Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

It’s time to get your football game face in gear.

The 2006 gridiron campaign is fast approaching. Area footballcoaches should have received their DAILY LEADER Gridironquestionnaires by now. They should check their mail boxes at schooland at home.

In an effort to speed up the reply process, we decided to sendmany of the questionnaires to the coaches’ home addresses. We weregoing by the Mississippi Association of Coaches state directory sowe hope the addresses are accurate.

The questionnaires were mailed last Friday, July 7. Coach, ifyou haven’t received your questionnaire, please contact us as soonas possible and we will get another one to you.

Copiah Academy head coach Mitch Mitchell was the first torespond. Mitchell coached his Colonels to a Class AA staterunners-up finish in 2005.

As the sweat trickles down my back, it doesn’t seem like it wastoo long ago when the Colonels were battling 2-time defending statechampion Simpson County for the AA state title. It was a coldThursday night (Dec. 1) in Robinson-Hale Stadium on the MississippiCollege campus in Clinton.

Led by the lightning rushes of Shannon Steed, the Simpson CountyCougars held off Copiah 14-8, making it a three-peat.

Mitchell lost 10 seniors off that outstanding 11-2 Copiah squad,including 8 starters. On the bright side, he has several qualityskill players returning, plus a new district menu which should makethe road to the state playoffs a little easier.

Copiah is in the new District 6-AA alignment, which includesBrookhaven Academy, Columbia Academy, Prentiss Christian School andAmite School Center. Randy Holloway, former Union Academy headcoach, is the new boss at PCS.

The Mississippi Private School Association made some majorrealignments among its members this spring. Brookhaven Academy wasdestined for some long-distance travel to Louisiana opponents underthe new district format but a well-organized protest changed thepicture.

Mitchell’s Colonels make their 2006 debut Aug. 25, hosting, whoelse but Simpson County. On Aug. 17, Copiah hosts a Thursdayjamboree at Gallman.

Coach Billy Wayne Hankins left Simpson for the head job atHillcrest Christian but changed his mind and returned to theCougars later this spring.

Enter Paul Purvis, former defensive coordinator atCopiah-Lincoln Community College and Franklin County High School.Purvis is a good coach but he faces a difficult, uphill battle atHillcrest where he must deal with AAA powers Jackson Prep andJackson Academy, plus Parklane and Madison-Ridgeland.

For Mississippi High School Activities Association members,preseason football practice begins July 31. The MPSA starts twodays later. Regular season play begins Aug. 25.

State baseball tournament action cranks up this weekend. The15-year-old Southwest Division or District 5 Babe Ruth Leagueall-star baseball squad is entered in the state tournament atSmith-Wills Stadium in Jackson. Representing Brookhaven are MichaelCowart, Justin Ashley and Brice Huckaby. Coaching the team aremanager Keith Moore and coaches Jeff Grierson and Ben McKlemurry.The team is composed of players from Brookhaven, Summit, Tylertown,Centreville and Liberty.

State tournament play begins Friday morning in Smith-WillsStadium at 9. The Southwest team plays a team out of Morton at11:30. Nine teams are vying for the state title and a berth in theregionals.

Congratulations to the Brookhaven Dixie Boys Baseball League 13and 14-year-old all-star squads. They won their district tournamenttitles by defeating teams from Summit and Natchez. The 14s wentundefeated in 3 games.

Next up for the local lads are the Dixie Boys state tournaments,starting July 21 at Taylorsville (14s) and July 22 at Laurel(13s).

Write to sports editor Tom Goetz, c/o The DAILY LEADER, P.O.BOX 551, Brookhaven, MS 39602 or e-mailsports@dailyleader.com