Crosstown Classic special for everyone

The Crosstown Classic: What a great week for the players, fans and coaches of both schools. It’s a time for everyone who has ever attended Lafayette or Oxford to reflect on their memories of this most important game of the year.

I can certainly remember my senior year of football at Lafayette in 1977 and all the emotions that the week entailed leading up to the game. I remember a very descriptive letter supposedly from the Oxford players strategically placed on the wall in the field house that detailed how they were going to have a lot more fun on Friday night than we were. I must say that even at 17, I was less intimidated than amused. I can remember smiling, wondering which coach was responsible for engineering such a motivating tactic. (September 2, 2010, Page 6)

Hill expects hard-fought Classic

Explosive was the word that Oxford coach Johnny Hill used several times to describe Lafayette’s offense and quarterback Jeremy Liggins earlier this week. Hill’s Chargers have the extremely tough task of trying stop, or at least slow, the potent Commodores, who have scored 83 points the first two weeks against Cleveland and Memphis Trezevant, Friday night at Bobby Holcomb Field. (September 2, 2010, Page 7)

Commodores score early, often in Friday rout

The Lafayette Commodores scored early, often and in a variety of ways Friday night as they posted a 35-16 victory over Memphis Trezevant in their 2010 home opener at William L. Buford Stadium.

Lafayette, now 2-0 heading into its annual Crosstown Classic showdown with Oxford, scored on its second play from scrimmage and on its last play of the first half (that capped an 11-play, 91-yard drive) in building a 35-0 lead that allowed coach Anthony Hart to sit many of his starters in the second half and work on building depth. (August 30, 2010, Page 1B)

LHS cruises past Memphis-Trezevant

Jeremy Liggins threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to help Lafayette
build a comfortable 35-0 halftime lead before watching the rest of the game as
the Commodores knocked off Memphis Trezevant in their home opener at William L.
Buford Stadium. (more…) (August 28, 2010)

Fondren shows no fear on field

Fear is a word that doesn’t appear in Lafayette senior linebacker DeAndre Fondren’s vocabulary. It’s not that the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Fondren doesn’t understand the meaning of the word, he just doesn’t associate with its meaning.

There are a lot of outstanding players on Lafayette’s defense this season, but Fondren appears to be the player that has the most heart and the most courage of a group not lacking in either area.

It’s the ability to play without fear, while going full speed every snap, that separates Fondren, aka “Tootie”, from others on the defense and why he’s counted on by defensive coordinator Eric Robertson each week to make plays. (August 27, 2010, Page 7A)

Commodores ready for opener at home

Lafayette coach Anthony Hart doesn’t see a pushover opponent on his team’s schedule, especially not this Friday night when the Commodores host Memphis Trezevant in the first home game of the season.

The Bears dispatched Houston 42-26 in their season opener last week and Hart said that they have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. (August 26, 2010, Page 6)

Liggins, D. Dennis pace ‘Dores in rout

Shortly after Cleveland’s Tyler Slaughter eluded the entire Lafayette Commodore defense to score an 80-yard touchdown in Friday’s season opener at Mickey Sellers Stadium, LHS quarterback Jeremy Liggins started shaking his head and verbally encouraging his teammates.

If Liggins and the Commodores weren’t fired up to beat the Wildcats prior to kickoff, they were after his mini speech on the sidelines.

It wasn’t what the standout quarterback and reigning EAGLE Player of the Year had to say that was important, it was the emphasis of how he got his message across that made all the difference for a team that is extremely hard to stop when they are motivated. (August 23, 2010, Page 1B)

Liggins, Dennis lead ‘Dores in rout

SPORTS EDITOR BLOG — If you thought Lafayette’s run to the Class 4A state championship last season was a fluke, then Friday night’s one-sided win over Cleveland made some more doubters believers. (more…) (August 21, 2010)

‘Dores headed to Cleveland

Another run at winning a Class 4A state title begins in earnest Friday night for the Lafayette High Commodores. A year after advancing to the championship game and posting a 14-2 overall record, the Commodores will try to return to Jackson to take care of some unfinished business.

The first game on the road to the Mississippi Veterans Coliseum begins at Cleveland, a place the Commodores suffered a loss the last time they visited in 2008.

LHS coach Anthony Hart said the Wildcats would likely spread the ball out and try to use their abundance of speed to make plays. (August 19, 2010, Page 6)

Commodores shake off rust in win over Pontotoc

The Lafayette Commodores capped its preseason with a dominating 14-0 win over Pontotoc on Friday in a jamboree game at William L. Buford Stadium.

When talking to Lafayette’s coaches, the phrase sluggish was used several times to describe the squad’s performance despite limiting Pontotoc to just 15 yards of total offense.

Such is life as the defending Class 4A North Half Champion. (August 16, 2010, Page 6)