The Leflore County Middle School boys basketball players stayed on the bus four straight days as they played in two separate tournaments last week.
They could easily be called “Road Warriors.”
Leflore County, coached by Zavier Johnson, started the week last Wednesday with a second-round game in the Delta Valley Conference Tournament against Leland at Quitman County Middle School in Marks. The team won 55-20.
The next night, the Tigers returned to Marks to play West Tallahatchie, winning 38-21.
On Friday, Leflore, as well as the Greenwood Middle School girls and boys teams and the Amanda Elzy girls, participated in the 2023 Middle School Invitational. This is the first year for the tournament, which is sanctioned by the Mississippi High School Activities Association.
All four of the local teams won their first-round games, which were played at Hinds Community College’s Utica campus. The Leflore boys beat Carver Middle School from Raymond 44-18. The Greenwood girls knocked off Richland Middle School 28-5, and the Greenwood boys beat Richland 38-13. The Elzy Middle School girls topped Carver 32-11.
After riding home from those games on Friday night, all four teams hit the road again Saturday to play in the finals of the HCC region.
In the boys game, which was played at 1 p.m., Leflore knocked off Greenwood 38-30. In the girls finals, Greenwood topped Elzy 26-18.
Following its win over GMS, the Tigers loaded the bus for a 3½-hour drive to Marks to play in the finals of the Delta Valley Conference championship game. They arrived at halftime of the girls game and then hit the court about an hour later to take on Simmons Middle School, winning 44-34.
“We got finished around 8 p.m., and we got back to Itta Bena around 10 p.m.,” said Johnson, who estimated the team rode a bus for almost 900 miles last week. “When we turned toward the school, parents and supporters were on both sides of the road ringing cowbells and cheering on the boys. It made the whole week worth it all.”
Leflore (20-3) and Greenwood’s girls (16-2) advance to the quarterfinals of the middle school tournament Friday. The Tigers will play N.R. Burger Middle School from Hattiesburg at 6 p.m. at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba. The Greenwood Middle School girls take on St. Martin at 5 p.m. Friday.
Should either team win, it would play again Saturday in the finals with the winner advancing to the state title game the next weekend at EMCC.
-Contact Calvin Stevens at 662-581-7234 or cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
