BHS Soccer Player Signs with PRCC

By Robert Jackson

Sports Editor

Without Meridian Community College in the South Division of the MACJC, Coach Josh Hess of Pearl River CC sees things opening up for the Wildcats and Lady Wildcats in 2008.

Hess said on the men's side of things there will be a competitive balance in the race for the two divisional berths in the MACJC state tournament.

"It opens the battle for second place," he said, adding that Mississippi Gulf Coast CC is the favorite to take top honors in the league's south division.

Still, he said his team is going to "push for first or second place" and not simply hope to make the playoffs.

"I feel like we had a real good recruiting class," Hess said, explaining that the incoming freshmen are very athletic and skilled. They will get to see a lot of action during the 2008 season, and Hess may start as many as six or seven freshmen when the season opens August 23 against Andrew College.

Hess, in his second season as head coach at PRCC, said he is happy with how his players returned from summer vacation.

As for the team's play, Hess said "we are trying to be a very up tempo, passing type team."

The players are hard working, team oriented and communicate well with each other.

They "have shown a lot of energy. aggressiveness."

PRCC will challenge a lot of opposing teams and opposing goal keepers during the upcoming campaign.

Among those who could stand out on the field for PRCC are Brandon Jackson (FW), Drew Lick (MF), D.J. Wells (center fullback), Matthew Barton (MF) and Josh Barfield (FW).

Jackson was described as a "creative" player with good speed.

"He can cause other teams some problems," Hess said of the student from Indiana.

Lick has "good vision," Hess said, adding that the midfielder possesses a strong leg and an ability to make the pass that sets up scoring opportunities.

Wells of East Central offers athleticism and speed; while Barfield has a "good, quick shot."

Barfield is a true blue chipper having played in the state's high school all-star game after his senior season. Barton, out of Oak Grove, is a veteran of club soccer having played for Gulf Coast United.

Another quality recruit is Harrison Pounds, a young man who also played for Gulf Coast United.

Lady Cats

Hess is as pleased with his Lady Wildcat recruiting class as he was with the men's incoming class.

He said his team will not have any star players.

"We're very versatile. We have no one player or star," Hess explained. "We'll be good all over the field."

The key for his team will be its ability to stay healthy and keep in shape.

Last season, he said, the Lady Wildcats were hampered by numerous injuries.

Breanna Fortenberry is back after suffering a torn Achilles tendon last season.

An experienced player at the club level, Fortenberry will be called upon to provide strong play throughout 2008.

Other strong players include Laura Kramer (FW) out of Hattiesburg High, Rosie Trest (a member of the Gulf Coast United program), goalkeeper Courtney Bissonette and defender Jamie Lynn Miller.

Hess said Bissonette has had a "phenomenal pre-season."

In his third season at PRCC, Hess left a coaching position in Ohio to join the Pearl River staff.

Nathan Barton
Midfielder/GK
5’8”
Petal High School
Petal, MS

and

Mattew Barton
Midfielder
5’6”
Petal High School
Petal, MS

Pearl River has added two more terrific players to their 2008 recruiting class with the capture of Nathan & Matthew Barton from Petal High School. The commitments of these two boys is great for us for a couple of reasons: 1) Matt is someone we identified two years ago as one of the best players coming out in his class and with his performances this year we believe that he proved his worth. In addition, Matt has played at the club level with Gulf Coast United for several years and we feel like that experience will bring so much to out team this year. Matt isn’t large in stature but he holds the ball well and is deceptively strong. 2) Nathan was an unknown quantity to us before the year started but he showed great flexibility with his ability to play both in goal and in the midfield. Although Nathan isn’t a tall goalkeeper he is quick off the line, he has good footwork and is capable of making some tremendous saves. Not only that but he is also good with his feet and will be able to challenge as a midfielder as well. So we feel like we have gotten a great bonus with Nathan, someone we didn’t expect but who we think will help right away. We feel like the Bartons are going to bring not only talent but add to the personality of the team. In addition, the twin’s will be wanting to make a big splash in the fall because once the semester ends they will be following their Mormon faith and taking up 2 years of mission work.

