Sports

The Hughes Springs Mustangs had a rough week on the hardwood, dropping two games to Tiger teams in district 16-AAA. The Mustangs ended the week with a district record of 2-4. On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the Mustangs welcomed the Mount Vernon Tigers to town, with the visiting prevailing. The Mustangs had five players with five or more points, but the offense simply wasn’t enough to overcome the dominate Mount Vernon team. Alex Bruce was the leading scorer for the Mustangs, with seven points. Bruce added three rebounds. Austin King was the top Mustang rebounder, pulling five, while scorer six points. A trio of Mustangs added five each in the well-distributed effort. Those were Lucky Chism, Sean Stark, and Chandler King. Stark and C. King also added three rebounds each. On Friday, Jan. 22, the Mustangs traveled across town for another tangle with a team of Tigers, this time at Jesse Hanson gym in Daingerfield.

Daingerfield senior wide receiver KeKe Chism has committed to play football at Angelo State University in San Angelo. Chism will join the Ram football team this fall. Chism considered other schools as well, including Northeastern State Oklahoma, Southeastern Oklahoma, and Southern Arkansas University, but decided on Angelo state following his second recruiting visit the weekend of Jan. 16. Chism plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Business/Financial/Accounting.

On Jan. 12, the
Daingerfield Lady Tigers
traveled to Chapel Hill,
where they took on the
Lady Red Devils. Both the
junior varsity and varsity
squads fell to the Lady
Devils.
The junior varsity took
the floor, and could muster
very little offense against
the Devils before the final
buzzer signaled the end.
The final score was 9 to 44
in favor of Chapel Hill.
Monorra Sok scored three
points for the Tigers, and
also added three rebounds,
two steals, and an assist.
Jasmine Tatum scored six
points for the Tigers, and
added three steals, two
rebounds. Brianna Abron
grabbed ten rebounds for
the Lady Tigers, who
dropped to 0-2 in district
16AAA play.
Although the varsity
squad was able to put up
more points, they could not
hold a dominate Red Devil
team down, and fell, 23-102.

The Hughes Springs Mustangs split two close games in the past week, to Paul Pewitt and Chapel Hill. On Tuesday, Jan. 12, the Mustangs visited the Paul Pewit Brahmas. After being outscored, 9-13, in the first quarter, the Mustangs were able to outscore their opponents in each following quarter, to win the contest, 49-45. Austin King was the leading Mustang, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Kody Burns added 13, for the Mustangs, while Lucky Chism contributed nine points. In a true team effort, Jaren Jones added five points, and Sean Starks and Alex Bruce each added two points in the win for Hughes Springs. Friday, Jan. 15 brought the Chapel Hill Red Devils to town. After again being outscored in the first frame, Hughes Springs kept the Devils close in quarters two and three, before unloading for 18 points in the final quarter. Unfortunately, the outburst was not quite enough, as the Devils squeaked out a 47- 42 win.

The Daingerfield Junior High Lady Tiger basketball teams traveled across town on Thursday, Jan. 14, to visit the Lady Colts in Hughes Springs. The games kicked off the second round of district play for both teams. In the seventh grade girls’ game, the Lady Tigers played with a lead all night, before winning the game, 22 to 14. Joi Akinsuroju and Takya Alexander paced the Lady Tigers with 11 points each. Breanna Durham and Tyler Hayden led the team in assists, while Melony Godbolt, Riley Scholl, Natalie Beasley, and Kyasia Williams all played smart defensively for the Tigers. The eighth grade game was more of a back and forth affair, with the Lady Tigers falling behind at the end of the first quarter by three points. By the end of the first half, the Lady Tigers had tied the Lady Colts, 12 to 12. And falling behind by four at the end of the third quarter, the Lady Tigers finished off the game on top, 25 to 21.

