The Wills Point Lady Tigers have shouldered a heavy workload in recent weeks, participating in both tournament and non-district play.
Over the most recent weekend, Dec. 10-12, Wills Point traveled to Edgewood to participate in the 49th annual Lady Dog Tournament.
Wills Point came out of the gates strong, knocking off Bonham 50-40 in their tournament opener Dec. 10.
The Lady Tigers returned to the court the following day, hanging tough before falling to the eventual third-place finishers in the tournament North Forney by a score of 56-44.
The Texas Associated Press Sports Editors released their 4A All-State First, Second and Honorable Mention Teams to the public Dec. 15. Despite Wills Point junior defensive lineman Tyriq Burnett was the lone Van Zandt County athlete recognized by the Texas APSE in any classification. Voting for the honor is based solely on regular season statistics.
Kendall Brown streaks past the Kemp defense for an easy lay-in during tournament play in Wills Point Dec. 3.
By David Kapitan, Staff Writer
The Wills Point Lady Tigers got to enjoy the comforts of home Dec. 3-5, playing host to 11 other teams for the annual Lady Tiger Classic. The host team enjoyed an up and down run at its own tournament, finishing with a 1-2 record overall during the three-day event. Tournament play couldn’t have started much better for Wills Point, with a strong defensive effort guiding the Lady Tigers to a 56-18 rout of Kemp. Led by big scoring efforts from Kendall Brown and Emily Smith, the Lady Tigers raced out to a 16-6 lead after one quarter of play. The margin widened entering the break, with Wills Point outscoring Kemp 16-5 in the second for a 32-11 lead entering the half. Wills Point shut the door to any potential comeback attempt by Kemp in the second half, continuing to force turnover after turnover to close out the 56-18 win.
Krystian Osbourn, granddaughter of Prentice and Brenda Arthur of Wills Point, signed a National Letter of Intent to play softball at Abilene Christian University. Krystian is a three-time All-District selection, this past year being named the District 29-4A Offensive MVP at Bandera High School. ACU is a Division I program in the Southland Conference. Pictured above are Jana (mother), Krystian, Cade (brother) and Joe Don (father) Osbourn.
Tiger forward Caden Petrey gets a clean look at a short basket against Commerce Dec. 3.
By David Kapitan, Staff Writer
The Wills Point Tigers basketball team may still be in the early stages of its 2014-’15 campaign, but that means the team is also squarely in the midst of tournament season.
The Tigers were in Edgewood Dec. 3-5, competing in the 49th annual Edgewood Varsity Tournament.
Things will be flipped this week, with many varsity boys team from across East Texas making the trek to Wills Point for tournament play Dec. 10-12.
Teams at this year’s Wills Point Shootout were scheduled to include Lindale, Dallas Thunder, Ferris, Dallas Christian, North Lamar, All Saints, Edgewood, Kaufman, Terrell, Canton and Crandall.
Wills Point’s pool play games, set for Dec. 10, were scheduled to include a game against North Lamar beginning at 11:50 a.m. and a game against Dallas Christian at 5:30 p.m.
Photo by Adrianne Granger - The Wills Point Lady Tiger defense will face some of the most talented teams in all of East Texas Dec. 3-5 when they host the annual Wills Point Lady Tiger Classic.
The Wills Point Lady Tiger basketball program will receive a stiff test shortly after the Thanksgiving holiday, making their first of three scheduled tournament appearances this season.
Wills Point will have the benefit of being home Dec. 3-5, taking the court at the Lady Tigers Basketball Classic.
Participants of this year’s Classic are set to include Anna, Kemp, Quitman, Van, TCA, Life, Edgewood, Kaufman, Brownsboro, Malakoff, Mabank and host Wills Point.
Game action on the opening day of the tournament is set to include:
The UIL released their conference cutoff numbers for the 2016-2018 reclassification and realignment Nov.20.
Schools with enrollments between 723-1,099 will be placed in Class 4A Division I (the large school designation) and schools with enrollments between 480-722 will be placed in Class 4A Division II (the small school designation).
Wills Point, which has played the past two football seasons in the large school designation, had a reported enrollment of 716. Beginning in Fall 2016, the Tiger football team will now compete in Class 4A Division II.
The Van Vandals, who played this past season in the large school classification, will do so again with a reported enrollment figure of 751.
The Canton Eagles will remain in Class 4A Division II with a reported enrollment of 620.
The Wills Point Tigers will continue what has seemingly turned into an annual tradition following the Thanksgiving holiday by making the pilgrimage to Edgewood Dec. 3-5 to compete in the 49th Annual Edgewood Invitational Basketball Tournament.
Participants of this year’s tournament are set to include host Edgewood, Fruitvale, Quinlan, Scurry-Rosser, Commerce, Sunnyvale, Winnsboro, Red Oak Life, Alba-Golden, Hawkins, Kaufman, Hooks, Palestine, Kemp and Mineola.
First day action of the tournament is set to include:
The Wills Point Tigers entered the final Friday night of the district calendar with little to play for, having been eliminated from playoff contention the week before with a loss to the Van Vandals.
Despite the low stakes, Wills Point still put together a hardnosed effort in what would ultimately become a 42-14 loss the Athens Hornets.
Workhorse running back Marques Crouch got Wills Point on the board first in the contest, scoring a one-yard touchdown midway through the first quarter to give the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
Athens would come roaring back in the second quarter, scoring 28 unanswered to end the half. The Hornets extended the lead to 42-7 late before another Crouch one-yard score snapped the Athens scoring streak.
Wills Point finishes its season with a 3-7 record overall, including 1-4 in District 8-4A play.
Van Zandt County bragging rights and a trip to the upcoming Class 4A state playoffs were on the line Thursday night when the Van Vandals took on the Wills Point Tigers at Van’s Memorial Stadium.
When the dust settled, the Vandals punched their ticket for post-season play as they cruised past Wills Point, 49-14, as the Tigers were mathematically eliminated from any chance at qualifying for the state playoffs in 2015.
Before entering post-season competition, the Vandals, 6-3 overall and 2-2 in District 8-4A, Division I, will conclude their regular season schedule as they will travel to Kaufman to take on the district champion Kaufman Lions in a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Friday, November 6.
The Vandals will enter Kaufman knowing that they will be the fourth place team in the district going into the state playoffs regardless of the outcome against the Lions.
