Wooddale's Griffin, St. George's Carter picked for all-star game

By John Varlas
Memphis Commercial Appeal
David Carter of St. George's and Jerome Griffin of Wooddale are the coaches for this year's AutoZone Liberty Bowl high school all-star game.

Jerome Griffin was there at the beginning. And now he's come full circle.

Currently the head coach at Wooddale, Griffin was at Sheffield in 2002 when he served as an assistant under the late Ken Netherland in the first AutoZone Liberty Bowl high school all-star game. Since then, he's watched as it's turned into one of the premier postseason football events anywhere.

"I think early on the kids maybe shied away from playing," said Griffin, who will lead the Red team in the Dec. 9 contest.

"I think lot of them would have rather played in the game in Murfreesboro. But it's grown for the kids in this area. It's their last high school game and I know they want to go out with a win."

Griffin will match wits with David Carter of St. George's on Dec. 9 at MUS. The game features the top 88 seniors from around the area. Like his opposite number Carter — who led the Gryphons to a state championship in 2015 — has been an assistant in each of the last three games.

The Commercial Appeal files St. George's coach David Carter gives a few pointers to his linemen during practice. The Gryphons were Division 2-A state champs and finished 13-1 last season.

"It's a huge honor," he said. "Being an assistant in the past has been a blast. You get a chance to coach with coaches you've never worked with before. We always compete ... but I wish we had more opportunities (to join forces).

"There's always a buzz about this game. And I think the fans love coming out and supporting the kids for one last hurrah."

Last year's contest was a defensive struggle, with Blue winning 10-3. But from 2012-2014 the average score of the game was roughly 49-42 and Griffin said he hopes to give the fans some fireworks.

"I think that's what the fans want to see," he said. "And I know the kids want to throw it around and spread it out. I'm expecting an exciting game."

Griffin's assistants on the Red team are Carl Coleman (Manassas), Adam Sykes (Arlington), Brian Stewart (Briarcrest), Preston Harris (Douglass) and Chris Smith (Germantown). Carter will be assisted by Will Hudgens (Houston), Dewayne Harris (Westwood), Johnny Allen (Harding), Gene Robinson (Fairley) and Jonas Rodriguez (ECS).

Tickets are $10 with $5 admission for children aged 6 and under. WLMT CW 30 will televise the 2:30 p.m. kickoff with Sports 56/87.7 FM handling the radio broadcast.

Thornberry wins again

Another tournament, another title for Braden Thornberry.

The Ole Miss golfer who graduated from DeSoto Central defended his championship at the FAMC Intercollegiate in Nashville. He turned in rounds of 73, 66 and 70 at The Grove to finish at 7-under and win the ninth tournament of his college career.

He secured the championship on the last hole of the event, birdieing 18 to edge Mickey DeMorat of Liberty by a stroke. His 7-under finish was two strokes better than the tournament record he set while winning last year.

Ole Miss golfer Braden Thornberry, (middle) who recently won the NCAA individual golf title, will play in this weeks FedEx St. Jude Classic with a sponsor exemption.

Georgia Tech won the team title by eight strokes over the Rebels, finishing at 12-under.

Thornberry and the Rebels will next be in action at the Princeville Warrior Invitational in Kauai, Hawaii beginning on Oct. 29.

Tigers forward Jones to miss second season

University of Memphis forward Ashia Jones will miss the season after suffering an injury. The 6-1 senior also missed last year after tearing her ACL.

"The loss of Ashia Jones is extremely heartbreaking, both for Ashia and for our team." Tigers coach Melissa McFerrin said in a statement. 'She had worked extremely hard to be healthy for the season."

A Covington High grad, Jones began her career at Tennessee-Martin. She was the nation's fourth-leading scorer in 2014-15, averaging 23.4 points per game.

Former UT Martin player Ashia Jones will join the Memphis basketball team. She was dismissed from UTM's team last month.

USA Stadium announces schedule

Millington's USA Stadium will have another busy 2018 baseball season, with several tournaments set for the spring and summer.

Two premier high school events will get things going. Covington hosts the Best of the West tournament from March 18-23 while CBHS plays host to the 26th USA Classic from April 3-6.

Other events will include the Mid-South Tournament of Champions (May 31-June 3); the 2D Sports River City Championship (June 7-10); the Hagan All-American Classic (June 22-27 and June 29-July 4) and the USA Showdown (July 12-15).

Opened in 1982 as the home venue for Babe Howard's American Legion team, the stadium became the training site for the USA Olympic baseball team in 1986 and stayed there for a decade. The stadium hosts an array of high school, college, junior college and travel team events throughout the spring, summer and fall.

Memphis freshman honored

University of Memphis freshman Jackson Brady has been named AAC soccer rookie of the week.

Brady — a native of New Zealand who plays as a defender — scored his first collegiate goal in last week's 1-1 draw against Central Florida. He's started every match for the Tigers this season and logged 97 minutes in the UCF game.

He's the third Tiger to earn rookie of the week honors this year joining Luke Biasi and Chris Mikus. Memphis will be in action Wednesday, taking on Central Arkansas at 7 p.m. at Mike Rose.

On the women's side, junior forward Elizabeth Woerner was named to the conference honor roll after leading Memphis to victories over Temple and UConn. It's her second mention this season.

She scored in the 85th minute to give the Tigers the victory over Temple and also scored what proved to be the winning goal against UConn. Through last weekend, Woerner was leading the team with 10 goals.

Tiger softball makes the grade

Eight members of the Memphis softball team have earned all-America scholar-athlete mention from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. The Tigers were also recognized as a team.'

Sara Ann Davidson, Ashten Graves, Hannah Harrell, Jessica Lamb, Christian Novak, Lindsey Stickrod, Kyler Trosclair and former Best of the Preps player of the year Bayleigh Wisher from Collierville were all selected based on their performance in the classroom. All but Harrell and Stickrod return next season.

As a team, the Tigers posted a 3.405 grade point average. Among AAC schools, only Houston had more players selected than Memphis.

Sunday Sports Brunch is a weekly look at movers, shakers and newsmakers on the Memphis sports scene, from youth level to the pros. If you have an item of interest, please contact John Varlas at john.varlas@commercialappeal.com.