The Daingerfield Lady Tigers typically have two games a week, with one being a home contest and traveling for the other. Due to an unforeseen issue in Linden- Kildare last week, Daingerfield had the chance to play both of their games at home. First up was the Linden-Kildare Lady Tigers on Tuesday, Jan. 5. After a closely contested match, the Linden ladies came out on top, 48 to 42. Daingerfield scored 12 points in each quarter but the second, when they were held to six points, and that was the difference in the game. Meme Black was once again the top scorer for Daingerfield, knocking down a total of 23 points, while adding five rebounds, three steals, and an assist. Nekoda Coleman was the second leading Daingerfield scorer, added 17 points. Coleman also added 2 rebounds, one assist, and had five take aways. Jo Freeman had the other two points for Daingerfield, and Unique Walker was the top rebounder, grabbing eight boards in the effort. On Friday, Jan.

It is said that athletes can learn so much more than simply how to play a sport when they are given the opportunity. Recently, coaches from Daingerfield Junior High took their athletes on a field trip that was more about life lessons than x’s and o’s. On the morning of Dec. 16, the Daingerfield Junior High Lady Tigers visited Windsor Place Nursing Home in Daingerfield to spread some Christmas Cheer. The girls delivered small gifts like lotion, blankets, socks, and puzzle books to the residents and then walked through the facilities singing and greeting each person they met. Coaches Dana Carter, Russell Crane and Shasta Terrell were extremely proud of the girls and the love they showed the residents of Windsor Place.

The Daingerfield Lady Tigers kept working over the holiday break, participating in the Marie Chenevert Memorial Holiday Classic, held at T.K. Gorman High School and the University of Texas at Tyler campus, both in Tyler. On Dec. 29, the Lady Tigers were defeated by Kilgore, 49 to 16. Meme Black led the Tigers with 11 points, along with three rebounds and two steals. Nekoda Coleman had three points and one assist for the Tigers, while Jo Freeman added two points, two rebounds, two steals, and one assist. Destiny Hurndon added three rebounds and four steals, while Kahleyia Johnson and Tamerra Jackson both had two rebounds and two steals. Lemerica Alexander and Dee Hall both one rebound, while Hall added one steal. The Tigers then faced the Lady Raiders from West Rusk on Dec. 30. The Lady Raiders defeated Daingerfield, 67 to 30. Black was once again lead the Tigers, scoring 15 points to go with five rebounds, five steals, and one assist.

As some were sleeping in on Jan. 1 following a long night of ringing in the New Year, a crowd gathered at Daingerfield State Park, eager to start the New Year off on the right foot. Adults and children of all ages joined Rangers Onlie McGee and Cassie Dickerson for the Third Annual “First Day Hike,” sponsored by the park. What began three years ago as a way to get people into the park and out and moving for the New Year has turned into an annual adventure. “The first year, I think we had about 30 people,” said McGee, who led the trek. This year’s group well eclipsed the first two years, with over 50 in attendance. “Last year, it pretty much got rained out, I think it rained the whole time,” said McGee. Although there had been some rain previously in the week, the only remnants left for the hikers to navigate were a few large puddles along the two-mile trail which followed the perimeter of the lake.

The Daingerfield Lady Tigers, following a district win over Hughes Springs, traveled to Gladewater on Monday, Dec. 21. Both the junior varsity and varsity squads were defeated by the Lady Bears. With several players missing due to the Christmas break, several players played on both teams, according to assistant coach Jana McGoldrick. In the junior varsity game, the Lady Tigers fell to the Lady Bears, 34 to 14. Top scorers for the Tigers were Monorra So and Jasmine Tatum, both with five points. Gekayla Alexander and Destiny Hurndon both added two points in the losing effort. The varsity team was once again led by senior MeMe Black, although she was held to only 14 points for the Tigers. Nekoda Coleman added 6 points, and Kahleyia Johnson, Jo Freeman, and Destiny Hurndon contributed one point each. The Bears dropped Daingerfield in that game, 60 to 28.