitely takes more gas, so I try to stay as close to Shreveport as possible." A recent survey of 444 RV owners by the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association indicated that seven of 10 RV users plan to use their recreational vehicles as much this summer as in past summers.

Only 4 percent of those surveyed plan to cut back on their trips. "RVers are as enthusiastic as ever about traveling this season," said Robert Hitlin, president of Robert Hitlin Research Associates, who conducted the study for the RVIA. "Over the past several years it appears that spikes in fuel prices have had a minimal impact on RV travel plans. RVers are desensitized to these fuel price spikes because we have had several of them in the past few years." Reeves agrees with that assessment "People are concerned with high gas prices, but I don't see it putting a stop to them doing the things that they want to do," said Reeves, who last weekend rented a bus to go to the NASCAR event at Texas Motor Speedway. "I had my mind made up about going, but the bus just sat there.

There was no goofing around in it." Defending champion Vijay Singh watches his tee shot on the seventh hole during the first round of the Houston Open on Thursday. Singh shot an 8-under 64 and has a one-shot lead. Jimmy Watson af2 NOTES jimwatsorKg'ganne tt.com The quarterback duo of Tim Hicks and Brian Stallworth should give the Amarillo Dusters fits on Saturday night if Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings coach Keith Barefield elects to go with a platoon system. Both quarterbacks were acquired this week to replace three-game starter Caleb Slover, who has struggled behind a porous offensive line, and Brent Rawls, who saw action only as a holder for place kicks. At 6-foot-4 and 245 pounds, Hicks looks more like a linebacker than a quarterback and he throws with authority.

Though quick for his size, Hicks doesn't offer the same running threat that the speedy Stallworth does. Their presence should give the Battle Wings an advantage over the visiting Dusters, since there is no a2 film on Stallworth and Hicks hasn't played since last season in Wilkes BarreScranton. The Wings are hoping to end a three-game skid with the 7 p.m. kickoffin the CenturyTel Center. Battle Wings defensive back wide receiver Reggie Perkins, who sat out the first game of the season on a league suspension is currently on a twc-game team suspension and will not play on Saturday night Playing in his first game for the Battle Wings last week after recovering from a brown recluse spider bite, WRLB Clint Schexnayder caught one pass for 23 yards and collected 4.5 tackles.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder will play his first game in the CenturyTel Center on Saturday night Also returning to the Battle Wings lineup this week will be former Louisiana Tech wide receiver Ahmad Harris. The undefeateds Entering Week 4 of the season, there are four teams that remain undefeated. They are the Wilkes-BarreScranton Pioneers (3-0), the Memphis Xplorers 00), the Florida Firecats (3-0) and the Louisville Fire (2-0). Dating back to the 2002 season, this is the fewest number of teams to remain undefeated going into Week 4 of a season. In 2002 and 2003, 11 teams went into Week 4 undefeated.

The 2004 season saw five teams head into Week 4 unbeaten. After tins weekend's slate of games, there will only 49ers face By Greg Beacham The Associated Press SANTA CLARA, Calif. According to one theory, the San Francisco 49ers must choose a quarterback with the first pick in the NFL draft. It's the most important position and when a player costs as much as the No. 1 pick, he better be the most important player on his team.

But while the 49ers spent the last three months deciding whether Alex Smith or Aaron Rodcrprs was most likely to be their next Steve Young, the incoming Hall of Famer had another view of his former team's future. Rodgers "I would not weigh it towards a quarterback unless I knew I had a kid who could play 10 to 15 years and lead my team to championships," Young said. This is a team that needs impact players, and I would weigh it towards a guy that I knew that would make the Cowboys: Continued from 1C Jones made the announcement official last week, but Ireland moved into Lacewell's office soon after he retired. A move to the 3-4 places a premium on the guys Ireland referred to as tweeners players with enough size to move up on the line, but can drop back into coverage as a linebacker. "To me you don't draft a guy that's a one position player, you've got to have a guy that fits different opportunities to pressure the QB or get back in coverage," Ireland said.

ii i Shell Houston Open Leaderboard First Round Par 72 Vijay Singh 64 -8 Gavin Coles 65 -7 Brendan Jones 65 -7 Chris Smith 67 -5 Jeff Maggert 67 -5 ALSO David Toms 72 Today's TV: 3, USA quandary with top pick also tied single-game records for receiving touchdowns (four) and longest reception (46 yards). He had 11 receptions on die night Who's the best? Coach Bobby Humphrey has ruled out a two-quarterback system for 2005. Now that both of his rookie quarterbacks have game experience, Humphrey must decide who starts and who sits. Ray Nelson has completed 14 of 25 passes for 219 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, while former Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow is 20 of 36 for 273 yards, also with three scores and one pick. The two QBs have rushed for 48 and 30 yards respectively.