Kayleigh Davis
Midfielder
5’4”
Bay High School
Bay St. Louis

“Patience, Patience, Patience” If nothing else the 2008 recruiting class has taught the Pearl River soccer staff to be patient! Kayleigh Davis from Bay High School visited Pearl River in late December 2007 but didn’t commit to attending and playing until April 21st. “We definitely weren’t sure what Kayleigh was going to decide to do until the very end” said Coach Hess. “Of course we want players to commit right away but Kayleigh was always very honest with us and open about being unsure. She had some concerns that she and her family were able to work out and we are thrilled to have her.” All told we have signed 5 players from Bay High this season on the men’s & women’s side and Kayleigh is the last one for this class. We feel like Kayleigh is going to be a player that can play anywhere for us, she is athletic, she has good speed and she is comfortable in the back or in the middle. She fits perfectly with our incoming players because she isn’t tied to one position. We feel that from top to bottom we have put together a consistent group who will compliment each other very well on the field and off.

On Thursday April 4th the Wildcat women’s soccer team welcomed new asst. coach Josh McGlade by winning their 7 a side tournament.  The tournament, held at Meridian Community College, brought four squads from points all over the state and pitted them against one another in a round robin format.  Teams competing included the Lady Wildcats, hosts Meridian, Itawamba, and East Central Community College.

The first game on tap for the Lady Wildcats was against heavily favored host Meridian CC.  Things started slowly for the Lady cats as Meridian took an early lead.  The lead was quickly vanquished on the ensuing kickoff by a tremendous 35 yard effort by forward Hannah Ezell that took Meridian totally off guard.  Meridian struck back quickly to take a 2-1 lead.  The lead did not last long though as the Lady Cats marched down the pitch and netted another quick score to equalize just before half.  After several shots off the post and a few near misses the Lady Cats made the breakthrough to take a 3-2 lead.  However, Meridian would not be denied the late equalizer and the match ended in a 3 all draw.

The second game on deck pitted the Lady Cats against Itawamba.  In a back and forth contest that saw the emergence of defender Jamie Lynn Miller and midfielder Carmen Perez, the Lady Cats controlled the pace for most of the contest.  At the half the Lady Cats were drawn level at 1 a piece.  Coming out in the second half the Lady Cats took control from the opening kick.  However, a goal by Itawamba midway through had the Lady Cats reeling and down a goal, but with several position changes and some fine ball control they were able to knot things up and eventually knock home the winner late in the contest to give them a much needed 3-2 victory.

Tensions were very high at the start of the third contest as the Lady Cats needed a
Meridian loss or draw, or a shutout against a weaker East Central side.  Again the Lady Cats came out sluggish and almost gave up the clean sheet early on.  However, thanks to some brave goalkeeping by Nikki Fairley they still had a chance at bringing home the cup.  As time passed the Lady Cats settled in and began pouring on the goals.  Just before the stroke of half, Kelsey Vamos was struck by the injury bug.  The lady cats would have to play the remainder of the game with no substitutes.  They came through with flying colors as goals continued to rain down, including a beautiful shot from range by defender Joy Johnson.  East Central tried to dent the scoreboard but GK Courtney Bissonette would not let her clean sheet be soiled.  The rout finally ended as the Lady Wildcats won the match handily with a score line of 9-0.

With the tournament now over and the Lady Wildcats bringing home the hardware, coach McGlade was pleased with the efforts of all his players.  “I really can’t say enough about the hard work and passion of all the ladies today.  They knew what they had to do from the beginning and executed to perfection.”  This marks the beginning of many wins to come for the Lady Wildcats.

Mikael Ingram, Long Beach High School, Forward:
            The day we signed Mikael we just took a deep breath. We had been trying to get him signed for a long time and it just seemed like it would never get done. Mikael struggled through an ankle injury during his final high school season so we never felt that anyone saw his true ability. Mikael will give us a great aerial threat because of his height but also because he is an athletic player who can jump as well. In addition, we think that Mikael’s speed is going to be a challenge for defender’s to deal with. With him in our team we may become a more direct team but when you have players with his abilities that is not a negative thing at all. We recognized Mikael’s physical abilities early in the recruiting process and he was a player we wanted from the first time we saw him play and now we have him! We are very happy about it!

Jacob Papania, George County High School, Midfielder/Defender:
            Jacob was another player that it took a while to get a commitment from but we couldn’t be happier about it. Jacob is going to bring overall athleticism, speed and good skill with him when he comes in for camp in August. George County struggled a little this year but we felt that his ability stood out regardless of who they were playing, in fact, we were surprised that he wasn’t protected or recruited heavily by his district community college. Jacob is the type of player that we will be able to play anywhere, he is fast enough to run with almost anyone, he is strong enough that he won’t be pushed around and he is a laid back kid who won’t get frazzled when things are tough. We have very high expectations for him and expect him to be one of our best signings.

