MEADVILLE — Franklin County girls head basketball coach CharlesMoore watched his Lady Bulldogs march all the way to the “BigHouse” in Jackson this year.

His Lady Bulldogs fell to Southeast Lauderdale in thechampionship game but that doesn’t diminish what Moore and hisgirls accomplished during the 2007-08 season.

For his accomplishments, Moore has been named The DAILY LEADER’SCoach of the Year for the 2008 All-Area Girls Basketball Team.

“I’m honored,” smiled Moore, who is in his sixth year atFranklin County. “There’s a lot of good girls basketball in thearea. To be singled out is an exciting thing.”

Moore’s Lady Bulldogs finished with a 27-11 record. In his sixyears at Franklin County, his record is 109-52.

Moore talked about this year’s squad. “We were an enigma. Thoughwe played a lot, we couldn’t’ get our chemistry together. Late inthe district tournament, it all came together. We made a reallygood run in district and South State.”

Against Southeast Lauderdale, Franklin County didn’t play up toits potential.

“We didn’t play well,” explained Moore. “We shot 12.5 percent.We had some great shots but couldn’t put them in. You can’t missthat many shots.”

Moore says he talks to the girls about putting out a greateffort on the floor. “We also did a lot of things together.”

According to Moore, the girls played in a lot of tournamentsover the summer and faced a many tough teams to help prepare themfor the regular season.

On the sidelines, boys basketball coach Chris Jordan and RickyO’Quinn assisted Moore during the season. Moore, in turn, assistsJordan and O’Quinn in the boys games.

All-Area Player of the Year Shareka Hunt played for Moore andenjoyed the experience.

“Coach Moore is a good coach,” said Hunt. “He coaches his teamswell.”

In previous years, Moore served as an assistant football coachup until the Bulldogs won the state championship in 2006.

At Franklin County, Moore teaches upper level math, geometry andalgebra.

The son of Clinton M. and the late Betty L. Moore, he was bornein Oklahoma. His parents were in the military. He, and his brotherand two sisters, traveled a lot.

Moore attend first grade at Franklin County and left the area.He returned to Franklin County for his sophomore, junior and senioryears of high school.

An all-around athlete, Moore participated in football(linebacker), basketball (guard) and baseball (first baseman). Hiscoaches included the late John Laird and Ed Zumbro Jr. CoachMichael Goff helped him when he attended college.

A graduate of Southern Miss, Moore earned his bachelor’s degreein athletic administration/ secondary education and his master’s inadministration.

Before returning to Franklin County, Moore coached boysbasketball for 10 years in South Carolina.

Moore and his wife Joy have been married for 26 years. They arethe parents of three children. Their daughter Lindsey (23) andoldest son Sam (20) both attend Southern Miss and are majoring ineducation. Youngest son Jacob (10) is a 4th graders at FranklinCounty and enjoys Little League.

Moore says he spend his spare time with his family.

“I’d like to thank Coaches Jordan and O’Quinn for their help,”added Moore. “And the parents of the players. We had real goodparental support this year. They followed us everywhere.”