Category: Sports

GOODMAN – The Co-Lin Football team returned to action on the road to face off against Holmes on Thursday, September 5. The No. 9 Wolves were outlasted by the Bulldogs, 15-13.

It was a defensive battle in the early part of the first quarter as each offense struggling to find their footing during the game. The Wolves defense got the scoring started as Lakendrick James (Shelby) forced a fumble by the Bulldogs while Malachi Williams (Brookhaven) scooped the ball up and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown.

The resulting PAT by Humberto Rosales (McCalla, AL) was good giving the Wolves a 7-0 lead with 4:08 remaining in the first quarter. That score held throughout the remainder of play until late in the second half when the Bulldogs forced a safety by the Wolves to cut the lead down to 7-2 with 4:49 left in the second quarter.

The Bulldogs then took the lead late in the second quarter on the ensuing drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass; however, the PAT was no good giving the Bulldogs an 8-7 lead 1:56 left in the first half. That score held as the teams entered the locker rooms at halftime.

The Bulldogs defense then got involved on the scoring as they intercepted a pass by Will Loy and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. The resulting PAT was good giving the Bulldogs a 15-7 lead with six minutes left in the third quarter.

The Wolves fought their way back and scored at the start of the fourth quarter as Dezmond Ray (Itta Bena) scampered in from five yards out for a touchdown. However, the Wolves came up short on a two-point conversion making the score, 15-13, with 11:43 remaining in the game. The Wolves defense continued to stifle the Bulldogs offense and give their own offense a chance to earn a come-from-behind win including forcing a late fumble with less than two minutes left in the game; however, the Wolves could not find the go-ahead score as the Bulldogs sealed the 15-13 win.

Will Prichard (West Palm Beach, FL) completed 11 of 22 pass attempts for 106 yards while Will Loy (Wesson) was 8-for-15 for 39 yards with one interception. Tray Minor (Natchez) led the rushing attack with 48 yards on seven carries while Dezmond Ray had 12 yards on nine carries with one touchdown. Matt Mayfield (Sunset, LA) led the receiving corps with four receptions for 52 yards.

The Wolves defense was stellar once again for the second straight week holding the Bulldogs offense to 163 total yards including 13 rushing yards. Doug Nelson (Hazlehurst) led the defense with seven total tackles while Fernando Washington and Kenneth Andrews (Clinton) had five tackles each. Lakendrick James, Malachi Williams, and Brent Barnes (Birmingham, AL) had four tackles each. James and Deaundre Washington (Brandon) had one forced fumble each for the Wolves defense.

Co-Lin is now 1-1 overall and will host Hinds for their home opener on Thursday, September 12. Kickoff between the Eagles and the Wolves is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., at Stone Stadium in Wesson.

PARIS (AP) — A soft voice from the loudspeaker reminds the restless crowd: “Shhh. Shhh.”

The whistle blows.

Suddenly, spectators fall silent and even the slightest noise echoes through the Eiffel Tower Stadium. Fans pack the stadium, but at times, it is hard to tell. This type of ambiance is unthinkable in most sports venues, but especially in a sport like soccer, whose fans are perhaps best known for rowdiness.

But this isn’t ordinary soccer. This is blind football, one of two silent sports at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

Blind football and goalball are for athletes with visual impairments. When sensory input is reduced in one area, other senses pick up the slack; without sight, sound takes center stage.

The ball in both sports contains a rattle or bell alerting players to its approximate location. Players yell out to each other as they navigate the field and fans are required to contain their excitement until the ball is out of play. Both sports cultivate an environment unlike any other. Without constant chatter and chanting, fans’ energy manifests as a steady focus on the field of play.

Jeferson “Jefinho” Goncalves, Brazil’s star blind football player, said through a translator that he and his teammates felt the crowd is also into the game and reacting to every moment, and that they felt the energy on the court.

French fan Jade Sidot, 18, said blind football demands a different degree of attention.

Fans not used to these sports may feel awkward navigating the new rules. To ease the tension, a goalball commentator lets fans know they are allowed to speak: “Noise.” A bit apprehensive at first, the crowd slowly increases their volume to cheer.

During halftime and between important plays, a runner takes the blind football field with a large sign that explicitly reads “GET LOUD!!!!” Usually, cues like this build momentum among spectators who are already cheering. Here, they’re truly instructions.

Even with the official go-ahead, some new fans let their patriotism override decorum while others sit confused.

