Newspaper Page Text
^Reporter
■| g August 3, 2016
Terry Johnson Page 2B
Community Pages Pages 4B-6B
The best
coverage
for Monroe
County sports
Five Mercer
Bears named
preseason
All-So. Con
Mercer University’s senior offensive lineman
Bret Niederreither was named to the 2016
Preseason All-Southern Conference First Team,
highlighting five Bears on the coaches’ preseason
teams as released Wednesday at the league’s
annual Football Media Day.
The Bears were also selected to finish fourth
and fifth, respectively, in the SoCon preseason
media and coaches polls, which were released
Wednesday as well. They mark the highest pre
season rankings for Mercer since the football
program was revived in 2013. Chattanooga,
which has won at least a share of the league title
each of the last three years, was tabbed as the
unanimous favorite to repeat.
Four other Bears earned preseason honors,
as redshirt-sophomore tight end Sam Walker,
senior linebacker Tosin Aguebor, redshirt-soph
omore defensive lineman Isaiah Buehler and
junior return specialist Chandler Curtis were
named to the All-SoCon Second Team.
Niederreither, who was named to the 2015 All-
SoCon Second Team, anchored an offensive line
that helped the Bears average 412.9 yards of
total offense game, after changing positions from
defensive tackle the season prior. The senior
helped the Mercer offensive line lead the nation
in red zone offense for the second time in the last
three seasons with a 93.2 percent success rate,
while also ranking third in the FC-S with just
eight sacks given up all season.
Walker ranked second among SoCon tight
ends in 2015 with 25 receptions for 323 yards on
the strength of his eight-catch, 100-yard, two-
touchdown performance in Mercer’s season finale
against Samford. He’ll be paired with junior
Robert Brown in the Bears’ two-pronged tight
end attack this year.
Aguebor finished third in the SoCon in 2015
with a team-leading 7.5 sacks. The senior fin
ished last year’s campaign with 39 total tackles,
a team-best, 10.5 for loss, to go along with one
forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He’ll
help headline a deep linebacker core for the
Bears in his senior season.
Buehler will look to further impact a Mercer
defense that led the SoCon in scoring defense
in 2015 after he finished second on the team
with 7.5 tackles-for-loss and 3.0 sacks during his
redshirt-freshman campaign. The Apopka, Fla.,
native will line up at right end for the Bears to
start the year.
Curtis, who played a total of only 42 snaps dur
ing an injury-riddled 2015 season, will look to
get back to the playmaking abilities that made
him a 2014 All-American in the return game.
The junior led the FCS with four return touch
downs and a SoC-on-topping 119.2 all-purpose
yards per game in 2014.
Mercer opens up its fourth season of football on
Thursday, Sept. 1, as the Orange and Black wel
comes SoCon foe The Citadel to kick off the 2016
campaign at Five Star Stadium. The Bears will
look to win their fourth straight season opener.
Mary
Persons
softball
to open
season
Monday
Led by seven
seniors, includ
ing Emsley
Smith, left, the
MP Lady Dogs
will host Union
Grove in its
season opener
at 5:55 p.m. on
Monday
MP Fall Sports
Home Calendar
Wednesday, Aug. 3:
Thursday, Aug. 4:
Friday, Aug. 5:
Saturday, Aug. 6:
Sunday, Aug. 7:
Monday, Aug. 8: 4:30 p.m. — JV Softball (vs. Union
Grove; 5:55 p.m. — Varsity Softball (vs. Union
Grove)
Tuesday, Aug. 9:
Despite finishing no worse than second in Region 2-AAAA in each of the past four years, MP boys soccer will be look
ing for its third coach in that time frame following the resignation of head coach Allen Luton. Luton led the Bulldogs,
including Hunter Martin (above) to a 15-3-1 record in 2016, including an nine-game winning streak. (File photo)
Luton
BY WILL DAVIS
publisher@rnymcr. net.
MP boys soccer
coach Allen Luton has
resigned after three
years at the helm.
Luton, who taught
at Monroe County
Middle School, said
he’s taken a soccer-
related position but
he can’t reveal it yet.
His resignation was
expected to go before the school
board on Tuesday night.
Luton said he was willing to con-
Luton
leaving MP
ue coaching MP in the spring, was also Region Coach of the Year
tinue coaching ivir m tne spring,
but GHSA rules require varsity
head coaches to be certified employ
ees.
“He was a good coach for us,” said
MP principal Jim Finch. Finch said
the timing is pretty bad since school
starts on Friday. Finch said he’s just,
glad that soccer is a spring sport so
he has time to find a replacement.
MP boys soccer has a 57-17-3
record since Luton joined the pro
gram, first, as an assistant to Coach
Keith Groeper and then as head
coach. MP has won two region
championships in that, time. Luton
Region i
in 2015. MP boys made the Elite 8
once, the Sweet 16 twice and have
made the state playoffs every year
since Luton arrived. The Bulldogs
have finished in the Class AAAA
Top 10 in state 4 of 5 years, and
have been no worse than region
runner-up every season.
Finch said MP boys soccer has
made some strides in recent years
and he wants to find a good coach to
build upon that. MP recently hired
Dallas Hall to be the MP girls coach
after Robby Jones left, to teach at
ACE in Macon.
Rec
sports
walk-in
sign-ups
began
Monday
The Monroe County
Recreation Department
opened its online sign-ups for
fall sports on July 1.
Parents may sign their chil
dren up at the department’s
website mocorec.org. Walk-
in registration at the Youth
Center will also be held start
ing Aug. 1 running until Aug.
17. The registration fee is $30.
Football age groups will
include: two 6U (flag football
or tackle) leagues as well as
tackle football leagues for
ages 8U, 10U and 12U.
Soccer age groups will
include: 6U, 8U, 10U, 13U
and 16U while cheerleading
will include cheerleaders age
5-12. Also, if enough three-
year-olds sign up for soccer,
the department may have a
“Muppet, League.” Ages are as
of Sept. 1.
If the rec department does
not already have a copy of
your child’s birth certificate
on file, the department will
need copy. Persons who regis
ter online should bring a copy
to the youth center.
For football, parents will
provide a helmet, a mouth
guard, shoulder pads, pants
with pads and cleats. For soc
cer, parents will provide shin
guards, cleats and shorts. For
cheerleading, the uniform fee
is an additional $20, which
includes a top, skirt, bloomers
and pompoms. Cheerleaders
who have a uniform from last
year that, still fits may wear
that, one instead of buying a
new one.
For more information,
contact the Monroe County
Recreation Department at
478-994-7795.
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109 Patrol Road
Forsyth
(478) 994-6334
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