Sun Herald from Biloxi, Mississippi • 23

Football 06 That's C8 Business C-9 Sports editor Kate Magandy (228) 896-2352 or km agandysun herald com wwwsunheraldcom SPORTS GUMBO Second-half doldrums doom Eagles again Hockey Mississippi Sea Wolves at Baton Rouge Klngflsh When 7:05 pm Where: Baton Rouge Cen-troplex Records: Sea Wolves 7-10 Kingflsh 10-103 Series: Baton Rouge leads 2-1 Radio: WVMI-AM 570 Internet: msseawolvescom Wolves looking for win C3 SCOREBOARD Southern Mississippi running back James Walley is gang-tackled by Alabama defend-ers Including Cornelius Worth ham (16) and Brooks Daniels right in the first half Thursday THE ASSOCIATED PRESS i Alabama took a 7-0 lead on a 14-yard pass from Andrew Zow to Sam Collins The throw 34th career touchdown pass was set up by a fumble by Golden Eagles running back James Walley at Southern 27 yard line a the 1:41 mark of the second quarter The score gave Alabama 80 points scored by the offense off turnovers USM responded with the best scoring drive of the first half Starting from its own 36 the Golden Eagles drove 64 yards on five plays to trim lead to 7-6 The key play was the Please see USM C-7 the Muse City BowL Southern Miss fell to 64 and remained in the hunt for an invitation to the GMAC Bowl or the Galleryfiirniturecom BowL had a lot of opportunities to make plays and we said Southern Miss coach Jeff Bower "They stop us we stopped The Southern Miss defense dominated play in the opening quarter limiting the Crimson Tide to 18 yards of offense none through the air Southern Miss which missed a 36-yard field goal on its first possession of the game ground out 98 yards of offense 52 rushing and 46 passing teams lit Dwk By AL JONES THE SUN HERALD BIRMINGHAM Southern Miss stalked Alabama at mid-field prior to kickoff Thursday at rain-soaked Legion Field The Golden Eagles looked primed for the upset and their second straight win over the Crimson Tide following the brief shoving match that was broken up by officials But as in losses to Memphis and Louisville the Golden Eagles were outplayed in the second half and dropped a 28-15 decision to Alabama The Crimson Tide improved to 6-5 and emerged as the front-runner for MPHS defense bearing down for No 1 Brandon By JAMES JONES THE SUN HERALD MOSS A berth in the Class 5A state championship game is at stake tonight when No 8 Moss Ifoint and nationally ranked Brandon collide at Dant-zler Stadium The Tigers (11-2) are the defending 5A state champions but they will face a huge challenge from the unbeaten Bulldogs Brandon (130) is the No 1-ranked team in Mississippi and is rated No 20 nationally by USA Today Brandon is led by tailback Jeri-ous Norwood top-rated college prospect Norwood who has committed to Mississippi State has rushed for 2115 yards and 28 touchdowns But Moss Point held Norwood to 95 yards in a 26-12 win over Brandon in the 5A South State title game last year Moss Point coach Jerry Alexander knows the Tigers' defense will have its hands full against Brandon The Bulldogs have a physical offensive line led by Mississippi State-bound Richard Burch will have to keep Norwood from getting Alexander said a great running back probably as good as anybody who has played in the state of Mississippi Their offense is a whole new The Tigers plan to keep potent offense off the field with a ball-control offense Tailback Alonzo Fairley who has gained 1017 yards and scored 13 touchdowns this season will Please see Moss Point 06 SOUTH STATE a 210-pounder leads the Warrior defense with 129 tackles including three quarterback sacks Fellow linebacker Jason Hockaday has 111 tackles with five sacks while defensive end Sean Merrill has made a school-record 14 sacks along with 77 tackles Sophomore quarterback Fred Jones will operate against the Warrior defense Lining up with him in the backfield be running backs Michael (fjekerham St Mercy their NHL 04 SLLouis 3 Columbus 1 NY Islanders 1 Montreal 1 NY Rangers 5 Carolina 0 Tampa Bay 5 Atlanta 2 Boston 3 Philadelphia 2 Minnesota 6 Florida 0 Dallas 3 Calgary 0 Phoenix 1 Nashville 0 Edmonton at LA late Pittsburgh at San Jose late College basketball C-4 Mizzou 106 Jax State 68 Syracuse 76 Cornell 58 Okla State 95 UNO 47 Bama 90 McNeese State 61 basketball: C-4 Oklahoma 89 Purdue 64 Duke 64 UAB76 Texas 65 Florida 78 Wichita St 68 Tulane 52 Charlotte 39 Miss State 56 LSU63 Florida State 74 ECHUC-23 Louisiana 5 Baton Rouge 4 Columbia 1 Columbus 4 Wheeling 5 Arkansas 1 Jackson 3 Greenville 0 Augusta 3 Toledo 3 INSIDE McNabb Eagles knock off Chiefs Donovan McNabb passed for 269 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Philadelphia Eagles to a 23-10 victory over Kansas City The Eagles (74) are unbeaten in five road games C4 Twins continue to fight injunction The Minnesota Twins have filed more appeal papers in their attempt to lift an injunction that forces them to play next season while the House Judiciary Committee anticipated announcing more details of its antitrust hearing C4 SPOTLIGHT Checking in on the accomplishments of Coastians and other