“It’s kind of funny because I think people in the stands are afraid, they don’t know when to cheer, but I know the game,” said Eliana Mason, a Paralympic goalball player who frequently supports her fiance, fellow Paralympian and goalball player Calahan Young, at his matches. “It’s silent, I’ll be like, ‘Let’s go!’ People look at me and I’m like, it’s fine, I know when I can cheer and not cheer.”

In those moments when cheering is allowed, it is thunderous. Spectators from the Netherlands agreed that when it happens, the applause is much louder than in non-silent sports.

“I have the idea that you are with them in the game when they score,” said Dutch fan Jamie Koudijs, 23, who never attended a silent sporting event before today. “We all go crazy, like, you did it! Because they can’t see what they are doing.”

That back-and-forth dynamic can also distract competitors. Jefinho expressed that it can be difficult to go get the ball if the crowd fails to “shhh” at the right time, but he also said he is optimistic that these problems will start to go away as blind football grows in popularity.

Jefinho said that as more and more people are getting used to blind soccer, the crowd will be getting used to the noise rules and learning the environment.

One element that fans come back to, again and again, is that they feel their silence equates to respect—not only to the players, but to the sports themselves.

“It’s different how they act and how they respect the players,” Brazilian fan Joaquim Mendes, 15, said of fans in the Eiffel Tower Stadium. He attended a blind football game between Brazil and Turkey, which Brazil won 3-0.

“I think the energy is the same,” added Sidot, who attended the same game. “Even though we have to stay silent, I can feel that people are still really excited to be here.”

At a time when switching schools is easier than ever, Southern California’s Miller Moss and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier are showing how patience can still pay off.

Moss and Nussmeier were top-100 recruits who waited behind Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks before leading their teams to bowl victories in their first career starts. Now that the guys ahead of them are gone — they were the top two picks in this year’s NFL draft — Moss and Nussmeier open this season as unquestioned starters.

They’re the most notable examples of guys who never transferred and now have a chance to earn featured roles for the first time in their fourth or fifth seasons on campus. They happen to be facing each other to open the season Sept. 1 when No. 13 LSU takes on No. 23 USC in Las Vegas.

Nussmeier made just one start his first three seasons at LSU. He backed up 2024 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels the last two seasons rather than leaving for a potential starting opportunity elsewhere.

“There’s obviously temptation,” Nussmeier said. “I love playing the game of football. So obviously I wanted to be playing on Saturdays. But what kept me to stay was, I felt like when I was making my decision out of high school where to go to school, I felt like there was a lot of prayer involved. And God brought me to LSU for a reason. I did not feel it was my time to just pack up and leave.”

After Daniels opted out of the Reliaquest Bowl to focus on draft preparations, Nussmeier finally made his first career start and was named the game’s MVP. He went 31 of 45 for 395 yards with three touchdowns in a 35-31 victory over Wisconsin, a performance that established himself as Daniels’ obvious successor.

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Injury-related absences by skill players across the New Orleans Saints’ offense are making new coordinator Klint Kubiak’s job “a lot more challenging,” coach Dennis Allen said Wednesday.

“Availability is the most important ability,” Allen said as the Saints prepared for Sunday’s preseason finale against Tennessee. “So, if you’re out here and practicing, we get a chance to evaluate you. If you’re not, it’s hard for us to make evaluations.”

Running back Kendre Miller, a 2023 third-round draft choice out of TCU, pulled a hamstring in the first individual drill of the first practice of training camp on July 24 and has yet to return. Deep-threat receiver Rashid Shaheed, a projected starter as he enters his third NFL season, has been limited by a toe injury.

Allen sounded pessimistic when discussing Miller, whom the Saints drafted after he helped a prolific 2022 TCU team advance to the College Football Playoff.

“Quite frankly, since we drafted him, there hasn’t been a whole lot of new information other than what I saw on the college tape because he hasn’t been available,” Allen said. “I know he’s talented but I don’t know if he can learn the system. I don’t know if he can pick up the system because I haven’t seen him out there.”

An injury prevented Miller from playing in the national title game, which the Horned Frogs lost to Georgia.

Injuries limited Miller to eight games in his rookie season, when he rushed for 156 yards and a touchdown to go with 10 receptions for 117 yards.

Allen said he doesn’t expect Shaheed’s toe injury “is going to be something that’s going to keep him out of an extended period of time. But look, he’s another guy that we’d like to get him out here and get some looks.”

