Sports and Outdoors

 Lake Info

Normal Lake Level is 322.00 feet above Mean Sea Level.
Current level for Cedar Creek Lake is: 319.77
Water Temperature:
na degrees - top
58 degrees - bottom

Little League program started in area
By Kerry Yancey
Monitor Staff Writer
CEDAR CREEK LAKE–While summer league teams have been playing around the Cedar Creek Lake area for many years, those have not been official Little League teams – until now.
Registration for the opening season of the Cedar Creek Area Little League (CCALL) will be held from Saturday, Jan. 17, until Sunday, Feb. 22, both on-line at www.leaguelineup.com/ccall , and from noon until 4 p.m. each Saturday at the Optimist Fields in Seven Points (located under the water tower), the Kemp Area Sports Association fields off State Highway 274 and at the Gun Barrel City Park ballfields.
Registration tables also will be set up at many community events scheduled during the registration period.
Children ages 3 to 18 who live within the CCALL boundaries are eligible to enroll to play baseball, softball and T-ball. These will be official teams listed with Little League International, headquartered in Willamsport, Penn.
“We’re shooting for 50 teams, or about 600 kids,” Cedar Creek Area Little League president Matthew Arnold said. “We’ll offer baseball, softball, T-ball and our challenger program, for those kids with disabilities.”
The CCALL is actively seeking sponsors to help lower the start-up costs, as well as teams, coaches and officials.
“We’ll be wanting to talk with the ADs (athletic directors) to see if they’re wanting to open their teams to more exposure,” Arnold said.
Registration is required for every child interested in playing, but the fee has not been set yet, Arnold said Monday.
In an e-mail sent Monday afternoon, Arnold said the fee probably will be under $100, including the uniform.
“The budget is sitting at a cost of $65 per kid today, and we are trying to lower that,” he wrote. “Those prices are not set in stone, because we are a new league and a lot is being learned each day.”
At least one parent or legal guardian must be present at registration with three proofs of residence, and an original or state-certified copy of the child’s birth certificate. The documents will be inspected and returned at registration.
As projected, the CCALL district will cover Kaufman County from the Trinity River north to Interstate 20, east to Van Zandt County, and include the far western corner of Henderson County south to the Anderson County line.
This would include Crandall, Combine, Terrell (south of Interstate 20), Kaufman, Kemp, Mabank, Eustace, Payne Springs, Caney City, Malakoff, Trinidad and Seven Points. There is a possibility programs may be established in Van Zandt County and in the Athens and eastern Henderson County area in the near future.
Now in its 70th year, Little League International draws more than 2.8 million children and one million volunteers in more than 100 countries each year. More than 30 million people have played in Little League programs.
Although each division of baseball and softball has a Little League World Series, the one shown on ESPN involves 10- to 12-year-olds.
Baseball World Series are held in Williamsport, Penn., while softball World Series games are played in Portland, Ore., Arnold said.
To reach the World Series, teams must advance through District, State and Regional tournaments. Cedar Creek Lake area teams will be in District 8, covering much of North Texas, Arnold said.
A former KASA baseball commissioner, Arnold said he had been working with Optimist Club sponsor Dale Beavers for more than two years about setting up an official Little League program.
“We went to Scurry and Kemp, and both boards agreed to participate,” Arnold said. “We contacted the Little League, and signed a contract with them in November at the Kemp Dairy Queen.”
CCALL is governed by a 15-member board, which meets at 7 p.m. every second Thursday of the month at the Optimist Civic Center, next to the ballfields under the Seven Points water tower.
CCALL will supply uniforms and helmets, but players must provide their own shoes, gloves and other gear.
“We will have a scholarship program for needy families,” Arnold said, adding league tryouts probably will be held the first week of March.
For more information, including a description of the district boundaries, call toll-free (888) 498-8333, or visit the website www.league-lineup.com/ccall  for registration and other information.
CCALL is headquartered at 1307 West Main Street, Suite B307, Gun Barrel City, TX 75156.

