Sports

When Hughes Springs hits the road for an away game, the Mustang faithful are sure to follow. This was the case this past Friday as the Mustangs traveled to Hooks to take on the Hornets.

The tone was sent early with both defenses not budging much. The Hornets came into the game with a 1-2 record, but those Hornets from Hooks were a feisty bunch. They left the Mustangs trailing after one quarter, 6-0, and the Mustangs had their work cut out for them. With the offense moving the ball but failing to convert the drives in the points, the Hughes Springs faithful were wondering when the points would come. The points didn’t come in the first half, as Hughes Springs was down to Hooks 6 to 0 at halftime. The Mustangs did not score until they were down 13 to 0. The yards were hard to come by and Hughes Springs runners were not finding many holes.

The Daingerfield Lady Tiger Volleyball team is still seeking their elusive first win against a district opponent. In action on Sept. 15, the Lady Tigers fell to the Redwater Lady Dragons in three sets. This ran the Lady Tigers record to 0-3 in district play.

The Tigers were unable to do much in their first home game of the season, losing in straight sets, 25- 12; 25-9; 25-10.

In the loss for Dangerfield, Camryn Byrd had two assists, three kills, four digs; Courtney Makepeace added nine assists, three kills, and two aces. Destiny Hurndon had three blocks, four kills, and two assists; while Kahleyia Johnson had two kills. Dee Hall had six digs; Asha Buford had three kills; and Gracie Runk added five digs and two aces in the effort for the Lady Tigers.

The Lady Tigers visited Hooks on Tuesday, Sept. 20, before hosting the Queen City Lady Bulldogs on Thursday, Sept. 23.

Two Junior Varsity teams from Daingerfield High School participated in the Lady Brahma Junior Varsity Tournament on Saturday, Sept. 17.

The Daingerfield Tigers wound up their pre-district schedule on the road on Sept. 16. The Tigers traveled to White Oak, where they fell to the Roughnecks, 43-36.

The Tigers went into the game with White Oak fresh off their first win of the season after beating New Boston the previous week. The game in White Oak was the third away game in a row, following the opening season home loss to the Hughes Springs Mustangs.

The Tigers came out fighting, scoring on their first possession of the game to get within one of the Roughnecks. After a second score by White Oak, the Tigers intercepted a Roughneck pass and returned it for a touchdown. After the extra point, the score was 14-13 with four minutes left in the first quarter.

After several back and forth series, the Tigers were able to score again, after a third White Oak score. Extra points seemed hard to come by for the Tigers, and the missed PAT after their third score left the score at 21-19 at halftime.

By: Toni Walker Editor news@steelcountrybee.com The 2016 Friday Night Football season kicked off in Daingerfield with a twist: due to officiating crew issues, the game was actually held on Thursday, Aug. 25.

In a trend that will be seen statewide throughout the season, games will be played on Thursday nights periodically, due to shortage of Texas Association of Sports Officials for football. Whether playing on Thursday was a factor in the play of the Daingerfield Tigers is unknown.

The Tigers hosted the Hughes Springs Mustangs in what became dubbed “The 6-Mile Battle.” Shirts depicting clashing helmets and stating “6-Mile Battle” were sold to benefit both schools. And the game lived up to the term “battle,” as the Tigers fought not only the Mustangs, but themselves all night long.

The Daingerfield Tigers fielded four teams in the union Grove Cross Country Meet on Saturday, Aug. 27. The two girls’ teams and two boys’ teams saw several members place, and each team placed in the top 20.

The top two finishers for the Varsity Lady Tigers were Layla Johnston, who placed 33rd, and Yesenia Bravo, who placed 58th. Also running were Jakayla Neal, placing 66th, Madison Cox, placing 71st, Claire Smith, placing 76th and Jazmin Solis, placing 108th. There were 159 runners in this race alone. As a team the Lady Tigers placed 11th out of 22. This division was made up of 1A-4A.

The JV Girls division saw Chyna Neal, who placed 47th and Claudia Lopez, who placed 50th as the top two Tiger finishers. Also running were Elasia Alexander, placing 57th, Amber Douglas, placing 60th, Gekayla Alexander, placing 61st, and Demontisia Hendrix, placing 70th. As a team these ladies finished 11th. There were 134 runners in this division. This division was made up of 1A-6A.

By Rick Colegrove

1951. Harry S. Truman was the president of the United States. An artist named Patti Page had the number 1 song on the Billboard music charts, with “Tennessee Waltz.” I Love Lucy made its television debut on CBS. This is how the world was the last time the Hughes Springs Mustangs defeated the Daingerfield Tigers.

Well, times, they are a changing, and this past Thursday night at Mickey Mayne Tiger Stadium, in Daingerfield, the earth shook a little. You could probably hear a huge exhale coming from the Hughes Springs faithful. A mighty “dragon,“ or Tiger, if you will, had been slain.

Over 55 years of frustration and dominance have finally come to an end. When the clock struck all zeros, on the blue Tiger scoreboard, Hughes Springs Mustangs had beaten Daingerfield 24-0, and did so in a fashion that no doubt shocked not only the Tiger faithful, but also the Mustang Nation.

It’s a team sport they say. One player supports the other. A well-oiled machine. We have heard all the old sayings when it comes to defining a team. In many cases, a team is made up of a group of people with different talents and different specialties, and it takes a special kind of coach to be able to bring those talents and personalities together, to make the aforementioned “team”. Hughes Springs football has just that. This year’s version of Mustang football will bring some changes; some will be visible and have been seen on the football field already. A well-documented and talked about offensive change is being implemented and rigorously practiced. For those fans that are unaware, the Hughes Springs offense for the past eight years has been the Slot-T, predominately a rushing offense based on precise blocking and physical running backs and their ability to find the hole created by the lineman. This year the offense will move to a “spread” offense.

By Rick Colegrove

The Hughes Springs Lady Mustang volleyball team was very busy last week. They were equally impressive, despite losing three games of their seven games.

The ladies started off the week with a match-up against Maud. The Lady Cardinals were a tough competitor but went down eventually in three sets, 25- 20, 25-22, and 23-23.

Leading the way for Hughes Springs was Kensley Echols, who had 13 assists and three kills, to go along with two aces, and two digs. Peyton Blythe was stellar was well, having six kills and four assists, while adding four aces of her own.

Next up for the Hughes Springs varsity squad was at tournament in Marshall at East Texas Baptist University. The ladies were up against some tough teams, playing Arp, Liberty Eylau and Carthage.

The Daingerfield Lady Tigers traveled to Jefferson Aug. 9 for their first matches of the 2016 season.

The freshmen lost 16-25; 23- 25. Tanacia Williams had 4 aces and Kiara Robinson had 3 kills in the loss for the freshmen ladies.

The Junior Varsity lost 12- 25; 27-25; 21-25. Courtlan Peppers had 6 assists and 2 aces and Makayla Robinson had 4 aces in the loss.

The Varsity Lady Tigers lost in a hard fought match: 16-25; 26-24; 19-25; 17-25. In the second set, sophomore Destiny Hurndon stepped to the service line with her team down 7- 17 and did not lose her serve until the score was 19-17, including 5 aces. Junior libero Dee Hall had 6 digs and 3 aces; senior Camryn Byrd had 3 kills and 2 aces; and senior Ashlyn Fomby had 10 assists. With only two returning players from last year’s team, these young ladies are working hard and improving every day.