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

Driskell named new Malakoff AD
By Michael V. Hannigan
Monitor Staff Writer
MALAKOFF–The Malakoff ISD Board of Trustees named Jamie Driskell as Malakoff High School’s new head football coach and athletic director Jan. 22.
Driskell, 36, comes to Malakoff from the Palestine ISD, where he has coached since 2004.
Driskell was the offensive coordinator for the past three years and assistant head coach the past two years. While at Palestine, Driskell was also the head boys basketball coach one year, and the head girls track coach for three years.
Malakoff will be his first job as head football coach.
Other schools where Driskell coached and taught include Westwood, Livingston, Groveton and Crockett.
In his application to MISD, Driskell wrote, “It is my belief that a well-run athletic program plays an intricate part in the educational process. A team sport is the ideal stage to teach young athletes a great lesson that can be learned in few arenas.
“The concept of the greater good of the team over the individual cannot be emphasized too emphatically,” he wrote. “This idea spells success in the business world, the family, and our community.
“Combine these with the setting of proper team and individual goals, and the student athlete will have the opportunity to experience immediate and long-term success,” he wrote.
MISD Superintendent Dr. John Spies said the district received 150 applications for the athletic director’s position, vacated in November when former AD Ronny Reed stepped down after the school’s first 0-10 football campaign.
School officials interviewed 15 candidates, and five were selected as finalists.
“It was an incredible response that we received,” Spies said. “We felt very blessed on the quality of resumes we got.”
A committee composed of Spies, Malakoff High School Principal Randy Perry, Malakoff Elementary Principal Ronny Snow and community member Don Murphy conducted the interviews. All except Spies had prior head coaching experience.
Spies said the committee scored the interviews separately, but all four listed Driskell as their top pick.
Coaching runs in Driskell’s family. His father, Monte Jack Driskell, won 293 football games while coaching at Groveton, Lovelady and Crockett, and was inducted into the Texas High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 1998.
Driskell and his wife, Emily, have three children – Josie, 6, Judson, 5, and Jack, nine months.

EHS girls fall to Mineola, 49-34
Monitor Staff Reports
EUSTACE–The visiting Mineola Lady Yellowjackets held the Eustace Lady Bulldogs to just 12 points in the second half to win 49-34 Tuesday.
Now 0-6 in District 14-3A basketball competition, the Lady Bulldogs were scheduled to visit 15th-ranked Canton Friday.
Tuesday, Feb. 3, the Lady Bulldogs will host the Kemp Lady Yellowjackets in a contest that should have playoff implications, opening with a 4:30 p.m. sub-varsity matchup.
Next Friday, Feb. 6, the Lady Bulldogs will travel to Wills Point, looking to avenge a first-round upset, and Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Lady Bulldogs will host Van in the district and season finale.
Playing at 4:30 p.m. to avoid deteriorating weather conditions, the girls varsity game moved to the new Eustace Middle School gym, while the boys varsity teams played in the high school gym (see related story).
The Lady Bulldogs fell behind Mineola early, 14-6, but rallied in the second quarter.
“We got ourselves back into the ballgame in the second quarter, and were only down seven at the half,” Eustace coach DaLinda Cassell reported.
“During the third quarter, we had shots that didn’t fall, and made some unforced turnovers,” she added. “Mineola came out ready in the third and expanded their lead, and we could never recover.”
In the third quarter, the Lady Yellowjackets outscored the Lady Bulldogs 14-6 to take a 15-point lead, 43-28, into the fourth quarter.
Both teams scored six points each in the final frame.
Cassell noted the play of Jessica McConathy, one of the team’s two seniors.
“Jessica has played well for us, and she is a great senior leader,” Cassell said. “She goes hard on both ends of the floor, she shoots the ball well and plays with a lot of heart.”
McConathy led the Lady Bulldogs with 12 points, with Allie Cass adding seven points, Jenny McConathy five and Nicole McNeel four points, with Harmony Allen, Catania Grant and Vanessa Lopez all adding two points each.
Woods and Hawkins led the Lady Yellowjacket with 13 points and 10 points, respectively.

Bulldogs bite Mineola
Monitor Staff Reports
EUSTACE–The hosting Eustace Bulldogs outscored the Mineola Yellowjackets 28-15 across the middle two quarters to notch a 66-52 victory Tuesday night.
Now 2-2 in District 14-3A play, the Bulldogs were scheduled to visit Canton in the final first-round game Friday.
Tuesday, Feb. 3, the Bulldogs will open the second round of district play at home against the Kemp Yellowjackets, with a 4:30 p.m. sub-varsity contest starting the evening.
Friday, Feb. 6, the Bulldogs will travel to Wills Point to face the league-leading Tigers before returning home to host the Van Vandals Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Starting early Tuesday due to deteriorating weather conditions, the Bulldogs trailed the Yellowjackets 20-18 after the first quarter.
In the second quarter, the Bulldogs started beating the 0-4 Yellowjackets down the floor, and the result was a 13-7 run that left the Bulldogs ahead by four points, 31-27, at halftime.
The Bulldogs continued to pull away during the third quarter, dominating the boards to outscore Mineola 15-8 and take an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter, 46-35.
In the final frame, the Bulldogs matched points with the Yellowjackets, and hit their free throws down the stretch to forge the final 14-point margin.
Senior Zach Keeling led the Bulldogs with 21 points, with Guy Hargrove adding 13 and David Key 11.
The Bulldogs also got eight points from Trevan Johnson, six from Johnny Lee, four from Addison Scott and three from Zach Sutton.
Galaz led Mineola with 12 points, with O’Neal adding 10.