Mabank’s boys, Eustace’s girls win tournament crowns
Monitor Staff Reports
EUSTACE–Mabank’s boys and the hosting Eustace girls won their respective divisions in the second annual Eustace Invitational soccer tournament last weekend.
Mabank’s girls were scheduled to visit Ennis Tuesday, while the Panther boys were scheduled to host Corsicana. Eustace’s girls and boys were scheduled to host Palestine.
Eustace’s boys are scheduled to open play in the Kennedale tournament Thursday (today).
Friday, Jan. 16, Mabank’s girls will host Mt. Pleasant, while the boys will visit Ferris, each opening with 5:30 p.m. junior varsity matches.
Next Tuesday, Jan. 20, Eustace’s boys and girls will host Ferris, opening at 5:30 p.m. with the girls’ contest, while Mabank’s girls will host Greenville. Mabank’s boys will be idle.
In addition to hosting Eustace and Mabank, last weekend’s tournament included boys and girls teams from Ferris, Royse City and the Kaufman junior varsity.
Girls
The tournament opened Jan. 8 with Eustace defeating Royse City 3-1 and Mabank crushing Ferris 6-0.
Hallie Mathis scored all three Eustace goals, with assists from Jaqlynn Bless, Tiffany Grimes and Veronica Maltos.
Friday, Royse City defeated Ferris, 3-1, and Eustace knocked off Mabank, 3-1.
Mathis again scored all three Eustace goals, with assists from Maltos, Kayla Ward and Arin Rhodes, while Jessica Toms scored Mabank’s goal in the second half.
In the semifinals Saturday, Eustace defeated Ferris 2-0, while Mabank and Royse City played to a 2-2 tie.
Rhodes scored the first Eustace goal on a free kick, while Bless scored the second goal with an assist from Ward.
In the championship game, Eustace knocked off Mabank 2-1 in a shoot-out.
Both teams played to a 0-0 tie in regulation and went through two 10-minute overtime periods without any scoring.
After the second overtime, the game went to a shoot-out. Amanda Herrera and Ward scored the Eustace goals.
Ward was also the Eustace goalie in the shoot-out, and blocked four of Mabank’s five shots.
Mathis was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, having scored six goals in 21 shots on goal.
Boys
Mabank opened the tournament with a 1-0 win over Ferris, scoring on a header early in the game and holding on for the win.
Eustace and the Kaufman JV played to a 0-0 tie. Eustace took many shots on goal, including four that hit the post, but Kaufman’s goalie was outstanding (as he proved to be throughout the tournament).
Friday, Ferris defeated the Kaufman JV 3-1 in a very close contest. The Yellowjackets broke open the match with two late goals, the only goals allowed in the tournament by the Kaufman goalie.
Mabank knocked off Eustace 3-1, taking a 3-0 halftime lead on a nice cross and finish, a penalty kick and a free kick.
Eustace got a second-half goal from Cory Bennett on a shot from just outside the penalty box, but the Bulldogs were unable to overcome the Panthers’ lead.
Saturday, Ferris defeated Eustace 3-1, coming from behind late in the match.
Eustace took a 1-0 lead 12 minutes into the contest on a goal by Zach Bennett from a difficult angle into the side netting.
The score remained 1-0 until 15 minutes left in the game, when Ferris scored to tie it up and then added a go-ahead goal two minutes later on a penalty kick. Ferris sealed the win with another score a few minutes later.
Mabank and the Kaufman JV played to a 0-0 tie, as a lot of shots were taken, but none found the back of the net. Kaufman’s goalie recorded another shutout.
In the consolation game, the Kaufman JV defeated Eustace 2-0, getting on the scoreboard early with a penalty kick.
The score remained 1-0 until late in the game when Kaufman added a clinching goal. Again, Kaufman’s goalie made some outstanding saves.
In the championship game, Mabank defeated Ferris 3-1, with all three goals scored by the tournament’s MVP (Mabank results were not made available by presstime Tuesday).

Van stops Kemp girls, 54-44
Monitor Staff Reports
VAN–In the District 14-3A basketball opener for both squads, the Van Lady Vandals used a 15-5 second-quarter run to power past the visiting Kemp Lady Yellowjackets, 54-44, Friday.
Now 0-1 in district play, the Lady ’Jackets were scheduled to visit Wills Point Tuesday. Friday, Jan. 16, the Kemp girls will host the Eustace Lady Bulldogs, with a 4:30 p.m. sub-varsity game opening the evening’s slate.
Tuesday, Jan. 20, the Lady ’Jackets will go on the road to face the Mineola Lady Yellowjackets, again opening at 4:30 p.m., and next Friday, Jan. 23, Kemp will host 15th-ranked Canton.
At Van Friday, the game was close early, as Van opened a narrow 10-8 lead.
The 15-5 second-quarter run gave the Lady Vandals a 25-13 halftime advantage, and they were able to add four points to their lead in the third quarter to take a commanding 16-point lead going into the fourth quarter.
In the final frame, the Lady ’Jackets outscored the Lady Vandals 20-14 to cut the final margin to 10 points.
Brittany Henderson led the Lady ’Jackets with 17 points, with Amanda Lawrence adding eight points, Brittany Simmons five, Shannon Shipp four and Meagan Lacy three, with Brandy Simmons, Shelbie Wright and Chelsey Mulvaney all scoring two points and Rose adding a free throw.
Van’s Sarah Milewski led all scorers with 26 points.
 

Soccer

Jan. 15-17
EHS b @ Kennedale tourn.

Jan. 16
MHS b @ Ferris
MHS g vs Mt. Pleasant