“When you’re the play-caller and you’re trying to put guys in the best position to do the things that they do well and have success, it’s easier to do when you’ve had experience with a certain player,” Allen said. “Being that this is a new system and a new play caller, I think it’s important that we figure out: How are we going to utilize certain players? So, it makes it more challenging when guys aren’t out here.”

While veteran starting quarterback Derek Carr is healthy, there have been other intermittent absences by prominent skill players, including running back Alvin Kamara, who missed much of the third week of camp with back soreness.

Tight end Juwan Johnson is just now coming back on a limited basis from foot surgery he had this summer.

Kubiak, whom Allen hired in February to overhaul the offense, said his staff still has “a lot of work” to do to refine its scheme before the season opener against Carolina on Sept. 8, “because there’s been so much attrition, especially at skill positions, guys being in and out.”

“The continuity we’re seeking isn’t there yet. And that’s just part of football,” Kubiak said. “Until then, it gives guys a great opportunity to step up.”

Those players include running back Jordan Mimms, a second-year pro out of Fresno State, and receiver Bub Means, a fifth-round draft choice out of Pittsburgh.

When asked about the Saints’ depth at running back, excluding the injured Miller, Allen said, “I feel comfortable with where we’re at. I like our players and I think we’ve got guys that can play in the National Football League. So, that’s not a concern.”

Allen said judging whether certain players are being unduly cautious with their recoveries is tricky because “the reality is nobody knows. There’s not concrete evidence that says this particular injury is going to take this long to heal.”

“Some people, their bodies heal faster. Some people’s bodies don’t heal as fast. Some people can push through some discomfort. Some people struggle more with that,” Allen continued.

“It’s hard to say you can pinpoint exactly how long something’s going to take … but I would say more often than not, we’ve got a pretty good idea and I think our medical people do an outstanding job,” Allen added. “The reality of life is some people can grind through some things and some people it’s a little bit more of a challenge for.”

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — Jayden Daniels has been selected as the starting quarterback for the Washington Commanders.

Coach Dan Quinn declared Daniels the starter on Monday after two preseason games and a couple of joint practices. Daniels was 12 of 15 for 123 yards at the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins.

The No. 2 pick out of LSU was always expected to be Washington’s Week 1 QB. But Quinn did not want to make that decision before seeing how the 2023 Heisman Trophy winner would handle training camp. Daniels handled it as well as could be expected with help from veteran mentor Marcus Mariota.

“He went through the whole thing,” Quinn said. “He didn’t miss a beat. He hit all the targets we put in front of him. He’s ready, and he’s earned the right to do that.

The Commanders open the regular season Sept. 8 at Tampa Bay.

Daniels would be Washington’s eighth different Week 1 starting QB in as many years.

“Everything in life is, you’ve got to earn it,” Daniels said. “Nothing’s given. So, what (Quinn) and them preach here is competition, and you’ve earn your right to stay.”

Quinn said he has not told the team Daniels is the starter. He did reveal rookie linebacker Jordan Magee had knee surgery that was not season-ending.

Other roster competitions remain, including on the offensive line protecting Daniels and in the secondary, where 2023 first-round pick Emmanuel Forbes is among those fighting for a starting spot.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Derek Carr and the New Orleans starting offense finally got going with an efficient 95-yard touchdown drive against San Francisco’s backup defenders but the 49ers beat the Saints 16-10 on Sunday night.

“It’s always hard in the preseason because you’re just calling kind of the basic stuff. No one wants to show anything,” Carr said. “But the competitor in you still wants to go out there and compete and make something happen. So being able to go down, get a touchdown punched in. It definitely was like a monkey off the back, kind of a relief. We can score. It definitely felt nice to do that.”

Joshua Dobbs ran for a TD and Jake Moody kicked three field goals for the 49ers (1-1), who rested most of their front-line players other than quarterback Brock Purdy.

The Niners were missing three starting offensive linemen, their top four receivers, their top three running backs, All-Pro tight end George Kittle and All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk either because of injuries, contract disputes or rest.

That left Purdy playing his three series with a collection of mostly backups. The results weren’t good as the Niners generated one first down and had two three-and-outs.

Purdy went 2 for 6 for 11 yards and was lucky to avoid an interception when he threw a ball up for grabs that backup tight end Eric Saubert broke up for an incomplete pass.

“I think it was good just to get out there, get a feel for the game speed and getting hit and trying to go through reads and stuff and just get the feel again,” Purdy said. “Obviously it wasn’t as productive as I would have liked it to have been, myself. But that’s why it’s preseason. Get out there and get a feel for it.”