Harrison Pounds, Midfielder;
            Harrison was a surprise to us, he is home schooled so we didn’t even know about him but lucky for us he knew of Pearl River and had already planned on attending. Harrison is very quick, has played with Gulf Coast United for the last few years and is able to play on the left or right side of the field which will give us added flexibility and back up for several positions. Not only is he good on the field but Harrison will do a great job in the classroom and in the community which is something that we are always looking for. We feel like Harrison will surprise a lot of people next season.

Emily Leverett, Terry High School, Forward/Attacking Mid:
            We are very happy with the commitment of Emily to our team. She is a dynamic player who we think can play in several different positions for us. Emily had knee surgery in early February and we know that it can be a challenging process to come through that but we believe that Emily has the mentality and desire to do just that. Emily is good on the ball, possesses an attacking attitude and she has solid club experience. In addition, we think that she will bring some toughness to our group next year, a willingness to tackle and be a little nasty on the field. We are very excited about her commitment. We wanted to improve the flexibility of our team this year, with more players capable of playing different positions, being athletic and having good skill and we think that Emily fits right into that mold.

Danielle Le Blanc, Bay High, Midfielder:
            With the commitment of Danielle Pearl River continues to have a great relationship with Bay High both on the men’s & women’s side, with this commitment it means that of the 5 players from Bay High that we were interested in we have gotten commitments from 4 of them. Danielle will bring good athleticism, speed and a great attitude with her to Pearl River Community College. She is the kind of player that coaches love to have on their team, we think Danielle will be one of those players that improves every day and will surprise people with her ability to adjust to the game here at the junior college level!

Mary Beth Patton, Poplarville High School, Midfielder:
            We are very happy to announce the commitment of Mary Beth for the 2008 year. We are happy to get Mary Beth for several reasons; 1) She is a good player who has had a solid high school career and has played club soccer with some of the best players in south Mississippi. 2) She brings with her a great attitude, the girls on the team already know her and she is going to fit right into the chemistry of the team. 3) She is a local player who will continue the relationship we have with Poplarville High School. We were very happy that Mary Beth chose us because with her grades and experience she had plenty of choices, so we fill fortunate to have her coming here next fall.

JOSHUA McGLADE

Player History:
   Club

• Began playing before the age of 4
• Played on recreational teams until U-12
• US Premier League from U-12 to U-18
• 7 time Nebraska premier state champion
• Winners of the Phoenix Cisco Columbus Day Tournament
• Winners of the Dallas Cup
• Winners of the Surf Cup

    High School

• 4 year varsity letter winner/ starter, St. Albert High School
• Career scoring champion
• 1998 State Champions in Iowa
• 1999/2000 State participants
• All State team 1999

   College

• Started every game of freshman year at St. Ambrose University
• 20 goals as an outside midfielder freshman year
• 3 ACL surgeries in the next 2 years
• Continued to earn scholarship by assisting the Junior Varsity squad

Coaching History:
   Club

• Began coaching recreational and club football at 12 years old
• Produced 4 Nebraska State Champions with U-10 to U-14 girls team
• Training consultant for Bluejay Football Club

   High School

• 1 year as the assistant varsity coach/ head junior varsity for State qualifier, St. Albert High School
• First undefeated junior varsity record in school history
• Every game was played with only 9 players in the second half

College

On Thursday March 27th the PRCC Men will travel to Meridian to take on Meridian Community College, Itawamba Community College & East Central Community College in a 7v7 tournament. The Wildcats will play MCC at 3pm, ICC at 4:20pm & ECCC at 5:40pm.

On Saturday March 29th the PRCC Men will hit the road again, this time traveling to Itawamba to take on Co-Lin, EMCC & HCC in a 7 a side tourney. The Wildcats will be leaving before the sun is up on Saturday morning to play Co-Lin at 10am, EMCC at 11am and finally play HCC at 1pm.

On Thursday April 3rd the PRCC Women will travel to Meridian to take on Meridian Community College, Itawamba Community College & East Central Community College in a 7v7 tournament. The women will play MCC at 3pm, ICC at 4:20pm & ECCC at 5:40pm. The Lady Wildcats have already played in one 7 a side tournament this year taking on William Carey & Southern Mississippi at Southern Mississippi’s 7v7 tournament held in February. The Lady Wildcats lost to both William Carey & Southern Miss. before defeating Jones Junior College in their final game of the day. It was a good experience as the women were exposed to some very good play and got to play against an old teammate, Hannah Johnson, who transferred to play with William Carey after her sophomore season with PRCC.

