Two of Mississippi’s best have received prestigious recognitionin the 2006 Wendy’s High School Heisman Award. Catherine Randall ofIndianola Academy and Steven Williams of Florence have been honoredas state winners, based on their outstanding achievements inathletics, academics and community service.

Randall and Williams embody the spirit of the Heisman traditionthrough hard work and dedication, on and off the field. We wishthem the best of luck in the national competition.

National winners will be named in December, in conjunction withthe collegiate Heisman presentation in New York City. The 12Wendy’s national finalists will travel to New York on Dec. 8-10 andparticipate in Heisman weekend activities, where one male and onefemale will be named overall winners.

In addition to two state winners, nine males and females fromMississippi were selected as state finalists from a total of nearly15,000 nominees nationwide.

Among the 18 finalists were quarterback Price Sessums ofBrookhaven Academy and linebacker Jake Guess of Copiah Academy.

Also nominated from this area were quarterback Jarred Rogers andcheerleader Carlie Smith of Loyd Star and safety R.J. Jenkins andcheerleader Ann Houston Cupit of Brookhaven.

Wendy’s began a partnership with the Heisman Memorial Trust in1994 and has been recognizing well-rounded students for 13 years.The award has steadily grown in popularity.

Due to popular demand, one obscene phone call and two cranke-mails; Professor Hoopla B.S., has courageously returned foranother week of fearless football forecasts. He predicted thewinners of 22 games last week and got 16 right.

Special congratulations are due the Mississippi College Choctawswho ended their season with a rousing win over Sul Ross State,snapping a 3-game losing streak. Coach Norman Joseph’s Chocs havesomething to build upon for next year.

Meanwhile, back at his deer house in the deep woods, Hoopla wasbusy rehearsing his grunt calls for the opening of Saturday’s gunseason. He barely had enough time to scrawl his list of footballwinners and send them by carrier pigeon to the DL’s sportsdesk.

Hoopla will kick off his predictions with some two Thursdaynight state playoff games.

Porters Chapel at Brookhaven Academy: In aClass AA showdown of rushing muscle versus air power, thescoreboard overheats and almost melts. Brookhaven Academy42-34.

Copiah Academy at Bowling Green: Colonels facethe difficult task of beating the Buccaneers for a second time thisseason. Bowling Green 24-17.

Franklin County at Collins: Bulldogs tackle theGreen Machine in a Class 3A defensive struggle. Franklin County17-14.

Southeast Lauderdale at Hazlehurst: Indiansplan to continue their reign as Class 3A state champions.Hazlehurst 30-21.

Lafayette County at West Point: Lincoln Countynative Anthony Hart has coaches his Commodores to the Class 4ANorth State semifinals. In an upset, Lafayette Co. 21-20.

Ole Miss at LSU: After an open date to rest theweary and heal the wounded, the Rebels play above their heads inDeath Valley before going down. LSU 23-14.

Arkansas at Mississippi State: Razorbacks areriding high after beating Tennessee. Arkansas 23-10.

Alcorn State at Jackson State: Tigers end theBraves’ domination of this ancient series. Jackson State 38-10.

Alabama-Birmingham at Southern Miss: GoldenEagles need a win over the Blazers to keep their bowl hopes alive.Southern Miss 24-14.

Delta State at Elizabeth City State: Statesmenhope to duplicate their 2000 march to the NCAA Division II nationalchampionship by winning the opening round on the road in NorthCarolina. Delta State 28-21.

Millsaps at Carnegie Mellon: Making their firstDivision III playoff appearance since 1975, the Majors sufferfrostbite in Pittsburgh, Pa. Carnegie 22-7.

In SEC action, Auburn over Alabama 27-13,Florida over Western Carolina 42-6, Kentucky over Louisiana-Monroe39-10, South Carolina over Middle Tennessee 43-13, and Tennesseeover Vanderbilt 33-23. Georgia has an open date to savor its upsetof Auburn.

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