Xploring uncharted territory With their convincing 54-13 win over Arkansas last week, the Memphis Xplorers have equaled the best start in team history at 3-0. Averaging 61 points per game, the Xplorers have already broken the 60-point plateau twice this season. Offensive specialist Kevin Prentiss is up to 78 points for the season, putting him on pace to break a2's all-time single season scoring record. On the other side of the ball, the Xplorers have held opponents under 25 points twice making them the league's best defensive unit Lineman Khreem Smith keeps adding to his sack total he has six for the season and he is looking to make a run at J. Burt's all-time pro football record of 27.5.

be good, one is going to be bad," McCloughan said. "I don't see that here. I think they're both going to be good." Even Nolan acknowledged that the best solution to his dilemma might be a trade offer from a team that can't resist Smith's height, athleticism and limitless potential or Edwards' superlative pass-catching skills. The 49ers seemed determined to stall until the last possible moment for a deal that would add even more draft picks to their rebuilding effort But while McCloughan and Nolan waited for the phone to ring, they spent most of their time worrying about a few different numbers: 33, 65 and 102, for starters. The 49ers have the troublesome top pick, but they also have the first picks in the second, third and fourth rounds.

Nolan's goal is to land a starter with each of his first three picks, bolstering his club's shoddy depth with every one of the 49ers' 12 draft choices, including four compensatory picks for departing free agents. in the mix He played as a stand-up pass rusher for Maryland and has the look of a tweener. He can play outside linebacker in a 34 or end in a 4-3. "He not only can rush the passer with the 3-point stance but he can also rush from the 2-point stance and he also can cover," Ireland said. "He's got great range." Some of their problems could be solved if they make a trade with New Orleans for Darren Howard.

The Cowboys would likely stay in the 4-3 and possibly look at adding a cornerback or safety in the first round. Gas: Boat sales still brisk at Reeves biggest impact for the 49ers over the years." And that's just the problem for the 49ers, who earned the top pick in Saturday's draft by matching the worst record in francluse history at 2-14 last season under fired coach Dennis Erickson and General Manager Terry Donahue. While Smith and Rodgers both are thought to be solid pro prospects, nobody is certain they'll be longtime stars. But with the NFL's eyes on them, the 49ers' new braintrust almost certainly will choose one of them anyway. Coach Mike Nolan and Vice President of Play- Smith er Personnel Scot McCloughan have been in negotiations with both players' agents, along with representatives for receiver Braylon Edwards, for nearly two weeks.

"When Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf came out (in 1998), people were saying, 'One is going to Ex LSU star "Versatility is key. The more things you can do, the more opportunities you have to make plays." The ideal candidate for Dallas is Maryland's Shawne Merriman. He's the man of choice on all three NFL.com analysts' mock drafts. LSU defensive end Marcus Spears has also been ticketed to Dallas in several media mock drafts. Spears Merriman (6-2, 274) has a tremendous passion for the game with great acceleration around the end.

i the turn at 4-under. He finished the front side with a flurry, getting birdies on three of the last four holes. LPGA TOUR: At Morelia, Mexico, Natalie Gulbis shot a 6-under 66 to take a two-stroke lead after the first round of the Corona Morelia Cham- OUTDOORS percent, your gas mileage increases dramatically." Getting rid of excess weight in a boat has a bigger effect on saving gas than it does with automobiles. "I recently went through my big boat bag and removed things that I didn't need," McCrocklin said. "I decided that I didn't need 50 batteries, so I kept four for spares and put the remainder in the refrigerator." Rodney Reeves of Reeves Marine said that very few of his customers have expressed concerns about high gas prices and that boat sales at his Shreveport location have been excellent in recent weeks.

"We had the best month in our 74-year history last month with 104 units sold and we're on course to repeat that this month," Reeves said. "If been a good mix of bass boats, pontoon boats and aluminum boats. It's been very fascinating." Jim Anderson said that he's started launching his boat closer to the area that he plans to fish, because his truck gets better gas mileage than his boat He said that it takes about 50 gallons of gas to fill his boat, a total that used to take but now averages "It hasn't slowed me down, yet, and if it gets to $4 a gallon, I'm still going Continued from 1C a cost I'm willing to pass on to my customers at this point I just consider it a part of doing business." Some outdoor patrons, like Ron Landry, said that the approximately $50 more per month that he's paying for gas isn't keeping him at home. During a recent two-week stretch, Landry was turkey hunting in the morning and fishing in the afternoon in different parts of northwest Louisiana. "I don't have nearly as much money in my wallet as I used to have but I do have that plastic card," Landry said.

"The pumps only go up to $75 and I can do that easily in my truck and my boat That's a lot of money to go have some fun." Mark McCrocklin with the Shreve-port Power Squadron said there are some gas saving measures that boaters can take to save money. He says you should keep your boat engine tuned up and avoid running with a wide open throttle. "As far as speed, you want to get up on plane good and go just slightly fastf than the boat needs to go to stay on plane," McCrocklin said. "For most boats, thafs the most efficient speed. Interestingly, if you go to a wide-open throttle, men back it off about 10.