Hadley earns AAC softball honor
Lewisburg boys soccer coach Harl Roehm was nothing but complimentary about the site of last Saturday’s Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A state championship: Brandon High.
“Brand new, renovated stadium. The Jumbotron was larger than the one at Vaught-hemingway (Ole Miss),” Roehm said. “It was a very, very different world when we stepped on that field.”
Seven minutes into the second half of a scoreless title match against Long Beach, the Patriots committed a foul. A free kick was awarded, and the Bearcats scored. Roehm was still upbeat.
“Instead of the guys tearing each other down, they kept fighting,” he said. “They kept battling.”
From that point on, Lewisburg looked the part of a championshipwinning club. Official stats would show the Patriots with a possession advantage of 72 percent. They’d take 13 shots. Two goals came off the foot of junior Ben Mullins. Seniors Ty Greer and Peyton Coker combined for three assists.
Final score: Lewisburg 2, Long Beach 1.
It was wild,” Roehm said. “The boys just poured it on — and they would not stop. I’m just real proud for them.”
The Patriots (18-1-1) are the first team from Desoto County to win a MHSAA state soccer title. The road to Brandon featured playoff wins over Neshoba Central, Grenada and Germantown. Nine seniors, including goalkeeper David Mccutchen, made sure that their last match was a memorable one.
“That’s the epitome of every Disney movie, isn’t it?” said Roehm. “These guys refused to quit. It didn’t what matter what anybody threw at them. They were determined.”
According to Roehm, only six Desoto squads have ever advanced to North Half. Four of them are from Lewisburg (two boys and two girls).
“The fact that we won North State was cool, but the fact that we brought that Gold Ball home — that’s huge,” Roehm said. “That’s something that they’ll never take away from us. Other schools might win more state championships than us in soccer, but there will never be another first one to bring it home.”
Brown named conference player of week
Darrell Brown is having quite a time on the hardwood at Bradley University.
The former Germantown High standout was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week after averaging 27.5 points in recent victories over Northern Iowa and Indiana State.
Converting on shots from beyond the arc has been one of the keys to Brown’s success.
The junior guard made five 3-pointers in his 29-point performance against Northern Iowa, while knocking down six to finish with 26 points versus Indiana State.
Brown entered the week leading the Braves in points (15.1) and assists (3.0). At Germantown, he was the 2016 District 15-AAA Player of the Year. Brown finished his Red Devil career with 2,678 points to break the school’s scoring record held previously by current New Orleans Pelicans guard Ian Clark.
University of Memphis softball player Regan Hadley opened the 2019 season with a hot bat, and the American Athletic Conference took notice.
On the strength of 10 RBIS during the Felsberg Invitational in Providence, Florida, the senior catcher was chosen as the AAC Player of the Week.
Hadley’s second career grand slam was one of the bright spots in the Tigers’ 11-6 loss to Michigan State.
A first-inning sacrifice fly helped her finish with five RBIS.
The next day, in an 11-9 victory over those same Spartans, Hadley went 3for-4 with two more RBIS.
Memphis, coached by Natalie Poole, competes in two more tournaments (Fort Myers, Florida, and Baton Rouge) before playing its first home game against Mississippi State on Feb. 27.
Sunday Sports Brunch is a weekly look at movers, shakers and newsmakers on the Memphis sports scene, from youth level to the pros. If you have an item of interest, please contact Chris Van Tuyl at christopher.vantuyl@commercialappeal.com.
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