Mississippians in the world of sports Mississippi State's mens basketball team has signed two promising players from Florida guard Stephen Cowherd of Parkland Fla and forward Brandon Vincent of Okaloosa-Watton Community College in Fort Walton Cowherd averaged 237 points and 62 assists per game as a junior while the 6-foot-8 Vincent currently averages 125 1 points and 57 rebounds per game- Coast will take 3 wins It get much better than this Three Coast teams will be gunning for South State football titles tonight and that translates into a shot at an overall state championship Two of those teams and St John have never been practicing this late in the season Neither school has ever advanced beyond the second round of the state playoffe For Moss Point the entry in Class 5A this is nothing new The Tigers have won five state four under Jerry Alexander and one under the late Billy Miller So the only way its gets better than tonight is if all three are playing for state championships next weekend in Jackson Picks slumped terribly last week going 1-3 We missed on our upset pick Gulfport over Brandon and missed on the outcomes of the TaylorsvOle-SL John and D'Iberville-Picayune games For the season Picks is 10834 for a winning percentage of 760 Whether Picks is in action next week is dependent on this week -The Class 5A South State title game sends Brandon to Moss Point for the second straight year Moss Point won 26-12 a year ago holding the elusive Jerious Norwood to 95 yards on 21 carries There are some obvious differences this season Brandon is undefeated at 120 and is better than last team Moss defense may be better too But the Tiger offense does not use the high-octane fuel that fired the passing attack a year ago The Tigers are a better run-: ning team this season but are nowhere as proficient in the passing game And that is the variable: Picks tlunks Moss Point can contain Norwood again But' can Moss Point limit its mistakes and generate enough offense to win? We think so Moss Point 15 Brandon 13 at South Pike The Warriors have worked overtime the past two Fridays in' upending George County and Picayune When opponents have contained all-Coast runner Torey Staten the passing game- has put points on the Please see Barber 06 ij JOHN HTZHUGHTHE SUN HERALD Moss Point comerback Tony Sipp (35) forces a fumble by Brandon running back Jerious Norwood during their 5-A South State Championship game at Dantzler Stadium last year Moss Point linebacker Jason McBeath recovered the fumble to set up the first field goal of the game St John wary of Loyd Star By DOUG BARBER THE SUN HERALD pounds He is back too those are two we didn't Dace last year So been telling the kids not to be overconfident We beat them last year but it was a close game and we fought for everything we got" St John won a thrilling 31-30 overtime victory at Taylorsville last Friday The Eagles had to overcome five turnovers of their own (four lost fumbles and one interception) The St John defense has to brace for a Hornets running attack that features sophomore Derrick Johnson (1783 yards 26 touchdowns) St John itself has a stable of running backs that includes Leo Casey Don Harrien and Joe Barker Quarterback Gamer Wetzel and split end Josh Williams also gives St John a Please see St John 06 GULFPORT St John coach Buddy Single-ton has been telling his team to take nothing for granted A year ago St John defeated Loyd Star 29-12 in the opening round of the Class 2A state playoffs Tonight the Eagles (12-1) meet Loyd Star (11-2) once again but the stakes are bigger The South State 2A state championship is on the line at Milner Stadium in Gulfport along with a trip to the state championship game on Dec 7 in Jackson They've got a lot of kids coming Singleton said "Last year their fullback Adam Speeg was out He is 6-2 225 pounds and he makes things happen They also had lost their defensive tackle Beau Morrison who is 314 DAVID PURDVIHE SUN HERALD John fullback Leo Casey slips past Jerrod Thompson during game earlier this month hopes to spike South Pike in 4A and Jessie Burton South Pike will steel itself to stop senior tailback Torey Staten who has rushed for 2008 yards and 28 touchdowns on 285 carries He has also averaged 373 yards on nine kickoff returns Warrior quarterback Nick Ladner has improved throughout the playoffs and has thrown for 7 88 yards and six TDs this Please see 06 By DOUG BARBER THE SUN HERALD A trip to the Class 4A state championship football game is on the line tonight in Magnolia when the Warriors meet the South Pike Eagles Kickoff is set for 7:30 in this South State championship dueL (12-1) has won 12 games in 2- row since a 25-17 opening-game loss to Harrison Central on Aug 31 South Pike (11-2) has won three in a row and 10 of their last 11 games The Eagles only losses came to Tylertown 15-12 in the second week of the season and 7-6 to McComb in the final regular-season game been a good week of practice" D'Iberville coach David Russell said The kids have a great attitude and worked hard for this Junior Robby Ellis.