There are four new commitments to Pearl River for 2008:


            The Pearl River Lady Wildcats captured the signature of another player on Thursday, January 24th. Hilary Gifford of Ocean Springs committed to play at Pearl River for the 2008 season. As well as being a standout player at Ocean Springs and playing for Gulf Coast United, Hilary is an A student who received a 31 on her ACT. When asked about some of her strengths Coach Hess stated “Hilary has good skill on the ball, good athleticism and is comfortable with either foot. We believe that her experience playing with Gulf Coast United and also training under Coach Troutman at Ocean Springs will translate very well in the MACJC. We believe that Hilary will have an immediate effect on the team’s ability to keep possession, pass the ball from the midfield and cross the ball from either side of the field. We are very happy with how the recruiting class is taking shape and getting Hilary’s signature makes us very happy.” Hilary’s parents are Warren & Karen Gifford and they reside in Ocean Springs.

            The Pearl River Lady Wildcats have captured the signature of another one of their top recruits in 2008, Dana Speed from North Forest High School in Hattiesburg. Dana was on the radar of the Lady Wildcats last year where she was a standout along with current Lady Wildcat Leigh Anne Roberts. When asked about Dana Coach Hess explained; “I didn’t spend a lot of time recruiting on the women’s side last year but fortunately last season Coach Hayes identified Dana as a player that he thought was talented. We only had to see her play one time to decide that we agreed with Coach Hayes’s opinion of her. Dana’s athletic, has good speed and quickness and she is comfortable with the ball on either foot.” Dana is natural defender who was voted her teams defensive MVP for the last three seasons. Not only is Dana going to help improve the Lady Wildcats on the field but she is also maintains an A average and is ranked in the top of her class at North Forest. Dana’s parents are Tommy & Debbie Speed and they reside in Hattiesburg.

                 On Thursday, January 24th, the Pearl River Wildcats captured the signature of another recruit, Jared Mortimer of Pearl River Central High School. In his Junior year Jared scored 18 goals splitting time between center midfield and up front as a forward. Coach Jack Byrd commented that “we feel very fortunate that Jared decided to commit to Pearl River, not only is he a good player but he is a good player in our own backyard, it is very important that we maintain the ability to recruit and sign the good players from our area. We know that Jared had several other offers from other schools so we were not sure until he came to visit us what he was going to do. We feel that Jared strength’s are his ability to get on the ball, look up and pass it around, as well he has a surprising ability to beat people in 1v1 situations, which not every player can do.” Coach Byrd also added that “according to Coach Joe Weems, Jared’s high school coach, Jared is one of the best players to come through PRC in his time there, not only that but he is a great kid to coach and have on your team.”  Jared’s parents are Joe & Debbie Mortimer and they reside in Carriere.

                 On Thursday January 24th, the Pearl River Wildcats captured the signature of another recruit, Corey Ellzey of Pascagoula High School. Over the past few years Corey has not only played for Pascagoula but also played for the Biloxi Express soccer club where over the last two years he scored over 50 goals. Corey is going to add versatility to the upcoming team because of his ability to really play anywhere on the field. In high school this year he played a good deal on the defensive side of things, providing cover for the team’s attacking midfielder and two forwards but he finished the year playing as a forward. According to Coach Hess “not only can he play anywhere but he has a great motor, so we anticipate that Corey is going to be the type of player that puts pressure on the other team all the time, the type of player that other team’s hate to play against. We are very happy because Corey is another player that had offers from other schools but ultimately felt that PRCC was the best place for him.” Corey’s parents are Wayne & Lonnette and they reside in Pascagoula.

Friday January 18, 2008 was a terrific day for the Pearl River Lady Wildcat’s. On senior night at Petal high school Jill Fletcher, Petal High School, & Laura Kramer, Hattiesburg High School, committed to attend Pearl River in 2008 . Both Jill & Laura will bring strength, competitiveness & composure to the Lady Wildcats. Jill a 5’8” central defender brings height, toughness, good ability on the ball and experience in a successful program. Jill also is a tremendously hard worker who trains year round to stay fit. Laura, a 5’9” central defender, also brings height and toughness as well as good club experience. In addition, Laura has great passing range, good vision and is fearless in tackles. When asked about these two players Coach Hess commented that “last year with the injuries that we suffered and the lack of natural defenders, we had to ask several of our players to play out of position and we sacrificed on the attacking side of the ball. Laura and Jill were two of our most important recruits because we knew that they would add balance to our team and allow our attackers to play attacking soccer, these two meant a lot to Coach Byrd and I, we couldn’t be happier. We had to be patient with them because both of them are good athletes, good soccer player and have good grades so they had several options outside of attending Pearl River, it says a lot about our program, our players, our facilities and our school that they want to study and play here next year!”